Marlins/Restons Claimform - Old M+S Credit Card Debt ***Claim Discontinued***

[girlandlurchers]

Today Received a form from Northampton Court/Restons Solicitors claiming £8635.55, apparently relating to an M&S card, contract dated 'on or about 17/7/1989 and assigned to the claimant on 20/02/13. It was sent to an old address and it is is in my old married name.

 

I had an M&S card but don't think I owe anything to them. I haven't had any credit cards since I sold my house in 2010. My husband died jn 2006 and he had several credit cards, one of them an M&S card, it may be his debt?

 

Can you tell me how to respond to this, there is no evidence that the debt is mine, they say I owe £8345.55 plus court fees of £190 and solicitors costs of £100 making the total £8635.55.

 

Any information you can give me as to how to respond would be greatly appreciated,I no longer live at the address the Claim Form has been issued to and the name it has been issued in is incorrect.

 

Many thanks

[Bazooka Boo]

First would be to check your credit file, and see if there is anything on there regarding this.

 

Is this the first correspondence you have received off them?

Have you acknowledged the claim yet?

 

Until you know who and what it is for exactly then your only real option is to defend it in it's entirety...

[girlandlurchers]

Thank you, I have never looked at my credit file as don't have any credit apart from overdraft and mobile contract. Do you have a view on the start date or 1989, this seems like an awful long time ago

[Bazooka Boo]

TBH, 1989 would be extremely unlikely to have any enforceable paperwork to enforce.

 

However, it depends exactly what the alleged debt was for, Loan/Overdraft/Credit Card/store card, and unless it states it in the POC how are you to know?

 

When did you get married/change your maiden name? That will be a very good indicator.

 

Even 'IF' it was your late husbands, then this has NOTHING to do with you, even if it were a joint account, they are out of time.

 

If you've never looked at your credit file, then use Experian 30 day free trial period, but please ensure you cancel well within the free trial period before they start bleeding your account.

 

I don't doubt you have nothing to worry about with this, certainly sounds very dubious to me.

[girlandlurchers]

Have just tried to access my credit report and have to wait 5 days for a PIN to arrive so was just wondering if there was anything sensible I could do in the intervening period.

[girlandlurchers]

I did have an M&S card but can be certain that I didn't use it/have it after my husband died in 2006, he left me in a bit of a pickle and I didn't want to get any deeper which is why the house was sold and I have no cards now. This seems very odd but I do not feel confident responding to this court form. Thank you once again

[girlandlurchers]

I moved to my new address some 300 miles away last year,

this letter arrived out of the blue,

the only other redirected mail I've had is junk mail which I have dealt with.

 

I was married in 2006.

This is for a credit card by the looks of the account number they have provided.

 

Should they not have been in touch with me about this before now, it does seem very speculative although I've moved 3 times in the last 2 years but had now hope to settle in my current location,

however I am very concerned about this.

 

Many thanks again

[citizenB]

Can you please let us know the date of issue - top right hand corner of the claim form.

 

Can you also let us know exactly what it says on the claim form so we can advise what information you need to request from them.

[citizenB]

So the account was opened in 1989, according to them.

 

From what you are saying, you have not used or made any payments to this account after 2006 ? In which case it is likely to be statute barred - especially if it is a credit card. So if you could respond to the post above this - then we can start the ball rolling requesting information !

[girlandlurchers]

Just to confirm the court form shown as issued in 14/02/14, how romantic of them :o(. Exact wording is shown below:

 

The claimant claims payment of the overdue balance due from the defendant(s) under a contract between the defendant(a) and marks and spencer financial services plc dated on or about 18/07/1989 and assigned to the claimant on 20/02/2013 in the sum of 8345.55

 

Particulars a/c no **********36

23/01/2014 default balance 8345.55

Post refrl cr Nil

 

Total 8345.55

 

There are added in fees, 190 court fees and then 100 solicitors fees.

 

Do hope this is the information you require, it doesn't seem to be much. Many thanks again

[citizenB]

Hmm, no there isnt much there.. very vague indeed.

 

Righto, well your timeline is as follows:

 

Issue date 14.02.2014 + 5 days for service = 18.02.2014 + 14 days to acknowledge = 04.03.2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 18.03.2014.

 

In the next post, I will pop a link to the CPR31.14 you need to send and I will also draft you another CPR request - Part 18 which will allow you to request information. Give me a few moments.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Andyorch
Altering time line by 1 day

[girlandlurchers]

Can't thank you enough for this, really am most perturbed and this is just when I was starting to feel vaguely more settled

[citizenB]

Here is the link to the CPR31.14 request. As already pointed out, their Particulars of claim is very vague and makes no mention of date of default or what type of credit this is.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387484-LEGAL-CPR-31.14-Request-Request-for-information-when-a-Claim-has-been-issued.

 

All you can request using this is

 

1: - The agreement

2: - The Notice of Assignment

3: - Statement of account showing how the sum being claimed has accrued and to identify any default / penalty charges that have been applied to the account.

 

You must edit out any other document mentioned in the draft letter. Make sure you read the letter carefully and remove anything that doesnt apply.

 

 

Was it a store card that was subsequently upgrated to a Credit card? M&S rather arrogantly decided they did not require a new agreement when they did this. If this is the case in this claim then you can cite Santander v Diana Mayhew.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17670803

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49348[/ATTACH]

 

Here is the draft CPR part 18 - You need to send this and the CPR31.14 linked above to the solicitor named on the claim form. At the very least, please obtain a Free proof of posting from the post office, but if you can afford it, I would suggest that you use one of the tracked services such as Recorded or Special Delivery.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49349[/ATTACH]

 

girlandlurchers said:

Can't thank you enough for this, really am most perturbed and this is just when I was starting to feel vaguely more settled

 

No worries.. that is what we are here for

[AndyOrch]

Its also vital that you send the following separately to the above....also head the request with " I do not acknowledge any debt with your company "

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387435-CCA-Request-Consumer-Credit-Act-1974

 

Regards

 

Andy

[girlandlurchers]

Thank for for the draft templates which have been edited before sending via registered post. I have given this some careful thought and can be (almost) certain that it was a store card, at or around that time I had changed jobs and needed to change my wardrobe and took out an M&S card, it would explain the very early date of 1989. With thanks once again

[panther12]

I can pretty much guarantee that Rectums will reply to the cpr31.14 request with their standard template nonsense letter signed by Miss L Tipping saying the requested documents are not "mentioned" in their PoC so 31.14 doesn't apply (even though they do mention a "contract" "assigned" and a "Default Balance") With the cpr 18 you will get some further [naughty word] saying that the list of documents/information requested is extensive and is not “reasonably necessary” or “proportionate” and your requests are nothing more than a "fishing expedition" and you should already know the basis of your defence without sight of the documents.

 

Rectums are not the nicest of people to deal with so just giving you a heads-up on what to expect.

[NewToTheFight]

Civil Procedure rule 16.5(4) You expect that the claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed

 

 

Do NOT trust Rectums to play by the rules, they are an aggressive bunch who play to win at all costs

[girlandlurchers]

Hello there, finally got a reply from restons to my letter requesting the CPR 31.14. Their response has infuriated me. They say they will not correspond with me as the letter was 'unsigned'. It had a normal electronic signature on it. They say the letter 'purports to come from me' and they must ensure anyone who requests information is entitled to it. What a complete bunch of tissues. This letter has arrived seven days after they would have received the original. I have no intention of signing anything so is there any way that I can respond to them without signing the letter.

 

Have this week been diagnosed with very high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat so would have appreciated not having this sort if hassle from them, what a bunch of idiots. :o(

[mjt2013]

To be fair if the request was from a malicious third party and they have all of your info away I imagine you'd not be very pleased that they acted on the basis of a letter that anyone could have written. At least a signature helps them discharge their duty to safeguard your info.

[girlandlurchers]

think that's very fair but the chances of someone asking for this information with an electronic signature and sending the letter recorded must be miniscule, the letter was made more ironic by the fact that it hadn't been signed, presumably I am to accept that they are who they say they are too or should I tell them they must prove who they are before they take me to court for a debt that I don't believe is mine? this seems to be nothing more than a delaying tactic designed not to provide the information required to show that it is my debt.

[girlandlurchers]

Have sent a polite thank you letter saying their diligence in this matter is admirable and could they now please respond to the queries submitted. It didn't make the post today but they will have it by Tueaday. Can I ask how To tackle the defence, so far I have absolutely no information from them and the timeline is rapidly diminishing. The form was sent back to the court notifying them of my intention to defend all of this claim. Am feeling jolly cross with them at the moment.

 

Thank you for all your help and hopefully the next correspondence will contain some useful information

[panther12]

You will now get their standard reply that I posted #17. I've not seen the PoC but as it's from Rectums I guess it will be signed "Restons Solicitors Limited". As they are so picky about signatures, you could inform them that there statement of truth has not been verified in accordance with CPR 22 practice direction 3.10. A legal represenentative must sign the statement of truth in their own name and not that of the firm.

[girlandlurchers]

Hello there, you were kind enough to set me in the road to defending this Restons claim some 3weeks ago, so far I have not got anything back frkm either Marlin or Restons and the defence has to be in by 19 March which is Wednesday. I am working today and tomorrow and so only really have this evening to return a defence. I have no further information than that provided to you already. Could you help me return the defence form to the court, I have no idea what to say on the firm.

 

With many thanks in anticipation

[citizenB]

Hmm, no there isnt much there.. very vague indeed.

 

Righto, well your timeline is as follows:

 

Issue date 14.02.2014 + 5 days for service = 19.02.2014 + 14 days to acknowledge = 05.03.2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 19.03.2014.

 

Issue date 14.02.2014 + 5 days for service = 17.02.2014 + 14 days to acknowledge = 04.03.2014 + 14 days to submit defence = 18.03.2014

 

 

In the next post, I will pop a link to the CPR31.14 you need to send and I will also draft you another CPR request - Part 18 which will allow you to request information. Give me a few moments.

 

Please note that I have made an error of one day in your timeline - you need to submt your defence by 18.03.2014. My apologies.

[citizenB]

You have until Tuesday to submit your defence, I will ask andyorch to pop in and advise.