Arrow/RBS and the Small Claims Court - Please Help!

[booty1309]

Morning all,

 

Apologies for the long post but I am desperately seeking some help/advice from those of you in the know about SCC and DCAs. I have been attempting to defend a claim with Arrow for an old MINT credit card which I have but think I may have shot myself in the foot and wondered if there's any way I can come back. Unfortunately, I buried my head in the sand regarding quite a few debt issues I had in my teens/early twenties so don't have the original paperwork for any of this.

 

I will give a brief summary of the events so far:-

 

5th February 2014 - I received a claim form from Northampton County Court Bulk Centre with the claimant Arrow Global

stating the following particulars of claim:-

 

"The claimant claim is for £1401

being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant in respect of a regulated credit card agreement

between the Defendant and the Royal Bank of Scotland (card number XXXXXX)

and assigned to the claimant on 15/12/2010,

notice of which has been provided to the Defendant.

 

The Defendant has failed to make payment in accordance with the agreement

and a default notice has been served pursuant to the consumer credit Act 1974.

The Claimant claims the sum of £1401.00."

 

6th February 2014 - I sent an SAR request to MINT (RBS), CPR and CCA to Arrow, all letters were all sent recorded delivery and received on 10th February.

 

1st March 2014 - I submitted an embarrassed defence (I know now that there are several mistakes in this) as I hadn't received any of the requested documentation. My defence was as follow:-

1. I neither deny nor admit to any indebtness to the claimant.

2. I sent the claimant a CCA request in accordance with s.77/78,

requesting a true copy of the credit agreement, along with any

other documentation that the Act requires.

3. The claimant received the request on 10/02/2014.

4. As of 03/03/2014, the claimant has not supplied the requested

documentation.

4. A SAR request, in line with the Freedom of Information Act was

sent to Royal Bank of Scotland.

5. Royal Bank of Scotland received the request on 10/02/2014.

6. As of 01/03/2014, Royal Bank of Scotland have not provided me

with the requested documentation.

7. No Notice of Assignment has been received which would prove the

Claimant's right to bring this action.

8. Without the requested documents I am unable to submit a fully

particularised defence and the Defendant is embarrassed.

9. The Defendant also asks permission to submit an amended defence

if the Claimant supplies the requested documentation.

 

4th April 2014 - letter from Arrow stating that my embarrassed defence on the basis of a document request does not form a valid defence and that they believe this to be an abuse of the process. In their letter they state that £40 was credited to the account on 5th August 2009. They have also enclosed a document stating that Wilkin Champman (their solicitor) has ceased to act for them and they will be acting in person, as well as a letter dated 18th March 2011 stating that RBS has assigned all of its respective rights, title and interest to Global.

 

I am under the belief that I have not made any form of payment in relation to this debt in a long time (possibly more than the 6 years required for a debt to be SB) and I've checked my bank statements as far back as 2007 but can't see any record of payments to Mint during this time. When I spoke with MINT recently they claimed that a payment was made in July 2011, but they said they couldn't tell me more as the debt was now owned by Arrow.

 

I have checked my credit report with Noddle and can't see anything on there relating to MINT/Arrow.

 

Arrow want me to withdraw my defence which has worried me as I'm not sure what to do now. As it stands, RBS have told me that I may have my SAR request back by the end of April (the woman on the phone actually admitted that they were regularly breaching the time frame set) and I have still not received a response from Arrow regarding my CCA request.

 

As you can probably tell. I am in a right muddle and am really hoping that someone may be able to help me with this. If you need any further information from me, please ask.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[oleg]

Hello Booty

I'm sorry noone has helped you yet. Your post is rather complex and I'm not free atm to deal with it so I'm just bumping this up for others to take over the baton.

Hope you'll get help shortly.

[booty1309]

Thanks Oleg. I appreciate that it is a little bit more involved than some of the other posts on here. Do you know anywhere else that may be able to help? Any other forums or charities?

 

Thanks again

[citizenB]

Typical response from Arrow Global.. When a defence is submitted they take the claim back inhouse.

 

Your points 4 and 5 are irrelevant and you would not have received the information in the given time anyway. 40 calendar days for an SAR - I dont know how long for the FOI request.

 

Did you send CPR 31.14 or CCA requests ?

 

When do you believe you made the last payment to the account.. or more importantly, when was the payment due that you first missed in 2007 ? It will be for AG to provide evidence of the payment they claim was made in 2011

 

I wonder if the attached request might stir them into providing this information. This is a CPR part 18 and they are obliged to respond to it.

 

Send by either Recorded or Special Delivery.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50035[/ATTACH]

[booty1309]

citizenB - thank you so much for your help

 

I thought I had sent both the CPR 31.14 and CCA requests to Arrow, however having a quick scout through my current files, I can only find the CCA request and therefore am wondering if I perhaps forgot the CPR 31.14 request. Should I send this off to them now?

 

I was able to search my bank history as far back as April 2007 and can find absolutely nothing relating to MINT/RBS/ARROW, so unfortunately I have no way of knowing when/if any payment was made to them in 2007.

 

I shall send a letter off tomorrow using the template which you have constructed for me and see what they come back with. Do I also need to send a copy to the court for their records?

 

I'm concerned that I'm going away for two weeks on 13th April and things may change in the time I'm away. Is there anything I can do about this?

 

Thanks again, I appreciate your help so much!

[citizenB]

I think it is likely too late for you to send a CPR31.14 and they probably wouldnt respond to it anyway.

 

 

However, they are obliged to respond to your CPR part 18 request so get that off ASAP. No, you dont have to send a copy to the court. But do keep a copy for your own records - attach your tracking receipt to your copy. iI this progresses to a hearing then you will need to have a copy in your "bundle"

 

Do check with the RM website that the CPR has been received and signed for - print off a copy of the signature/delivery notice.

 

Is there anyone you can trust to open mail for you whilst you are away for the two weeks ?

[citizenB]

If you have no record of a payment made at that time, then it is for them to prove that it was and in what manner.

[booty1309]

Unfortunately there will be no-one here who can open mail for me whilst we are away. What will be my next step once I receive a response to the CPR 18 request? If the debt is genuinely SB, then do I submit a new defence stating this?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[booty1309]

Out of interest, do you think that they usually switch back to using their in-house team because they realise that the use of solicitors hasn't completely horrified the person they are dealing with, or because they realise that they don't actually have legal authority to collect the debt so save themselves on solicitors fees?

[AndyOrch]

The only response you could receive whilst away is a DQ (Directions Questionnaire) to allocate the claim...assuming they wish to proceed.

[booty1309]

Thanks andyorch, is there a time limit to respond to a DQ?

[AndyOrch]

Varies subject to the courts time frames...3/4/weeks...but you wont get one unless the court is advised by the claimant they wish to proceed.

I personally would go enjoy my holiday and pick up on it when you return.

[booty1309]

Fab - thank you so much. I will get the letter sent today, and think no more about it until I am back. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome on my return.

[AndyOrch]

I personally wouldnt bother with the CPR 18 either as its not applicable to small claims track and doubt very much they would even read it.

[booty1309]

Do you think that the CCA request alone as well as getting the SAR from RBS would be sufficient to build an effective defence if I can defend the claim? Can you recommend another way to find out for definite when last payment was made etc?

[AndyOrch]

You have already submitted your defence its statute barred.Up to them to prove otherwise...why do you think they have requested you withdraw your defence.

 

In their letter they state that £40 was credited to the account on 5th August 2009.

 

I am under the belief that I have not made any form of payment in relation to this debt in a long time (possibly more than the 6 years required for a debt to be SB) and I've checked my bank statements as far back as 2007 but can't see any record of payments to Mint during this time.

 

 

Pack the suncream:wink:

[booty1309]

Sorry for all the questions, I do really appreciate your help. Does it matter that I didn't put in my shoddy defence that it's statute barred? Do I just do nothing until they prove otherwise regarding this mysterious £40?

[AndyOrch]

So if you didnt raise it why have they ?....You can reiterate in your WS if they wish to proceed...have a good holiday

[booty1309]

So I'm back from a lovely break and the saga continues....

 

I have received a letter from RBS dated 7th April, enclosing a letter from MINT customer service dated 20th March, stating that they are currently able to find any information for a loan or credit card in my name. On 4th March, I had sent a letter with all previous addresses to RBS to help them process my request however it seems that this was never passed on and the account number which I had provided (from my correspondence with Arrow) was incorrect. I spoke with MINT this morning and they've asked me to send them a copy of the letter with previous address details on, delaying things further.

 

I have also received a letter from the court, dated 23rd April, saying that "it appears that this case is suitable for allocation to the small claims track" and that I need to complete the small claims directions questionnaire by 12th May.

 

In this time, I haven't heard anything further from Arrow, so I'm still waiting for a follow up on my CCA request.

 

I'm not sure what I need to fill out on the questionnaire as I don't have any of the information which I have requested. Shall I select the option for a hearing?

 

Any help/advice on what I should be doing now is really appreciated.

[AndyOrch]

Just complete the N180 and submit by the date stated....you dont need any documentation/information to complete the Directions Questionnaire.Send the claimant a copy unsigned.

 

Regards

Andy

[booty1309]

Thanks for such a quick reply! I will get the questionnaire done ASAP. Is there anything else I should be preparing in the meantime? In your experience, do the DCA's usually still pursue these through the courts, even if it were to come out that the debt is statute barred?

[AndyOrch]

No nothing to prepare...your defence submitted your DQ will be submitted....so its all over to the claimant now if they wish to proceed.

 

DCAs will chase anything when there is money involved...statute barred or not.

[booty1309]

So I thought that things had been a little quiet.......!

When I got in from work today, I had a letter dated 22nd May stating that the court haven't received my directions questionnaire and that I must file it within 7 days from service of this order. If I haven't responded within this period then my defence will automatically be struck out.

 

As we all know, today is 29th May so that means my 7 days is up despite only receiving the letter today. The envelope is date stamped 27th May and was sent 2nd class so I don't understand how they are expecting me to reply within the timeframe that they have given.

 

I am going to send them an email this evening as I'm really concerned now how things will continue. Needless to say, I'm still waiting on my SAR and CCA request!

[oleg]

7 days from service, not from issue of letter. Service is 5 days afterwards.

You need to pay attention to minute details when dealing with legal system, cos these are the kind of niceties where the opposition gladly enjoy tripping the defendant up.