Cabot/weightmans claimform - following SD set aside in 2013 - halifax Aqua Card ***Claim Discontinued***

[citizenB]

Yes, the forms 6.4 and 6.5 are the affidavit

 

Do you not have an email for the solicitor who served the papers ? It should be on their letter heading I would have thought ?

[42man]

Form 6.4 is the set aside form and 6.5 is now called a witness statement (an affadavit usually has to be sworn in by the court or by a local solicitor - and affadavits are, as far as I know, still used at petition and bankruptcy annullment cases)

 

When you go to court then you will be relying on the witness statement (6.5) you originally took in to court with your (6.4), you can't turn up with an additional witness statement and expect the judge to take this into consideration unless you have been asked to do this before the hearing OR without asking for an adjournment, for which you may possibly be asked to pay costs.

 

As for your own costs they need to be IN the court file at least 24 hours before the hearing.

 

At this stage you don't need to send anything to the claimants.

[Poppay2]

Hi citizenb

the SD was served by stewrt barnes and although the solicitors are on the SD there is no email address

 

Hi 42man

Many thanks, I therefore only need to submit my costs to the court 24 hours prior, as I have to be in work tomorrow and the courts close at at two will it be ok to leave them in the post box, I can ring them in the morning to ensure they have received them.

If necessary I can always state at the hearing that I am continuing to recieve debt collection letters etc.

Thanks again.

Have been quite stressed, havent been to court before.

[42man]

That should be fine, when you get to court, you need to address the judge sir/madam, puff your chest up and speak a little louder than usual, don't interrupt the judge, but do backtrack to any points raised that you disagree with or wish to raise a point on. Show the judge just how angry and upset you are at having to deal with this and highlight their obvious flaws, backed up with the high court cases you referred to. And if for any reason they hoodwink you on the day and provide any extra paperwork, then if need be request an adjournment. Be wary of the solicitor who wants to talk with you before you go and see the judge, just say that you will listen whilst they talk....dont be afraid and be ready to stand your ground. Some solicitors will carry over to the court room what has been said in the waiting room....and if need be state that you will allow them to dismiss the demand as long as they pay your costs, and don't be frightened to ask for these in front of the judge. Don't be steamrolled and don't be bullied....

[Poppay2]

Have redone the costs, which now appear to make more sense

Costs For

set aside Application Case No xxx

xx Court xxx xxx 201x

 

 

 

Rate Claimed Litigant in Person rate of £18 / hour

 

1) Time spent identifying and understanding relevant legislation.

Time spent identifying and understanding relevant case law.

Time spent preparing affidavit and skeleton argument.

 

23 hours @ £18 per hour (£414)

 

2) Loss of wages for day off to attend court on XXX May 201x

 

7.5 hours @ £12.75 per hour (£95.63)

 

 

3) Sundry Costs (paper, printing, ink, envelopes, postage)

£10

 

 

 

Total £519.63

 

Notes

Before undertaking this myself I approached a solicitor to handle this. I was given an estimate of 3 to 6 hours at £170/hour to prepare the Application (£510-£1020) plus extra for attending the court.

 

I respectfully request that the court give consideration to awarding these costs on the indemnity basis or, in the alternative, on the standard basis as I believe, in any case, that they have been proportionately and reasonably incurred and/or are of a proportionate and reasonable amount.

 

In support of this request, I would also like to refer the court’s attention to the authority of the High Court in the case of:-

 

Hammonds (a firm) v Pro-Fit USA Ltd [2007] EWHC 1998 (Ch)

 

In this case, Mr Justice Warren confirmed that it was usual for an indemnity award to be made:-

 

27 So far as disputed debts are concerned, the practice of the court is not to allow the insolvency regime to be used as a method of debt collection where there is a bona fide and substantial dispute as to the debt. Save in exceptional cases, the court will dismiss a petition based on such a debt (usually with an indemnity costs order against the petitioner).

 

Hi 42man

thanks for your advice.

I have read several threads where solicitors have tried to hoodwink the defendant, and am definitely going to be extremely wary of this.

You say 'and if need be state that you will allow them to dismiss the demand as long as they pay your costs...' do I say this to the solicitor if he wants to talk to me if the situation arises?

I guess am bit nervous due to going alone, but I'm hoping my natural fortitude will prevail, the only other thing that worries me is if my mind goes blank as it tends to do under duress.

I will prepare a timeline, and notes to refer to as a memory jogger.

In my inexperience the only thing that really jumps out at me about extra evidence is that they may provide account statements for the last 18 - 22 months in which I personally have not received any.

I will also state, should it be necessary, that my first thoughts on receiving letters from different agencies, several in one month, that some sort of [problem] was being directed at me.

Thanks again

[42man]

The solicitor will do his/her best to ensure you believe that you are the guilty party....

[Poppay2]

This, I totally understand, some years ago I attended an employment tribunal, where the employer had solicitors and I did not, it was the most awful experience. Especially as my union rep had left me to face the verdict alone (he wanted to get home by a certain time). The solicitors painted me as bad a light as they could, and yes they made me feel really bad about myself.

 

I can say that despite my nervousness about attending court, I am not as lacking in confidence etc these days and am prepared to be painted in a bad light by their solicitor, its expected, I can only trust in myself and do my best, the evidence is there and I will keep going over the witness statement etc and get my head in the zone to deal with the hearing.

[Poppay2]

Just reviewing docs before going to court and I have just realised that Cabot have been trying to collect on two debts one for Aqua and one for Argos store card.

 

However, the CCA request was for the Aqua issue so, that still stands.

This is a timeline for the Aqua issue

 

14-Oct 2010 ALBION LETTER £2,102.65 AQUA 22-Nov 2010 AQUA DEFAULT NOTICE £2,257.32 AQUA 31-Dec 2010 ALBION LETTER £2,341.09 AQUA 19-Jan 2011 ALBION LETTER £2,341.09 AQUA 24-Jan 2011 ALBION LETTER £2,407.35 AQUA 25-Jan 2011

CCA REQUEST TO ALBION NO REPLY

04-Feb 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 12-Feb 2011 MOORCROFT LETTER CONFIRM DEALING WITH THIS ACCOUNT AQUA 15-Feb 2011 MOORCROFT REPLY TO CCA REQUEST - NO CCA

 

17-Feb 2011 MOORCROFT LETTER REPLY TO CCA REQUEST - PAY UP

22-Feb 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 24-Mar 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 07-Apr 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 21-Apr 2011 MIDAS

£2,407.35 AQUA 05-May 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 11-Jun 2011 MOORCROFT

£2,407.35 AQUA 25-Aug 2011 AQUA & CABOT LET OF ASSIGN

CABOT 31-Aug 2012 FIRE

£2,722.37 CABOT 26-Sep 2012 FIRE PREVISIT LETTER £2,722.37 CABOT 04-Jan 2013 WRIGHT HASSEL

£2,722.37 CABOT 15-Jan 2013 WRIGHT HASSEL

£2,722.37 CABOT

Edited May 16, 2013 by Poppay2

[citizenB]

Within the same Stat Demand ? They do merge debts in order to take the debt above the B/R threshold. When are you due in court and do you have time to get together any paperwork in respect of the Argos Debt. If they lose on the Aqua side, is the Argos debt below the B/R threshold ?

 

Is there any chance at all that the Argos debt could be statute barred -have loads of penalty charges applied ?

 

I will try and get some help for you before you leave.. TBH, I am not sure those who can are around at the moment.

[citizenB]

Hopefully it will get shunted out on the Aqua one alone..

[DonkeyB]

Can you clarify - they are claiming two debts? Was this made clear on the SD?

[Poppay2]

HI CITIZENB

No, I dont think it is in the same SD as the SD is for 2722.37

 

The CCA request and the letter saying 'no CCA' IS for the Aqua issue, so that still stands.

Also, no statements of account either so that still stands,

And, several DCAs collecting on the debt,

and, the amount has changed which must be due to interest/charges etc.

 

I am guessing that my defence still stands despite the mix up.

At least I wont embarrass myself by saying that I have recently been asked for much lower sum. Glad I caught this in time.

 

It isnt very clear on the letters which debt they apply to.

 

am due in court in a couple of hours

 

 

I think the argos one would have been sb but I inadvertently made a payment via my bank to moorcroft a couple of months ago, I selected the wrong company to pay £20 which was for the Prudential. I didnt realise until I got a letter from the Pru saying I had missed a payment.

 

They have been trying to collect on two debts, but the SD is for the Aqua one only.

 

I didnt realise that they were trying to collect on two debts and assumed that all the letters referred to the same debt. My bad for not looking closer at the letters

[citizenB]

I think the argos one would have been sb but I inadvertently made a

payment via my bank to moorcroft a couple of months ago, I selected the wrong

company to pay £20 which was for the Prudential. I didnt realise until I got a

letter from the Pru saying I had missed a payment.

 

Ouch.. Perhaps someone might be able to respond to that at a later date if it rears it's ugly head. If the Debt was SB prior to the payment, then it cannot be unbarred because of it.

[Poppay2]

Been under a lot of stress and having a sleep disorder (similar to narcolepsy) it does affect my attention to detail sometimes.

where these issues are concerned I guess I do tend to bury my head sometimes.

 

I will check the other one out later

[citizenB]

I hope all goes well for you today. Please let us know how you get on, whatever happens !

[Poppay2]

I most certainly will let you know how i get on, I'm just relieved that I spotted this error, so if it is brought up in court I can apologise and state that as I was recieving so much correspondence collecting on behalf of Cabot that I believed it was all for the debt

[citizenB]

I most certainly will let you know how i get on, I'm just relieved that I spotted this error, so if it is brought up in court I can apologise and state that as I was recieving so much correspondence collecting on behalf of Cabot that I believed it was all for the debt

 

Yes, I would think so

[Poppay2]

thanks for your support, will be glad when this hearing is over.

[citizenB]

Yes, I imagine so

[Poppay2]

Hi Everyone

 

Good News!

SD was set aside.

Rite Hussell did not show, they had written to the court requesting an adjournment for 8 weeks.

I cannot recall my exact words but I asked if I could contest the adjournment on the grounds that a CoCA had been requested nearly two years ago and I had a letter saying that there wasnt one and that I believed that the SD was improper use of insolvency procedure.

Judge asked if I had any judgements against me I said that I hadnt (true I havent).

Judge asked if Rite Hussell had sent me a copy of the letter requesting adjournment I replied that they hadnt.

I was awarded costs of £30 nothing else because I hadnt sent anything to rite hussell, my bad, but I know now!

Took all of 5 minutes.

Thanks to everyone who have helped me.

Will have to wait and see what happens now.

 

Judge agreed that they really should have been able to get their house in order before the hearing, and because they had asked for an adjournment without showing up he wasnt too impressed about that either.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Good result!!

[Poppay2]

thanks Brigadier

I am somewhat relieved, especially as at the start I thought was going to have to wait another 8 weeks!

I couldnt quite recall how to ask to contest the adjournment, in fact I cant even recall what I said now, but am so pleased I did speak up, was remembering advice given, to not be intimidated, be honest, and present my case best I could without waffling.

 

Main points I remembered was no CoCA and letter saying there wasnt one.

Plus misuse of insolvency procedure, must have impressed the judge just enough by saying that.

[citizenB]

Oh this is excellent news. Well done for sticking with this because I know you have been scared witless throughout.

 

I will amend your thread title.

 

How annoying that you only got £30.00 worth of costs.. never mind.. at least you got something and the set aside. DO NOT let them take this off what they claim you owe. You want that cheque for £30.00 in your hands/bank account.

 

You must now make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading. I would also advise that despite requesting an agreement 2 years ago, being advised there was none - they issued the stat demand whilst the account was in dispute. They further compounded this by asking the court for an adjournment on the day of the hearing, when they knew they would never be able to provide one.

[Poppay2]

I will do that, is there a template for the oft?

[DonkeyB]

Why on earth did the judge ask if you had any judgments against you? Totally irrelevant!