claimform old cat 'debt'

[Don't know what to do now]

/Hi,

 

I hope one of you lovely people can help me please.

 

Through my parents address i've received a N1 county court form for proceedings against me for a catalogue bill.

 

Looking on an old email the last payment was made 5/09/09, last order 17/9/09.

 

Several emails before and after requesting i sign a credit agreement which I do not believe I completed.

 

 

N1 form by debt collector states debt was assigned to me in 2011 which doesn't seem right

when I haven;t ordered since 2009 !

 

 

I haven't spoken to my parents for some time unfortunately so was not aware they had been receiving debt collection letters there they simply put any mail return to sender.

 

 

I have never lived at their address just had some mail sent there while living in a womens refuge.

Curiosity obviously got better of my dad who opened the letter and gave to my sister who gave it to me today.

 

What I need to know please is when would the debt have been statute barred?

Can I contest on that basis?

If i didn't sign a credit agreement is it for the debt collection to prove I did?

What are my next steps?

 

So sorry for the essay just need some advice

Thank you x

[theoldrouge]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

please fill out the following as fully as possible

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?419198-You-have-received-a-Claim-What-you-need-to-do.-**UPDATED-December-2014**%281-Viewing%29-nbsp

[Don't know what to do now]

Date of issue: 16/09/15

Reason for claim:

Monies from the defendant to the claimant under an agreement regulated under the consumer credit act 1974

between the defendant and ...... under account reference ......

and assigned to the claimant on x/x/2011

notice of which has been given to the defendant.

The defendant failed to maintain contractual repayment under the terms of the agreement

and a default notice has been served which has not been complied with.

Value of the Claim £370

 

Has the claimant added section 69 interest?yes

 

What is the claim for? catalogue

When did you enter agreement before or after 2007? nov 2006

Who assigned claim ?Debt collector

Aware account has been assigned? no

Received a default notice? no

Have you been receiving statutory default notices for at least a year? no

why did you cease payments? moved out due to domestic violence and forgot.

was there a dispute that remains unsolved? no

Entered a debt managment plan? no

[citizenB]

Righto, well the timeline for responding to the claim is as follows :-

 

Issue date 16.09.2015 + 5 days for service = 20.09.2015 + 14 days to acknowledge claim = 04.10.2015 + 14 days to submit defence = 24.10.2015

 

If you made a purchase on 17.09.2009, this means that the debt is not statute barred. This would occur if no payment had been made or liability had been acknowledged for 6 years + a couple of months for safety.

 

Do you know if any default or penalty charges have been added to the account ? Do you know if there was any Payment Protection Insurance on the account ?

 

I don't think there are agreements as such with catalogue accounts - I will ask for more advice on that for you.

 

It is a shame that your parents were not able to forward your mail to you.

 

IMHO, unless someone else has any ideas, I do not think that you are going to be able to challenge this and a statute barred defence seems to be a no go as well.

 

I will find someone who can advise further.

[Don't know what to do now]

Thanks citizenB.

 

I Was wondering why they have listed the debt as 2 years later though?

 

 

Could it be on them to prove it as I know it was in 2009 not 2011!

 

 

Is it a sneaky tactic as all letters sent to my parents had been returned to sender

so they put the claim in the hope that letter would be returned also and I would get a ccj by default?

Which I'm wondering if thats the reason why they have invented a date in 2011

as they judge may question if they put september 2009?

 

What bearing could it have if I had not updated the agreement since I opened an account in 2006?

 

 

I know they were trying to get me to update the agreement in 2009 and i never got round to it!

Thanks

[shamrocker]

Who was the catalogue with and who is the claimant - Lowell??

[dx100uk]

name names please too late to hide now

 

 

get the claim acked on mcol

and get a cca request running to the claimant

and a cpr running to the sols

 

 

dx

[unclebulgaria67]

I

Thanks citizenB.

 

I Was wondering why they have listed the debt as 2 years later though?

 

 

Could it be on them to prove it as I know it was in 2009 not 2011!

 

 

Is it a sneaky tactic as all letters sent to my parents had been returned to sender

so they put the claim in the hope that letter would be returned also and I would get a ccj by default?

Which I'm wondering if thats the reason why they have invented a date in 2011

as they judge may question if they put september 2009?

 

What bearing could it have if I had not updated the agreement since I opened an account in 2006?

 

 

I know they were trying to get me to update the agreement in 2009 and i never got round to it!

Thanks

 

2011 is when the debt was assigned to the Debt collection agency, who have issued the claim. Have they said the defaulted payment was in 2011 ?

 

You can acknowledge the claim, that you will defend in full and at least make them prove the claim with documenrs.

 

As said, send a CCA request to the Debt collection agency and a CPR 31.14 letter to their Solicitors who issued the claim.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387484-LEGAL-CPR-31.14-Request-Request-for-information-when-a-Claim-has-been-issued.(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

In the CPR letter, you amend it to request any document mention in their particulars of claim

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387435-CCA-Request-Consumer-Credit-Act-1974-**Updated-January-2015**(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

Link to CCA request

[Don't know what to do now]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

dx100 what does this mean please? get the claim acked on mcol

Unclebulgaria67 in the particulars of claim it says between the catalogue name with reference and assigned to the claimant on x/xx/2011

 

Also meant to ask if I use the full amount of time to reply and file would it then be statute barred or is it impossible as they filed on 16/9/15?

[citizenB]

Also meant to ask if I use the full amount of time to reply and file would it then be statute barred or is it impossible as they filed on 16/9/15?

 

Unfortunately no, the SB clock stopped ticking the date of the Claim

 

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

dx100 what does this mean please? get the claim acked on mcol

Unclebulgaria67 in the particulars of claim it says between the catalogue name with reference and assigned to the claimant on x/xx/2011

 

On the claim form there is a password - a little way down the form on the right hand side. Along with the claim reference which is at the top of the form, you need to log on to the MCOL (moneyclaim online) website. You will then need to register - you will be given another reference number so have a pen and paper handy.

 

You can then acknowledge receipt of the claim - if you don't do this, then the company will obtain a judgment by default.

 

You then tick the boxes that are relevant.

 

That you are acknowledging the claim - that you want the extra time to submit a defence - don't question jurisdiction because if there is a hearing, then it will be held in your local court.

 

Unless you have a good defence, then you can admit the debt and ask for time to pay.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply.

dx100 what does this mean please? get the claim acked on mcol

Unclebulgaria67 in the particulars of claim it says between the catalogue name with reference and assigned to the claimant on x/xx/2011

 

Assignment just means the debt was sold to the company that issued the court claim. You should have had notice of assignment to the address on record in 2011, telling you that the original creditors had sold the debt on. The debt buyer can issue a court claim.

 

Do you know whether excess charges were applied to the cat account, that you can negotiate a reduction on ? If you can get hold of the account statements from the cat company, you might be able to look at this.

[Don't know what to do now]

Thank you for all of your advice advice citizenb looks like i'll have to pay. Another question I have is that by acknowledging this debt will it link other dc to that address is it recorded in some way?

 

Would that be admitting liability in the meantime unclebulgaria67 by contacting the catalogue company? And by accepting the debt are other dc likely to follow suit?

[unclebulgaria67]

No you are entitled to info from the cat company.

 

There is no harm in acknowledging the court claim and submitting a defence, asking the claimant to prove the debt, provide copies of documents, prove they own the debt. At least it gives you breathing space and you might strike lucky that they don't continue with it. These debt companies are issuing a huge number of court claims, therefore i doubt they are continuing with all of the claims which are defended. At the end of the day, if they continue, they prove the claim and get the CCJ, you can arrange a repayment arrangement.

 

Or you are currently satisfied the debt is correct and you try to negotiate payment arrangement.

 

The choice is yours.

 

You may wish to speak to National Debtlne and they will explain the situation. Some people find it better to speak to a debt advisor, so they can make up their mind what to do.

[Don't know what to do now]

Would the ccj be recorded if paid within a time frame? also does that open the door for other dc to locate me?

Thanks

[unclebulgaria67]

If you settle within 30 days of any CCJ it is not recorded.

 

No it does not open the doir

[shamrocker]

Who was the catalogue account with? Who has issued the claim?

 

There's every chance that the claimant doesn't have a valid agreement to rely on

and with it being a 2006 (right?) agreement I'd personally be pushing for them to produce one.

 

 

I'd also be pushing for them to qualify the balance they're claiming

- there may be a load of penalty charges included (and interest on top),

and they'll know this won't help their cause if they're highlighted and challenged.

 

 

Don't just roll over on this!

[Don't know what to do now]

Thanks for the advice shamrocker. I dont mind saying who with but do the dcs come on here could it cause me problems putting on here?

 

tried to message you shamrocker but it says i have to make 30 posts first

[unclebulgaria67]

tried to message you shamrocker but it says i have to make 30 posts first

 

CAG is read by debt companies, but unless you have given your name, account numbers or exact debt amount, they won't know who it is.

 

People in debt often can become a little paranoid. There is a big link between debt and health issues.

[shamrocker]

Thanks for the advice shamrocker. I dont mind saying who with but do the dcs come on here could it cause me problems putting on here?

 

Don't worry about it. They have so many claims placed they're unlikely to know who's who. It might even help you as they might see you're having some proper help on a weak claim...Haha! My bet is on Lowell for the claimant!

 

If we know the original creditor and claimant it will give us a better idea of what their approach is likely to be.

 

Just take this one step at a time and don't worry about intimidating letters or anything else that's likely to result in the course of this matter. Acknowledge the claim and then we can help you with a defence. Even if you thought you haven't got a chance in this claim, you're no worse off for doing this. Even if we can't get you into a position to win the case, we may be able to get you a better outcome than them getting judgement for the full amount.

[dx100uk]

Thanks for the advice shamrocker. I dont mind saying who with but do the dcs come on here could it cause me problems putting on here?

 

tried to message you shamrocker but it says i have to make 30 posts first

 

 

 

 

can you stop faffin around please...................

 

 

name names we need them to be able help you. properly.

 

 

as post 7

[Don't know what to do now]

sorry didn't mean to cause offence was just airing on the side of caution as all this is new to me. It is indeed Lowell and creditor redact finance.

Thank you all for your help so far.

[shamrocker]

Ok thanks... have you got as far as acknowledging the claim yet?

[dx100uk]

redact finance?

 

 

I take it you mean redcat?

 

 

empire stores AKA La Redoute ltd.

 

 

lowells or their sols will have a very hard time in producing a signed agreement

(unless you signed and returned the copy they would have sent to you )

 

 

how did you open the account?

was this online?

or was it simply you ordered from a catalogue you picked up

 

 

if so, they'll claim your first order 'meets' the requirements of the CCA

[tiny print that says by ordering from this catalogue you agree to be bound and enter into an agreement.

 

 

once you done acking the claim mcol

 

 

comeback here and tell us how you opened the account

and a bit of ordering history please

 

 

dx

[shamrocker]

How's things progressing here? This will be easy to defend so don't go quiet on us.