Lowell Claim form - Three mobile debt ***Claim DIscontinued***

[night_and_day]

Name of the Claimant Lowell Portfolio I LTD

 

Date of issue 17/12/2018

 

Particulars of Claim

 

1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with Three Mobile under account reference XXX (‘the Agreement’).

 

2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated.

 

3) The right to collect the outstanding balance was assigned to the Claimant by Hutchinson 3G UK Limited on 20/12/2016 and notice given to the Defendant.

 

4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £420 remains due and outstanding.

 

And the claimant claims

a) The said sum of £420

b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue accruing at a daily rate of £X but limited to one year being £35

 

c) Costs

 

Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol)? Yes, I posted in another forum about this

sent a response with Box C (don’t recognise the debt) and

Box I (need more info) ticked.

I also sent a Without Prejudice offer of just over 40%.

I did sign that letter, I hope it’s not an issue!

 

I asked for:

· Full assignment history of debt

· Initial Default Notice

· Copy of written contract for debt

· A full statement of account, including details of all interest and charges included on outstanding balance of the debt explaining how they have been calculated, and any payments already made towards the debt

They rejected the offer and they sent back:

· Two notice of assignments from Three and Lowell, missing logos and looking unofficial dated on 13/02/2017.

· Said mobile contracts aren’t regulated by CCA so won’t send me a default notice or contract.

 

They didn’t give me a full statement of how the balance was made.

 

Looking around the internet and other forums,

people said it’s not worth playing letter tennis with Lowells as they will just ignore you and send the same rubbish and just to wait for the claim form,

so I didn’t respond further.

 

What is the total value of the claim? £540

 

Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Mobile phone account with Three Mobile

 

When did you enter into the original agreement before or after April 2007 ?After April 2007

 

Is the debt showing on your credit reference files (Experian/Equifax /Etc...) ?Yes

 

Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Lowell

 

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? No, I never received any from Lowell or Three apart from in response to the PAP form I sent back.

 

Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No

 

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? No

 

Why did you cease payments? Bad service/reception and financial difficulties.

 

What was the date of your last payment? According to Lowell this was 03/02/2015.

I can’t verify as my current bank account was opened after that.

It’s not showing in under Noddle/MSE Credit Club/Clearscore as they wiped the history from Three and replaced it with their own that shows limited time periods.

 

Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? No

 

Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan?No

 

---

Hi everyone,

 

I received a claim form from Lowells just in time for Christmas!

I’ve been reading other threads where cases like these have been discontinued for lack of proof or termination charges deemed as unfair by Ofcom and have a general idea on what sort of defence I want to put together but would really like to run my steps through the more experienced people on here.

 

I think my next steps are:

· Acknowledge the claim

· Send SAR to Three

· Send CPR 31.14 to Lowell Solicitor address

· Start putting together a defence

 

My question on the CPR 31.14 is which template I should use,

Request 1 or 2?

Can I only request the agreement as it was the only thing mentioned in the particulars?

Can I also request a statement of balance or is that one for the SAR?

 

I’ll start putting together a draft of the defence and would greatly appreciate any advice on any of this.

 

Thanks very much!

Edited January 13, 2019 by dx100uk
format

[dx100uk]

For the minute

Type in

 

Lowell claimform mobile

In the search cag box of the top redtool bar

 

Dx

[night_and_day]

Thanks Dx, I've been looking around the forums and getting an idea with what other people have done with Lowell claim forms for mobile debt.

 

So far, I've acknowledged the debt, I've send a CPR 34.14 from the templates using request 1 on 31/12/2018 and haven't heard anything yet. I asked for the agreement and notice of assignment, the only 2 documents that were mentions in the particulars. They sent two notice of assignments from the PAP response form, but they looked rather fake, like some sort of poor quality mail merge job with missing logos.

 

My next steps are putting together a defence based on previous threads matching my situation which I am doing right now. Am I right in thinking I am looking for an embarrassed defence? So far I've got:

 

1. The claim as pleaded does not contain sufficient particulars to permit the Defendant to file a properly particularised and pleaded defence. The Defendant has made a request for disclosure, pursuant to Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules, to the Claimant to allow him to properly respond to the claim. The Claimant has failed to respond to the Part 31 request.

 

2. It is not admitted that the Defendant signed an agreement with Three Mobile. If, which is not admitted, such an agreement exists the precise terms and date of any such agreement are not admitted. The Defendant does not have in his possession any such agreement and is not therefore able to comment thereon. The Claimant is put to strict proof as to the date and terms of such agreement.

 

3. The Defendant has no knowledge of the service of a default notice. The claimant is put to strict proof as to the content and service of any such alleged default notice.

 

4. The Defendant also has no knowledge of the service of a notice of assignment. The claimant is put to strict proof as to the content and service of any such alleged notice of assignment.

 

5. Further and in the alternative, it is not admitted that the sums claimed are lawfully owing. The Claimant is put to strict proof as to how the sums claimed have been calculated and as to how it is asserted that the sums claimed are contractually owing.

 

6. Further and in any event in view of the failure to comply with the CPR Part 31 request it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to costs as claimed or at all.

 

7. In view of the foregoing it is denied that the Defendant is indebted to the Claimant as alleged or at all.

 

It's based off a CCA regulated debt, but I have amended the bits around CCA. Am I on the right track here?

 

Should the defence be submitted ASAP or should I wait until Saturday the 19th (17/12/18 +33)?

 

Thanks for your help.

[dx100uk]

defence will be due by 4pm Friday 18th.

no please don't file an emb defence, that's very old hat. [try search 2017/18 threads!]

ideally you could have asked for the default notice in the cpr but no matter

that can be addressed at the disclosure stage IF it gets that far.

 

typically our std mobile defence :

 

 

adapt AS NECESSARY

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY

 

The Defendant contends that the Particulars of Claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made.

 

1.The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) Failed to serve a letter of claimicon pre claim pursuant to PAPDC changes of the 1st October 2017.It is respectfully requested that the court take this into consideration pursuant to 7.1 PAPDC.

 

.

2. Paragraph 1 is accepted. I have, in the past, entered into a contract with EE Limited , however I do not recall the exact details. I have requested the claimant verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14. The claimant has refused to provide me with a copy of the agreement, stating they are not obligated to do so by virtue of the consumer credit Act 1974. To date, no statement of the alleged account has been received.

.

3. Paragraph 2 is noted, again I do not recall any breach and I have never received the stated Default Notice. The Claimant has stated, by letter, that he is not obligated to provide a copy of the Default Notice, again by virtue of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

 

4. Paragraph 3 is denied.I do not recall having received a Notice of Assignment, as stated by the Claimant. They have sent an alleged copy dated 18 November 2016 from my cpr31.14 request. This is the first time i have seen this letter.

.

5. Paragraph 4 is denied in regards that the claimant is misleading the court in its pleadings and has never made contact or made requests prior to issuing this claim. Its sole purpose in purchasing this debt was to litigate and secure a county court Judgment and therefore Pre Action Protocol was never attempted and should be considered in deciding the outcome of their claim

.

Therefore the Claimant is to provide strict proof to:

.

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into a Agreement/ Contract; and

(b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and

© show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim;

 

.

6. The Claimant has stated that he has made several requests for repayment, yet I do not acknowledge any debt to the Claimant.

.

7. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is required that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

.

8. As the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim, due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act.

.

9. Subject to the above, should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance clearly states that any Early Termination Charge, that is made up of the entire balance of the remaining contract, is unlikely to be fair, as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service.

.

10. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed, or any relief

.

nicked from andyorch

 

……….

though 1 wont apply and you'll need to pointout they have partially complied or words to that effect but the NOA is suspect with no logos etc.

 

plenty of time.

[night_and_day]

Hi Dx. That's great, thanks so much. I've looked around some more on CAG and also Googled around to complete a defence based on the template you provided. I hope it's not too lengthy, but I've tried to point out all things relevant where Lowell failed.

 

The Defendant contends that the Particulars of Claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR 16.5(3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made.

 

1.The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 6 of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt claims, failing to disclose key documents relevant to the issues in dispute. The defendant requested the original agreement which was not provided as the Claimant stated they are not obligated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and also requested a statement showing how the sum was reached which was ignored by the Claimant.

 

2. Paragraph 1 is accepted. The Defendant has in the past entered into a contract with Three Mobile, however the exact details cannot be recalled. The Defendant has requested the Claimants solicitors verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14. The Claimant

s solicitors

has ignored this request. To date, no statement of the alleged account has been received.

 

3. Paragraph 2 is noted, again the defendant does not recall any breach and has never received the stated Default Notice.

The Claimant has stated, by letter, that it is not obligated to provide a copy of the Default Notice, again by virtue of the CCA 1974.

 

4. Paragraph 3 is denied. The defendant does not recall having received a Notice of Assignment, as stated by the Claimant. The Claimant has sent an alleged copy dated 13th February 2017 in response to the Pre-Action Protocol reply form. This is the first time the defendant has seen any such letter.

 

5. Paragraph 4 is denied in regards that the Claimant is misleading the court in its pleadings and has never made contact or made requests prior to issuing this claim. Its sole purpose in purchasing this debt was to litigate and secure a CCJ and therefore Pre-Action Protocol was performed without fulfilling the Claimant's full obligations and should be considered in deciding the outcome of their claim

 

Therefore, the Claimant is to provide strict proof to:

 

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement/contract; and

(b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and

© show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim;

 

6. The Claimant has stated that he has made several requests for repayment, yet I do not acknowledge any debt to the Claimant.

 

7. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is required that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

 

8. As the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim, due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act.

 

9. Subject to the above, should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance clearly states that any Early Termination Charge, that is made up of the entire balance of the remaining contract, is unlikely to be fair, as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service.

 

10. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed, or any relief.

 

no covered by the CCA

[AndyOrch]

3. Paragraph 2 is noted, again the defendant does not recall any breach and has never received the stated Default Notice.

The Claimant has stated, by letter, that it is not obligated to provide a copy of the Default Notice, again by virtue of the CCA 1974.

 

Not regulated by the CCA1974

[night_and_day]

Hi Andy, thanks for looking over my defence. As it's not regulated by CCA 1974, should I remove all references to the CCA in my defence? I've changed paragraph 1 to refer to paragraph 5 of the PAPDC according to the highlighted edit.

[dx100uk]

yes

[night_and_day]

Thanks for looking it over again.

 

I've removed all the CCA wording and amended the second paragraph to refer to the claimant's solicitors.

Would you mind looking at the changed 3 paragraphs just to make sure I haven't made any silly mistakes before I send this off?

I'm not sure if the first paragraph is too weak?

All your help is much appreciated!

 

1.The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 5 of the Pre-Action protocol for Debt claims, failing to disclose key documents relevant to the issues in dispute. The defendant requested the original agreement which was not provided and also requested a statement showing how the sum was reached which was ignored by the Claimant. It is respectfully requested that the court take this into consideration pursuant to 7.1 PAPDC.

 

2. Paragraph 1 is accepted. The Defendant has in the past entered into a contract with Three Mobile, however the exact details cannot be recalled. The Defendant has requested the Claimant's solicitors verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14. The Claimant's solicitors have ignored this request. To date, no statement of the alleged account has been received.

 

3. Paragraph 2 is denied. The Claimant has failed to provide evidence of an agreement or breach of contract as requested by CPR 31.14.

[dx100uk]

pers id file post 4 just remove paragraph 3 of

no need to nail down exactly what part of what is wrong

that's for later at the disclosure stage IF it gets that far.

[night_and_day]

So just post 4 exactly as it is with all references changed from EE to Three and removing paragraph 3 of and getting rid of the CCA stuff? Apologies for being a dummy/overthinking this!

[dx100uk]

or post 60 here

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?473809-Lowell-Lowells-Solicitors-Claim-form-old-Orange-mobile-debt-***Claim-Discontinued***

[night_and_day]

Perfect Dx, thanks for bearing with me. I've amended that for my claim form and will submit it now. Let's see what Lowell say!

[dx100uk]

not due till Friday by 4pm.

 

dx

[night_and_day]

Shall I wait until Thursday night or Friday morning (working all day Friday) to submit?

[dx100uk]

sure

if you want to post it up i'm sure andy will find any silly mistakes we might have made...

[night_and_day]

Here's what I've got...

 

Particulars of Claim

 

1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with Three Mobile under account reference XXX (‘the Agreement’).

 

2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated.

 

3) The right to collect the outstanding balance was assigned to the Claimant by Hutchinson 3G UK Limited on 20/12/2016 and notice given to the Defendant.

 

Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £420 remains due and outstanding.

 

And the claimant claims

a) The said sum of £420

b) Interest pursuant to s69 County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue accruing at a daily rate of £X but limited to one year being £35

 

c) Costs

 

The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made.

 

1. Paragraph 1 is accepted insofar that a relationship did exist between the Defendant and Three Mobile however, I cannot recall this account (Agreement) and the Claimant has yet to supply me with a copy of the Account/Agreement mentioned in particulars of Claim.

 

2. Paragraph 3 is denied. The defendant is unaware of any legal notice of assignment or Notice of Assignment pursuant to Law and property Act 1925 Section 136(1).

 

3.Therefore the defendant denies owing any money to the Claimant and the claimant is put to strict proof:

 

a. Show how the Defendant has entered into an Agreement.

b. Show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for.

c. Show how the Claimant has legal right, either under statue or equity to issue a claim.

 

4. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4) it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed; having been provided with written requests for information under CPR 31.14 and to date have failed to provide any such documentation as detailed on the particulars of claim.

 

5. On the alternative, if the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, it is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

 

6. Notwithstanding the above should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the entire balance of the remaining contract. OFCOM guidance states that any Early Termination Charge that is made up of the entire balance if the remaining contract is unlikely to be fair as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service.

 

7. By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief.

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by Andyorch
Particulars added

[AndyOrch]

Paragraph 2 ?

[night_and_day]

Ah I missed this because the other post defence didn't have this. I thought that Paragraph 1 might implicitly cater for the defence of Paragraph 2?

 

Perhaps I could insert a paragraph between 1 and 2 here with:

 

Paragraph 2 is denied, the defendant does not recall any breach and again the Claimant has yet to supply me with a copy of the agreement requested through the PAPDC reply form and CPR 31.14.

 

Maybe I won't mention the PAPDC reply form if not needed?

[AndyOrch]

Simply respond to their paragraph 2...they do not refer to agreements or PAP....anything you fail to respond to in the claimants pleadings is taken as an admittance

[night_and_day]

Okay got it. I've borrowed what I think works for me from another thread:

 

Paragraph 2 is denied. The Defendant denies failing to maintain the required payments to Three Mobile. It is denied that I have failed to respond to demands for payment sent by the claimant and/or its agents. The Claimant is put to strict proof that any such demands have been sent to me by the claimant.

 

Apologies for dragging this out, some of this is far beyond me!

[dx100uk]

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?491844-Lowell-old-3-debt-ccj-claim&p=5168211#post5168211

[night_and_day]

Thanks Dx, I'll adapt that and send it off asap

[night_and_day]

Hi everyone, so I've got an update since I submitted my defence to the claim form.

 

I was asked for mediation which I agreed to. I never managed to have a call scheduled, I waited for them to call me like it said on the letter, but after reading other threads I think I should have called them to book in a time slot. Hindsight 20/20..

 

So I've received a Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track dated 21/06/2019. It's set a court date of the 16/08 if the claimant pays by 16/07. Documents need to be sent to the court by the 19/07.

 

I've also received a letter from Lowell who have referenced the court date and said they'd like to set up a Tomlin order.

 

What would my next steps here be?

 

Thanks for all your help so far

[dx100uk]

if you read like threads here you'll see that a std letter lowells send.

 

as this is a mobile debt, they'll probably discontinue once you file your WS.