Lowell claim form - old EON utils bill ***Claim Discontinued***

[smith winston]

Hi all 

 

I could do with some advice / input on the following:

 

I also have a Lowell claim pending for an old eon account - they must have bought a large batch of old accounts data and are now trying their usual bully boy tactics...

 

This refers to an old utility account taken out in 2010, 2 or 3 addresses ago

The amount claimed is £550 + interest + costs

I received a letter before action prior to receiving nccbc claim form

Lowell sent a NoA supposedly from Eon - it was on Lowell paper (sideways print in the margin) with Eon's logo and signature cut-n-pasted on it

I have not received any Default Notice from the Eon, nor annual Notices of Default

Originally, Eon setup 2 separate dd's for gas & electric. In 2011/2012 I tried to switch suppliers for better prices. Eon contacted me and told me that I could not switch supplies due to the contract terms. I accepted this and instructed them to reinstate both dd's. They only reinstated one of the payments. I contacted them again and was assured that the second dd would also be reinstated. Around this time my business and relationship were both failing and I didn't notice that the second dd still wasn't reinstated

I do not remember exactly when the last payment was made on this account, but I think it would have been in June 2013 when I moved from that address.

 

There is nothing on my credit report regarding Eon or Lowell

 

 

Claim form dated 09-jul-2019

 

POC:

POC: 
1.The Defendant entered into a supply and service agreement with Eon energy solutions under account reference XXXXXXXX ("the Agreement") 

2.The Agreement later ended but a liability remained outstanding for payment 

3.The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on XXXX2018 and notice given to the Defendant 

4.Despite repeated requests for payment the sum of £XXXXX remains due and outstanding 

5.And the Claimant claims 
The said sum ……. 
Interest pursuant to s69 ……. 
Costs

 

 

I wrote to Lowell asking for documentary proof of the validity of their claim, asking for copies of  the original agreement with Ts&Cs, DoA (redacted to protect 3rd parties) , NoA, statements, Notice of Default and any other documents they intend to use. I cited the CPR31.14 and GDPR 2018.

The next day I realised I had not formatted my letter correctly, so sent them an official CPR31.14 request also requesting their agreement for additional time to file my defence, followed by a Part 18 request for the items not listed in POC. I also sent a GDPR 2018 request to Eon specifying all the relevant information I need for my defence.

 

 

The MCOL online system would not let me log in (error messages) I contacted the nccbc who confirmed its a real claim. I emailed my acknowledgement of service and notified the court that I had requested information from Lowell and for their agreement to add additional time to file my defence. Nccbc replied they had received no further communication from Lowell and the deadline to file my defence was 12/08/2019 and file a defence purely based on the POC

 

I have received a response to my first letter to Lowell :-

 they cannot request a copy of the original agreement due to CCA1974 rules

 they will not send me DoA in any form due to commercial sensitivity & confidentiality

 they sent a copy of a "Revised Final Bill - estimated dated 01-08-2014" but NOT any statements or a default notice

 they sent a copy of Lowell's NoA on the reverse of a slightly different supposedly Eon NoA ( same cut-n-paste signature but no pasted logo)

 they have ignored everything else I asked for or referred to in my letter

 

They have not responded to my CPR31.14 or my Part 18 requests

Eon have not responded to my GDPR 2018 request.

 

 

 

Now I need to file my defence...………..

[smith winston]

Hi

thanks for your quick replies.

 

Lowell have sent me a "Final revised bill - estimated" dated August 2014

it does show a specific period - it shows balance before this bill as 550, balance in march 2014 as 550, and balance due as 550

it doesn't show when the last payment was made

I think it was june2013 I moved - could have been july.

 

 

 

OK.

I was given to understand that at this stage there is no specific track for the claim, so a cpr part 18 is valid until a track has been allocated by the court in PD ?   

I also read that they never allow access to DoA for a claimant, but being subject of the assignment its worth asking the question.

 

 

 

I'm just about to post my draft defence -  if someone can pick the bones out of it that would be really appreciated

 

 

 

 

 

[smith winston]

Ah ok, no worries.

 

bare with me a few minutes on that defence....

[smith winston]

ok guys,  heres my defence draft,   any/all advice appreciated

 

 

IN THE NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT (CCBC)

 

 

Claim No:

BETWEEN:

 

 

Lowell Portfolio 1 Limited CLAIMANT

 

And

 

DEFENDANT

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

1. I received the claim from the Northampton County Court

dated 09th July 2019.

 

2. Each and every allegation in the Claimants’ statement of case

is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.

 

3. This claim appears to be for a domestic utilities supply

agreement.

 

4. The Claimants’ statement of case fails to give adequate

information to enable me to properly assess my position with

regards the claim.

 

5. The Claimants’ statement of case states that the account was

assigned from Eon Energy Solutions to Lowell Portfolio. The Defendant

does not recall receiving an authentic notice of this assignment from

the original creditor - the version provided by the Claimant appears not

to be an authentic document from the original creditor. 

 

6. The claimant is put to strict proof that a notice of assignment

was issued in accordance with the Law of Property Act 1925.

 

7. On the 18th July 2019 I sent a request for information and documentation to Lowell Solicitors. I requested the Claimant provide copies of the contract / agreement (the “Agreement”) between Eon Energy Solutions and the Defendant, terms and conditions of said contract, the Deed

of Assignment, the Notice of Assignment, Default Notice, statements of the account, and all other documents or date they intend to use as evidence.

 

8. On the 21st July 2019 I sent a request for inspection of

documents mentioned in the Claimants’ statement of case under

Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Lowell Solicitors. I requested the Claimant

provide copies of the contract / agreement (the “Agreement”) between

Eon and the Defendant, terms and conditions of said contract, the Deed

of Assignment, the Notice of Assignment and of the

Default Notice.

 

9. On 21^st July 2019 I sent a subject access request to Eon Energy Solutions under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 for information related to the Defendant and the said supply and service agreement. I requested true copies of the original contract / agreement, along with its terms and conditions, statements to show usage and payments against the account, the notice of default, notice of cancellation/termination of the account, notice of assignment, and any notes, memos, transcripts on file related to the account.

 

10. On 07th August 2019 I received a response from Lowell Solicitors. The Claimant refuses to provide a copy of the original contract /

agreement ( the “Agreement”) and is refusing to request a copy from the original creditor.

 

11.Lowell Solicitors have provided copies of the Notice of Assignment, and a copy of a “Revised final bill – estimated” from Eon energy Solutions dated August 2014, but have not responded to my CPR 31.14 request, nor have they provided any other documents that I requested

 

12. Eon Energy Solutions have not responded to my subject access request under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.

 

 

13. Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a

money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any

allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved

unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore It is

expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation

that the money is owed as claimed.

 

14. I believe the last payment made by the defendant to Eon Energy Solutions was prior to July 2013. Under the Limitations Act 1980, any liability of the defendant against the said supply and service agreement would now be Statute Barred. The unwillingness of the Claimant to provide the documentation I have requested only serves to confirm my belief that the alleged liability is beyond the 6 year time limit.

 

15. I request the court orders the Claimant to provide the

necessary documentation in order for me to fully plead my case

else the Claim should stand struck out.

 

16. In the event that the relevant documents are received from the

Claimants I will then be in a position to amend my defence, and

would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment.

 

17. It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as

claimed or at all.

 

Statement of Truth

 

The Defendant believes that the facts stated in this Defence are

true.

 

[smith winston]

unfortunately not.

 

I moved over several weeks. 

Ive moved again since then, and no longer have all the paperwork.

 

Ive found some bits n pieces connected to Eon but they only show 2010/2011.

[smith winston]

I've been digging through some old boxes of papers, trying to nail down a date.

 

I screwed up somewhat !  I now know I moved out in July 2014

 

I cant find details of a last payment to Eon, but I have found gas n electric bills for Npower showing ongoing supply in March 2014.

 

I think I had left Eon by end of June 2013 but I cant be sure.

should I remove the statute barred part of my defence?

 

 

and is the overall format of the rest of the defence ok, considering that I will have to email it as I am unable to login to the MCOL system.

[smith winston]

Point 13 -  thanks, I hadn't spotted that.  (in case it wasn't obvious, I copied a similar defence and adapted accordingly)

 

I'm really nervous about leaving my submission any later than tonight. I'll be on the road almost all day tomorrow and cant guarantee getting back in time to file by 4pm.

 

is it best to leave  the SB element out ?  Under cpr31.14 I thought they had to provide all their evidence on request?

 

I'm really sure that it is SB - if I left that part in and they come up with some paperwork to contradict my belief whats the worst case scenario then?

[smith winston]

3 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

 

 

i'd much prefer to see our std holding/ no paperwork defence used too.

I pers don't like that defence you've suggested at all.

Thanks.

Do you have a link for a template of this defence ^

 

makes sense now that it would either be SB defence or not

[smith winston]

Andyorch - Its been a long day, I'm not quite sure I follow you here.

 

I did notice that the POC mentions the Agreement, and that Lowell Solicitors tell me they can't/won't provide it, and can't/won't ask Eon for it because under CCA1974 the OC isn't required to keep it.

Which I thik is a fairly good defence in itself.

 

But I'm not following the bit about point 13.

[smith winston]

I agree, Ive made many mistakes. I get that utilities are completely different to banks etc.

Is it not just a basic principle that if they make a claim based on an agreement or contract and they cite that agreement/contract in their POC they should have that document or at least access to it?  

[smith winston]

OK dx100uk.

I know I didn't have computer or internet in 2010 when the Eon contrac started - I did everything on paper

I'm not sure where that leaves me now - if theyre citing an agreement that never actually exists....does that help me because I cant be bound to a non existant contract, or would the court assume that using and paying for 3(ish) years I agree by default?

 

Am I better to amend the following to suit my case ??

 

Defence

 

1.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.

 

2.The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 3 of the PAPDC ( Pre Action Protocol) Failed to serve a letter of claim 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.

3. Paragraph 1 is denied. Whilst I have had dealings with Barclaycard  in the past I cannot recall the specifics of the alleged agreement.

 

4. Paragraph 2 is denied .I have no knowledge of who the claimant is nor have I been provided with any Notice of Assignment pursuant to the Law of Property Act 1925.

 

5.Paragraph 3  is denied.I am not aware of service of a Default Notice by the original creditor or Legal Assignment the claimant refers to within its particulars of claim .

 

6. It is denied that any amounts are due under any agreement.

 

7. On receipt of this claim I requested information pertaining to this claim from Howard Cohen & Co Solicitors by way of a CPR 31:14 request sent via 1^st class recorded post on 17/07/2019.Further to the above I sent Hoist Finance UK Holdings 3 LTD a section 78 request via 1st class recorded post on 17/07/2019.

 To date, neither Howard Cohen nor Hoist Portfolio are yet to furnish me with the requested information .

 

8.Therefore with the court’s permission the Claimant is put to strict proof to

 

a) show and disclose how the Defendant has entered into an agreement;

b) show and disclose how the Claimant has reached the amount claimed for;

c) show and evidence the nature of breach and service of a Default Notice pursuant to Sec 87 (1) CCA1974.

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

 

9. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed.

 

10. 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 and Section 82A of the consumer crediticon Act 1974.6.

 

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

[smith winston]

ok,

thanks

I've been searching for the std holding/no paperwork defence mentioned earlier - not found anything yet that looks right

[smith winston]

thanks dx

 

[smith winston]

….just as an aside - the NoA supposedly from Eon:

its on Lowell paper - has their code written sideways in the margin and their scannable square thing on it. The Eon logo has been cut-n-pasted on, as has the signature. 

If I did something like that I'd be accused of fraud, but are Lowell allowed to do this ??

[smith winston]

ok.

thanks again dx

 

still searching a suitable no paperwork defence to adapt but my eyes are going fuzzy now, lol

[smith winston]

Right, so eon won't discuss the account (at least not on the phone) as it's been assigned, so still no clue about the last payment to them.

Npower say the first payment they can see is from January 2014.

So I have to assume that's when the supply was switched, which would rule out the SB defence.

Just spoken to the nccbc - there's been no changes there, no info or communication from the claimant.

 

So I still need to cobble together a no paperwork defense. Any pointers here would be useful.

The lady at nccbc  thought it likely to be stayed, while being careful not to be giving any legal advice or opinion.

[smith winston]

Andy, you are a star !!

Thank you very much !

 

I will file it shortly and update the thread as required.

[smith winston]

I think that was a reasonable question Jimmy.

And as Andy said, once its assigned its no longer their concern.

But I did SAR them anyway, when I cpr31-14'd Lowell, just out of curiosity to see if they were holding any jokers....or at least, to see if they'd admit to them.

Actually, my first letter to Lowell was a SAR - they've conveniently ignored that

[smith winston]

Hi all...….an update. and some questions

My defence was filed and acknowledged by the court.

 

Lowell Solicitors wrote 24/8: they are requesting (or agreeing to) mediation in their directions Questionnaire and asking me to agree to it in mine.

I haven't received a Directions Questionnaire - should I have one sent by the court ?

 

in the meantime I've had a few other letters from them, I'll just give the abridged versions - if its better to upload as jpg images let me know.

 

30/7   the usual blurb about not being regulated by CCA 1984 so agreements, Ts&Cs and default don't apply; please pay us; copies of statement and NoA enclosed (but they weren't). 

the only interesting part is the following sentence - "the supply of both gas and electricity ended on 18 February and the final payment of £xxx.xx was made on 24 March 2014."

this is the exact figure shown on the copy statement they sent before some weird deductions were credited to reduce it to the original figure they were demanding. If they refer to their letters as evidence that throws a bit of a spanner in their works?

 

02/8  more of the usual blurb about not being CCA1984 regulated so no agreements available: no copy of DoA available, copy of NoA and Eon statement enclosed

 

12/8   they reject my CPR part18 request: "it is noted that you want to obtain evidence to file a defence to the claim form that has been issued. it is noted that the purpose of part 18 is to provide information on a matter of dispute. you have not provided any evidence that you do not owe the outstanding balance nor you dispute it."   In capital letters at the top of my letter to them a month ago stated that I don't owe them anything.

also : "your agreement is not an agreement for services so there is no requirement pursuant to the CCA1984 to retain or provide the agreement"   not once have I mentioned cca1984 - I want to see proof of an agreement that eon gives me heat & light in return for money, if that's not a service what the hell is??

 

23/8  they acknowledge my defence

responding to my defence that they failed to comply with Practice Direction 16 of PAC -  "please find enclosed letter of claim dated 27/5" (it wasn't enclosed)

responding to my defence that they hadn't provided NoA - "please find attached a reconstituted copy of the NoA" (it wasn't attached)

responding to my defence that they had failed to provide evidence of debt with the claim form - under CPR16.4 its not required, and under CPR31.11 it doesn't apply to small claims and under PD7C.14 (3A) and para 7.3 of PD16 does not apply to CCBC.

responding to my request for a copy of the agreement - again due to not being CCA1984 regulated they don't have it, cant get it, don't need it.

 

 

Lowell still have not acknowledged the GDPR SAR element of my first letter

Eon also have not responded to my GDPR SAR letter - not that I expected them to.

 

So should I write back to Lowell to point out all the missing attachments/enclosures, and remind them about the SAR, and the agreement again not related to CCA1984 ??

 

Should I accept mediation ??

Whats the procedure regarding my Practice Direction ??

 

I would also like to ask a question privately by pm if that's possible

 

 

Thanks in advance for your input

 

 

Hi, thank you guys.

 

For some reason the mcol system doesn't accept my user/password. I'll ring them when I get a chance..

 

Probably a really dumb question, but as it's not a normal debt claim, or not cca regulated, would this fall under basic contract law? I've done a bit of googling and can't find a definitive answer as to what the laws on domestic utilities are.

 

Cool. Thanks Andy.

 

I called NCCBC,  (got through straight away to a very polite helpful person btw)

 

Silly me for not realising..... Lowell's print their own directions questionnaire forms, just like they seem to be able to create any other document from any source to suit their needs

 

The copy they sent me was dated 24/8, I received it 31/8, NCCBC haven't got their copy yet and will need 5 working days to process before forwarding my directions questionaire.

( I mention this and the timescale for future readers benefit )

 

 

Ahh, ok. My mistake/ignorance. I had assumed (yep, stupid I know) that the court had sent it to them.

I did panic a little, thinking that mine had gone missing in post, but no chance of rolling over on this.

 

Read your linked post - hadn't seen that before. Interesting to note D3 how many witnesses including yourself will give evidence...... Lowell put "0"

.....and they're solicitors doing this all day every day !! Pure muppetry

[smith winston]

Hi all, time for an update.....

Since my last post here I received a letter saying the claimants agreed to or requested mediation I responded also agreeing to mediation.

 

Then I heard nothing until 2 letters last week telling me that the case has been transferred to my local county court for a hearing in late January.

 

Paperwork is really poor photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy quality, but it seems I have to prepare a witness statement in the next couple of weeks.

 

I'll research this, but I assume right now that it will be broadly similar in style and content to the defence I put in response to the claim ??

 

Is that right?

And is there anything in particular or do's and dont's that I need to pay special attention to?

[smith winston]

Thanks dx.

 

I meant to ask in last post, as it's now been allocated to my local court does that suggest that mediation is now off the table, or is this just another procedural step?

[smith winston]

Final update....I think

 

so, I was just about to contact the local court for a status report, because today was the deadline for Lowell to pay their court fees and the post arrived......

 

Lowell has bailed out and filed a Notice of Discontinuance - probably because someone there finally realised there is no proof of claim on their side. I'm surprised it took them this long.....unless its part of their scare tactics to cause fear and intimidation.

I am relieved, but in a way disapointed, as I was prepared to walk into court and show on record what a bunch of incompetants they are.

 

I'd like to give a huge thank you to the guys here that helped me draft my defence and offered help, advice and encouragement along the way. I hope anyone else being chased for really old utility bills can use the info given in this thread to ward off cockroach debt collectors.

 

Thanks again people,

 

Winston.

 

ps please excuse the grainy images, my scanner spat its dummy out so i had to use a camera phone to upload