Erudio/Dryden claimform on SB'd SLC Loans - - told SLC years ago i now live abroad but drydens used parents uk address where i never lived. !!!

[WashYourHands]

I'm preparing for a case that I did not expect to go this far as the debt is clearly statute barred.

I had old style Student loans from 1997-2001.

 

I left the UK in 2010 and I am not a resident there and rarely return.

 

I last deferred on a SLC student Loan in 2011 giving them my address abroad. I had no further contact.

 

Randomly my Mother started receiving letters at her address (I have never resided there) in 2016.

I did not recognise Erudio and my Mother did nothing with the letters.

Accidentally (and luckily) this February my Mother opened a letter by accident that was a notification of action by the court.

 

I checked up on the legality of this and found the debt is "statute barred" under limitations act 1980.

I sent the required letter to both Erudio and Drydensfairfax asking them to acknowledge the debt as barred.

 

After threatening with financial ombudsmen Drysdenfairfax acknowledge receipt but said I had to complete the defence papers anyway.

They sent sent me a copy via email, as again I had not received anything.

 

I completed the paper stating defence as: debt is "statute barred" and I was happy for mediation to take place.

Surprisingly mediation did not take place and the next thing I received was a court date for something I cannot attend.

 

I have talked to Drydensfairfax  "technical Litigation officer" and he will not accept the debt is statute barred and has just sent me his "witness statement".

He claims the debt is not statute barred under section 5 of  Limitations Act: 

 

"An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued."

 

They claim the cause action was them terminating the account in 2016.

He references multiple letters sent etc... that he attached as evidence.

I have never received these letters and secondly none show that I acknowledge the debt or made payment after 2011.

As the burden of proof is on them I feel there is no case and they should take this to court.

 

Before I write my Defence:

1/ Am I correct about the cause of action being 2011 not 2016 as they claim

 

2/ Secondly how should I phrase my witness statement?

I have been careful in all correspondence to say alleged debt so far. 

Drydensfairfax have alleged I do not deny the debts are mine in their witness statement.

 

Should I counter that saying I would like proof of the original contract?

Or ignore it and focus on the "statute barred" defence.

I have my last deferral letter as it was sent by email.

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

I need to get a move on as my case is the 4th of September and I need to have my statement arrive 7 days before including my letter saying I cannot attend!

 

  

[BankFodder]

There are lots of disagreements as to when a debt become statute barred. However my view has always been that time runs from the last failed payment.

So if you consider the last time that you were required to make a payment and failed to do so, then I would say that time runs from then.
Others may come along and disagree.

 

[WashYourHands]

Thanks BankFodder,

As far as I had read I believed I was correct.

I tried to contact the national debt line but of course with current situation is was impossible to get through.

I did find this on their factsheet:

 

"Old­style student loans usually became due for repayment in the April following the conclusion of your course, and any limitation period could not begin until after you missed a payment on your loan. However, if you asked for your loan to be deferred within the six year limitation period, this would have restarted the limitation period."

 

I would like to find some cases to quote as precedence, but so far I haven't managed to find any.

 

[dx100uk]

well i hope they are going to pay your airfare to attend the hearing.

 

you should never converse with erudio or drydens by phone

and should have strictly kept ALL communication by formal letter

 

did you send a CPR request to drydens?

did you send a CCA to Erudio request for each loan in the merged chain making the claimed balance?

before you filed your defence (which we need to SEE please)

 

you also should have mentioned the fact in your defence that you are NOT resident in the UK and have been permanently resident in XXX since xxx date.

 

this claim only happened because everything till reception of the claimform was ignored?

its std practice for them to raise a claim if everything prior is ignored

they were simply after a backdoor CCJ, 

 

you informed SLC of your correct address in writing before the mass sale of the dodgy loans to erudio in 2013?

 

have you their WS please?...

[WashYourHands]

Hi Dx100uk,

 

Thanks for getting back.

I have never conversed with them on the Phone and because despite being told my address they do not send letters to the correct place.

I have being using email as the form of contact.

 

I am unsure of what a CPR request entails, so I presume I didn't send one.

I asked them for original signed agreement as evidence, they did not provide it. But I did not write a formal CCA.

 

My defence was possibly too simple:

1: I received the claim XXXXXXXX from the County Court Business Centre on 11th February 2020

 

2: The claimant has received and acknowledged a letter notifying them that the alleged debt is statute barred as per section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980. Unless the claimant can provide evidence of payment or written contact acknowledging the alleged debt from me in the relevant period they are no longer allowed to pursue any court action against the defendant. They have failed to provide this evidence to me.

 

I did not mention that I had not been resident. Can I add that to my witness statement?

 

Correct the claim happened because everything had been ignored until then. Which is unfortunate but SLC had my address abroad and should have passed that on when the mass sell off happened. I have since moved twice.

 

I do have their witness statement. Do I just put as an attachment here?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

 

 

I have attached their witness statement here.

 

Thanks again

Y550973_-_Claimant's_WS_(1).pdf

[dx100uk]

ok glad you have not been conversing by phone, sorry i read it that way.

 

what you should have done is send drydens a CPR 31:14 request

and the Claimant a CCA request for each loan in the chain

(though for future readers if the debt is SB's, then neither are really necessary but can be sent)

 

never enter into direct communications with the claimant or their dogs outside of the prompted court schedule/stages as the claim progresses.

it's not your job to chase them, and neither should you reply direct to them should they do so to you.

 

they will use it as part of their harassment and intimidation tactics to overwhelm you and hope you wet yourself or get unsettled and do or state something detrimental to you case they can they use against you. this is particularly relevant with your player or indeed any debt buyer issuing a speculative court claim.

 

as for their WS,

 

you must always when filing a defence ensure you address each of their statements in their POC.

yours is far too sparse , and opens you up to assumptions because of the lack reply to pertinent statements in their poc.

 

you did not specifically state - i did not enter into these agreements or WHY,  but that doesn't allow them to state then you did (as 3)

 

as for the rest of it, all just mumbo jumbo to try and confuse and detract from the issue that you so not owe any money (There are numerous erudio/drydens claimform threads here already that have remained stayed to date to read under the same circumstances)

 

i think undoubtedly here your willingness to converse with them has shown to them you don't really have a clue so think they can progress the claim and be successful.and you will fold...don't slip up in your WS

 

you need to include in your WS that SLC the original creditor were informed in writing of the fact you are resident abroad in date XXXX.

the fact that you didn't update them to where your are 'abroad' now IMHO does not matter.

 

did you receive a letter of claim?

and are any of the letters prior to the issuance of the court claim addressed to anywhere but your mother home which you say you have never lived at?

that is not on just to randomly use a random address to serve everything too either!

 

i'm not sure upon the rest of your WS, i'm not sure if there is another ws from a foreign resident here i'll look later.

 

unless someone else pops in with suggestions..i'll look later 

but ther are 100's of erudio/drydens claimform thread here...use our search top right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WashYourHands]

Thanks dx,

 

Looks like I made a few mistakes. Hopefully won't detract from the fact the debt is SB in the courts eye.

 

I received a letter of claim via email. As I had not received the one they sent out. 

 

The first letter they sent out in 2013, was addressed to my previous address in the UK. I have only found this out by looking at their witness statement. When I left this address I informed SLC that I was moving abroad via letter. I have no idea how Erudio found or choose my Mother's address. I assume it was not at random although we both have the same initials and surname.

 

I look around the forums and see if anyone else has been in a similar situation.