Lowell Claimform - OH's old Vanquis Credit Card

[spinningfish]

Hello all.

A claim was issued against my wife by Lowell Portfolio, at the County Court Business Centre, back on January 13th 2021. Here are the particulars of claim:

 ·,

1) The Defendant entered into a Consumer Credit Act 1974 regulated agreement with Vanquis under account reference XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ('the Agreement').

2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and arrears began to accrue.

3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 23/09/2019 and notice given to the Defendant.

4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £3,767.11 remains due and outstanding.

And the Claimant claims

a) The said sum of £3,767.11

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 £0.826, but limited to one year, being £301.37

c) Costs

 

Mrs Fish doesn't recall getting anything from either Lowell or Vanquis with regards to PAPLOC.

On January 15th 2021, both CCA and CPR 31.14 were sent.

 

On February 9th 2021, my wife issued the following defence:

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 fully complied with Paragraph 3 of the
PAPDC (Pre-Action Protocol) and 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.

2. Paragraph 1 is accepted in as much as I have in the past had
financial dealings with Vanquis, however I do not recall the
details of the alleged agreement and have sought clarity from the
claimant by way of a CPR 31.14 request and a CCA 1974 s.78
request. I am unaware of what account or contract the claimant
refers to.

3. Paragraph 2 of the claim is noted, although I am unaware of any
Notice of Sums in Arrears or actual Default Notice being served
pursuant to s.87(1) of the CCA 1974 by the original creditor.
Therefore the assignee claimant is put to strict proof to evidence
the same.

4. Paragraph 3 of the claim is wholly denied. I am unaware of any
legal Assignment or Notice of Assignment allegedly served in
September 2019.

5. The Defendant submitted a request for documents pursuant to CPR
31.14. on 15th January 2021. The Claimant acknowledged receipt of
the request, but has failed to comply.

6. The Defendant submitted a request for a copy of the alleged
Agreement pursuant to s.78 CCA 1974 on 15th January 2021. The
Claimant has acknowledged receipt of the request, but has failed
to comply.

7. It is therefore denied with regards to the Defendant owing any
monies to the Claimant. The Claimant has failed to provide any
evidence of assignment/balance/breach requested by CPR 31.14,
therefore the Claimant is required to put to strict proof to:

(a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement with
Vanquis; and

(b) show and evidence the nature of breach and service of a
Default Notice pursuant to s.87 (1) CCA 1974,

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

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

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

9. In 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 Credit Act 1974.

10. 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.

 

Since that time, we have received nothing of any worth from Lowell until we received the following email today:

 

Dear Mrs Fish

 

Claimant: Lowell Portfolio I Ltd

Defendant: Mrs Fish

Lowell Reference: .....

Claim Number: XXXXXXX

 

We refer to the above matter and our previous letter dated 16 February 2021, a further reconstituted copy of which is attached for your benefit.

 

Our client is now in receipt of documents from Vanquis Bank Limited (‘’Vanquis’’).  Please find enclosed within the following documents which have been provided to our client by Vanquis:

 

1. A copy of the online application details; 
2. The Credit Agreement inclusive of the terms and conditions associated with the account;
3. a copy of the Default Notice sent to your current address dated 21 November 2017; and
4. an itemised statement of account which details how the original balance of £3,767.11 accumulated. 

 

Vanquis has confirmed you made the application on 25 November 2013. Your application was then approved on 27 November 2013 at 15:19pm. 

 

The statement of account evidences the accrual of the original balance. For example, on 26 July 2016 the credit card was used to spend the sum of £28.82 at at Boots store in Amesbury. The statement of account also confirms that the last payment was received by Vanquis in the sum of £100.00 on 31 October 2017. 

 

As payments were not made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement a Default Notice was served to your address dated 21 November 2017, which required you to remedy the arrears by 10 December 2017. As the arrears were not cleared and as no arrangement for repayment was made with Vanquis a cause of action accrued on 11 December 2017.

 

Our client remains keen to resolve this matter amicably and is willing to consider any payment proposals you may have. In order to reduce further litigation costs that would be incurred if the matter were to proceed to a hearing, our client has instructed us to reiterate a reduced settlement figure of £3,200.00 in full and final settlement of the Claim. 

 

If you are agreeable to reaching a potential settlement please contact our office to discuss our client’s offer. If we fail to hear from you within 14 days, we are instructed to proceed with this matter further to the County Court where a Judgment may be entered against you. 

 

You may wish to seek independent legal advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau, or a solicitor or firm of solicitors of your choosing. 

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Lowell Solicitors Limited

 

 

 

 

And here are their attached documents:

 

Binder2_Redacted.pdf

[spinningfish]

Is it safe to assume that Lowell have done their homework this time??? 

 

[Andyorch]

Please read and complete the following.....copy the Q,s and responses back here for further advice.

 

 

[dx100uk]

whats the point in scanning pages of statements that are totally redacted....

 

what you have is a std letter lowells send to every defendant they issue a speculative claim against.

its telling that their offer to settle of £3200 has not changed since before even though they appear to have all the correct paperwork...

 

9/10 for whatever reason, lowells discontinue most vanquis claims here CAG. the CCA return doesn't actually prove she took the card out online, theres no IP information of the sign up PC used.... and ofcourse anyone can download those T&C's from here or even get them out of their filing cabinet and type her details at the top....

 

[The GodMother]

I thought it was standard for lowells to send redacted documents as true copies. 

[dx100uk]

you mean reconstructed.

 

dx

[Andyorch]

Or even reconstituted 

[The GodMother]

Ok so to agree will will call the fakes. I just thought this was normal. 

 

Go back to them telling them to foxtrot oscar and send the real copies of documents not blank pages and you will make the courts aware of what they sent. 

In fact dont lose them as you can use it as evidence. 

[dx100uk]

you don't play your cards nor enter into pointless letter tennis...

[spinningfish]

Here is our latest update...

We received a "General Form of Judgement or Order" in the post date June 22nd 2021. It says the following:

 

Before Deputy District Judge XXXXXX sitting at the County Court at XXXXX.

 

IT IS ORDERED THAT

 

1. The Claimant shall by 12 July 2021 file a copy of the sealed deed of assignment, redacted as necessary for reasons of commercial sensitivity only, in default of which the Claim stands struck out.

 

2. This order was made without a hearing. Any party affected by it may apply within 7 days of receiving it for it to be set aside, varied or stayed.

On 5th July 2021, Lowell copied us into an email they sent to court, which said:

 

Dear Sirs,

We refer to the above matter and the Order of Deputy District Judge XXXXXXX dated 22 June 2021.

 

Please find attached a copy of the Claimant’s Witness Statement in response. The Defendant is copied into this email.

 

Please may this be attached to the Court file.

 

Thank you for your kind attention. 

 

Yours faithfully,

Lowell Solicitors Limited

The following document was attached to the email. Lowell's redactions are in black, ours are in blue.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Many thanks, as always!

Fish

Claimant's Witness Statement - .pdf

[dx100uk]

On 09/06/2021 at 13:07, Andyorch said:

Please read and complete the following.....copy the Q,s and responses back here for further advice.

 

 

 

[spinningfish]

On 09/07/2021 at 00:50, dx100uk said:

 

Huge Apologies! Completely missed Andy's post. Sorry Andy!

Name of the Claimant ? Lowell Portfolio I Ltd

Date of issue. 13^th Jan 2021

 

33 Days=14^th February 2021

  

Particulars of Claim

 

What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim? ) The Defendant entered into a Consumer Credit Act 1974 regulated agreement with Vanquis under account reference XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ('the Agreement').

2) The Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and arrears began to accrue.

3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 23/09/2019 and notice given to the Defendant.

4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £3,800.00 remains due and outstanding.

And the Claimant claims

a) The said sum of £3,800.00

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 £0.826, but limited to one year, being £300.00

c) Costs 

 

What is the total value of the claim? £4,350
 

Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall anything
 

Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? No
 
Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Credit Card
 

When did you enter into the original agreement before or after April 2007 ? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall, but the documents suggest after
 

Do you recall how you entered into the agreement...On line /In branch/By post ? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall
 

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. Debt Purchaser
 

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? Mrs Fish says no.
 

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

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Sums in Arrears”  or " Notice of Arrears "– at least once a year ? No
 

Why did you cease payments? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall
 

What was the date of your last payment? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall
 

Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall
 

Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? Mrs Fish doesn’t recall

 

[spinningfish]

On 08/07/2021 at 21:55, spinningfish said:

Here is our latest update...

We received a "General Form of Judgement or Order" in the post date June 22nd 2021. It says the following:

 

Before Deputy District Judge XXXXXX sitting at the County Court at XXXXX.

 

IT IS ORDERED THAT

 

1. The Claimant shall by 12 July 2021 file a copy of the sealed deed of assignment, redacted as necessary for reasons of commercial sensitivity only, in default of which the Claim stands struck out.

 

2. This order was made without a hearing. Any party affected by it may apply within 7 days of receiving it for it to be set aside, varied or stayed.

On 5th July 2021, Lowell copied us into an email they sent to court, which said:

 

Dear Sirs,

We refer to the above matter and the Order of Deputy District Judge XXXXXXX dated 22 June 2021.

 

Please find attached a copy of the Claimant’s Witness Statement in response. The Defendant is copied into this email.

 

Please may this be attached to the Court file.

 

Thank you for your kind attention. 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Lowell Solicitors Limited

The following document was attached to the email. Lowell's redactions are in black, ours are in blue.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Many thanks, as always!

Fish

Claimant's Witness Statement - .pdf 1.27 MB · 6 downloads

 

Morning All

Do we think that Lowell have provided the information, in its entirety, as requested by the Judge?

Many thanks in advance!

Fish

[Andyorch]

Quote

The Claimant avers that the Claimant has supplied the documents ordered by the Court insofar as they exist. While it is admitted that no Deed of Assignment has been exhibited, it is the Claimant’s position that none exists in relation to this debt, none is required to exist in order for assignment to take place, the only legal requirement being that assignment be in writing, and it was in this case effected by the simple redacted debt sale agreement produced.

 

 

I would let the judge interpret and make what he will of the above statement.

 

 

.

[dx100uk]

1st time i've ever heard of lowells only ever buying ONE debt from an OC.

thats not the impression they give in the 100's of other lowell vanquis claimform threads here already..most of which they've lost or disc'd to date when they meet up with CAG/Andyorch.. lowells must be getting quite fed up seeing our cag defence...

[spinningfish]

Hello All

 There seems to be a post missing whereby we received a court date back in November. I'm not sure what happened.

We have a virtual court date set for 27th January 2022 and we have now received Lowell's witness statement which I have uploaded here.

My excessive redacting is on the copy of old credit card statements.

 

Lowell Witness Statement.pdf

[dx100uk]

sadly no missing posts you couldn't of hit send msg.

 

so can you post up the court letter please

you've only got  one day to do your WS...

have you done one?

[spinningfish]

Must have just hit preview. No haven’t done a WS. Will scan the court letter now.

 

Nightmare.

 

Notice of Allocation to Small Claims Track

 

On 25 October 2021 before Deputy District Judge Kumar sitting at the Hertford county Court, Shire Hall,
Fore Street, Hertford, SG14 IBY considered the statements of case and directions questionnaires filed and
allocated the claim to the small claims track.

 

Warning you must comply with the terms imposed upon you by this order: otherwise your case is liable to be
struck out or some other sanction imposed. If you cannot comply you are expected to make formal application
to the court before any deadline imposed upon you expires.

1). This Claim is allocated to the Small Claims Track and the parties are referred to Part 27 of the Civil Procedure
Rules and the Practice Direction of that Part for guidance on how the hearing of the claim will be conducted.

2) The claim will be heard at the Hertford Magistrates Court, remotely on 27 January 2022 at 10:00, with a time
estimate of 90 minutes. The Court reserves the right to change the place and/or time of the hearing.

Unless the Claimant does by 4pm on the 25 December 2021 pay to the court the Trial fee of £346.00 or file a
properly completed application (i.e. one of which provides all the required information in the manner requested)
for help with fees, then the claim will be struck out with the effect from 25 December 2021 without further order
and, unless the Court orders otherwise, you will also be liable for the cost which the Defendant has incurred.

The trial fee is fee 2.1 in the current Civil Fees Order.

If your claim has been struck out, it will no longer exist. The hearing will be vacated, unless a counterclaim
survives the claim being struck out.

If, following strike out of the claim the claimant or defendant wishes to start fresh proceedings a new claim must
be filed together with the appropriate fee or application for help with fees. An application to reinstate the claim
can also be made together with the appropriate fee or application for help with fees.

Information and leaflets explaining more about how to pay a court fee or how to apply for a help with fees are
available from the court office or online at: https://www.gov.uk/court-fees-what-they-are.

The trial fee is non-refundable. If parties settle before the trial fee is due, the trial fee will not be payable. If a
consent order settling the matter is requested after the trial fee has been paid, the consent order fee will still be
payable.

 

Please note, unless you apply for help with fees, there will he no further correspondence from the court off

ice
regarding payment of the fee or warnings as to the consequences of non-payment.

3) From the available papers, it is estimated that the hearing will take 90 minutes. If a party is aware of a reason
why this estimate might be substantially inaccurate, that party must notify the court immediately.

4) The parties are encouraged always to try to settle the case by negotiation. The parties are encouraged to contact
each other with a view to trying to settle the case or narrow the issues. The court must be informed immediately
if the case is settled.

5) The following paragraphs set out the Judge's directions for preparation for the hearing. Failure to comply with
the directions may result in the case having to be adjourned and the party at fault having to pay costs.
The following Directions apply to this Claim:

6) Each party must deliver to the other party and to the court office copies of all documents on which that party
intends to rely at the hearing no later than fourteen days before the hearing.

7) The original documents must be brought to the hearing.

The Judge may refuse to consider a document or take it into account if a copy of it has not been sent to the
other party as required by this Order.

9) The documents to be sent to the other party and the court must include the statements of all witnesses (including
the parties themselves).

10) Witness statements must:
a) Start with the name of the case and the claim number;
b) State the full name and address of the witness;
c) Set out the witness's evidence clearly in numbered paragraphs on numbered pages;
d) End with this paragraph: 'I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.' (or words to that
effect); and be signed by the witness and dated.

11 If a witness is unable to read the statement in the form produced to the court, the statement must include a
certificate that it has been read or interpreted to the witness by a suitably qualified person. If a witness who has
made a statement is to give evidence or be cross-examined and is unable to do so in spoken English (or Welsh
if the hearing is in Wales), the party relying on that witness must ensure that a suitable independent interpreter
is available.

12) The judge may refuse to hear the evidence or consider any statement of any witness whose statement has not
been prepared and copied to the other party and the court in accordance with the paragraphs above.

13) Neither party may rely at the hearing on any report from an expert unless permission has been granted by
the court beforehand. Anyone wishing to rely on an expert must write to the court immediately on receipt of this
Order and seek permission, giving an explanation why the assistance of an expert is necessary.

14) Because this Order has been made without a hearing, the parties have the right to apply to have the order
set aside, varied or stayed. A party making such an application must send or deliver the application to the court
(together with any appropriate fee or an application for help with fees) to arrive within seven days of service of
this Order.

Please ensure that any documents for hearing are sent to the owning court at least 3 clear working days prior to the
hearing date so that they can be placed onto the court file. Court staff will make every effort to ensure documents
received after this are on file for the hearing, however this cannot be guaranteed.

 

General Form of Judgement or Order

 

 

Before Deputy District Judge Dumar sitting at the County Court at Hertford, Shire Hall, Fore Street, Hertford,
Hertfordshire, SG14 IBY
The Court determining that in the exceptional circumstances of the current national public health emergency this
case is suitable for hearing remotely ('remote hearing'), of its own motion:
THE COURT ORDERS THAT

Hearing
1. The hearing on 27 Jan 2022 at 10:00 and shall take place by way of remote hearing pursuant to Civil Procedure
Rule 3.1(2) (d).

2. All subsequent hearings shall be conducted remotely unless the Court orders otherwise.

3. The parties and their representatives shall attend the remote hearing by Microsoft Teams. The representatives
are to confirm with the parties and witnesses that they have access to Microsoft Teams and to confirm to the court
immediately if they state that the parties or witnesses are unable to access Microsoft Teams.

4. No party is required to physically attend the Court building.

5. If any party fails to attend the remote hearing, the Court may proceed to make orders in the absence of that party.

6. The remote hearing will be recorded by the Court.

WARNING: No party is permitted to record the remote hearing unless the Court has given its express prior
permission. IT IS A CONTEMPT OF COURT PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT TO RECORD OR
PUBLISH RECORDINGS OF COURT PROCEEDINGS.

No unauthorised person may be present at the remote hearing. When asked, each party and legal representative
must be able to confirm that no unauthorised person is in attendance or able to listen to the hearing.

7. The Court having determined that the remote hearing shall be hosted and initiated by the Court, it is the Court
that will provide each participant to the hearing details of how to connect to the hearing at the time of the remote
hearing. Each party and legal representative must be available and have made arrangements prior to the hearing
to ensure that they and the parties and witnesses have the available technology to participate in the hearing.

By no later than 2 days before the remote hearing, the Applicant/Claimant and the Respondent/Defendant shall
each contact the Court office by email to provide the telephone number and email address at which they can be
contacted by the Court at the date and time arranged for the remote hearing for the purpose of the court facilitating
the hearing. The details must be supplied to the court not less than 7 days before the remote hearing and sent to:
[email protected]

The subject line must only state the case number (on the head of this order) and VIDEO HEARING DETAILS.
Failure to comply with this may result in you not being contacted for the hearing Delivering Documents

 

8. The Claimant shall no later than 7 days before the hearing deliver to the Court and to each party bundle in
electronic PDF format and hard copy by post/DX, which must include:
(a) a case summary and chronology;
(b) the parties' position statements;
(c) the previous orders that are relevant to the remote hearing;
(d) the application relevant to the remote hearing;
(d) all essential documents that the court requires to determine the issues that fall for determination at the remote
hearing;
(e) a draft order (also filed in Microsoft Word) to include any draft directions to trial
(f) the Claim Form
(g) Any defence and counterclaim if filed

9. Documents delivered to the Court electronically shall be delivered to the following address, recording the case
number in the subject heading of the email;
[email protected]

10. No document other than a document specified in an Order or filed in accordance with the Rules of any Practice
Direction shall be delivered to the Court without the Court's permission.
Variation of Orders

11. This Order having been made without the parties attending, any party may apply no later than 7 days after the
date of service of this Order to set aside or vary the terms of the Order.

 

Thanks DX.

 

Appreciate your help!

[dx100uk]

ok well you'll have to look at other lowell vanquis claims for examples of WS's ...plenty here

and adapt those to your cirs

 

i'll read their WS later by i expect you'll find the exact same wording of theirs in previous lowell vanquis claimform threads

 

use our enhanced google search box

 

[spinningfish]

Thank you! 

 

Just working through the witness statement and have noticed that the Vanquis Account Number on the document entitled "Digital Signature Application Details" (which I think is their version of an Agreement) and the Account Number in both their Witness Statement and on the Default Notice are completely different.

Is that important for their claim?

 

Also, the amount on the default notice is around £100 different to the amount they are claiming before costs and interest are added.

Could I PM you a couple of screengrabs please , DX, to show you what I mean? Obv no worries if that isn't forum policy

 

[dx100uk]

the differing A/C numbers are very important!

 

however have a look at these threads

almost identical uploads and claimant ws

so probable you can adapt the ws andy has uploaded just fill in your details and dates etc.

 

 

 

 

[spinningfish]

Legend!

 

[spinningfish]

So...

After sending a rushed, but comprehensive, Witness Statement at the Nth hour, which highlighted the fact that their alleged agreement has a completely different reference number, today I have received the following:
 

"We write further to the above matter and confirm that we act for the Claimant.

 

Please find attached the Claimant’s Notice of Discontinuance confirming that the Claimant no longer wishes to proceed with the Claim and would therefore be grateful for the above listed hearing to be vacated.

 

We confirm that the Defendant has been copied into this email and therefore has been served with the same.

 

Yours faithfully

XXXXXXX XXXX
Senior Complex Litigation Paralegal
Lowell Solicitors Limited
T:	+44 113 335 3334" With the following document attached:   NOD-unlocked yes_Redacted.pdf   What happens now?   Many thanks as always!

[dx100uk]

You won

 

Join the ever increasing club against Lowell..thanks to CAG.

 

 

 

It was always going to end that way.

 

 

[spinningfish]

Wahoooooo!!! Thanks to you and CAG! A donation most definitely coming your way!

Now, how do we go about getting this nonsense removed from Mrs Fish's credit file?