Lowell/Overdales Letter Of Claim now Claimform - old Three mobile debt

[optikal101]

Hi,

 

 last month I received a 'notice of acting' from Overdales for a Three debt Lowells had been trying to chase. That letter was ignored and a couple of days ago I received a 'Letter of Claim'. 

 

The debt itself is for £476.10. The contract was taken out for my partner in April 2018, but we separated shortly after. She promised to continue paying the bill and had the logins to do so. When the letters came through from Three to say she had missed payments, she then promised to cover the bill. In the time since, we now have no contact. It may also be worth mentioning that I currently have a long standing Three mobile account fully paid and up to date.

 

I know that I am on the hook for the bill, however I am a single parent supporting my full time wage with Universal Credit and I genuinely can't afford to pay it. I also can't afford to have a CCJ on my account as I will need to move home in the next 12 months.

 

I don't want to deal with these people over the phone. They also sent an information sheet, and a reply form. The reply covers various tick-box sections, asking me to confirm if I own the debt, how I intend to pay, if I'm getting debt advice and finally for documentation. They have also sent an income and expenditure form.

 

My question is; should I just enter into an arrangement with these people, or is there a way around this? I have uploaded a PDF of the actual LOC. 

 

Thank you for any and all help.

Letter of Claim15-11-21.pdf

[BankFodder]

I expect that my site team colleague @dx100uk will be along to give you some advice – but in terms of the CC J against you, you probably need to check your credit file because you may well find that it has already been marked in respect of the alleged debt.

You say that the bill was in your name but it was taken out for your partner. Who is actually using the energy? Is your ex-partner the person who is actually benefiting from it?

[dx100uk]

CCJ , there isn't one just a threat.

 

there are 100's of lowell mobile

or 

lowell telecom 

 

threads here

use our enhanced google search box.

 

as for the letter of claim.

simple click those words and follow post 4 in that thread

 

[Bazooka Boo]

And just to put your mind at ease. I have 3 ''letters of claim'' that oversnails have sent me all with their arbitrary '30 day' time limit before court action, the first one they sent was in June, still no court..... 

[optikal101]

Managed to get the account number from 3s Live Chat today, but they refused to tell me a breakdown of the total figure. So I've dropped them a SAR this afternoon.

 

Reply forms filled out to be posted in the morning to Overdales. And on to the waiting game now...

 

9 hours ago, Bazooka Boo said:

And just to put your mind at ease. I have 3 ''letters of claim'' that oversnails have sent me all with their arbitrary '30 day' time limit before court action, the first one they sent was in June, still no court..... 

Thank you for this. I'm not worried at all. At the end of the day if the worst happens, they can't take what I don't have! . Having read other threads extensively, I'm pretty confident that it'll turn out okay! 

[dx100uk]

forms?

 

you mean the PDF in post 4 of the letter of claim thread?

 

you do NOT use their forms they sent!

 

dx

 

[optikal101]

Yeah the forms from post 4, not theirs! 

[dx100uk]

[optikal101]

Quick update: I received a letter from Overdales acknowledging my response. They included a double sided page, one side from Overdales confirming the debt is a £416 early termination fee and £59 airtime debt.

 

The other side is a Lowells headed notice of assignment. And a separate page is a non-headed page that looks like it was typed out on MS Word which is apparently a Three notice of assignment.

 

Account is hold whilst they grab the rest of the requested details from Three. I'm also waiting on SAR results from Three too.

 

PDF of the pages is attached 

OverdaleLowell2 (1).pdf

[optikal101]

Quick update on this. I finally received the statements from Overdales. I received the paperwork for the SAR from Three a while back. 

 

Essentially, the debt is almost entirely an "involuntary cancellation fee" according to the invoice sheet Overdales sent through.

 

So now I guess I just wait for the next step...

[dx100uk]

if you look at lowell claimform threads via our google search box

you'll see that these cases IF IF IF they ever raise one ...they lose!!

 

just dont move without informing your credit file 'debt owners' just in case.

 

yes sit on your hands.

 

dx

 

[optikal101]

 I've familiarised myself with those threads and I am not worried about following the process. Just so long as I properly follow the process.

 

Just yesterday after not contacting them, I have received from them a re-sending of the original LOC. 

 

Going to just sit on this one and see if they move further.

[optikal101]

I received the Claim Form from Northampton County Court today!
 

Name of the Claimant ? lowell

sols - Overdales Solicitors

 

Date of issue – 04 APR 2022

 

Particulars of Claim

What is the claim for –

1. The claim is for the sum of £476.10 due by the Defendant under a Three Mobile account with a reference of XXX.

 

2. The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required under the terms of the account agreement.

 

3. The debt was legally assigned to the Claimant on 26-11-20, notice of which has been given to the Defendant. 

 

4. The claim includes statutory interest under S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue of these proceedings in the of £38.09

 

5. The Claimant claims the sum of £514.19

 

Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? Yes

 

Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? No

 

What is the total value of the claim? £654.19 (including court fees and costs)

 

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

 

Do you recall how you entered into the agreement...On line /In branch/By post ? Online

 

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

 

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. Overdales claim the debt was assigned to them 26/11/20

 

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? I honestly don't recall

 

Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? I received a copy of it via a SAR request, but I don't recall if I received one at the time.

 

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? I am not sure. I don't have any in my files

 

Why did you cease payments? The account was taken out for a partner. After a breakdown in relationship she stopped paying the account. But the account was in my name. 

 

What was the date of your last payment? 28/09/2018

 

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? yes, but their pressures for payment were more than I could realistically afford.

 

I have done the AOS on MCOL already.

 

The defence I will be using will be Ofcoms guidance on Early Cancellation Fees. Though I am not sure how to present it.

 

I already have the results of a SAR from both 3 and Overdales. However, the contents of the SAR from 3 are completely absent of details regarding the account Overdales are claiming for.

 

Do I still need to submit a CPR 31:14 to Overdales, and if so, which form should I use?

The ones in the guides here seem to only relate to Current Accounts or Credit Cards etc.

[dx100uk]

overdales are not the claimant surely?

mobile accounts dont/cant issue default notices, they are not covered by the CCA.

 

there is a mobile phone CPR 31:14 in the same forum.

 

what you have in your SAR from o2 you keep to yourself unless its useful to your witness statement, IF IFIF the claim ever gets that far, lowells typically drop of discontinue most of these claims a day or 2 before the hearing fee is due or the hearing date itself.

 

yes send mobile cpr 31:14

 

put your defence up here 1st.

 

 

 

 

[optikal101]

Sorry, the claimant is Lowell.

 

My Defence:

 

1. The claim is for the sum of £476.10 due by the Defendant under a Three Mobile account with a reference of XXX.

 

2. The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required under the terms of the account agreement.

 

3. The debt was legally assigned to the Claimant on 26-11-20, notice of which has been given to the Defendant. 

 

4. The claim includes statutory interest under S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue of these proceedings in the of £38.09

 

5. The Claimant claims the sum of £514.19

 

 

 

1. Paragraph 1 is accepted. I have, in the past, entered a contract with Three Mobile, however I do not recall the exact details, nor do I recall any outstanding balance. I have requested the claimant verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14. The claimant has admitted that they are unable to obtain, or provide me with a copy of the agreement. The claimant states that they cannot do so because it is a telecommunications account and is not regulated by the CCA 1974. To date, no terms & conditions, proof of a signed contract, or electronic signature regarding the alleged account has been received. The claimant has only provided a single generated statement related to this alleged account.

 

2. Paragraph 2 is noted, again I do not recall any breach and I have never received the stated Default Notice. stated that they are not obliged to provide a copy of a default notice as it is a telecommunications account and is not regulated by the CCA 1974.

 

3. Paragraph 3 is denied. I do not recall having received a Notice of Assignment, as stated by the Claimant. They supplied under CPR 31.14 an alleged copy which is not from Three Mobile as you would expect, but from Lowell stating that this alleged debt was being sent to Overdales Legal Limited, one of their “approved Debt Collection Agencies”. This seems to have been computer generated using a *template* the letter is not dated and there is no date identifying when the debt was sold to Lowell . I additionally received a document from Overdales Solicitors titled Notice Of Acting which is dated 15/10/2021.

 

4. Paragraph 4 is denied because the claimant is misleading the court in its pleadings. The defendant has denied the debt at each request as the claimant has failed to provide proof of the debt in the form of an agreement and a default notice. The claimants sole purpose in purchasing this debt was to litigate and secure a*County Court Judgment and therefore Pre Action Protocol was never followed correctly and should be considered in deciding the outcome of their claim.

 

Therefore, the claimant is put to strict proof to:

 

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

(b) show and evidence the Defendant was sent a Notice of default and termination notice/demand notices; and

© show how the Claimant 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.

 

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

 

6. On the alternative, 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 and Section 82A of the*Consumer Credit*Act 1974.

 

7. 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 on unfair terms in contracts for communication services Section C73-78 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 either the fact that the provider no longer has to provide or pay for provision of their service, or that the consumer can not use or benefit from the disconnected services.

 

9. 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.

 

[AndyOrch]

I would trim down your 1-4  and your 4 makes no connection/sense to the claimants point 4 re section 69 interest....less is more take note of the claimants vague particulars and don't add further information.

 

Andy

[optikal101]

Thank you Andy, I appreciate your help. This was complied using templates and other similar (but not exact) threads. Could you possibly provide any further detailed assistance? I'm feeling a bit in over my head with this.

 

[AndyOrch]

Sure I will tweak it for you later.

[dx100uk]

the poc does not mention a default notice nor an agreement.

so neither should you,

 

the CCA and thus DN are nothing to do with a mobile contract, they are not gov't by the Consumer credit act.

 

its a contract.

 

 

[optikal101]

Thank you so much @Andyorch! And thank you too for the advice DX! 

[AndyOrch]

Particulars of claim for reference only

 

1. The claim is for the sum of £476.10 due by the Defendant under a Three Mobile account with a reference of XXX.

 2. The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required under the terms of the account agreement.

 3. The debt was legally assigned to the Claimant on 26-11-20, notice of which has been given to the Defendant. 

 4. The claim includes statutory interest under S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue of these proceedings in the of £38.09

 

5. The Claimant claims the sum of £514.19

 

 

The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim vague and are 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 noted. I have, in the past had, and currently have a contract with Three Mobile. The agreement referred to in this claim was an earlier account used by my ex partner. The agreement was terminated on xxxx 2020 with zero remaining balance.   I have requested the claimant verify the exact details of this claim by way of a CPR 31.14 to evidence and quantify the amount claimed. The claimant has confirmed that the amount claimed consists totally of a Early Termination Charge (ETC).

 

Subject to the above, as the full amount claimed comprises entirely of an early termination charge amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance on unfair terms in contracts for communication services Section C73-78 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 either the fact that the provider no longer has to provide or pay for provision of their service, or that the consumer can not use or benefit from the disconnected services.

 

2. Paragraph 2 is denied, as the claim does not contain any defaulted contractual payments.

 

3. Paragraph 3 is denied. I do not recall having received a Notice of Assignment, as stated by the Claimant.

 

4. Paragraph 4 is denied. The claimant has repeatedly failed to comply with Pre Action Protocol in evidencing its claim and quantifying what the amount claimed equates to.

 

Therefore, the claimant is put to strict proof to:

 

(a) To quantify and disclose its losses for a disconnected service that can no longer be accessed or used by a consumer 

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

 

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

 

9. 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.

[optikal101]

Thank you for your guidance @Andyorch. I have now submitted my defense via Mcol

[optikal101]

Hi guys,

I need a little help here. I submitted my defence on MCOL on the 02/05 and it is showing as received on 03/05.

 

Today I received the attached letter from Overdales and a few things are alarming. First of all, all of the information on the letter is totally wrong! The previous bills and evidence they have sent me is for an account with statement dates of 2018 and defaulting in 2019. The last payment showed doesn't match up and the mobile number is different from everything they have provided previously too! Nothing other than their reference number and the cost of their claim matches anything at all that they have previously sent me!

 

Secondly, it says that there would be statements enclosed with the letter but there was absolutely nothing other than this double sided letter. In fact, an account containing these provided details would be statute barred I think?

Any ideas on what I should do with it? 

 

2022-05-20 overdale have defence begging letter to settle.pdf

[dx100uk]

nothing 

it a std begging letter they always send saying how powerful they are and you'll lost handsdown but we'll accept a reduced sum just to be nice to you.

 

the truth is they have nothing enforceable, never did

hoped like 8% ofjoe public you'd wet youself and cough up when a court claim lands...very scary place a court...NOT!

 

lowells loose almost 100% of these telecom/mobile claims or discontinued to save face before having to attend court with a crock of fake paperwork.

 

await if/when you get a blank N180 from the COURT

 

the fleecers have 28days watch mcol status carefully nearer the autostay date.

 

wont hurt you to read up too

enhanced google search box here on CAG

lowell claimform telecom or lowell claimform  mobile

 

 

[optikal101]

Thank you @dx100uk. I'm comfortable with the court process, my worry is this letter contains completely different details as to what they have launched the CCJ for. Only the account number and the monetary total are the same, everything else is completely different.