Urgent!!! Please Help!

[tomterm8]

LOL, i think I've been mentioned. i see you have at least two lawyers posting, so all I'm going to do is ask some basic questions:

 

1. Have you Acknowledged Service.

2. Have you called the court, and asked when the defense & counter claim is due.

 

BTW... relax. Deep breath. Now for the questions regarding the case:

 

3. Do you remember if the amount of the loan was repayable in installments, if so... how many, what interest rate, over what period?

 

4. What previous letters have you had on the matter? I.e. notice of legal action etc.

[tomterm8]

Hi tomterm.

2. I haven't called the court. I didn't know I had to. I thought you just filed your defence 28 days from when the claim was served.

It's best to check the dates, because the claim is not served on the day you recieve it, and odd holidays you never think about can affect it.

3. It wasn't a loan, it's Next catalogue. I think the minimum is 5% of the balance or something like that. I don't know the interest rate either. Waiting for CCA results.

cool. So it is a credit agreement regulated by CCA 1974.

4. The last letter we had was in February asking for £61.74 on a balance of £236.33. This included a service charge of £4.49, a late payment fee of £5, and £3.75 for the new catalogue which they automatically send you 4 times a year. It probably included the previous payment we missed too.

No LBA, no final demand and no default notice. Aboslutely nothing.

 

5. Who is the other lawyer?? I know about Laiste.... sequenci vbmenu_register("postmenu_891715", true);

..

 

If they haven't sent you a default notice, they have made a pretty fundamental procedural mistake... as i understand it, they are not entitled to sue you. You can consider a counter claim based on repudiation of contract, as well as the normal charge arguments etc.

[tomterm8]

repudiation of contract

A form of BreachOfContract where a party announces his intention not to perform his obligations under it (rather that simply not performing it in the expected time and manner). This is also known as `anticipatory breach of contract'. A person may have the right to repudiate if the other party is in breach of a Condition of the contract, and he may then treat the contract as discharged. However, repudiation is a breach of contract, and if done without good cause will leave the repudiator liable for Damages.

 

In particular, your contract stated that you had to repay a minimum amount of money (5% per month). by taking you to court for the full amount due, the creditor has terminated the contract. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, a creditor has the right to do this if you are in breach of the contract (i.e. by making late payments) after issuing a default notice with a statutory period of time to rectify the default.

 

without such a default notice, by claiming the full amount of money due they are effectively terminating the contract... and by doing so without following proper procedure, this consitutes a repudiation of the contract.

[tomterm8]

I'll have to see if they actually have a contract before I start learning these big words and their meanings lol. Unlikely though by the looks of things.....

 

You certainly have a contract

 

That contract is a consumer credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act 1974. Therefore, they must have a signed document with all the prescribed terms (your signature, APR/interest rate, credit limit, repayment schedule, cancellation terms, and etc.) if they want to enforce it.

 

however, you can still use the repudiation of contract line in a counter claim, even if they don't have the agreement.

[tomterm8]

Feel free to ask questions if there is anything you don't understand...

 

e.g. agreement = contract = legally enforceable bargain

 

enforceable = the court can force you to pay something / do something

 

consumer credit act 1974 / 2006 = a law that regulates (i.e. says how something is supposed to operate) most consumer credit.

 

repudiation of contract = deciding not to honour a contract, without legal cause OR failing to obey the correct procedures.

[tomterm8]

Where are the civil procedure rules that Ive seen mentioned?

 

Im sure plenty more questions will be coming this way...

 

Civil Procedure Rules Homepage

 

you don't need the lot, PART 1 - OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE

 

and

 

PART 31 - DISCLOSURE AND INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS

 

are the main ones for our purposes.

[tomterm8]

I see no reason to phone them monopoly. While I can appreciate you are anxious to receive the info, the ball is firmly in their court with regards to supplying it.

 

yeah, as a hint you really don't want them to supply the information you've asked for, since then they'll win, LOL.

[tomterm8]

I don't think they'll win really because they still didn't give me a default notice and their claim says I defaulted. I don't know if what they send will be any good either, if they have anything at all...

 

Every case so i've seen so far on here, they haven't been able to provide the rfight documentation.

[tomterm8]

, others might issue one after passing the matter between DCA's for 12mnths or more. So you could be dealing some creditors in 15mnths-2yrs time.Regards,

 

Laiste.

 

For me, one account, not a consumer credit agreement, has been playing for 4 years. They write to me, I write back that i'm not liable, then they threaten to sue, then I write back to say i'm not liable...

 

i think of them as my pen friends:)

 

The technique is to have multiple template letters for all occasions, LOL.

[tomterm8]

The 2006 Act also makes provisions for further changes. For example, provision is made for a Default Notice to be accompanied by a Default Information Sheet.

 

has that been implemented yet? I thought that the OFT hadn't actually written them yet?

[tomterm8]

Ooh I just checked MCOL and it says it has been transferred to Bradford on 1st August. I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do now!?

 

Malaga - Try getting in touch with your local court. I don't know what else to suggest really because Im now in the same situation. Sorry.

What date was yours transferred?

 

Is bradford your nearest county court? If so, it's just automatic. If not, you need to write to the case manager, say that you're a resident of XXX (Your Address) and a litigant in person, and ask that they transfer the court to your local court.

 

Is the address on your claim form correct, btw? If not:

 

For the attention of the case manager

 

In the Matter of Claimant vs YOU

Case Number XXXX

In the COURT County Court

Dear Sir or Madam,

 

RE: Incorrect Address on claim form,

 

Could you help me please? The claimant provided the wrong address on my claim form, and subsequently some of the court documents have been served to the wrong address.

 

Is it possible to change my address in your recordss to: YOUR ADDRESS, and arange for any documents served at the incorrect address to be served to me?

 

Also, I'm aware that as a litigant in person, the case is normally transfered to my local court. Is it possible for you to arrange this, since my case seems to have been transfered to the wrong court?

 

Yours Sincerly,

 

XXX.

 

Fax the court and the soliciters.

Ring the court the next day to see if it has been recieved.

[tomterm8]

Hi tomterm, yas Bradford is where I live and the addresses are all correct.

 

Postman just came and I have got a Notice of Transfer of Proceedings.

There is a note to all parties saying a defence has been filed, the claim has been transferred to the area the defendant lives, all communication should now be addressed to Bradford Combined Court.

There is a note just to the defendant saying I must complete the allocation questionaire provided and return it to the court by 20/08/07.

 

Argh!?

 

Cool, that's just standard...

 

which allocation questionairre have you got, small claims track or the mamoth one? LOL:)

 

p.s. didn't it say anything about a stay of 28 days?

[tomterm8]

Its an N149 small claims tracks.

I cant find anything about a stay unless its Section A - Settlement - on the AQ which asks if you would like any further action to be postponed for one month to attempt to settle out of court or ADR.

 

So the letter to day your defence has been recieved, and served upon the defendant didn't say something alongs that the defendant can chose to proceed or not and has 28 days to do so, after which the case will be stayed?

[tomterm8]

No this letter has come 33 days after I filed the defence online. Heard nothing in that time until now. If this is an automatic thing, to be transferred locally from MCOL, does this mean that the solicitors probably still haven't responded.

 

The only instructions I have is to complete and return the AQ by 20/08/07.

 

1. it is automatic, and 2. presumably, they have responded.

 

Looks like you'll have to fill in your AQ by 20th... it is quite a simple one, but Laiste will advise you, I'm sure.

[tomterm8]

I don't understand how they could possibly respond to that defence. It was blatantly obvious that they don't stand a chance in hell, as they admitted they don't hold an agreement.

 

I haven't heard from Laiste since she provided the defence, do you think I should PM her? I don't like to bother her because she has already helped me loads and I know she's really busy helping other people.

 

The response is only if they intend to pursue the claim or not... presumably, they intend to continue.

 

I think you should PM laiste, haven't seen her around much recently:)

[tomterm8]

MONOPOLY

i read everything about your case from a money point of view i feel they are not acting in the shareholders interests £187 alleged debt court fee= ?? solicitors fee = ??? apart from having "norfolkinchance"

 

now will tomterm check these words out is this applicable

"a party affected by this order may under rule 3.3(5) apply to have it set aside, varied or stayed. Such a party must apply under rule 23.3 within 14 days of service of this order "

 

i have cribbed this

 

Um... no, not particularly relevant, as such.

 

PART 24 - SUMMARY JUDGMENT is more relevant.

 

The most effective way to force 'em to close down these small claims, i find, is simply to look through the OFT debt collection guidelines, find something they did wrong in the last 6 months, and send them a formal complaint.

 

'Cause, you then submitted it to the F.O.S. and that costs them 450.