Another HFC/Restons claim

[kentishbloke]

Like a few others on here, i have just recieved the court documents regarding a debt on a GM Credit Card totalling over £9000.

Obviously i must send the acknowledgement form back (or do it online), but my question is should i state that i am going to defend the claim?

Yes the credit card was used to pay for stuff (mostly by my ex partner & often without my knowledge). so i can't really deny the debt.

Also, is it worth making them an offer as full & final settlement? What sort of proportion of what is owed could i safely offer as a full & final settlement & have it accepted? This could give me an idea of how much i need to raise.

I know i have not put too many details in this thread so far, but i'm looking to get some basic advice first then proceed from there.

[New_Age_Biker]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

I managed to settle for 7k inc costs during the court process. The original debt was just over 8K, you should pay no more than 7 on your debt.
When was the card issued? There are lots of termination & default defects with these clowns you may be able to win this.

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

the original card was issued in June 1994, as stated in the court papers.

i was thinking of going down the route of it not being enforceable, but am worried that i would muck it up & end up costing myself £000's. I am not trying to wriggle out of paying the debt by the way, just want to use the systems that are available to me to reduce the debt if possible.

i am toying with the idea of contacting HFC to see what they would accept as full & final payment, couldnt do any harm could it?

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

bump

[WendyB]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

If you say you are going to defend it, then you will have to put in a defence at some point. So it may well be worth having an idea of on what grounds you could defend it. If you wanted to settle, you would more than likely have to have the settlement amount ready to pay, they wouldn't accept instalments on a settlement offer. Also, now it's already gone to court, unless you have a strong defence they may not be willing to accept a lower settlement anyway.

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

it hasnt gone to court yet, i have just had the papers.

my main problem is what box to tick on the acknowledgement form. sure, i could defend it, go to court & present my financial details, which clearly show that i cannot pay the whole amount. to this end i am keen to make them a full & final settlement offer, but dont really know how much to offer & still dont know which box to tick on the form.

[WendyB]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

If you have had the papers, then a claim has been filed. So you either have to defend or admit or counterclaim. You can't just acknowledge it, you have to do one of the three. If you say you are going to defend, then you will have to prepare a defence. If you admit it, then you admit it and will be expected to make arrangements to pay it.
On what grounds could you defend it on? Simply showing your financial details is not a defence. It merely shows that you cannot afford to pay it.
If your financial details show that you cannot pay the whole amount, then where do you suppose they think you will be able to magic up a a full and final settlement from?

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

not alot of help there, there are only 3 options on the form, admit it all, admit part & defend!

as for where i can 'magic' the money from to make a settlement offer? where do you think, relatives etc...!!! i certainly do NOT have the amount they are claiming in any way shape or form!

so, i guess youre suggesting i should roll over & be shafted for the whole amount & accept a CCJ for my trouble! help like that i can well do without!

[Garlok]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

Blimey this is all bit late Kentish. I think your last post is a little disingenuous to the folks on here who give of their time, experience and collective knowledge freely, voluntarily and without payment of any sort. We do NOT have any magic wands and time can be of esscence in getting you some proper help!

Right questions to ask yourself.
Have you a section 78 request for a copy of your agreement under CCA1974/2006. If your date are correct then you will have the full protection of s127.
Have you received a default notice in the prescribed form.
Was this defaulty notice valid, i.e was it correct.
have you received a notice of termination or have you received a demand for sums not yet due under the agreement like a demand for the full outstanding amount.
Who is actually trying to bring the action is it the OC or is some debt collection agency.
If the latter have you received a notice of assignment.
If you have, have you requested a copy of the deed of assignment from them and a coopy of the deed of sale from the OC.
Have you served a subject access request under the Data protection act on the OC to see if there are any unlawful charges you can reclaim (and to see what other shenanigans they may have got up to).
Have you served the claimant with a request for copies of all documents they are relying upon to take this action under the Civil Procedure Rules, section 31 if memory is running true.
if you ain't done nuffin' then you will have to do a lot of reading and learnin' FAST!

On the subject of full and finals have a read in the general debt forum there is some information for you and a "sticky" thread at the toop I wrote myself plus look up member Cetelco who has also done some really good work on this subject. I would NOT advise you to go this route on your own, get a solicitor to do all the work you will read about the reasons why.

From what you have said I think you few options left open before the hearing, one is to consider an "embarrassed" defence initially, request an adjournment so that you can seek advice, i.e. gain some time to allow us or a professional in these matters to take a look at what sort of case you may or may not have.

regards
Garlok

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

Thanks Garlok, i wasn't trying to be flippant or anything, just a little streesed about this all.

In answer to your questions :-

I have not requested a copy of my CCA, is it too late to do this?
I recieved a default notice from HFC Bank, but have no idea if it is valid or correct, i am assuming it is.
I have had a demand for full payment from HFC & then Restons. Replied to HFC & Restons with their IE forms, Restons then wrote back saying the offer of payment (monthly) was not sufficient to stop proceedings.
Restons are trying to bring the action, on strict instruction of HFC.
Should i have had a notice of assignment? Not a clue as to what form this would take.
Not started an SAR, again, is it too late?
Not served the claimant with the document request, again, is it too late?

Seems like i will be doing alot of letter writing in a very short space of time.

My initial & immediate problem is how to fill in the court papers. I have been advised, by someone who knows something about this stuff, to admit to all of the debt & also send a letter asking them to consider an offer in full & final settlement. Not 100% sure if this is prudent & not sure what to actually offer them. Also, would this likely stop the court action, or at least delay it?

To be honest i am well out of my depth & starting to sink, so any help is greatly appreciated from all those in the know on here.

Finally, apologies to WendyB, i appreciate your help, however ungrateful i sounded in my reply to your post.

[Garlok]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

I am not an expert on court procedures. As I see it you have no documentation of any substance with which to defend this action. Restons are the solicitors acting for HFC. HFC will be the alleged owners of the debt. Without a Deed of Assignment or a Deed of Sale or even having sent you a notice of assignment they have no cause of action. You won't get these either but you will need a paper trail.

I would reply to the court saying you are going to defend admit absolutely nothing and never ever give anyone an I & E sheet without a court order to provide it. Only a court can order you to divulge such information. You have have already done so and that may make things more difficult. Be prepared to enter an embarrassed defence and get an adjournment so you can pull all this together. How long have you got?

I would send the s78 request anyway, for the £1 it costs. You won't get it but you may get some other bumpf which will start you on the road to a defence. They have 12 + 2days in which to reply to your request. A SAR costs a tenner and they have 40 calendar days to deliver. I would serve these both these on both the original creditor and HFC. plus I would send the "prove it" letter to both Restons and HFC. Much of this is psychological and will at least make them think.

Read up on the default notice stuff and check whether that is in fact valid. More than likely it is not therefore again they cannot take action against you until they have served a correct DN. Do not tell them this. They cannot claim to have terminated the agreement on the back of a faulty DN. Hence again they may have no cause of action. In fact until this is all done properly they canot take any enforcement action.

As you have had the claim form serve Restons with the CPR letter ( I think its sections 31.14 thro'31.18).

I believe as in many cases they have moved ahead because they think that you do know anything and can steamroller both you and the court.

You will have to put some time into this and do a hell of a lot of reading in the short term and do not rely on "template" defences and letters alone. Get an understanding of your situation and tailor any reasponses and letters to be specific of your own case. Templates no longer wash in the courts.

I am no expert and I am hoping some of the really good legal folks on here will be along to correct me if I have gone wrong and put you in a better position.

If in any way you fell or get out of your depth, then please seek the advice of a specialist professional in this field. Most of the normal High Street solicitors practices are completely out of their depth in these matters and due to lack of knowledge will not give you best advice. There are a couple of them who do post on here by the way and may be along to advise. Most good and reputable soliciotrs will give a first consultation of about 30 minutes free so if you go this way be prepared. You could also seek advice via the Bar Council direct public access scheme and they do run a pro bono scheme as well but you will be very lucky to get on this.

Unfortunately by not addressing this early you will be on the back foot for a while as you coming in at the wrong end.

Over to you.
Regards
Garlok

[kentishbloke]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

tell me about it!

i got the court stuff last week & it said that the 14 days to respond started 5 days after the issue date, which was 18 May 2011, which will make that a starting day of 23 May 2011.

like you say, i have no documents by which to defend myself, if i was to do that. if i request these documents would that be likely to stop, or delay the court action? i only ask as i really think i should respond to the court pack in some form or another.

regarding the embarrased defense, this ones got me stumped as to what to say etc, which i assume i would put on the court form.

i realise this is all a bit 11th hour, but there must be something i can do that'll have a positive impact on whats going on, apart from all the request letters im gonna have to send.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

deleted

[Garlok]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

Hi Kentish,

As I said I cannot school you all the way and I cannot hold your hand. Use the search engine, the templates, for embarrassed defences. These are very basically you informing the court that you have no information as to what the claim is actually about and you need disclosure of all the documents so that you can prepare the defence you are entitled to and/or seek advice when you know what you are up against. Don't tell them that you will have to read the stuff up and tailor it to your own case. But you haven't got to do it yet.

This is all a stalling exercise , one to let the other side know that you are prepared to defend and possibly make a fight of it and two to buy you the time to draw some sensible conclusions.

Like I said your chances of success are directly proportional to the effort you are prepared to put in. If you are completely out of your depth and seemingly that is the case then sort out professional legal advice.

Very few people on here are legal professionals and we can only help you with a bit of guidance. Everyone I know on forums various who has had success in these claims as a litigant in person as it is known have very nearly turned into a full time job. Just sya you are going to defend if that is what you want to do. You ain;t really got to do anything else at this stage.

From the brief we have you do not have a hearing date and I don't think you have been allocated a track yet have you. This merely the first communication from the court which is a claim form and is jsut asking you to acknowledge within the timeframe. Frankly its either that or take it all on the nose and from previous history the people who are making the claim have usually slipped up somewhere. There is plenty on here about these sharks. I cannot read it for you.

By the way CC who was it you were going to chastise??

regards
Garlok

[CleverClogs]

Re: Another HFC/Restons claim

Drat - that was meant as a PM.