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Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols **SETTLED**

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  • Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols **SETTLED**

    Yesterday I received a court claim from the above mentioned, which came as a surprise as I hadn't heard anything from them beforehand. As I am aware that they should follow certain procedures before issuing a claim I have prepared the following letters to send off and would just like confirmation that I am doing this correctly.
    The debt is from an Asda store card and I do not dispute what I owe, I am just not willing to pay their charges and costs. I have acknowledged the claim online today so have 28 days in which to prepare my defense.

    Dear Sir or Madam,

    RE: FORMAL COMPLAINT UNDER THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 2006.


    I note that you brought a legal action against me, only 2 days after you were allegedly assigned the relevant agreement. You did so without contacting me, or making any effort to determine the cause or nature of any dispute or attempting to obtain any out of court settlement
    I further note that I received a notice of your intention to bring this claim a day AFTER I received your claim. As a consumer credit license holder, you are obliged to abide by all statutory and regulatory provisions.
    I now draw your attention to the Civil procedure Rules. I note the following sections of the Pre-Action Protocol:


    2.3 If, in the opinion of the court, non-compliance has led to the commencement of proceedings which might otherwise not have needed to be commenced, or has led to costs being incurred in the proceedings that might otherwise not have been incurred, the orders the court may make include:
    (1)
    an order that the party at fault pay the costs of the proceedings, or part of those costs, of the other party or parties;
    (2)
    an order that the party at fault pay those costs on an indemnity basis;
    (3)
    if the party at fault is a claimant in whose favour an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made, an order depriving that party of interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified, and/or awarding interest at a lower rate than that at which interest would otherwise have been awarded;
    (4)
    if the party at fault is a defendant and an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made in favour of the claimant, an order awarding interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified at a higher rate, not exceeding 10% above base rate (cf. CPR rule 36.21(2), than the rate at which interest would otherwise have been awarded.


    3.1 A claimant may be found to have failed to comply with a protocol by, for example:
    (a)
    not having provided sufficient information to the defendant, or

    I note that at no point have you provided me with any information to show what terms and conditions I have allegedly breached, or provided me with any opportunity to investigate the matter.

    Your obligations under the pre-action protocols were:



    4.2


    Parties to a potential dispute should follow a reasonable procedure, suitable to their particular circumstances, which is intended to avoid litigation. The procedure should not be regarded as a prelude to inevitable litigation. It should normally include –
    (a)
    the claimant writing to give details of the claim;


    I note that the only information about this claim, or indication that you had launched a claim, came after you had issued it!

    For your future reference, the Civil Procedure Rules require that the following information be provided with the letter:

    4.3 The claimant's letter should –(a)give sufficient concise details to enable the recipient to understand and investigate the claim without extensive further information;(b)enclose copies of the essential documents which the claimant relies on;(c)ask for a prompt acknowledgement of the letter, followed by a full written response within a reasonable stated period;(For many claims, a normal reasonable period for a full response may be one month.)(d)state whether court proceedings will be issued if the full response is not received within the stated period;(e)identify and ask for copies of any essential documents, not in his possession, which the claimant wishes to see;(f)state (if this is so) that the claimant wishes to enter into mediation or another alternative method of dispute resolution; and(g)draw attention to the court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with this practice direction and, if the recipient is likely to be unrepresented, enclose a copy of this practice direction.


    I note that you did not provide me with any of this information, and that you did not attempt to notify me or negotiate with me before any claim started.

    Please be aware that I intend to produce a copy of this letter in court, for the purpose of disputing any costs that should arise in your claim, and that I intend to refer this matter to both industry and legal regulatory authorities.

    Please regard this as a formal complaint under your complaints procedure, established under the Consumer Credit Act 2006. Please note I require you to acknowledge this complaint in a reasonable time frame, and to send me a copy of your complaints procedure.

    Yours Sincerely,
    Dear Sir/Madam,

    RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

    I have received the Court claim filed by your Company. To enable me to file a defence and counter-claim, I require specific information regarding the account to be provided forthwith. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below. The information must be furnished by the 4th February 2008. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.

    IN RESPECT OF THE ALLEGED DEBT CLAIMED, I REQUIRE:


    1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of any default and at the time the account was opened. 2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:a. A transcript of all transactions, including charges, fees, interest, repayments and payments made to the account. b. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditorc. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account.d. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.g. A genuine copy of any deed of assignment, or proof that you have a legal right to this money.h. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998i. A list of third party agencies to who you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.k. A copy of all account statements for the duration of the agreement.3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court.4. A copy of your complaints procedure, as required by the Consumer Credit Act 2006.5. Clarification of the date you acquired the debt, what organisation you acquired it from, their registered office, their company number (if any) and what legal title they had to this debt, and what credit license number they had at the time that the debt was purchased or entered into.I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.

    Yours Sincerely,
    So to clarify, I received their claim yesterday (22nd) and notice of assignment today (23rd) I have not received a Default notice which they state in their PoC's nor any other correspondance from them.
    You can't scare me, I have children.

  • #2
    Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

    Hello.
    You have a lot of information in those letters, a bit too much in my opinion.
    Could you give us a little more detail on the alleged debt.
    When was the original agreement signed? approx date
    how much was it for?
    Could you scan or type their particulars of claim?

    You don't really need to hit them with all guns blazing, you'll have nothing to hit them with latter.... so to speak.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

      Hi there, thanks for replying. I probably have gone a bit OTT, lol. One of the reasons why I thought I should seek some advice first I took most of the info from another forum where someone else had gone to court against Howard Cohen solicitors in circumstances very similar to mine.
      OK, I can't remember the original date of the agreement but it's only a couple of years old, probably in the latter part of 2005.
      The credit limit was £500. They are asking for £580 plus £125 costs plus contractual and daily interest.

      The PoC's are:
      The claimants claim is for the sum of monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant under a regulated credit agreement between the Defendant and GE Capital Bank Limited under reference XXXXXX and assigned to the claimant on the 16th Jan 08 notice of which has been given to the defendant.
      The defendant has failed to make payment in accordance with the terms of the agreement and a default notice persuant to section 87(1) of the consumer credit act 1974.
      Persuant to clause 7 of the agreement, the claimant also claims contractual interest at a rate of 25.560% per annum from the date of these proceedings to the date of judgement, or sooner payment, accruing at a daily rate of 0.46.
      I know I filled in an application form, not sure about a CCA, but like I said, I'm not trying to avoid this debt I just don't like the way they have jumped on me with this. Back last year I wrote to Asda letting them know I was in financial difficulties but didn't receive any reply. I have been receiving statements as usual but nothing else.
      You can't scare me, I have children.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

        have you been paying anything ? up until, and since writing to them about financial difficulties ? What was the balance on your last statement ?

        You have received statements, but no notes on them about further action, default notices or anything like that ?
        #staysafestayhome

        Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

        Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

          I understand you are in a forced situation and you seem to be dealing with it

          You say they haven't sent you this and that and to be honest some info that you have asked for probably wont be sent. A copy of the original agreement for example need to be requested pursuant to s77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. As this debt is dated around 2005 then Consumer Credit Act (amendments) 2006 would not apply.


          Can I ask what outcome would you want from this?

          Just so we have an idea of direction.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

            Hi Amethyst, I was paying them the minimum monthly payment up until I wrote to them but the interest being added was cancelling out my payment by 75%. I wrote to them in September. They replied and I sent off an I/E form but didn't receive a reply from them. I paid a token payment of £1 in October but after a call from them telling me a pound wasn't enough I stopped paying them (silly I know). They are still adding interest on monthly and up to and including September a late payment fee of £12. Since October the late payment fee's have been 1p and the interest is stated as 'debit adjustment'.
            I have not been issued with a default notice, although they did threaten to do this in October.
            In November I had a letter from Viking Collection Services and after explaining to them on the phone that all I could offer was £1 pm they wrote to say they had returned the debt back to GE in December. Apart from the monthly statement at the end of December I've not heard a thing from GE.
            You can't scare me, I have children.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

              Originally posted by thephoenix View Post
              I understand you are in a forced situation and you seem to be dealing with it

              You say they haven't sent you this and that and to be honest some info that you have asked for probably wont be sent. A copy of the original agreement for example need to be requested pursuant to s77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. As this debt is dated around 2005 then Consumer Credit Act (amendments) 2006 would not apply.


              Can I ask what outcome would you want from this?

              Just so we have an idea of direction.
              Hi Phoenix, All I want is to pay what I owe at a rate I can afford. Since writing to inform of my situation I have been literally ignored. They want their money and thats that as far as they're concerned. They can't have what I haven't got. I don't want to be paying such a small amount and have it cancelled out by interest, it will never be paid at this rate! I know that if (or should I say when) I go to court the judge will only order me to pay what I can afford so there really is no need for litigation when the outcome is going to be the same. I am angry at Howard Cohen for jumping straight into a claim epecially as this bumps up my debt quite alot.
              Shall I scale down those letters to just the CCA request do you think? I could also include the last 3 months token payments, just to show willing.
              You can't scare me, I have children.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                Just as a side note

                I have a couple of accounts that were with GE then got bought by CL Finance.
                I CCA'd both accounts and they had all the docs required from accounts a few years old.
                Initial Agrement, Notice of Assignment.

                Just so you are prepared in the case that they MAY come up with the docs, and that you arent thinking that this will be how you defend it.

                I am surprised that they have suddenly instigated Proceedings without any attempts to get you to pay them first, as this would have been easier for them.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                  Yes it would of been easier for them.
                  They have bought the debt from GE so they will do all they can to get there money no matter what.

                  I'm sure though a default notice HAS TO BE ISSUED before a CCJ can be raised. A CCJ should not be enforced by the courts if the correct protocol has not been followed by the creditor.

                  But as we know, sometimes it's like hitting your head up against a brick wall.

                  You could issue an SAR request to them and inform them to discontinue the claim until they supply the documents to you as they would need to be replied upon in court anyway. Don't think they would though, or you could request that the courts order the claimants to produce all the documents by such a date, so you can either submit your defence and offer of payment or contest the whole claim, it up to you.


                  Not to hot on court procedure so hopefully someone will comment on this.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                    Hi PKea, thanks for looking in :-)

                    [quote=PKea;41400]Just as a side note

                    I have a couple of accounts that were with GE then got bought by CL Finance.
                    I CCA'd both accounts and they had all the docs required from accounts a few years old.
                    Initial Agrement, Notice of Assignment.

                    Just so you are prepared in the case that they MAY come up with the docs, and that you arent thinking that this will be how you defend it.
                    I quite expect them to have the paperwork as this debt isn't very old. I'm willing to pay what I've spent just not the charges and court costs.

                    I am surprised that they have suddenly instigated Proceedings without any attempts to get you to pay them first, as this would have been easier for them. Exactly what I think, but after reading on other forums it seems this is the norm for Howard Cohen and co.[/quote]
                    You can't scare me, I have children.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                      Originally posted by thephoenix View Post
                      Yes it would of been easier for them.
                      They have bought the debt from GE so they will do all they can to get there money no matter what.

                      I'm sure though a default notice HAS TO BE ISSUED before a CCJ can be raised. A CCJ should not be enforced by the courts if the correct protocol has not been followed by the creditor.

                      But as we know, sometimes it's like hitting your head up against a brick wall.

                      You could issue an SAR request to them and inform them to discontinue the claim until they supply the documents to you as they would need to be replied upon in court anyway. Don't think they would though, or you could request that the courts order the claimants to produce all the documents by such a date, so you can either submit your defence and offer of payment or contest the whole claim, it up to you.


                      Not to hot on court procedure so hopefully someone will comment on this.
                      I think I will request a copy of the default notice which I am sure I have never received, plus do a CCA request. I will also make an offer of payment, maybe a letter outlining what has happened in the past few months and send another copy of the I/E form that has so far been ignored. They are not the only creditors I have but they have been the most difficult (well, apart from Lowell but thats another story and a very long one at that!)

                      I have a busy evening tonight so will get cracking on this tommorrow and will post up my new letters for perusal when they are done.
                      Thanks to you all for your help:okay:
                      You can't scare me, I have children.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                        Sounds like a plan

                        CCA request
                        Copy of Default Notice

                        In the offer of payment - make sure its a reiteration referring to your previous letter to which you had no reply - and yes send the IE form.


                        Also do an acknowledgement of claim (if they claimed through northampton your should be able to do this online) - do it as an intend to defend in full for now - yu can change to partial admission when you come to that point - which should have given them chance to get the CCA to you.

                        Then you can admit the amount you actually owe inc interest and exclude charges and court fees on the basis of no default notice/unfair penalties/and the non respnse to your communications.

                        So work that amount out.
                        #staysafestayhome

                        Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                        Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                          Thank you Amethyst, I have most of the paperwork for this so should be able to work out the balance I am willing to pay.
                          I have already acknowledged the claim online, but it was a partial admission, so too late to defend in full
                          Still, I will get on with my letter to HC&co. Thanks again, this site is great!
                          You can't scare me, I have children.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                            Revised letter winging it's way to HC&co...also a copy to the court.

                            Will keep you informed of progress.

                            :okay:
                            You can't scare me, I have children.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Court claim received from CL Finance/Howard Cohen sols

                              Keep an eye on the defence deadline as well. If you need more time to get information apply for it - otherwise these claims just get rubberstamped along and you'll have to go for redetermination/setaside all that malarkey.

                              You know that anyway tho
                              #staysafestayhome

                              Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

                              Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

                              Comment

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