Restons Solicitors Credit Card Debt Pre Action Protocol

[Diana M]

this might be a sort of fishing exercise on Reston's part - but not guaranteed to buy me any time let alone it all going away! I'm wondering about how they go about reconstituting a credit agreement - and what makes this either acceptable or unacceptable. Am I correct in thinking it doesn't have to show my original signature, but would have to show correct address/name/dates in order to be enforceable?
So I'm guessing they will probably issue a claim anyway as they don't have much to lose by giving it a go..

Not necessarily (that they'll issue a claim) but my firm believes in managing expectations so stating that they "can't" do something when they can (albeit it might not succeed) is misleading.

Since this debt is £8k it's likely to be allocated to the Small Claims Court not the Fast Track which is for claims over £10k. In the Fast Track the loser has to pay the other sides legal costs unless there have been 'conduct issues' along the way.

So they may think that if they 'give it a go' all they've got to lose will be not recovering the disputed sum for their client, but their client would still have to pay them the firm's legal costs (depending on the terms of the contract with their client).

Litigation is about tactics (as well as law) and that includes Pre Litigation matters.

It's knowing when to ask for documents (send that s 78 CCA Request to Arrow pronto!) and when not to in case you give them too much time to find them before issuing. If you ask for documents after a claim has been issued then the Claimant is under pressure to deliver the goods in a timely manner or else the opponent may ask the court to force the issue and strike out the claim if they don't comply.

The issue of what makes a reconstituted document acceptable to a Judge is a different tutorial

You say this credit card was opened in 1998 so hopefully they will struggle to get a scanned copy of it.

Di

[Diana M]

I think it was Joanna C who explained a S78 is for information purposes only, lets hope they can not find the agreement

Exactly!

Section 78 is for 'information purposes' only not 'proof purposes'.

They can produce a document which they say they believe is the credit agreement to satisfy s 78, but the claim can still fail for a myriad of other legal reasons.

Is the debt owner Arrow Global Ltd or Arrow Global (Guernsey) Ltd which is unlicensed?

Di

[coming up for air]

Is the debt owner Arrow Global Ltd or Arrow Global (Guernsey) Ltd which is unlicensed?

Di[/QUOTE]

It's Arrow Global Ltd. Thanks for your advice. I'll send the S78 request off to Arrow tomorrow, but hold off sending the SAR to Lloyds until they do issue a claim. Agggh not sure If I could hold my nerve if they do manage to produce some kind of CCA - but I guess at that point I'd be wise to get some legal advice for their view on it! Thank you again.

[Diana M]

Why not send the SAR to Lloyds now so at least you'll know what information and documentation they have retained (or not) since 1998.

That way if Arrow produces a reconstituted document you'll be able to tell whether it's 'honest and accurate'.

Or if the credit agreement isn't in your SAR response then Arrow won't be able to get it either will they?

Debt purchasers don't always have the same access to information as you do from the original creditor - that may depend on the conditions written in to Deed of Assignment. The credit agreement may be in your SAR response but Arrow may not be able to get their hands on it.

Litigation is similar to playing poker - you need to start to prepare your hand before you need to show it

Di

[coming up for air]

Hello.

Can I just ask for confirmation I've done this correctly:

I sent of my reply to Restons Solicitors to say I needed more information by signed for post to arrive within the deadline.

I will send a S78 letter to Arrow Global Ltd (who now own the debt and have instructed Restons to recover) Can I enclose a cheque rather than a postal order - and if so, do I need to write on the cheque that this is only be used for payment for the S78?

I will send a Subject Access Request to Lloyds (original creditor) and enclose a £10 cheque (again, to I need to write on the cheque that it can only be used for this purpose?) Do I need to list specifically what information I would like them to provide ( I had several current accounts, loans and credit cards with them over 20 years so don't really want to receive thousands of pages of bank statements when all I'm really interested in is the credit agreement for the credit card!) or am I better to ask for everything?

Do I need to send copies of my letters to Restons or let them know I've requested this?

In the meantime, Restons "shouldn't" issue a claim form, but if they do, I have 30 days to respond in which time I can see what comes back from Arrow and Lloyds?

Sorry to ask for yet more hand holding!

[MIKE770]

claim forms can be issued regardless of request made, whether they can issue request at a later stage is another matter.

[jaguarsuk]

Hello.

Can I just ask for confirmation I've done this correctly:

I sent of my reply to Restons Solicitors to say I needed more information by signed for post to arrive within the deadline.

I will send a S78 letter to Arrow Global Ltd (who now own the debt and have instructed Restons to recover) Can I enclose a cheque rather than a postal order - and if so, do I need to write on the cheque that this is only be used for payment for the S78?

I will send a Subject Access Request to Lloyds (original creditor) and enclose a £10 cheque (again, to I need to write on the cheque that it can only be used for this purpose?) Do I need to list specifically what information I would like them to provide ( I had several current accounts, loans and credit cards with them over 20 years so don't really want to receive thousands of pages of bank statements when all I'm really interested in is the credit agreement for the credit card!) or am I better to ask for everything?

Do I need to send copies of my letters to Restons or let them know I've requested this?

In the meantime, Restons "shouldn't" issue a claim form, but if they do, I have 30 days to respond in which time I can see what comes back from Arrow and Lloyds?

Sorry to ask for yet more hand holding!

My personal opinion is yes write on the cheques they are statutory fees and take copies as evidence (although you can get copies from your bank at a later date, it's easier to just photocopy them now). And ask for everything from Lloyds as you never know what amongst it might potentially become relevant later.

[warwick65]

My personal opinion is yes write on the cheques they are statutory fees and take copies as evidence (although you can get copies from your bank at a later date, it's easier to just photocopy them now). And ask for everything from Lloyds as you never know what amongst it might potentially become relevant later.

Do banks still keep copies of cheques? I have to say i don't fancy your chances of getting a copy from your bank

Yes you can pay by cheque, I did for several of my CCA requests and scanned them so they could be matched with my bank statement.

I also insert a line in the CCA request 'Please find enclosed a cheque No xxxxxx in payment of the fee' - that creates a paper trail - especially if they cash it

[jaguarsuk]

Do banks still keep copies of cheques? I have to say i don't fancy your chances of getting a copy from your bank

Yes, they are processed now by machines which scan the whole cheque. A digital image front and back is still retained. It's because things such as the cashiers branch stamp on the cheque and any information printed/encoded on to the cheque may be needed at a later date.

But, it is still preferential to keep a copy yourself for ease.