Overdales Lowells debt from CC debt - mental health defence?

[ADHDtrials]

Received a claim? Yes/No: Yes

Issue Date: 20 February 2024

Have you Acknowledged the Claim?: Yes, today on 11 March before 4pm (I hope this was in time!)

Total Amount Claimed : ( approximately please do NOT use EXACT figure given on the claim form, round up to next £100 or £1000) £2800

Claimant’s Name: Lowells

Solicitors Firm: Overdales

Original Creditor: Halifax / Lloyds

Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) : Credit Card

Particulars of Claim: ( Please type out in full excluding names/account numbers/exact amounts ):

The claim is for the sum of XX£2800XX due by the Defendant under an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a Lloyds Banking Group plc account ref xx

The defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required by the agreement and a Default Notice was served under s.87(1) of the CCA 1974 which has not been complied with.

The debt was legally assigned to the claimant on 27-02-23, notice of which has been given to the defendant.

The claim includes statutory interest under s29 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 sum of £100xx

The claimant claims the sum of £3,000XX


Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 6 years?):

I was making small payments such as £10/20 per month for a couple of years, I believe the date the debt was registered was January 2015. Original credit card debt was around £4,500 and remaining amount due was around £2,800. I stopped paying this in January 2021, based on my understanding I don't believe it is statute barred.

List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ): So far, just the Acknowledgement to the court online. Do I also need to send it by post? The form doesn't say that I do.


Any Other Information or Background Details:


Hi there, thanks so much for this forum, it has been really helpful to read about other people's experiences, and I am devastated that I find myself in this position again.


Around 2012, I struggled with managing finances and took out credit/pay day loans which took quite a while to get out of, and get back to a good place with my credit rating. I had a DMP and I guess have had these monthly payments set up for a while so I kind of forgot about it. Fast forward to a couple of years ago, I was looking to get a mortgage and one of the providers saw the debt payments on my current account and said no to the mortgage. In a panic I cancelled them, and I have settled a couple of them, this debt was bigger and I have been avoiding dealing with it.

A large part of the avoidance was my ADHD diagnosis in 2022 and soon after having a baby, it has been a very challenging couple of years and I have really been struggling with my mental health, work, relationships and basically all aspects of my life. I had a stressful situation in my last role, which resulted in severe anxiety/ panic attacks and PTSD. I hadn’t worked for 18 months, I was on parental leave for a year and had a bit of money to spend, but have also run up my credit card debts again, so I know I need to take care of this. I have psychiatry notes and confirmation of my diagnosis, I’ve been in therapy and on medication. I’m now in a much better place, I started a contract role in January and while I am earning again I can’t pay off this total amount due to other high expenses with childcare, mortgage, etc.

I received these letters but I somehow thought it wouldn’t lead to a court claim, that it was too old of a debt, can’t affect my credit score etc. I am now better informed! The thing is, if I get a CCJ, it will mean I cannot get a job doing what I do as I work in legal, they run background checks (currently interviewing for roles so if/when I do get one I need the credit check to still be good). So I absolutely need to avoid getting one. Is that at all possible here? I’m so scared of what might happen that I avoid dealing with it.

So I acknowledged today on 11 March (was that still in time?) with an intention to defend all of the claim. So I guess that gives me a 24 March deadline by which to file the defence, but I’m not sure if I have one. For the pay day loans etc it was clearly irresponsible lending, and I’m annoyed that I still paid back those when I didn’t have to. I can’t find a copy of the credit agreement but I think it was taken out in 2009/2010. Originally with Robinson Way then I guess it moved over the years. I’m fine with paying towards it, but would not be able to afford the full amount and they have added extra charges on top.

Thanks so much in advance for your advice.

[echat11]

Hi ADHDTRIALS

Welcome to LB

Firstly, sorry about your health conditions, hope they are improving.

Secondly, your acknowledgement of service should have been done by the 5th March, so that's 14 days from the date on the claim form.

a) What you need to do is Acknowledge the claim online, that will give you an extra 14 days to work on you defence, so that 28 days in total, plus 5 days post. - you've done this.

b) Send Lowells a CCA request for your account, they have 12 days to provide you with a copy of your original agreements. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...etter-example/

c) Send Overdalesa CPR 31.14 Request, they have 7 days to provide documents they are relying to make the claim. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-of-documents/

d) Send Halifax / Lloyds a SAR for the account, they have 30 days to provide all the details on the account. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

Make sure you get your defence in on time, so 28 days from the date of the claim, note it in your diary, if you want the Defence checked post 5 days before it's due.

e) This is an example defence, amend it carefully to suit the current situation, wait nearer the 23th day (to see what documents you receive). Send a copy to the Court and their solicitors, make sure you get Proof of Postage for both.

So you want to lodge it with the Court before the 19th March.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-court-claims/

[ADHDtrials]

Hi there, thanks for this. With regards to your second and third para

Secondly, your acknowledgement of service should have been done by the 5th March, so that's 14 days from the date on the claim form.

a) What you need to do is Acknowledge the claim online, that will give you an extra 14 days to work on you defence, so that 28 days in total, plus 5 days post. - you've done this.


are these not the same thing? Have I missed the first step here, it said to either acknowledge in post or online.

could I get any specific help about my queries relating to a Defence?
thank you!

[echat11]

Hi there, thanks for this. With regards to your second and third para

Secondly, your acknowledgement of service should have been done by the 5th March, so that's 14 days from the date on the claim form.

a) What you need to do is Acknowledge the claim online, that will give you an extra 14 days to work on you defence, so that 28 days in total, plus 5 days post. - you've done this.


are these not the same thing? Have I missed the first step here, it said to either acknowledge in post or online.

could I get any specific help about my queries relating to a Defence?
thank you!

Yes they are the same thing, they give you 14 days from the date on the Claim form.

Your defence should address the Particulars of Claim on the claim form. Your health issues can be stated in your Witness Statement with evidence further down the line. Your example defence is in point (e).