Please help! County court letter received.

[Amethyst]

Okay, you can always discuss a settlement by negotiation direct with the company at any point up to the steps of the court - it doesn't have to be via formal mediation. Some companies will accept a reduced amount settlement paid by installments under what's known as a Tomlin Order ( the case stays at court while you pay, but they don't ask for judgment unless you default on your side of the bargain ) - some companies ask you to pay to lodge the consent order at the court (£100 ) and some will just make the agreement between the parties and tell the court the case is on hold. You get a better discount if you can pay in a lump sum though of course and the claim is then just withdrawn/discontinued and the court notified it has been settled. Personally I'd wait and see if they do produce documents, but definately wait until the court has issued further directions or a hearing date.

Unless you pay the full amount claimed though there is no guarantee they will accept your offer and if you couldn't pay it in full either before judgment, or within 28 days of the judgment against you ( if they won ) you do risk having a CCJ registered on the file and your credit reference agent record for 6 years. But it's always worth a negotiate - remember most of these DCA's only paid 10-20% of the face value of the debt to the original creditor so they have decent profit margins even on a 50% offer.

[scoey1001]

Hi Amethyst/all.

As above can anyone advise on what evasive action can be taken?

Also i have the questionnaire here ready to send back to say i agree to mediation, however there is a tick box and one of the statements is;

'I can confirm that i have enough information about the claim, to allow me to enter into negotiations'

It then says if you have answered NO then mediation is not suitable for your case. Therefore as i have not received the documents from Lowell then does that mean i should tick NO as i do not have the information?

Any help much appreciated as this is all getting a bit stressful now.

[MIKE770]

if you have not received the documents requested then then state yes to mediation (shows willing) & No to documents) but when mediation ring and ask you if you have the necessary documents to mediate you say no (if at that stage you still have not) they will then sate not suitable for mediation and send the case back to the court for the next stage,

[scoey1001]

if you have not received the documents requested then then state yes to mediation (shows willing) & No to documents) but when mediation ring and ask you if you have the necessary documents to mediate you say no (if at that stage you still have not) they will then sate not suitable for mediation and send the case back to the court for the next stage,

Thanks for the reply Mike, However if i tick NO in this box will they not automatically not put it forward for mediation as it says it's not suitable if you tick NO? hope this makes sense lol.

Also as stated above my partner will 100% not go to a hearing on this so we want to avoid this at all costs.

Another development is that on the money claim online site it states 'DQ filed by claimant on 02/03/2018'. Can anyone explain what this means and should i also have a copy?

[MIKE770]

there is nothing to worry about regarding mediation it just shows that you are willing to enter to save court time.

Defense Questionnaire = is their copy to fill in as you are doing and stated they have filled theirs, Diana M

have asked Diana to look in here

[scoey1001]

there is nothing to worry about regarding mediation it just shows that you are willing to enter to save court time.

Defense Questionnaire = is their copy to fill in as you are doing and stated they have filled theirs, Diana M

have asked Diana to look in here

Thanks but my question is aren't i contradicting myself as on one hand i am saying yes to mediation then i am ticking a box which says i dont have the information so therefore mediation is not suitable?

[Amethyst]

Tick No if you don't have enough information and don't want to do mediation - but if you recognise the debt and want to mediate then tick Yes.

Mediation is a three way phone call between yourselves, a mediator from the court, and the other side. You only speak to the mediator, who acts as a kind of messenger. It would have to be your partner who does the call as it's in her name - I think she can give you permission to speak at the time though. If you don't feel you have enough information to mediate when the mediation appointment comes around you will be able to say that then, it's not binding at all, many people say Yes at directions questionnaire stage and then decline later if no documents have been received. Quite often people use mediation to negotiate a settlement on installment terms under a mediation agreement, which means no CCJ while payments are made and no court or CCJ unless you default on agreed payments.

Other than the Statute Barred issue, which you've found out it isn't, and lack of documents, is there a dispute about the actual original debt ?

[scoey1001]

Hi Amethyst.

No there is no dispute except the lack of documents, which is what i was advised to do on this site (request for documents).

If say no documents are produced and i decline to mediate on this basis, does that mean it will go to a hearing? or will the court request documents be provided before a hearing can be arranged.

Thanks

[Amethyst]

Just checking - so if they come up with the documents you will be looking to settle, basically ? Normally if mediation fails they will book a hearing date and order witness statements and evidence to be exchanged 14 days before the hearing. That's the point where if there are documents you will receive them from the other side. You could negotiate settlement after that IF everything is provided. They also have a hearing fee to pay before that point, it's not a huge amount but if they don't want to go ahead they sometimes will discontinue at that point.

[scoey1001]

Just checking - so if they come up with the documents you will be looking to settle, basically ? Normally if mediation fails they will book a hearing date and order witness statements and evidence to be exchanged 14 days before the hearing. That's the point where if there are documents you will receive them from the other side. You could negotiate settlement after that IF everything is provided. They also have a hearing fee to pay before that point, it's not a huge amount but if they don't want to go ahead they sometimes will discontinue at that point.

Hi Amethyst,

Yes if they come up with the documents she will be looking to settle. I take it that it's unlikely they will not have the documents?

If they produce the documents after mediation (which we will refuse if documents are not produced) and then a hearing is set will we then basically have to pay in full?

[Amethyst]

It really will depend what they come up with. To avoid the CCJ, IF they came up with all the documents ( assignment, default,statements, content of agreement & terms etc ) and it was all okay, then to avoid getting a CCJ registered you'd need to either make an agreement to pay installments under a Tomlin/Consent order or negotiate a full & final settlement, or pay in full ( the claimed amount + court fees + costs ) within 28 days of Judgment. Plan for the worst and then if they are unable to produce compliant documents etc and discontinue it would be a pleasant suprise. It is horrible all this 'wait and see' stuff I know, when you just want it sorted as it's rather stressful dealing with it all. When the hearing is set the court gives a date for exchange of witness statements and documents/evidence - so that really is the point when you'll need to decide whether to proceed in the defence or get it settled.

[scoey1001]

It really will depend what they come up with. To avoid the CCJ, IF they came up with all the documents ( assignment, default,statements, content of agreement & terms etc ) and it was all okay, then to avoid getting a CCJ registered you'd need to either make an agreement to pay installments under a Tomlin/Consent order or negotiate a full & final settlement, or pay in full ( the claimed amount + court fees + costs ) within 28 days of Judgment. Plan for the worst and then if they are unable to produce compliant documents etc and discontinue it would be a pleasant suprise. It is horrible all this 'wait and see' stuff I know, when you just want it sorted as it's rather stressful dealing with it all. When the hearing is set the court gives a date for exchange of witness statements and documents/evidence - so that really is the point when you'll need to decide whether to proceed in the defence or get it settled.

Hi Amethyst,

The mediation team has now called and left a message for my partner to call them back. We have still not received the documents from Lowell so do i just say i am not in a position to mediate?

Also just to clarify if they come up with the documents at court stage, and if we subsequently agree to pay before court, what extra fees will we be liable for?

Thanks

[Amethyst]

We have still not received the documents from Lowell so do i just say i am not in a position to mediate?

Yes, you can tell the mediator person that you haven't received anything at all from Lowell despoite requesting documents/evidence of the claim so aren't in a position to mediate until that happens.

Also just to clarify if they come up with the documents at court stage, and if we subsequently agree to pay before court, what extra fees will we be liable for?

There may be a hearing fee added to the claim if they provide documents at Witness Statement stage - this is £80 for claims between £500 and £1000 or £115 for claims £1000 to £1500. There could be further costs if it did go to the actual hearing.

[scoey1001]

Hi all, thought i'd provide an update.

My partner did not call the mediator in the end as she had ticked one the boxes indicating she did not have all the documents therefore indicating the case wouldn't be suitable for mediation.

She received a letter from the court advising of a hearing date but it also says that if Lowell do not pay the hearing fee and provide the relevant documents (original credit agreement etc?) by tomorrow 24/04 then the case will be thrown out. It also states that she can still go through a mediator.

Just wondering if the fee is paid etc how soon it will appear on the money claim online website? just checked and nothing on there as yet.

Also if it went to hearing would we be liable of the costs for Lowells representatives travel costs etc. As the court is in south east Kent.

Thanks all.

[Amethyst]

Does the hearing letter ask you to provide a witness statement and documents too ? If so, by when ?