Lowell Claim Form letter for debt I don't owe...

[jaguarsuk]

I do want to fight it as I think it’s a winnable case however as I’m not in work currently it makes the mounting costs seem more daunting and am not sure how I’d fair in court (I’m guessing pretty abysmally) even if I was onto a winner.

Saying that, I think I’ll keep plugging on and if the mediation doesn’t work I’ll just have to man up. Are lawyers advised and if so how much would I be looking at approx for a relarively simple case?

Thanks

You could seek professional advice and pt2537 may be able to assist, his firms advice is always free in the first instance.

The costs are limited and therefore I would only expect the claim to increase by a further £55 if they were to win, that being the hearing fee they will have to pay. As I said unless there is unreasonable conduct they can't claim costs above that.

Don't be afraid of court, it's not like it is on TV with wigs and all that jazz. In the small claims track even if in a court room you'll just sit and discuss the matter with everyone dressed smartly, but no pomp. If you live in a large town or city it may not even be heard in a court room and if that's the case you'll basically sit in an office with the judge to discuss the matter.

It's much more informal than most people believe.

[ilikecake]

Thanks, I was imagining myself on the set of Perry Mason

[ilikecake]

Hi All, I'm back!
Just had a letter through for 'Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing)'.

From reading the letter it looks as if I need to gather my evidence and send it to Lowell and the Court.

Is there anything I should bear in mind, note for this next stage in proceedings?

Thanks once again

[Amethyst]

Any documents from BT or Lowell yet? ( other than those initial letters and notice of assignment )

Still no recognition of the debt ?

[ilikecake]

Absolutely nothing. I'm going to write to the court to ask for any evidence of the case against me as I'm still 100% in the dark.

Only since I bought my house 2 years ago have I had any bills against my name apart from my Mobile and this demand is about 5 years ago.

[Amethyst]

Okay. So you have a hearing date notice and instructions to file your witness statement and evidence ( although tbh you don't have any, that ball is in the claimant's court ).

What date does your Witness Statement want filing by ? and when have the other side got to pay the hearing fee by ?

Don't write to the court - they have issued directions so comply with those - the claimant has to provide their evidence now, with their witness statement and, if they can't/don't, that should be the end of things.

[ilikecake]

OK so Lowell just sent me a letter so we can settle out of court. They want to enter an agreement called a Tomlin Order and for me to pay £466 now.

The really hilarious thing is the bill came through for the BT account registered to my name (although the first name is just an initial), and someone else who I've never heard of before in Stratford where I've never lived before!

What's the best way to proceed?

[ilikecake]

I was thinking of writing to Lowell and state that the address is incorrect and that I have never lived there and if they proceed I shall bill them for any extra time taken out of work etc.

[Amethyst]

The Bill, sent by Lowell, evidencing that which the claim is based on is a BT Bill copy addressed to an address that you have never lived at ? or have they sent a copy of someone elses bill along with one actually address to you? ( sorry I'm probably being thick )

[ilikecake]

Hi Amethyst, no I probably didn't explain it well enough

The bill is for an address I've never lived at for someone else entirely, the only thing linking me to this bill is that my surname and initial match up. The bill also has someone else's name logged against it.

So basically there is a bill for someone else but with the same surname and initial on which is possibly how I can see they got confused.

[Amethyst]

So possibly a tracing error ... ok what date does your witness statement need to be in ? We should reply to their offer letter and tell them their error as well. Can you do a picture of it ( not the Tomlin order just the cover letter )

Do you have anything evidencing your address at the time of the bill ( and previous period )?

Has this been entered in your credit file at all ? ( any linked address showing as that will need sorting out too )

it is entirely possible someone with your initial , surname and date of birth does have a bt debt and you've just come up on searches instead .... obvs I don't know your name - is it a relatively unusual surname ? ( I mean there must be lots of J Smith's born on the same date but probably only a couple F Gruntfuttocks ... )

[ilikecake]

It says that I have to give all documents which I intend to rely on 14 days before the hearing which is on 27th August

[Amethyst]

Ok ages to sort things out before then .... let's reply to their generous offer ....

[charitynjw]

( I mean there must be lots of J Smith's born on the same date but probably only a couple F Gruntfuttocks ... )

There are loads of us....we happen to be very prolific!

Signed
F Gruntfuttocks

[ilikecake]

Do you mean post a picture of it here or one to attach to the letter?

I'm not sure about the credit file, how do I check? Log into Experion or similar?

I'd say you're bang on with the same name, I may go and check the electoral register for that house in that time period to see if I can fill in the first name. The surname is fairly standard, less popular than Jones but more popular than Gruntfuttock... In fact, there are 16,593 in England I just found out