Settled : Lowell Court Claim for BT account not in my name

[MIKE770]

Amethyst

[Amethyst]

Morning xxx Having a read back

[Amethyst]

Right. Check before sending - I've personalised it a bit more only based on what you have said on the thread, which I think draws the alleged debt into doubt whether the claim is against the right person and whether there were any sums owed... so much so they will have to provide documents to evidence their claim.... really though they will just need to show you continued with the line rental for the house phone line, it really matters not that you didn't make outgoing calls I'm afraid. But they still need to evidence it



In the Northampton County Court Business Centre

Claim No: [XXXXX]




Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD

Claimant

And




[Defendants Name]

Defendant







DEFENCE

1:The Defendant received the claim [Claim Number] from theNorthampton County Court Business Centre on [Date you received the claim]

2:Each and every allegation in the Claimants statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.

3:This claim is a BT PLC agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4:The Defendant has never held an account with BT Plc. The Defendant's ex-Husband has previously held an account with BT Plc however the account was closed in 2014 and the Defendant is unaware that any sums were outstanding following termination of the agreement. The Defendant's ex-husband no longer lives at her address.

5:The account was closed due to changing suppliers of Telephone and Broadband Services. There was, as far as the Defendant is aware, no breach of contract as there was no fixed term applicable to the account. In any event, any agreement was between the Defendant's ex-husband and BT not not between herself and BT.

6:The Claimant is required to evidence that the agreement is applicable to the Defendant and evidence how the sums claims have arisen and provide a copy of the agreement and terms which gave rise to any such sums. No breakdown of the sum claimed has been provided.

7:In order to try and find out more information the Defendant has sent a number of formal requests for information to the Claimant ( see paragraphs 10 and 12 below ) and has sent a Subject Access Request directly to BT Plc which has not yet yeilded any response.

8:It is denied that BT PLC served any Default notice on the Defendant pursuant to s87 Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant is required to prove that a compliant Default Notice was served upon the Defendant.

9:The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from BT PLC to Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD on 04 April 2018. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

10:On the 29 September 2018 The Defendant sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimant’s statement of case under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD’s solicitors. She requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreement and Notice of Assignment.

11:Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD’s Solicitor has not sent any of these documents to the Defendant.

12:In the 18 October 2018 the Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd pursuant to section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee.

13:The Claimant has failed to comply with s 78 (1) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by virtue of s 78 (6) Consumer Credit Act 1974 cannot enforce the agreement.

14:Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore, it is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

16:In the event that the relevant documents are received from the Claimants the Defendant will then be in a position to amend her defence, and would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment.

17:It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as claimed or at all.


Statement of Truth

The Defendant believes that the facts stated in this Defence are true.

Signed ________________________________

Dated ________________________________

[Lou18]

Thank you. I sent the defence letter and the N9B form via email before the deadline. Now I suppose it’s just as waiting game

[Amethyst]

Yip see if they respond to the court to proceed with the claim and take it from there xxx

[Lou18]

Amethyst The latest:

I sent the Defence via email on deadline date 29 October and received an Auto Reply acknowledging receipt.

On 30th October received a received a letter from Court acknowledging the receipt of Defence and advising that a copy of it has been served on claimant (or the claimant's solicitor). The claimant may contact you direct to attempt to resolve any dispute etc...

On 1st November I received a letter from BT (Data Subject Request Team) dated 24 October'18, It says that it might take up to three months to complete my request.

On 2nd November I received:

1- Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track N149A
2- Directions questionnaire (Small Claims Track) N180
3- Mediation letter (???) EX730

There is a mentioning of further information about fees and leaflet EX50. I will need help with understanding this, I cannot afford any legal fees, can someone give some advise please.

On 6th November I received a letter from Lowell's solicitor Notice of pending County Court Judgment (CCJ) dated 27the October, saying that I have failed to respond to the County Court Claim with either a proposal for payment or a reason why this debt is disputed. If I don't respond to the County Court Claim within the time specified or contact them to resolve the matter by 06/11/2018 they will ask the Court to enter a CCJ against me. Please note this letter was received on 06/11/2018!?

I have scanned all the letters mentioned above and I am attaching them.

Can someone please advise on the next course of actions. I don't want to enter mediation and I dispute the whole amount.

I am not sure if I need to fill in the forms mentioned above, the deadline is 15 November 2018.

[Amethyst]

Okay

The Lowell letter threatening Judgment was sent before they were served with the Defence by the court so you can ignore that.

The EX50 is for court fees - the CLAIMANT has to pay a further hearing fee - you don't have to pay anything else.

You do need to complete the N180 ( Directions Questionnaire ) before the 15th and send a copy to the Court and to the Claimant. Some info here on doing that https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ims-track-form You should say yes to MEdiation, if the claimant doesn't provide documents before Mediation happens it won't go ahead in any case ( Mediation is just a three way phone call with a court mediator )

Oh and yes, BT can do that, as long as they informed you. You can make a complaint to the ICO but it is unlikely to obtain the info any quicker.

[Lou18]

@Amethyst, I have completed and signed the N180 form and emailed them to Court and to Lowell Solicitors. On 10 November I received a copy of Directions Questionnaire sent by Lowell Solicitors, I have attached a scanned copy of it.

On 13 November I received another letter from Lowell Solicitors, dated 12 November 2018 which I have attached it as well. It says:

“...the original balance of £668.89 was accumulated with BT PLC with the phone number xxxxxxxxxx, where you defaulted on your repayments. The agreement was enteredon 10 June 2011 then account defaulted on 27 May 2016, after you stopped making payments. The debt was then legal assigned to our Client on 22 February 2018, to which further interest (£31.52), costs (£70.00) and fees (£60.00) have been accrued on your account.

Furthermore, we note your request for a copy of the creditagreement. Unfortunately, the account is not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 therefore we are unable to request a copy from the Original Creditor. However we have requested the available information and any information will be forwarded on to you upon receipt.

Please note that this is now a litigated matter, and you should respond to all court correspondence sent to you.”

Firstly what do they mean with “you defaulted on your repayments” …? There never was an agreement or plan for payments or repayments.

Secondly”then account defaulted on 27 May 2016, after you stopped making payment” My one and only payment to BT was in December 2014. The very last correspondence from BT was 11 April 2016 informing me that the debt was passed on to Moorcroft. So this does not make sense.

Thirdly” the agreement was entered on 10 June 2011 then account” theaccount was always in my ex’s name, I never entered into any agreements. I’m giving more details below with regards to what actually happened.

So if Lowell can’t provide a copy of agreement/contract between BT PLC and myself (there never was one) what would happen at meditation? Any advice on what to say or not to say and how not to get tricked into agreeing anything I don’t want to, I’m really worried about this as obviously I don’t know and I’m not familiar with the legal terminology and procedures.

As explained before, the account was opened by my ex-husband, it was in his name, monthly DD’s set up in his name and from his bank account, paperless bills directed to him (Hello xxxx, Your latest BT bill is ready for you to see online...),when logged in at BT online account again in his name (Hi xxxxxxxxx). He contacted BT in November 2014 to cancel the account and he cancelled the DD.

I only made one payment that December (that was made over my mobile). That was the one and only payment I ever made, there was no arrangement for payments or repayments (the account was up to date until November 2014 and I paid for December), there were no early termination charges and no leftover time from the original contract (no renewal letters were sent from BT either so the contract started in 2011 had automatically rolled over).

I tried to negotiate with BT from December 2014, trying to keep the landline number and get a new contract in my name. There were phone calls and then emails (from around February 2015), I tried to reason with BT that account was not in my name. A complain was raised with the Ombudsman in June 2015 but unfortunately I was right in the middle of a legal battle with my ex about child arrangements at the time as well and I didn’t follow up with them. Meanwhile I did not use BT services.

Finally after the child arrangements were settled via a court decision I changed over in January 2016 to EE who were already providing my mobile services (I wish I knew I could do this and I should have done it earlier). 8 February 2016 I received an email from BT addressed to me this time “Goodbye for now, we’re sorry to see you go...”One week later BT sent another paperless bill via email addressed to my ex. The latest BT correspondence was 11 April 2016 via email, informing me that the debt was passed on to Moorcroft Debt Recovery.

So the account did not default on 27 May 2016!!!

Moorcroft contacted me via email on 21 April 2015. After a few phone calls and emails to and fro, Moorcroft said they’ll get in touch with their client (BT) to get more information and that was the last I’ve heard from them (April 2015).

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you

[Amethyst]

The service wasn't cancelled ( you wanted to retain your number and kept the line - even if you never made a call you had the service and line rental was owed ) until you switched to EE in Jan 16 and got the 'Goodbye' letter from BT in Feb 16.

The latest BT correspondence was 11 April 2016 via email, informing me that the debt was passed on to Moorcroft Debt Recovery.

So the account did not default on 27 May 2016!!!

Moorcroft act for BT and so could have been chasing the arrears on the account before default, so it is possible it defaulted in May 2016.

You should send a Subject Access Request to BT to try and find more information out.



So regarding the account possibly being in your name now...

He contacted BT in November 2014 to cancel the account and he cancelled the DD.

I only made one payment that December (that was made over my mobile).

I tried to negotiate with BT from December 2014, trying to keep the landline number and get a new contract in my name. There were phone calls and then emails (from around February 2015), I tried to reason with BT that account was not in my name. A complain was raised with the Ombudsman in June 2015

( I'm guessing your ringing them up after he cancelled got it 'un-cancelled' but not changed to your name ) - although - were Moorcroft chasing you or you ex ?

Your defence at the moment is that the account was not in your name, they have not provided a breakdown of the amounts claimed, the contract/agreement, notice of default or termination, nor any notice of assignment.

• It is denied that the Defendant has [previously] entered into [an agreement with BT PLC for provision of service.
• The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from BT PLC to Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD on 04 April 2018. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.
• It is denied that BT PLC served any Default notice on the Defendant pursuant to s87 Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant is required to prove that a compliant Default Notice was served upon the Defendant.
• On the 29 September 2018 I sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimant’s statement of case under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD’s solicitors. I requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreement and Notice of Assignment.
• Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD’s Solicitor has not sent any of these documents to me.

[Lou18]

Amethyst Good morning, I had a quick read of your reply, thank you again for taking your time, I appreciate your help enormously.




I have sent a Subject Access Request to BT and they replied 1st November saying it might take up to 3 months.




BT or even Moorcroft never chased my ex-husband. He moved out few months before cancelling the BT. Originally he was going to pay utilities bills and help with mortgage, and child support but reneged on that...that’s another story (it took me nearly two years to get my child back despite a court order saying she should stay with me and he breached that and an undertaking. He even went as far as to declare himself bankrupt in April 2015 when I started divorce proceedings as to avoid paying anything).




When I spoke to BT in the months when my ex cancelled the account and DD’s, I requested that they send me evidence that account was in my name and opened by me. I also tried unsuccessfully to open a new account in my name, a simple basic landline and broadband at more affordable package which they were advertising at the time (around £26 per month). They never gave me that opportunity despite me asking to start a new contract in my name as a new customer. BT was saying that account was in my name despite being opened by my ex, bills addressed to him and online account in his name. He moved out and cancelled the contract with them. The unfortunate thing is that paperless bills were sent to my email address which shows my name and surname, should that had been in a nickname, would this had been a completely different matter?




BT never attempted to contact my ex. They just tried to bully me.

[Lou18]

Amethyst I was contacted via telephone with regards to mediation (scmreferrals@hmctsxxxxx) and telephone mediation is booked for 20th December.
I also received 5th December a N149A letter notifying me that this is now a defended claim, the defendant has filed a defence, a copy of which is enclosed, and I must by 27 December complete the Small Claims Directions Questionnaire (Form N180) and file it with the court office and serve copies on all other parties.

enclosed was a N180 form (to be completed by Defendant).

im really confused because I already completed a N180 back in November and sent it. Also the N149A looks very similar to the one I received end of of October which had the part after the defendant has filed a defence striked out “a copy of which is enclosed”. The latest N149A it has this as underlined. By the way the defence is not enclosed. What do I do with this form, do I need to send it again, what is the point if it.

i really would like some help with preparing for the mediation via telephone next week. Anything I should say or not say, any documents I should have in front of me etc.

thank you

[Amethyst]

Yes that is a little bit strange, especially if you already have a telephone mediation appt booked.

I think the court have had a bit of a cock up - but it is worth giving them a ring to tell them you have received a further order to file a directions questionnaire, that you already did so and have already got mediation booked in, and see what they say. Don't worry about the defence part in the N149a - that's the court being cheapskates and not actually send you and the claimant different letters...the claimant probably got a duplicate as well which is likely to confuse them too lol. Give court a call when you have a free half hour for the on hold music and just double check with them.

I'm going to read back rest of thread with regards your mediation position xxx

[Lou18]

Thank you
I was really hopping that I wouldn’t have deal with this until after Christmas and I tried to book the meditation for January but alas not such luck. I’m extremely worried and nervous about the whole thing.

[Lou18]

Amethyst Hi, I called the court as per your suggestion and the person who answered seemed to be confused why the forms were sent especially as a mediation is taking place, he told me to just ignore them.
I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to read back the thread and have some fresh ideas about the case.

My telephone appointment for mediation is approaching very fast and I really don’t know what’s going to happen and I would appreciate ever so much if you could give me some advice.


Thank you

[Lou18]

Amethyst Good morning,

Have you has a chance looking at this? My telephone appointment for mediation in 48hrs time and I really don’t what is going to happen. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you