Court claim paperwork received

**Amethyst** · 7th November 2019, 18:13:PM

It sounds like it might be statute barred but it is worth checking and obtaining the relevant documentation so you can defend on alternative grounds as well.

If you can have a read https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...y-court-claim/
and give us a bit more info on the claim as per the form it will help guide you through dealing with the claim.

First job is to acknowledge service.

**rusty2009** · 7th November 2019, 18:34:PM

Hi Amethyst thanks for your reply please find below the details.

Received a claim? Yes
Issue Date: 04/11/2019
Have you Acknowledged the Claim?: YES
Total Amount Claimed : £4,100
Claimant’s Name: Lowell Portfolio i LTD
Solicitors Firm: Lowell Solicitors limited
Original Creditor: Very
Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) : Catalogue
Particulars of Claim: ( Please type out in full excluding names/account numbers/exact amounts ):
1) the defendant entered into an agreement with very - littewoods/additions direct which was regulated by the consumer credit act 1974 under reference xxxxxx on 25/03/1020 ('the agreement')
2) In breach of the agreement, the defendant failed to maintain the required paymentsa nd the agreement was terminated.
3) The agreement was later assigned to the Claiment on 12/12/2014 and written notice given to the defendant.
4) Despite repeated requests for payments, the sum of £3,600 remains due and outstanding. And the claimant claims A) the said sum of £3,600 b) interest pursuant to s69 count courts act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.772, but limited to one year, being £300 C) costs.
Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 6 years?): I beleive it is statute barred last payment made in Jan 2013 with no communication since.
List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ): NONE
Any Other Information or Background Details:

**rusty2009** · 8th November 2019, 08:46:AM

What date do I put in the letter to the Solicitor?

To enable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I require inspection of documents you mention in your statement of case ahead of filing my defence on xx/xx/xxxx

**rusty2009** · 8th November 2019, 09:00:AM

Here's the letter I've done which I'm hoping to send today.

To the solicitor from the template.

Dear Sir/Madam
Claim Number: xxxxx

Request for documents mentioned in a statement of case under CPR 31.14

On 06/11/2019 I received a County Court claim from yourselves of which I have acknowledged receipt indicating my intention to defend in full.

To enable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I require inspection of documents you mention in your statement of case ahead of filing my defence on 01/12/2019.

1. Agreement
2. Termination Notice
3. Notice of Assignment

In accordance with CPR 31.15(c) I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request.
You should note that this claim has not yet been allocated to a specific track and the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect. Had your claim not been issued through CCBC the Claimant would have been obliged to attach copies of the documentation upon which it relies to the Particulars of Claim.
I, as Defendant, am entitled to see the documents on which the Claimant relies and which you must produce at trial. Disclosure at this stage will enable me to fully plead my case and further the Overriding Objective.
You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the document(s) I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter.
If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing and confirm your agreement to an extension of the time allowed for me to file my defence as allowed under CPR 15.5 so I may notify the court.
For your information and records I enclose a copy of the formal request for a copy of the credit agreement relating to this claim, pursuant to the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which has been posted to your client with the statutory fee of £1 today, 08/11/2019.

I look forward to hearing from you.

**rusty2009** · 13th November 2019, 15:56:PM

I've today had a letter from Lowell Solicitors. stating the following.

We write in regards to the above matter.

We can confirm we have received your Acknowledgement of service. Please ensure you respond to the claim as you deem appropriate within the timescales set out by the court.

Please be advised that we have requested for a copy of the relevant documentation from our client, we are unable to control the time-frame in which it takes for these to be provided but once in receipt we will contact you accordingly. We have however enclosed a copy of the notice of assignment for your reference.

Whilst we await the above documents you are required to respond to the claim form where you deem appropriate within the time-frame set out by the court. Failure to respond may result in a county court judgement in default being entered against you, incurring further costs to the account balance.

If you wish to speak with a member of our team, please telephone us between 8:00am and 8:00pm Monday to Friday or between 8:00am and 2:00pm Saturday on 0113 335 3334.

The notice of assignment letter is as follows.

Dear XXX 20 December 2014

We hereby give notice of the assignment of the debt due to us from you in respect of the balance of £3500.00 outstanding on your Shop Direct Finance Company (previously known as Littlewoods Finance Company) Retail Brand account.

On 12 Decembe, 2014 your account was legally assigned to Lowell Portfolio I Ltd as such any futher communications and payments regarding the above account(s) must now be addressed to:
Lowell Portfolio I Ltd
Address

phone number (which is missing)

Payment can be accepted by Switch, Delta and credit card.

As of yet nothing back from Lowell Portfolio.

Any advise at this stage Amethyst

**Amethyst** · 13th November 2019, 16:23:PM

Assignment in December would be pretty speedy if it defaulted within 6 years before the issue date of the claim. Last payment Jan 13 so seems likely it defaulted before the end of October 2013.

There has never been a default on my credit file for this debt up until the end of last month Oct 2019 when Lowell added it.

Have they put a default date on the credit file details ? Suspect you might be making a complaint about that entry.

No mention of when the account was opened - have you any idea - was it before 2007 ? ( littlewoods paperwork was atrocious pre 2007 )

Otherwise nothing to do but sit tight and see what they come up with, but keep an eye on the clock to enter your defence before the 33 days are up ( so aim for approx. 1st Dec to ensure you have enough time to file )

**rusty2009** · 13th November 2019, 17:13:PM

Amethyst, Thanks for your reply.

Yes that was my view that Very has 6 months to default so Jan + 6 months = July 2013.

On the credit file it shows this.

Lowell
£ 3,500
15/10/2019
Default
Name
xxxxx
Address
xxxxx
Date of birth
xxxx
Account type
Mail Order
Account number
**************
Account start date
25/03/2010
Opening balance
£ 2,500
Repayment frequency
Monthly
Date of default
10/12/2014
Default balance
£ 2,500

In what why do I complain about the date on the credit file entry?

**Amethyst** · 13th November 2019, 19:14:PM

Date of default
10/12/2014
That should show on the info from your shop direct SAR. Usually you get a screenshot of their main account status page that has a default notice date on. If last payment was Jan 2013 then really should have defaulted sooner but there's actually no rule on how long they can take - also with Very etc catalogues some purchases can be on 52 week payment terms / take three / 6 month interest free etc - so it is going to be a case of awaiting the SAR to see what went on. Â*Â*

Date of Assignment
12/12/2010
bit quick .... 2 days after default ( to me that puts the default date into doubt more than it does the date of assignment )

Account Start Date
march 2010
Shop Direct Finance Company ( was littlewoods Finance until Jan 09 ) so if/when they get the agreement it should be in shop direct finance company's name.Â*

Default balance
£ 2,500
but Lowell claim the balance now is £3500 ....
Unlikely to have risen a grand after default... also unlikely to have had an original opening balance of £2500. Â*Do you happen to recall the original credit limit after your first purchase ?Â*

The SAR from shopdirect is going to be important here.Â*
Â*

**rusty2009** · 14th November 2019, 09:59:AM

Thanks Amethyst.

I think the original credit offered when I opened the account was about £250

I believe the total credit limit was over £4000 at the end.

**Amethyst** · 14th November 2019, 10:19:AM

Suspected as much. They do like to ramp up the credit limit regardless of circumstances, just because you're making the minimum payments ok.Mine went from £250 to £4000 too before I defaulted and hid from it ( settled it for 50% a couple years back )

Not a lot you can do re the credit file till you get the Shop Direct SAR really. But all these bits can go in the defence. See what shows up in the next couple of weeks.

**rusty2009** · 22nd November 2019, 18:39:PM

Just a small update to date nothing back from the CCA request or further documents from Lowell solicitors.

Lowell have done a search on my credit file with code AF (google tells me this is Action fraud) which made look into the details more & I notice that they got the day and month of birth crossed over.

**rusty2009** · 27th November 2019, 07:47:AM

Amethyst I'm just starting to compile the defence ready from the very helpful template.
Under which section is it S77 or S78?

Also Do I need to ask the claimant if they would allow an extension or just remove that part? It's a bit close in time to allow a response from them for filling defence on the 1st.

**Amethyst** · 27th November 2019, 08:14:AM

Originally posted by rusty2009 View Post

Just a small update to date nothing back from the CCA request or further documents from Lowell solicitors.

Lowell have done a search on my credit file with code AF (google tells me this is Action fraud) which made look into the details more & I notice that they got the day and month of birth crossed over.

Tell the credit reference agency and Lowell about that just in case it flags anything weird ( wrong date of birth can be a fraud flag ). Just to be safe.

For the defence it is section 78 being a catalogue ( running credit )

**rusty2009** · 27th November 2019, 09:32:AM

Thanks Amethyst I will get onto that today.

Here's my defence ready to go now. Hopefully it's ok?

In the Northampton County Court Business Centre

Claim No: [XXXXX]

[Claimants Name]

Claimant

And

Lowell Portfolio I LTD

Defendant

DEFENCE

1.The Defendant received the claim [Claim Number] from the Northampton County Court on 6^th November 2019.

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

3.This claim appears to be for a Catalogue Account agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4.It is admitted that the Defendant has previously entered into an agreement with Very for provision of credit.

5.The Claimants statement of case fails to give adequate information to enable me to properly assess my position with regards the claim.

6.The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim fail to state when the agreement was terminated.

7.The Defendant contends the alleged debt is statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980 in that no payment or acknowledgment has been made for over 6 years

8.The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from Very – Littlewoods/additions direct to Lowell Portfolio I LTD on 12/12/2014. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9.It is denied that Very – Littlewoods/additions direct 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. The Claimant is required to prove that any Default notice relied upon complied with the requirements of s88(4A) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and that the notice was in the prescribed form as required by The Consumer Credit Enforcement Default and Termination Notice Regulations 1983.

10.On the 08^th November 2019 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 solicitors limited. I requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreement, Default Notice and Notice of Assignment.

11.Lowell solicitors limited has only sent Notice of assignment to the Defendant.

12.On the 08^th November 2019 The Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to Lowell portfolio I 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.

15.The Defendant respectfully requests the court orders the Claimants to provide the necessary documentation in order for The Defendant to fully plead his case else the Claim should stand struck out.

16.In the event that the relevant documents are received from the Claimant, the Defendant will then be in a position to amend his 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.

Court claim paperwork received