Lowell(shop direct) lifted stay

[Sailor86]

Hello all,

May time I received a claim from lowell with an alleged debt. I put my defence in on time and did all the normal cca request etc as per the claim.

Subsequently they did not respond to my defence to the court and it was stayed.

Before it was stayed lowell had sent me a directions questionnaire of which I did not respond as it was not directly from the court.

I had asked lowell for additional information from them some of which they sent and some which they did not. I had discrepncys with the amount of debt as they had sent me a bill with ?s in it that they could not explain. Additionally they have only given me a computer screen shot of a default notice that I believe not to be satisfactory.

They offered me a Tomlin order which I declined. I also instructed that there would be no further communication until the said documents asked for could be seen and my position on the debt assessed.

I have also sent a SAR to shop direct who can not prove the amount either as too much time has passed, or did they give me a copy of a default notice, only that it had been sent.

Following on from this lowell lifted the stay on the fact that directions had not been received to the court from themselves or me.

It has now been propesed to be allocated to the smalls claims track and I have been ordered to fill in a directions questionnaire. Which has all now been allocated to my local court.

I ask for any advice on the situation and the steps I should take next. Would it be worth making an order explaining all the above and to have the default notices etc seen?

Many thanks in advance.

[Sailor86]

Anybody can help at all?

[Amethyst]

Have lowell applied to lift the stay and been transferred for a hearing/ directions on their application or has the court already read the application, lifted the stay and ordered the case to proceed ?

Have they sent the agreement to you ?

If their application to lift the stay was on the basis neither party had filed directions questionnaires how do they explain that they sent a copy of theirs to you and told you they had filed it with the court ?

Also what is the discrepancy in the sums being claimed ?
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[Sailor86]

Hi Amethyst,

Thanks for the reply.

Lowell applied to lift the stay on the basis that "upon review of the matter and correspondence with the court it became apparent the court never received a copy of the claimants directions questionnaire"

It has been read and the court approved to lift the stay and has now been transferred to local court for directions to be issued, which they have. It states that it is now a defended claim and suitable to be allocated to small claims track.

It also stated that the claimants defence had already been sent to me which it has not, unless that was the original claim form.

In regards to the discrepancy in the amount I asked for a breakdown of the claim an itemized bill as it were and within that there were amounts of money, but instead of a description of the goods just question mark's. On some items.
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[Amethyst]

Is there a poor attempt at crossing through the sentence that states 'this is a defended claim ...' ? The court uses the same letter for both parties informing that the claim is defended and to complete allocations questionnaires, sometimes they strike through the part about the defence on the defendants copy - sometimes they forget.

anyway, it sounds like you need to file and serve your DQ and the claim will proceed as if the stay didn't happen.

what was your defence and what documents have you requested from the claimant ( did you send a formal CCA request) vs what have they provided ? Full agreement ( recon of online agreement ?) - screenshot of shop direct system showing default date and some figures ( last order value, last payment etc), notice of assignment ?*

when did it default ?

It sounds like you may be defending on the actual sum being claimed if they haven't been able to show what was ordered, when and where delivered and on what terms.

[Sailor86]

No poor attempt at crossing this one out!

The account defaulted in Feb 14, so it is not statue barred.

I have requested the following documents from the claimant:

1. CCA:

Seems to be the original

2. The written notice of assignment.

I only have been provided with Lowell's written assignment and not the original creditors

3. Default notice

I have a screenshot only stating "section 87 Default notice sent" and does have original creditors name within it

4. Statement of Purchases (Itemised Bill)

Is not complete.

In-between all this they have tried to offer a Tomlin order, which was declined, however in reply i offered a to settle on the amount that they probably bought the debt for to show willing to resolve.

I have also done a SAR on the original creditor. This info shows they cannot prove the amount, or that they have an original default notice.




My Defence was as follows:

1.The Defendant received the claim *********** from the County Court Business Centre Northampton on the ********

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.The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim states the agreement was entered into on ******

5.The Defendant does not recall entering into an agreement with Littlewoods for provision of credit on the *******

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

7.The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from Littlewoods to Lowell Portfolio LTD on *******. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

8.It is denied that *********** served any Default notice on the Defendant pursuant to Section 87 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 the 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.

9.On the ******** 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. I requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreement and Notice of Assignment.

10.Lowell Solicitors has not sent any of these documents to the Defendant.

11.On the ********* The Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to Lowell Portfolio LTD pursuant to section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee.

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

13. The Defendant have asked the Claimant if we may agree to extend the time period allowed for filing of the defence pending receipt of documents (as allowed under CPR 15.5), however the claimant has not acknowledged the request satisfactorily

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.


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[Sailor86]

Amethyst, anyone?