Lowell Court Claim for Credit Card

[londonbruv]

Hey there,

I recieved a county court claim from Lowell for an old credit card.

I left it a bit late to respond so copied a defence from a template on here.

I received this email from Lowell :

WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS
*
We write with regard to the above referenced matter and further to your Defence to the claim dated 4 February 2020, the contents of which are duly noted.
*
We believe that the content of the Defence filed may have been sourced from a generic template on the Internet and, whilst our client understands the concern that may be caused as a result of County Court proceedings being issued, our client would request that you engage with us and provide further clarification as to why you feel that you are not liable for part or all of the debt from which the claim arises, so that may narrow down the issues and seek to raise any relevant queries with the original creditor and Assignor of the debt, Vanquis.
*
Our client is currently satisfied that the full balance is due and outstanding, including court fees and costs incurred as a result of legal proceedings being issued.* However, our client is also keen to resolve this matter amicably and to avoid further legal action which would incur further costs and fees. **Our client has therefore advised us to put forward an offer of full and final settlement of the claim in the sum of*£725.00, inclusive of small claims track fixed costs and fees at this juncture.
*
We look forward to hearing from you soon in respect of our client’s offer.* If you are at all unclear as to the content of this email, we recommend that you seek independent legal advice.
*
Kind regards,


Has anybody received a reply like this before and do you think it means anything regarding the case



Thanks for anyone that can help

[GBExile]

They have sent that to a few people from what I have seen. To me it seems as if they are unsure they will win in court.

Tell us more about the ORIGINAL debt? How much did you buy & what are the interest & charges on the account until they passed the debt on?

[londonbruv]

Oh okay,* it was the "We believe that the content of the Defence filed may have been sourced from a generic template on the Internet " which got me a little concerned!*

As far as the original debt,* to be totally honest I am unsure,* was a tough time in which I lost my job and buried my head in the sand.* It was a credit card, which i ended up maxing out and then incurred charges, on my credit report it only ever shows Lowell had it and it was for £663 . So I am assuming it was about a £600 limit card.*

[GBExile]

"We believe that the content of the Defence filed may have been sourced from a generic template on the Internet " which got me a little concerned!

That is just a scare tactic. It doesn't matter where you get your defence from so long as it is a good & relevant defence.* You might want to post your defence on here & I am quite sure someone will have a scan through.



*

[Amethyst]

Indeed - and it's not like Lowell send out the same letters to everyone is it ? Such hypocrites.

Anyway as GBexile says it'd be a good idea to post up the particulars of claim and your defence - also did you send them a cca request and a cpr 31.14 letter ?

*

[londonbruv]

Okay , thanks.* *As I said i rushed it a little bit so I have probably used the wrong defence or something , this is all a bit confusing for me.* Defence

1.The Defendant received the claim ***** from the Northampton
County Court on 09/01/2020

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

3.This claim is for a Credit Card agreement regulated under the
Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4.It is admitted that the Defendant has entered into an agreement
with Vanquis 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 entered into.

7.The Claimants statement of case states that the account was
assigned from Vanquis to Lowell Portfolio Ltd on 31/08/2016. The
Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

8.On the 12/01/2020 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 and Notice
of Assignment.

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

10.On the 12/01/2020 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.

11.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.

12.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.

13.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.

14.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.

15.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.

[londonbruv]

Particulars of Claim

1) The defendant entered into a Consumer Credit Act 1974 regulated agreement with Vanquis under account reference *** ('the Agreement') .
2) The defendant failed to maintain the required payments and arrears began to accrue.
3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 31/08/2016 and notice given to the Defendant.*
4) Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £663.17 remains due and outstanding.
And the Claimant claims
a) The said sum of £663.17
b)Interest pursuant to s69 County 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 £0.145, but limited to one year, being £53.05*
c) Costs

[londonbruv]

Hello, just a quick question .

I have received directions questionnaire, from reading on here I should agree to mediation, however it came with a leaflet saying only agree if you can answer yes to 2 questions. 1 being "I can confirm that i have enough information about the claim to allow me to enter into negotiations"

Seeing as they haven't replied to my cca request and a cpr 31.14 letter the answer to this would be NO so the Mediation wouldn't be suitable ?

So should I agree to mediation or not ?

Thanks in advance

[MIKE770]

State no they will state no mediation can take place and inform the court for next action

[MIKE770]

You state agree to mediation then when asked what I said above

[londonbruv]

Haven't heard anything about this since until this week.

I received a letter from Lowell stating they have reviewed my defence "which appears to be a template defence"

Says they didn't receive my 31.14 s78 requests

They then state vanquis have provided them with the original agreement.

They have enclosed copies of the original application completed online.
Statement of account
And default notice.

They also include a copy of the Notice of Assignment sent in Sept 2016

Says they are willing to consider a reasonable settlement proposal in light of these additional details provided.
Either lump sum or affordable monthly instalments.

They don't actually put any figures as to what they consider reasonable.

Letter was dated 21/10 and they say I have until 30/10 to accept this "offer".


The documents provided do look legitimate.

Apart from the notice of assignment, the letter is "dated 2016" but in 1 paragraph it says

you should now contact us regarding repayment and the easiest way is to call us on <<PidetailsPiDetails2>> to make an arrangement to repay the balance.

This leads me to believe that this isn't a copy of the actual letter they say they sent, but a template that they just copy and fill in details as per the case.

I'm not sure if I'm right in that assumption or even if I am that it makes no difference.


Any views as to what to do next would be much appreciated.

[londonbruv]

Amethyst



As you were very helpful before

[MIKE770]

sounds familiar from lowells trying to make you think all is in order at the last minute! read around the site on lowells cases and a pattern should show they are scrapping a case they are not too sure of ( of course they are worried as they have raised millions of funds at a very high interest rate lately it was reported).

[Celestine]

It does sound as if they have now complied with your CCA/CPR requests. What year was the account opened?

It's really up to you now. I'd ask what discounts they are offering for a F&F settlement. If you take this to a final hearing and are unsuccessful, you will have 30 days to pay the whole debt plus court fees to avoid a CCJ. If you choose to settle now, you may have more control over timescales and amounts.

Let us know what you decide to do. Good luck.