County Court Claim for Historic MBNA Debt

[dizco]

Hi All

In 1997 I took out an MBNA Credit Card, and ran up a £3,500 balance, which then defaulted in 2000, and was sold to Wescot Credit Services for collection.
I set up a Standing Order with Wescot and was paying £30 a month (reducing to £20 a few years after) since 2000. The debt no longer appears in my credit file. I'm not sure when it dropped off, but it was over 6 years ago.

In November 2014 I enquired with Wescot about the settlement figure, and was informed it was £800. Since then I defaulted on the payments (Since 28th January 2015). I was struggling financially at the time. Wescot pursued me for the debt and for a while I ignored their correspondence, but then decided to send a CCA request through Wescot to see if they had enforceable paperwork. After a delay of around two months, they wrote back to me to say they didn't have any paperwork and suggested I contacted MBNA directly to see if they had any. They didn't.

Since then, the debt has been passed through several agencies, and today I received a letter from drydensfairfax advising me that they had been sold the debt, and that a Claim Form had been sent by Northampton County Court for £950 (including court fees etc). I also received this today. I have been advised to pay the debt in full to avoid a CCJ being registered against me.

I guess at this point I'm a little unsure of how to proceed. I have registered online, completed the AOS declaration, and confirmed that I intend to fully defend the claim, which I believe now gives me 28 days to get my defence together.

I'm not financially stable enough to settle the balance and have a few questions / thoughts:

1) If Wescot were unable to provide the necessary paperwork as proof in 2015, is the debt even enforceable now?
2) Should I register a CCA / SAR request through drydensfairfax, even though they've already initiated a court claim form?
3) This debt dropped from my credit file years ago, so does this mean nothing (CCJ) can be registered on my file if there's nothing to register it against?
4) I'm now worried about how I construct my defence based on this. My key response is that drydens do not have any paperwork to back up the fact that I owe anything to anybody.
5) Is the debt effectively statute barred?

Any advice you can give on how I should proceed now that I've acknowledged the claim online would be greatly appreciated.

[dizco]

**Gentle Bump** Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[Celestine]

Hi All

In 1997 I took out an MBNA Credit Card, and ran up a £3,500 balance, which then defaulted in 2000, and was sold to Wescot Credit Services for collection. That is a REALLY old account :o
I set up a Standing Order with Wescot and was paying £30 a month (reducing to £20 a few years after) since 2000. The debt no longer appears in my credit file. I'm not sure when it dropped off, but it was over 6 years ago. Seems like a long period to repay £3500, was interest still being added? Did you receive a default notice under s.87 CCA?

In November 2014 I enquired with Wescot about the settlement figure, and was informed it was £800. Since then I defaulted on the payments (Since 28th January 2015). I was struggling financially at the time. Wescot pursued me for the debt and for a while I ignored their correspondence, but then decided to send a CCA request through Wescot to see if they had enforceable paperwork. After a delay of around two months, they wrote back to me to say they didn't have any paperwork and suggested I contacted MBNA directly to see if they had any. They didn't. Good

Since then, the debt has been passed through several agencies, and today I received a letter from drydensfairfax advising me that they had been sold the debt, and that a Claim Form had been sent by Northampton County Court for £950 (including court fees etc). I also received this today. I have been advised to pay the debt in full to avoid a CCJ being registered against me. Yes that's the 'safe' CAB type advice, but you can defend on the basis of the CCA compliance.

I guess at this point I'm a little unsure of how to proceed. I have registered online, completed the AOS declaration, and confirmed that I intend to fully defend the claim, which I believe now gives me 28 days to get my defence together.
I'm not financially stable enough to settle the balance and have a few questions / thoughts:

1) If Wescot were unable to provide the necessary paperwork as proof in 2015, is the debt even enforceable now?
2) Should I register a CCA / SAR request through drydensfairfax, even though they've already initiated a court claim form? Yes, follow our guide and immediately send of CPR and CCA requests.
3) This debt dropped from my credit file years ago, so does this mean nothing (CCJ) can be registered on my file if there's nothing to register it against? This is irrelevant, the account still exists but it has fallen off your file, this is normal.
4) I'm now worried about how I construct my defence based on this. My key response is that drydens do not have any paperwork to back up the fact that I owe anything to anybody.
5) Is the debt effectively statute barred? No the debt (because you made payment within last 6years) is not but is very likely unenforceable under CCA s.78

Any advice you can give on how I should proceed now that I've acknowledged the claim online would be greatly appreciated.
Read our guides carefully and other threads and keep us posted. Bump if posts not answered. X

Remarks in red

[dizco]

Many thanks Celestine. Both the CPR and CCA requests were sent today special delivery. Guaranteed tomorrow. Is there anything else I need to do in the meantime, or do I now sit tight and wait?

[dizco]

Sorry - Just one additional question. I sent both the CCA and the CPR to Drydens (the address for documents listed on the claim form). Is it worth sending the CPR directly to the claimant also?

[dizco]

I've received a letter from Drydens yesterday which states the following:

"We refer to the above matter and your recent contact with our office.

Please be aware that a County Court Claim Form has been issued against you. As such we suggest you complete and return the Claim Form, including any offer of repayment you wish to make.

Your account will be placed on hold for 14 days from the date of this letter (5th January) to enable you sufficient to return the Claim Form.

Should you fail to respond to the Claim Form, Judgment will be entered in default against you."

I have until the 15th to submit my defence.

Any help you can offer as to what course of action might be best would be much appreciated.

[dizco]

*Gentle Bump*

[ostell]

So have you received the court form yet?

[dizco]

So have you received the court form yet?

Hello, yes I've received it. I've acknowledged it online stating that I intend to fully defend, and have until Friday to submit my defence.

I'd requested all of the documents referred to in the claim form from Drydens. They have responded with

"We refer to the above matter and your recent contact with our office.

Please be aware that a County Court Claim Form has been issued against you. As such we suggest you complete and return the Claim Form, including any offer of repayment you wish to make.

Your account will be placed on hold for 14 days from the date of this letter (5th January) to enable you sufficient to return the Claim Form.

Should you fail to respond to the Claim Form, Judgment will be entered in default against you."

So they are encouraging me to submit before I receive anything from them. I'm unsure of how to proceed in the meantime.

[MIKE770]

ignore their 14 days on hold court rules not them get the defence in if due and follow court directions

[Celestine]

Can you also please just check that the MCOL system is showing that you acknowledged the claim and ticked defend in full....just for peace of mind.

Check out our defence guide in the R/H sidebar and make a start on getting it completed.

[dizco]

Hi Celestine, yes I've just checked. Service acknowledged and I stated I intend to defend in full. Just looking at the defence form. Do I have to deny any knowledge of the debt, or am I just stating that it's now unenforceable under CCA s.78?

[MIKE770]

Neither admit it deny

[MIKE770]

Or deny should read

[dizco]

Quick update. Oddly I've had my postal order and CCA letter back from Drydens today with a note saying "no longer required".

Any ideas why they might have done this? I am submitting my defence tonight.