County Court claim for Statute Barred debt

[Warchilo]

Hi,

I've just had a claim letter from the Civil National Business Centre for a debt that defaulted around 15 years ago.

I haven't replied or made any payments in that time (mental health struggles).

I've started the process of defending it via the old online Moneyclaim system.

I'm trying to use the template defence here https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-court-claims/

Can anyone tell me which points (1-18) I should remove and which should I keep?

Thanks for any help.

[atticus]

Your defence is that the claim is time barred. Your principal point is in paragraph 7.

[Warchilo]

Thank you, so I should just remove all the other points?

Are there any tripwires I should be aware of or is it simply just editing the template and posting it as my defence?

Also should I be contacting the claimant or just deal directly with the court?

Thanks again.

[echat11]

Fill in the following information, copy and paste back to this thread.

Received a claim? Yes/No:
Issue Date:
Have you Acknowledged the Claim?:
Total Amount Claimed : ( approximately please do NOT use EXACT figure given on the claim form, round up to next £100 or £1000)
Claimant’s Name:
Solicitors Firm:
Original Creditor:
Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) :
Particulars of Claim: ( Please type out in full excluding names/account numbers/exact amounts ):
Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 6 years?):
List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ):
Any Other Information or Background Details:

[Warchilo]

Thanks for your response, and apologies for the late reply. I work away driving a truck and don't get much time to sit down in front of a computer,

Received a claim? Yes

Issue Date: 08/04/2024

Have you Acknowledged the Claim?: Yes

Total Amount Claimed : £700

Claimant’s Name: Lowell Portfolio

Solicitors Firm: Overdales Solicitors

Original Creditor: HSBC Bank

Original Debt (eg. Credit card/Loan/Overdraft) : I don't remember whether it was a credit card or overdraft, the account number seems to suggest a credit card.

Particulars of Claim:

The Claim is for the sum of xxx due by the Defendant under and agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a HSBC Bank pl account with an account reference of xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required by the agreement and a Default Notice was served under s.87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which has not been complied with.

The debt was legally assigned to the claimant on (Q1 2023, not sure if the exact date would be revealing info here), notice of which has been given to the Defendant.

The claim includes statutory interest under S.69of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of the assignment to the date of issue of these proceedings in the sum of xxxx.

The claimant claims the sum of xxxx.

Is the debt Statute Barred (have you had any contact with the creditor or claimant over the last 6 years?): I have received letters but never responded in any way. The default dropped off my credit file many years ago.

List any letters you have sent (eg: CCA/ CPR ): None

Any Other Information or Background Details: I have a list of mental health issues that have led to me not dealing with this earlier. PTSD from time in the forces, Anxiety, Depression and late diagnosed Autism/ADHD.



Again many thanks, this would be too overwhelming without people and places like this.

[echat11]

You've acknowledged claim, good.

a) Send a SAR request to HSBC Bank, they have 30 days to provide all the data they hold on the account. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

b) Send a CCA request to HSBC Bank, they have 12 days to provide a copy of the original agreement. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...etter-example/

c) Send a CPR 31.14 request to Overdales, they will provide all the documents they are relying on to make the claim against you, again get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-of-documents/

d) This is an example Defence, start looking at it, don't fill or file it with the Court or their solicitors yet.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...-court-claims/

Keep on top of this, especially dates for filing defence etc. Workout when your Defence is due, 28 days from the date on the claim form. If you can post on the thread 5 days before it's due we can help with your Defence.

[Warchilo]

I acknowledged the County Court claim on 12/04/2024, do I have time to do these things?

Also the £1 that needs to be included, should this be as a postal order? I don't have a cheque book.

[Warchilo]

So here's I where I've got to with my Defence (obviously I'll edit in personal details later)



In the [Northampton County Court Business Centre]

Claim No: [XXXXX]

[Claimants Name]

Claimant

And

[Defendants Name]

Defendant

DEFENCE

The Defendant received the claim [Claim Number] from the [Name of Court – often Northampton or Salford] County Court on [Date you received the claim]

[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]

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this [name document being verified] are true. I understand] [The (claimant or as may be) understands that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed ________

Dated ________







Is it Necessary for me to leave the last Paragraph (Statement of truth) in?




Again thanks for all your help during a stressful time.

[echat11]

What you are doing is responding to the statements made in their Particulars of Claim.

The debt might be statute barred, but it's still a good idea to address the PoC in full.

The Statement of Truth has to be in the Defence, if it wasn't included, the Judge / Court would totally ignore your Defence.

[echat11]

If you are 100% that it's statute barred, then don't do a), b), and c).

[Warchilo]

The part in the statement of truth that needs to be edited - [name document being verified] - which document am I referring to?

I don't want to accidentally acknowledge the debt.

Again, sorry to be a pain with so many questions and thanks for taking the time to respond.

[Warchilo]

If you are 100% that it's statute barred, then don't do a), b), and c).

I'm 100% sure it's statute barred unless there's some legal trickery that I don't understand (such as the line in the Particulars of Claim - The debt was legally assigned to the claimant on 27-04-2023).

I believe this isn't a reset of the statute of limitations, is it?

I've never responded to any communications, initiated any communication or made any payments.

I believe it was Statute barred before I moved to my current address, as it had defaulted more than 6 years before then, and had already dropped off my credit file.

I've lived at my current address for nearly 8 years and only started to receive letters again from collection agencies a couple of years ago.

[echat11]

a) Remove brackets / fill in bit's in RED

b) Read it several times to make sure facts are correct, amend it if you need to.

c) You can lodge it with the Court via MCOL.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the [Northampton County Court Business Centre]

Claim No: XXXXX

[Claimants Name]

Claimant

And

[Defendants Name]

Defendant

DEFENCE

1.The Defendant received the claim [Claim Number] from the [Name of Court – often Northampton or Salford] County Court 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 claimappears to be for a Credit Card agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4.It is admitted that the Defendant has previously entered into an agreement with HSBC Bank 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 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 HSBC Bank to Lowell Portfolio on Q1 2023. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9.It is denied that HSBC Bank 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 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.

10.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.

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

Statement of Truth

I believe the that the facts stated in this Defence are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed ________

Dated ________

[Warchilo]

Thank you very much, this is exactly what I needed and I appreciate the time you've taken to put it together for me.

[Warchilo]

Any idea on how successful these defences are?

Any tricks I should be on the look out for? I fear that collection companies aren't beyond making false allegations/claims?

Everything I've said is true, but is there anything they could do to make it difficult for me to prove?

For example could they say I have been in contact without providing any evidence (as it does not exist)?

Thanks.