Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

CapQuest has replied to my email asking for written confirmation of the extension by saying that they don't give this confirmation via email due to 'security reasons' and so they will send me the confirmation through the post.

I have yet to receive the letter they apparently sent to me on the 22nd September.

What was the letter supposed to have been about?

You may want to look at this thread, where the claimant ended up withdrawing the summons due to not being able to supply the documents mentioned in their PoC: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...891#post381891

...and this other Capquest court thread for reference: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...900#post381900

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Thanks, FP, the contents of the "letter" were never disclosed to me, but it is supposed to be a response to my s78/31.14 requests. It is a long letter, apparently. I got the impression that I was just being fobbed off about its existence, so I took the leap and asked why CapQuest are starting proceedings without the documents to hand and it was then that I got the reply about CapQuest being a large company, etc.

The claim is for £300 only (£200 credit limit and I think there was PPI) - can I put in any applications when it's likely to be small claims? My defence is needed by 2nd November. I've received just a verbal agreement to the extension. I think CapQuest are trying to make me run out of time. I'm not even sure if this is SB. It is at least 5.5 years ago. Thanks.

[littlebert8]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

If you notify the court in writing (letter or email) that you have made an agreement with the claimant for additional time to file a defence, that should be enough to prevent the claimant requesting judgement though the CCBC automated system. Even if they did manage to get judgement in default, you should be able to apply to have it set aside. Best thing to do is email the court and telephone them to follow up as they are currently in arrears by up to 2 weeks.

If you think it is statute barred, you can assert that in your defence - it will be for the claimant to prove otherwise.

Probably no point in applying for disclosure as its almost certainly going to be small claims track. I'd be tempted to confirm the extension and see what they provide. If I remember correctly, the PoC is crap anyway, and as M1 has said, they may have to amend this if they pursue it as far as a trial. Its probably not worth that much to them

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Thanks, littlebert, I emailed the court on Thursday to say that I had an agreement, but no written confirmation; I would send this to them when I received it. I can ring the court on Monday and further draw their attention to this.

How do I 'confirm' the extension - or do you mean this figuratively? The PoCs are indeed crap, lol, the whole thing is whiffy!!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Thanks, littlebert, I emailed the court on Thursday to say that I had an agreement, but no written confirmation; I would send this to them when I received it. I can ring the court on Monday and further draw their attention to this.

How do I 'confirm' the extension - or do you mean this figuratively? The PoCs are indeed crap, lol, the whole thing is whiffy!!

See below, given the amounts, they're probably just looking for default judgment.

If you notify the court in writing (letter or email) that you have made an agreement with the claimant for additional time to file a defence, that should be enough to prevent the claimant requesting judgement though the CCBC automated system. Even if they did manage to get judgement in default, you should be able to apply to have it set aside. Best thing to do is email the court and telephone them to follow up as they are currently in arrears by up to 2 weeks.

If you think it is statute barred, you can assert that in your defence - it will be for the claimant to prove otherwise.

Probably no point in applying for disclosure as its almost certainly going to be small claims track. I'd be tempted to confirm the extension and see what they provide. If I remember correctly, the PoC is crap anyway, and as M1 has said, they may have to amend this if they pursue it as far as a trial. Its probably not worth that much to them

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Hello, everybody....I'm baffled by a phone call I've just made to the Bulk Centre. I was passed through various switchboards and then spoke to somebody at what sounded like a large call centre. I wanted them to confirm to me that they had my email sent on 24th October, confirming that an agreement was in place for a further 28 days for me to file my defence. It took a great effort on my part to explain what I was calling about. Anyway, the court is still looking at emails from 18/19 October - nothing is on their system (though I did receive an automated acknowledgement email from the court on the day).

What has baffled me is that she said the claimant has to write to the court to confirm the extension agreement. I even read out to her part 15.5 of the court process, but she told me: 'No, Madam, they are suing you - they need to tell the court". I wanted their reassurance that a default judgement shouldn't be entered against me because I haven't received this written confirmation for an extension - now I am wondering just how capable the people working for the courts are!

I have received today a letter from CapQuest - more to follow...

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

CapQuest sent me a letter dated 6 days later than the one they claimed to have sent on the 22nd October.
There was no mention in this letter about extending my defence deadline. I will try to take pictures for you, but not sure if I can, and no scanner, so it basically starts off by pointing out how I have not got in touch with them before to dispute the claim and mentions how I broke the practice direction. Then it says this:

"With regards to your request for a copy of the agreement and default notice, we confirm that we are currently liaising with Capital One Bank in an effort to obtain these documents. Once received, we will forward them to you.

The notice of assignment was sent to you on 24th January 2009. A further copy is attached. With regards to your request for a copy of the deed of assignment please note that this would not be provided to you as it is a private contract between Capital One Bank and this company.

The Consumer Crefit Act 1974 allows 12 working days for compliance of the Section 77(1) or Section 78(1) request, otherwise the creditor would have been deemed to have defaulted under the provisions of the Act. The criminal offence for non-compliance under Section 77(4) or Section 78(6) under the Act has recently been repealed. While a creditor which has defaulted under the provisions of the Act cannot seek enforcement of the Agreement, their right to do so is reinstated once the document which has caused the default is produced.

We will write to you again in due course."

--------

I'll outline what they have sent me next:

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

I believe that what they have sent is a copy of the notice of assignment they claim to have sent me from themselves in Jan 09 and a letter from VP Risk Operations (presumably the last DCA) dated the same day, giving over "effective ownership" of the debt to CapQuest. This copy of the letter from VP Risk Operations is not on any kind of headed paper. It is just a blank sheet of paper, with a rather patchy looking signiture. It looks like it's been lifted off something else. There is nothing authentic looking about it at all, but maybe this is ok. Do I know if VP had the legal rights themselves to any debt to sell on to CapQuest? No - I don't recall their name, either.

CapQuests apparent NoA is signed by the same person who signed the pre-court letter of claim (copy also enclosed). The two letters would be 4 years apart, so interesting that they are both signed by the same person. The signitures on both are copied onto the letter somehow, maybe copy and pasted. There's a clear outline around the signitures. The signiture on the NoA is a "stretched" version of the one on the pre-action letter. I wonder why this is. Also, the NoA gets my first name wrong. It is the difference, say, of naming somebody Louise when their name is Louisa.

So, to confirm, I have been sent a cover letter (above post) and a copy of 3 letters per S78 & CPR requests that claim to be: the NoA from CapQuest, a letter from VP giving the rights to CapQuest and the pre-action letter. I'll try to get pictures and post these up.

[mystery1]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Hello, everybody....I'm baffled by a phone call I've just made to the Bulk Centre. I was passed through various switchboards and then spoke to somebody at what sounded like a large call centre. I wanted them to confirm to me that they had my email sent on 24th October, confirming that an agreement was in place for a further 28 days for me to file my defence. It took a great effort on my part to explain what I was calling about. Anyway, the court is still looking at emails from 18/19 October - nothing is on their system (though I did receive an automated acknowledgement email from the court on the day).

What has baffled me is that she said the claimant has to write to the court to confirm the extension agreement. I even read out to her part 15.5 of the court process, but she told me: 'No, Madam, they are suing you - they need to tell the court". I wanted their reassurance that a default judgement shouldn't be entered against me because I haven't received this written confirmation for an extension - now I am wondering just how capable the people working for the courts are!

I have received today a letter from CapQuest - more to follow...

They are no more than a telephone assistant who won't need any legal qualifications to answer the phone. Clearly they are wrong.

CapQuest sent me a letter dated 6 days later than the one they claimed to have sent on the 22nd October.
There was no mention in this letter about extending my defence deadline. I will try to take pictures for you, but not sure if I can, and no scanner, so it basically starts off by pointing out how I have not got in touch with them before to dispute the claim and mentions how I broke the practice direction. Then it says this:

"With regards to your request for a copy of the agreement and default notice, we confirm that we are currently liaising with Capital One Bank in an effort to obtain these documents. Once received, we will forward them to you.

The notice of assignment was sent to you on 24th January 2009. A further copy is attached. With regards to your request for a copy of the deed of assignment please note that this would not be provided to you as it is a private contract between Capital One Bank and this company.

The Consumer Crefit Act 1974 allows 12 working days for compliance of the Section 77(1) or Section 78(1) request, otherwise the creditor would have been deemed to have defaulted under the provisions of the Act. The criminal offence for non-compliance under Section 77(4) or Section 78(6) under the Act has recently been repealed. While a creditor which has defaulted under the provisions of the Act cannot seek enforcement of the Agreement, their right to do so is reinstated once the document which has caused the default is produced.

We will write to you again in due course."

--------

I'll outline what they have sent me next:

I believe that what they have sent is a copy of the notice of assignment they claim to have sent me from themselves in Jan 09 and a letter from VP Risk Operations (presumably the last DCA) dated the same day, giving over "effective ownership" of the debt to CapQuest. This copy of the letter from VP Risk Operations is not on any kind of headed paper. It is just a blank sheet of paper, with a rather patchy looking signiture. It looks like it's been lifted off something else. There is nothing authentic looking about it at all, but maybe this is ok. Do I know if VP had the legal rights themselves to any debt to sell on to CapQuest? No - I don't recall their name, either.

CapQuests apparent NoA is signed by the same person who signed the pre-court letter of claim (copy also enclosed). The two letters would be 4 years apart, so interesting that they are both signed by the same person. The signitures on both are copied onto the letter somehow, maybe copy and pasted. There's a clear outline around the signitures. The signiture on the NoA is a "stretched" version of the one on the pre-action letter. I wonder why this is. Also, the NoA gets my first name wrong. It is the difference, say, of naming somebody Louise when their name is Louisa.

So, to confirm, I have been sent a cover letter (above post) and a copy of 3 letters per S78 & CPR requests that claim to be: the NoA from CapQuest, a letter from VP giving the rights to CapQuest and the pre-action letter. I'll try to get pictures and post these up.

Without knowing exactly what you all said to each other it's difficult to be accurate. I'd be tempted in your case just to submit a defence based on s78 non compliance and hope they decide to chuck it. It's not a big enough claim for them to go all the way knowing even if they win that they'll lose money in my opinion although some firms can do some pretty stupid things so it's not impossible.

The procedures due to the lowly amount do not help much as Judges will likely think small claims even if it hasn't been allocated a track yet. Of course the conducy of Capquest is garbage but what can you do ? They haven't even really agreed to an extension in a manner that you can use.

M1

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Thanks, M1 - so do you think I should enter my defence now, rather than rely on them to uphold their 28 day agreement?


About half an hour ago, in an attempt to restate my position, I sent this email to HL Solicitors:


Good Afternoon,


On the 24th October 2013, I spoke to CapQuest on the telephone, as advised to by your litigation department. A Mr xxxxxc has agreed to a further extension of 28 days for me to file my defence. I followed up this telephone conversation by sending Mr xxxxxxc an email, asking for this extension in writing. I received an email in return from CapQuest informing me that, for "security reasons", they do not respond to people via email. They stated that they would send me a response via the post.


I have received a letter from CapQuest today pertaining to my S77/78 and CPR 31.14 requests. There is no written confirmation in this letter about the agreement to extend my defence. I emailed the Northampton CCBC immediately after the telephone conversation with CapQuest on the 24th October to inform the Court about the defence extension agreement.


I am still waiting for CapQuest's written confirmation and, therefore, an agreement for the new date by which I should file my defence. Your litigation department, previous to the new extension agreement with CapQuest, gave me the date of 2nd November for my defence to be filed. I shall, therefore, take the new date as 30th November.


Please be advised that I intend to defend this claim in full, and should a default judgement occur due to a mistake made by CapQuest concerning the agreement to extend my defence, I shall be applying to the Court to have the judgement set aside.

Yours Sincerely,


-----

Any help in writing my defence would be very welcome, everybody!!!

[littlebert8]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

OK, so at least they have admitted non compliance with your s78 request. As M1 says, this is a defence in itself.

The documents they have provided smell a bit fishy from the description provided. Can you take a photo with a phone camera perhaps? Just block out the personal info with post-its or scraps of paper

I think the best best option now is to build as strong avdefence as you can with what you've got. Crapquest might try to get it struck out with an application for summary. Judgement, but that will probably cost them more than the claim is worth.

One thing I'm a little concerned about is where they say you "broke the practice direction". They might be referring to pre-action protocol if you ignored the letter before action. Need to address this point or there may be cost implications

[manythanks]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

One thing I'm a little concerned about is where they say you "broke the practice direction". They might be referring to pre-action protocol if you ignored the letter before action. Need to address this point or there may be cost implications

Thanks, littlebert, I have no camera phone myself, but have asked a friend who has one to come around later.

This is what the letter says about this:

"We confirm receipt of your letter and aknowledgement of service both dated 7th October 2013

Since the assignment of the account to CapQuest Investments Limited we have sent 10 letters to you. Our last letter was a letter of claim sent on 11th September 2013 in accordance with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct.

Your letter of 7 October 2013 was the first indication that the account may be disputed. The Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct requires parties with a dispute to exchange information concerning the dispute and to seek to resolve it without unnecessary use of the court's time.

Following our letter of 11 September 2013 the Practice Direction required you to send a letter of response setting out your reasons for disputing the claim. Had you done so this claim might have been avoided."

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

This is what the letter says about this:

"We confirm receipt of your letter and aknowledgement of service both dated 7th October 2013

Since the assignment of the account to CapQuest Investments Limited we have sent 10 letters to you. Our last letter was a letter of claim sent on 11th September 2013 in accordance with the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct.

Did you respond to ANY of them?

Your letter of 7 October 2013 was the first indication that the account may be disputed. The Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct requires parties with a dispute to exchange information concerning the dispute and to seek to resolve it without unnecessary use of the court's time.

Following our letter of 11 September 2013 the Practice Direction required you to send a letter of response setting out your reasons for disputing the claim. Had you done so this claim might have been avoided."

This highlights the importance of responding to a letter before action (a.k.a. letter of claim) rather than ignoring them and dismissing them as yet another threat-o-gram. :sad:

[mystery1]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Of course a letter head as such has protocols of it's own to follow. Did the letter point you to the pre action protocols, state the basis of claim, list the documents etc etc

Doubt it. Some are better than others but not many comply.

M1

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Help With A Capquest Claim, Please

Of course a letter head as such has protocols of it's own to follow. Did the letter point you to the pre action protocols, state the basis of claim, list the documents etc etc

Doubt it. Some are better than others but not many comply.

M1

From what I've seen, I'd say 99% don't comply.

That's why they are often overlooked and/or dismissed as yet another baseless threat. The problem is that people don't know how to identify them, precisely for that reason. Anything from a solicitor that says they have been instructed to issue a claim or something along those lines should be taken as a LBA.