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I need help and advice please as to whether you think I was fairly treated at this hearing and whether or not you think I have good grounds to make a successful appeal.
Received a claim? Papers were sent to my address but I did not receive them
Issue Date: 19-08-2014
Amount approx: £9,464.19
Claimant: Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd
Solicitor: Blake Lapthorn
Original Credit: Royal Bank Scotland
Awarded by default: 16/08/2012
Filed Defence to contest the default: 11/06/2014 (2years later)
Defence Filed: 08/07/2014
Court Case: 29/09/2014
Outcome: Judge said he would set aside the judgement pending that I the defendant pay 50% of the debt to the court for them to withhold whilst the case is referred to a 'small fast track claims court'.
Particulars of Claim:
So I had a credit card from RBS in Feb 2004. Apparently my last payment was 20th Sept 2006 and they proclaim I defaulted 26th May 2007. Now the debt was purchased on 15th Dec 2010 and a Notice of Assignment was sent to my previous address (the address that I was living at when I took out the credit card) on 17th March 2011.
Now on the 26th March Blake Lapthorn sent a letter to my current address on behalf of Arrow Global stating the following:
Unless we receive payment of this sum within 7 days of the date of this letter, we are instructed to issue court proceedings without further notice. Any claim resulting in proceedings will include a claim for court fees and legal costs from the date of issue of proceedings.
Letter sent to the Solicitor Blake Lapthorn
So I sent a letter dated 30th March 2012 to Blake Lapthorn stating the following:
30th March 2012
Arrow Global Guernsey Limited
xxxxxx
To whom it may concern,
I have recently received a letter from yourselves asking for me to pay you within 7 days the sum of £9464.19. Why on earth are you asking me for a ridiculous amount of money that I do not owe to you? I would like you to clarify as to why you're requesting this absurd amount of money as I do not believe I owe any monies to you.
I would therefore request under Section 78 of the consumer credit act 1974 that you submit the following documents to me:
1. True copy of original signed executed credit agreement including full terms & conditions
2. FULL Statement of account
3. Copy of the executed deed of assignment from (original creditor) and (Debt Collecting Agency)
If I do not hear from you within 14 days of this letter I shall deem it as an error on your part and accept the matter as settled.
Yours Sincerely
xxxx
Documents submitted to the court from Blake Lapthorn:
Copy of Notice of Assignment which is addressed to my old address so there is no chance I could ever have received it.
Copy of a letter sent to my current address on 26th March 2012 asknig for full payment within 7 days otherwise they will issue court proceedings without further notice.
They said that I, the defendant does not state which of the CPR provisions I intend to rely upon in seeking to set aside the judgement. They state that the defendant cannot rely upon CPR 13.2 as the Claimant hsa not erred in requesting default judgement against him in the absence of an ackowledgment of service or defence to the claim.
They said I would have to rely upon CPR 13.3. They also said that the defendant has not submitted sufficient evidence to conclude that the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. The defendant does not make clear the focus of his proposed defence, and does not provide any evidence of his alleged disputes with the original creditor. The defendant has merely stated that he does not owe the claimant any money.
They then refer to the court of appeal in ED & F Man Liquid Products Limited v Patel [2003] EWCA Civ 472 held that the burden of proof falls on the defendant under CPR 13..3(1) to show that there is a good reason why a judgement regularly obtained by default should be set aside.
They said that I had two conversations over the telephone with them on 12th Sept 2012 and again on 25th Sept 2012 and they said that I had asked what was the debt in relation too and that they told me. They said the 2nd conversation i asked them to stop sending letters and they again informed me that a judgement was on my name.
My defence submitted to the court:
I stated that I want the judgement set aside because I do not believe that I owe the claimant any money. I ask to see the original copy of the credit card agreement that has my signature. I also claimed that it was 'statue barred' as it was so many years ago although I have no evidence to prove whether it is or not because they have not supplied me with any documents. I have also not had any contact with RBS or Global Gurnsey Ltd throughout the years.
What happened in court
The judge asked me why had it taken me 2 years to try to set aside the judgement and how did I find out I had a ccj on my name. I informed him that I had not received any claim form from the court and no letter that the default was placed as I live in a 'shared house' and for a while around that particular time I had experienced mail which had gone missing. I said that I had checked my credit status in June 2014 and saw that there was a CCJ issued by Northampton Court to do with RBS. I informed the judge that the 'Notice of Assignment' was sent to my previous address in March 2011 and that I had actually left that address in 2007 and the Electoral Roll will show that my name was removed from that address in 2007. So therefore I contacted the courts in Northampton to ask about the ccj, explaining that I never received any claim form and that I would like to contest it.
I said that I had responded to Blake Lapthorn in March 2012 asking them what debt are they talking about and showed him a copy of the letter that I have printed above. I was not asked if I had proof of delivery and I do not have proof of delivery. The judge said I have claimed it 'statute barred' but he said that it is not statute barred as the last payment was less than 6 years ago. I said I was not sure if it was 6 years ago as no documents have been provided which proves this is the case, only dates submitted with no evidence.
I said that it was my right under the consumer credit act 1974 section 78, entitlement to seek original copy of the credit agreement and to see a full copy of the statement of the account and a copy of the executed deed of assignment from the original creditor and the debt collecting agency.
I also stated that under Section 196 of the Law and Property Act 1925 that a notice of assignment must be sent by recorded delivery or registered delivery and therefore would like proof that the notice of assignment was actually sent to my previous address. The judge ruled that this was not the case and that they only needed to send the notice to my last known address.
Judge asks what happened when you spoke to Blake Lapthorn after judgement was awarded
So after the judgement was awarded in August 2012 I had received a couple of letters from Blake Lapthorn which I did not pay any attention too as I assumed it was still asking for the debt. I informed the judge that yes, I had telephoned Blake Lapthorn on two occasions to ask them to stop sending me letters requesting I pay the debt as it was harrassment and the judge said that Blake Lapthorn had adivsed me that I had a judgement on my name.
I said that I was unaware that they made this statement to me and that if that was the case then I would have contested the judgement at that time. I also said that without any evidence of the telephone conversations that what they state is merely hear-say and cannot really be taken as evidence.
The Judges conclusion
The Judge stated that it was not the responsibility that the claimant seek my current address and that he was happy that the Notice of Assignment was sent to my previous address was okay given that it was my last known address. He also stated that he believes that I had enough opportunity to contest the default as I should have received the claim forms form the court and that it was not the courts fault that I did not receive this. He also stated that given the fact that I had two conversations with Blake Lapthorn (I think I should have denied ever having these conversations with them) within a week of the judgement being rewarded and them informing me that a judgment was on my name, I have had numerous opportunity to contest the debt.
The Judge did state that however there was some problems with the case given the fact that I was not living at the previous address that the Notice of Assignment was made and that I am completely denying owing any money and so far that Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd have failed to provide a credit card agreement, that he would be prepared to set aside the judgement on the basis that I make payment of 50% of the debt which would total £4,732.09 within the next 21 days to the courts and that money would be with-held until the case goes to a 'small fast-track claims' court whereby the claimant will be able to provide proof of the credit card agreement.
I said to the Judge that this is unfair and I have no way to pay that amount given the fact that I am currently on Disability Employment Support Allowance and I have no savings. He said in that case I refuse the set aside judgement.
He then said to the Claimant that they are asking for substantial amount of costs, £600 and that he was unaware that costs could be claimed for in these type of cases. The representative for the Claimant said they were unaware of this also and after a little chuckle between each other the Judge awarded £210 in costs to the Claimant. I said you can award them what you want as I cannot pay and this is totally unfair.
I then asked the Judge if I can appeal, to which he responded, 'you may ask another judge or you can ask me'. I said 'okay I am asking you if I can appeal', to which he responded 'No', so you will have to ask another judge.
I asked him for a N460 reasons for refusing permission to appeal and I think he said that will be sent to me in the post. I am not totally sure of what he said as it was all a bit of a blur and I was fuming. He said that there was no need for me to write down his judgement as it was all on tape and that a copy of the tape would be provided.
Help
So where do i go from here guys? Do you think I was fairly treated? Will the tape be sent to me along with the N460 form in the post? What should my next step be?
I find it terrible that they can have this judgement to stand even though they have not provided any proof to anything.
Received a claim? Papers were sent to my address but I did not receive them
Issue Date: 19-08-2014
Amount approx: £9,464.19
Claimant: Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd
Solicitor: Blake Lapthorn
Original Credit: Royal Bank Scotland
Awarded by default: 16/08/2012
Filed Defence to contest the default: 11/06/2014 (2years later)
Defence Filed: 08/07/2014
Court Case: 29/09/2014
Outcome: Judge said he would set aside the judgement pending that I the defendant pay 50% of the debt to the court for them to withhold whilst the case is referred to a 'small fast track claims court'.
Particulars of Claim:
So I had a credit card from RBS in Feb 2004. Apparently my last payment was 20th Sept 2006 and they proclaim I defaulted 26th May 2007. Now the debt was purchased on 15th Dec 2010 and a Notice of Assignment was sent to my previous address (the address that I was living at when I took out the credit card) on 17th March 2011.
Now on the 26th March Blake Lapthorn sent a letter to my current address on behalf of Arrow Global stating the following:
Unless we receive payment of this sum within 7 days of the date of this letter, we are instructed to issue court proceedings without further notice. Any claim resulting in proceedings will include a claim for court fees and legal costs from the date of issue of proceedings.
Letter sent to the Solicitor Blake Lapthorn
So I sent a letter dated 30th March 2012 to Blake Lapthorn stating the following:
30th March 2012
Arrow Global Guernsey Limited
xxxxxx
To whom it may concern,
I have recently received a letter from yourselves asking for me to pay you within 7 days the sum of £9464.19. Why on earth are you asking me for a ridiculous amount of money that I do not owe to you? I would like you to clarify as to why you're requesting this absurd amount of money as I do not believe I owe any monies to you.
I would therefore request under Section 78 of the consumer credit act 1974 that you submit the following documents to me:
1. True copy of original signed executed credit agreement including full terms & conditions
2. FULL Statement of account
3. Copy of the executed deed of assignment from (original creditor) and (Debt Collecting Agency)
If I do not hear from you within 14 days of this letter I shall deem it as an error on your part and accept the matter as settled.
Yours Sincerely
xxxx
Documents submitted to the court from Blake Lapthorn:
Copy of Notice of Assignment which is addressed to my old address so there is no chance I could ever have received it.
Copy of a letter sent to my current address on 26th March 2012 asknig for full payment within 7 days otherwise they will issue court proceedings without further notice.
They said that I, the defendant does not state which of the CPR provisions I intend to rely upon in seeking to set aside the judgement. They state that the defendant cannot rely upon CPR 13.2 as the Claimant hsa not erred in requesting default judgement against him in the absence of an ackowledgment of service or defence to the claim.
They said I would have to rely upon CPR 13.3. They also said that the defendant has not submitted sufficient evidence to conclude that the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. The defendant does not make clear the focus of his proposed defence, and does not provide any evidence of his alleged disputes with the original creditor. The defendant has merely stated that he does not owe the claimant any money.
They then refer to the court of appeal in ED & F Man Liquid Products Limited v Patel [2003] EWCA Civ 472 held that the burden of proof falls on the defendant under CPR 13..3(1) to show that there is a good reason why a judgement regularly obtained by default should be set aside.
They said that I had two conversations over the telephone with them on 12th Sept 2012 and again on 25th Sept 2012 and they said that I had asked what was the debt in relation too and that they told me. They said the 2nd conversation i asked them to stop sending letters and they again informed me that a judgement was on my name.
My defence submitted to the court:
I stated that I want the judgement set aside because I do not believe that I owe the claimant any money. I ask to see the original copy of the credit card agreement that has my signature. I also claimed that it was 'statue barred' as it was so many years ago although I have no evidence to prove whether it is or not because they have not supplied me with any documents. I have also not had any contact with RBS or Global Gurnsey Ltd throughout the years.
What happened in court
The judge asked me why had it taken me 2 years to try to set aside the judgement and how did I find out I had a ccj on my name. I informed him that I had not received any claim form from the court and no letter that the default was placed as I live in a 'shared house' and for a while around that particular time I had experienced mail which had gone missing. I said that I had checked my credit status in June 2014 and saw that there was a CCJ issued by Northampton Court to do with RBS. I informed the judge that the 'Notice of Assignment' was sent to my previous address in March 2011 and that I had actually left that address in 2007 and the Electoral Roll will show that my name was removed from that address in 2007. So therefore I contacted the courts in Northampton to ask about the ccj, explaining that I never received any claim form and that I would like to contest it.
I said that I had responded to Blake Lapthorn in March 2012 asking them what debt are they talking about and showed him a copy of the letter that I have printed above. I was not asked if I had proof of delivery and I do not have proof of delivery. The judge said I have claimed it 'statute barred' but he said that it is not statute barred as the last payment was less than 6 years ago. I said I was not sure if it was 6 years ago as no documents have been provided which proves this is the case, only dates submitted with no evidence.
I said that it was my right under the consumer credit act 1974 section 78, entitlement to seek original copy of the credit agreement and to see a full copy of the statement of the account and a copy of the executed deed of assignment from the original creditor and the debt collecting agency.
I also stated that under Section 196 of the Law and Property Act 1925 that a notice of assignment must be sent by recorded delivery or registered delivery and therefore would like proof that the notice of assignment was actually sent to my previous address. The judge ruled that this was not the case and that they only needed to send the notice to my last known address.
Judge asks what happened when you spoke to Blake Lapthorn after judgement was awarded
So after the judgement was awarded in August 2012 I had received a couple of letters from Blake Lapthorn which I did not pay any attention too as I assumed it was still asking for the debt. I informed the judge that yes, I had telephoned Blake Lapthorn on two occasions to ask them to stop sending me letters requesting I pay the debt as it was harrassment and the judge said that Blake Lapthorn had adivsed me that I had a judgement on my name.
I said that I was unaware that they made this statement to me and that if that was the case then I would have contested the judgement at that time. I also said that without any evidence of the telephone conversations that what they state is merely hear-say and cannot really be taken as evidence.
The Judges conclusion
The Judge stated that it was not the responsibility that the claimant seek my current address and that he was happy that the Notice of Assignment was sent to my previous address was okay given that it was my last known address. He also stated that he believes that I had enough opportunity to contest the default as I should have received the claim forms form the court and that it was not the courts fault that I did not receive this. He also stated that given the fact that I had two conversations with Blake Lapthorn (I think I should have denied ever having these conversations with them) within a week of the judgement being rewarded and them informing me that a judgment was on my name, I have had numerous opportunity to contest the debt.
The Judge did state that however there was some problems with the case given the fact that I was not living at the previous address that the Notice of Assignment was made and that I am completely denying owing any money and so far that Arrow Global Guernsey Ltd have failed to provide a credit card agreement, that he would be prepared to set aside the judgement on the basis that I make payment of 50% of the debt which would total £4,732.09 within the next 21 days to the courts and that money would be with-held until the case goes to a 'small fast-track claims' court whereby the claimant will be able to provide proof of the credit card agreement.
I said to the Judge that this is unfair and I have no way to pay that amount given the fact that I am currently on Disability Employment Support Allowance and I have no savings. He said in that case I refuse the set aside judgement.
He then said to the Claimant that they are asking for substantial amount of costs, £600 and that he was unaware that costs could be claimed for in these type of cases. The representative for the Claimant said they were unaware of this also and after a little chuckle between each other the Judge awarded £210 in costs to the Claimant. I said you can award them what you want as I cannot pay and this is totally unfair.
I then asked the Judge if I can appeal, to which he responded, 'you may ask another judge or you can ask me'. I said 'okay I am asking you if I can appeal', to which he responded 'No', so you will have to ask another judge.
I asked him for a N460 reasons for refusing permission to appeal and I think he said that will be sent to me in the post. I am not totally sure of what he said as it was all a bit of a blur and I was fuming. He said that there was no need for me to write down his judgement as it was all on tape and that a copy of the tape would be provided.
Help
So where do i go from here guys? Do you think I was fairly treated? Will the tape be sent to me along with the N460 form in the post? What should my next step be?
I find it terrible that they can have this judgement to stand even though they have not provided any proof to anything.
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