Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

On your first post you say your Argos account was "over 10 years ago", this corresponds with a credit card taken out in 2004 as stated on your credit report. For the purpose of limitation, you'd need at least six years without making payments. The fact Argos have told you they've got no record of your account and they only keep records for six years indicates there has been no account activity in the last six years so I'd say it would be a safe bet to say it's SBd, bearing in mind that he burden of proof is on the CLAIMANT, not you. They would have to provide proof that it isn't, and if Argos hold no records of your account, how are they going to obtain something that doesn't exist? The default date is a bit of a mystery but it's not unusual for them to be wrong, many debt purchasers, Lowell in particular, "update" that date to when they bought the account. This is against the reporting principles but they are a law onto themselves. They may try to argue that the date on your credit report starts the clock for limitation purposes (they've tried it before) but the Limitation Act doesn't say anything about credit reports and they would have to do much better than that to prove a debt is not SBd.

As SBd is an absolute defence, that's even more important than any issues regarding the agreement, however, with an account started before 2005, you should have signed a credit agreement containing all the prescribed terms even if you had applied online for the card. :typing: Merely ordering goods doesn't mean entering into a regulated consumer credit agreement. Many catalogue companies didn't require people to enter into a credit agreement before they sent out the goods which is why the accounts were not enforceable and they often had to admit defeat for that reason. From 2005 onwards, a tick box on the online application would have been equivalent to a signature but we are clear that this was from 2004. The SBd angle also looks rather strong in your case. :thumb:

Good Morning everyone who has been helping me
I have now entered my defence yesterday covering both SB and failure to provide proof of debt. Then out of the blue I received a letter yesterday afternoon from Llowells which I find baffling They state they are in receipt of my request for information subject to the civil procedure rules but Fredrickson International are handling the county court claim on there behalf, they have passed on my request and all further communications should be made directly to them at the address provided. Anyone any ideas what this is all about .Are Fredrickson a different solicitors and do I need to make contact with them thanks Teeder

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Good Morning everyone who has been helping me
I have now entered my defence yesterday covering both SB and failure to provide proof of debt. Then out of the blue I received a letter yesterday afternoon from Llowells which I find baffling They state they are in receipt of my request for information subject to the civil procedure rules but Fredrickson International are handling the county court claim on there behalf, they have passed on my request and all further communications should be made directly to them at the address provided. Anyone any ideas what this is all about .Are Fredrickson a different solicitors and do I need to make contact with them thanks Teeder

Fredrickson are just an in-house division of the Lowell group: http://www.lowellgroup.co.uk/index.p...international/

They are not solicitors, Lowell normally use either Bryan Carter or BW Legal to handle all their claims. I've not read back through the whole thread to see if you've posted who they were but you'll find the solicitors details in the second box down on the left hand side of your claim form, under Address for correspondence and documents. CPR requests should be sent to whoever is named on there, only the CCA request goes directly to Lowell.

At this point you don't need to do anything as they are saying they are passing on your communication, however, any future communication regarding the claim should be addressed to whoever is named in the box I've just mentioned. There's no need to chase the CCA request sent to Lowell as non-compliance is a bar to enforcement. :thumb:

As you have submitted a defence, you just have to wait to hear from the court to see if they've decided to proceed, they have 28 days to respond to your defence otherwise the claim is stayed but you won't be informed if that's the case.

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Good Morning everyone who has been helping me
I have now entered my defence yesterday covering both SB and failure to provide proof of debt. Then out of the blue I received a letter yesterday afternoon from Llowells which I find baffling They state they are in receipt of my request for information subject to the civil procedure rules but Fredrickson International are handling the county court claim on there behalf, they have passed on my request and all further communications should be made directly to them at the address provided. Anyone any ideas what this is all about .Are Fredrickson a different solicitors and do I need to make contact with them thanks Teeder

Hello Teeder,

Fredrickson are part of the Lowell/Interlaken group of companies and act as a collector / manager for Lowells debt purchasing companies.
You will need to deal with Freds as Lowell will just keep referring you to them.
CPR request goes to solicitors direct.

nem

nem

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Fredrickson are just an in-house division of the Lowell group: http://www.lowellgroup.co.uk/index.p...international/

They are not solicitors, Lowell normally use either Bryan Carter or BW Legal to handle all their claims. I've not read back through the whole thread to see if you've posted who they were but you'll find the solicitors details in the second box down on the left hand side of your claim form, under Address for correspondence and documents. CPR requests should be sent to whoever is named on there, only the CCA request goes directly to Lowell.

At this point you don't need to do anything as they are saying they are passing on your communication, however, any future communication regarding the claim should be addressed to whoever is named in the box I've just mentioned. There's no need to chase the CCA request sent to Lowell as non-compliance is a bar to enforcement. :thumb:

As you have submitted a defence, you just have to wait to hear from the court to see if they've decided to proceed, they have 28 days to respond to your defence otherwise the claim is stayed but you won't be informed if that's the case.

Good Morning Flaming Parrott on my court papers Lowell are down as the claimant and Bryan Carter are the solicitors so I don't understand the fredrickson involvement However from what you say it really is a matter of waiting the 28 days to see if they continue the claim Is it 28 days from the date I entered the defence. or from the last date the defence could be entered Thanks Teeder

[jon1965]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Just been catching up on this,
Teeder , these debt purchasers have a variety of 'brands' they use as debt collection companies. I believe it is so it can appear that they are making things more serious i.e we are now passing your file on to XYZ for a review. It is nothing to worry about .

As this debt is pre 2007 there needs to be a signed executed agreement and the tick box only came in to force for online agreements in 2005 so in this case there MUST have been a real signed for agreement . Yes they can comply with a CCA request but that doesn't make it enforceable. Assuming you did not sign an agreement with all the prescribed terms when you opened the account I would be very surprised if this gets to court let alone a judgement. Add to that that you maintain it is SB they are stuffed

For the record as well Lowell purchased the Interlaken group and their parts e.g. Fredricksons in 2013
http://www.credittoday.co.uk/article...ken-group-sold

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Good Morning Flaming Parrott on my court papers Lowell are down as the claimant and Bryan Carter are the solicitors so I don't understand the fredrickson involvement However from what you say it really is a matter of waiting the 28 days to see if they continue the claim Is it 28 days from the date I entered the defence. or from the last date the defence could be entered Thanks Teeder

Morning
They have 28 days from the day they get your defence from the court.

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Everyone have been away visiting relatives after going through my post I have received a letter from Bryan Carter Dated 17th August basically stating that the debt is related to an account opened with Argos and we have been supplied with agreements from the original creditor and we should refer to our own records for validation . they then go on to say their client intends to proceed with the claim but is however willing to enter into without prejudice negotiations to settle this matter by way of a tomlin order can anyone explain the above please
I have also received an allocation to the small claims track dated 20th august needs to be returned by the 7th sept. does this mean Lowell have decieded to take me to court without providing any evidence and can someone help guide me to fill in the Directions questionnaire. Would it also be pertinent to inform both lowells and Bryan Carter at this stage that Argos have no record of this account and would it be worth asking Argos to supply me with a letter stating this Thanks for your help everyone
Regards
Teeder

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

That's their usual standard waffle, how the heck would Mr Carter know what Argos' policies were? :mad2:

A Tomlin order has the effect of staying proceedings as long as you keep to the terms of the order (the agreed monthly instalments). If you default on them they can request summary judgment. For that reason Tomlin orders are used as a last resort to avoid a CCJ on file even though you still have to make payments as if you had one. For that reason they should only be considered if your prospects of defending aren't good. At this stage we don't know whether they'll be able to get hold of the documents before a hearing. The court will order them to supply them at least 14 days prior to the hearing date and that's when they may stumble and have to discontinue. ray: What a shame, uh? :lol:

For now I'd just fill in the N180 which should be straightforward. It's a good idea to tick the mediation box, if they've not sent you the documents mediation won't go ahead but will leave that for later. No need to argue about allocation to small claims but do provide details of your local court as you'll have to go there if it gets all the way to a hearing, also provide dates when you won't be available to attend. No need for interpreters or experts and under D3 just one witness (yourself). Any further questions just shout! :director:

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Could it be that Argos has no trace of the account because it more than 6 years since it was closed?

nem

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Everyone just updating as to where we are now
Bryan Carter have sent me a copy of Lowels Directions questionnaire curiously he has stated there will be no witnesses
Ive sent him a copy of mine
Ive had an email and a call from the mediation team which is set for the 30th September although when I told the gentleman I had not received any documentation from the claimant he said that mediation wouldn't be for me He did say if I receive the docs within the next few days mediation could still go ahead and I should contact him.
guess what this morning I have received a letter from Bryan carter Saying please find enclosed a copy of your signed agreement dosent say signed credit agreement and then offers a without prejudice tomlin order.. This agreement says your application for the argos card in the top left hand corner the only things which are readable are my details and signature of which it is all the small print on this document is smudged or unreadable apart from on thje top of the agreement it says credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act, this looks as though it has been added as an afterthought.. would welcome peoples thoughts on this
I have also rang Argos again this time the person I spoke to told me the debt had been sold to Lowells he told me that the last payment was made on the 22/8/2010 which happens to be the default date he said the balance was £954 which is the balance lowells are claiming but my credit file shows the default balance to be £861 so don't understand that I asked him to send me proof of the payments and balance but he refused said I should contact Lowells would appreciate advice as to what I should do next Thanks everyone

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Everyone just updating as to where we are now
Bryan Carter have sent me a copy of Lowels Directions questionnaire curiously he has stated there will be no witnesses
Ive sent him a copy of mine
Ive had an email and a call from the mediation team which is set for the 30th September although when I told the gentleman I had not received any documentation from the claimant he said that mediation wouldn't be for me He did say if I receive the docs within the next few days mediation could still go ahead and I should contact him.
guess what this morning I have received a letter from Bryan carter Saying please find enclosed a copy of your signed agreement dosent say signed credit agreement and then offers a without prejudice tomlin order.. This agreement says your application for the argos card in the top left hand corner the only things which are readable are my details and signature of which it is all the small print on this document is smudged or unreadable apart from on thje top of the agreement it says credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act, this looks as though it has been added as an afterthought.. would welcome peoples thoughts on this
I have also rang Argos again this time the person I spoke to told me the debt had been sold to Lowells he told me that the last payment was made on the 22/8/2010 which happens to be the default date he said the balance was £954 which is the balance lowells are claiming but my credit file shows the default balance to be £861 so don't understand that I asked him to send me proof of the payments and balance but he refused said I should contact Lowells would appreciate advice as to what I should do next Thanks everyone

can anyone help with the above please would be much appreciated

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Everyone just updating as to where we are now
Bryan Carter have sent me a copy of Lowels Directions questionnaire curiously he has stated there will be no witnesses
Ive sent him a copy of mine
Ive had an email and a call from the mediation team which is set for the 30th September although when I told the gentleman I had not received any documentation from the claimant he said that mediation wouldn't be for me He did say if I receive the docs within the next few days mediation could still go ahead and I should contact him.

So you are still in time to take that route if you wish. :thumb:

guess what this morning I have received a letter from Bryan carter Saying please find enclosed a copy of your signed agreement dosent say signed credit agreement and then offers a without prejudice tomlin order.. This agreement says your application for the argos card in the top left hand corner the only things which are readable are my details and signature of which it is all the small print on this document is smudged or unreadable apart from on thje top of the agreement it says credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act, this looks as though it has been added as an afterthought.. would welcome peoples thoughts on this

Is there any chance you could post up a redacted copy? :typing:

I have also rang Argos again this time the person I spoke to told me the debt had been sold to Lowells he told me that the last payment was made on the 22/8/2010 which happens to be the default date he said the balance was £954 which is the balance lowells are claiming but my credit file shows the default balance to be £861 so don't understand that I asked him to send me proof of the payments and balance but he refused said I should contact Lowells would appreciate advice as to what I should do next Thanks everyone

A response to your CCA request should include a statement of account.

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Flaming Parrot
Not good with technology can you tell me how to post up the so called agreement

[teeder]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi Flaming Parrothave scanned agreement but cannot get it to paste for you to look at not very good with computors any ideas of how I can get it to paste on here

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court Claim - lowell / home retail group - 1-7-2015

Hi

Apologies for missing your previous post.

You may want to look at this thread for info about uploading documents: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...r-details-safe!)