***DISCONTINUED*** Court Claim - Lowell / Orange

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Good morning Tom,

Always happy to help!!
There will always be advice on any stage of court process here when ever needed.
Your thanks are very much appreciated.

nem

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Good morning Tom,

Always happy to help!!
There will always be advice on any stage of court process here when ever needed.
Your thanks are very much appreciated.

nem

Hi there,

Many thanks for your kind words, and no worries for the appreciation, it is sincerely well meant as otherwise I wouldn't have know what to do.

Anyway, I have received a reply from both Bryan Carter Solicitors, and the Court too, within the last 2 days. I am still writing on an iPad so it's difficult to scan in copies of the letters, so as follows is the text (word for word) from both letters:

Bryan Carter Solicitors Letter:

"Lowell Portfolio I Ltd V Mr Preece
Claim No: xxxxxxxx
Account No: xxxxxxxxl

We write further to your letter of 14 August 2015 requesting disclosure under Part 32 of Civil Procedure Rules.

We confirm this matter will most properly be allocated to the Small Claims Track as this is a simple contractual matter and Part 31 of the Civil Procedural Rules will therefore not apply. In any event the Notices of Default and Assignment left the control of the Claimant when they were dispatched to you.

It is the original creditor's policy to issue agreements at the start of the contract and statements throughout the duration of the agreement and, in this regard, we ask you to refer to your own records.

As you will be aware a Claim was issued in this matter on 15 July 2015.

We confirm that we are in receipt of of your Defence. The Court will now contact all parties with further directions".


Letter 2: from the Court.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

"CASE NUMBER xxxxxxxx
Lowell Portfolio I Ltd -v- Mr Preece

I acknowledge receipt of your defence. A copy is being served on the claimant (or claimant's solicitor). The claimant may contact you direct to attempt to resolve any dispute. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the claimant will inform the court that he wishes to proceed. The court will then inform you of what will happen.

Where he he wishes to proceed, the claimant must contact the court within 28 days after receiving a copy of your defence. After that period has elapsed, the claim will be stayed. The only action the claimant can then take will be to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay".


And this is about all I know to date, and I'm still in the dark. :-/. It appears that the CPR request to BC Solicitors fell on deaf years, and I am still none the wiser as to what this debt is about, let alone having knowledge of it.

Any help & advice on this would be greatly appreciated as usual.

Many thanks in advance,

Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Good morning Tom,
The response to the CPR request is a standard template letter, you should send Carter a short letter stating that you are aware that CPR31.14 is still relevant to the claim until it is actually allocated to the small claim track, so please send the documents requested by return of post.
Carter will still refuse but this shows that he's uncooperative.
It's a wait and see scenario now until the court send out the N180 form which we can deal with when it comes.

nem

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Good morning Tom,
The response to the CPR request is a standard template letter, you should send Carter a short letter stating that you are aware that CPR31.14 is still relevant to the claim until it is actually allocated to the small claim track, so please send the documents requested by return of post.
Carter will still refuse but this shows that he's uncooperative.
It's a wait and see scenario now until the court send out the N180 form which we can deal with when it comes.

nem

Many thanks for your reply Nem, and for the advice, and I will send the letter to BC Solicitors later today (Mon), and then await their reply. I will keep you up to date on matters.

Kind Regards,
Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Many thanks for your reply Nem, and for the advice, and I will send the letter to BC Solicitors later today (Mon), and then await their reply. I will keep you up to date on matters.

Kind Regards,
Tom

Thanks Tom.

nem

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Thanks Tom.

nem

Hi Nem,

I received two letters from Bryan Carter Solicitors LLP recently. I will include the main text of each letter as follows:

Letter One (dated the 27/08/2015)

"Lowell Portfolio I V Mr Preece
Claim No: xxxxxxxx
Account No. xxxxxxxx

We write further to your letter dated 25 August 2015.

We confirm this matter will most properly be allocated to the Small Claims Track as this is a simple contractual matter and Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules will therefore not apply. In any event the Notices of Default and Assignment left the control of the Claimant when they were dispatched to you.

It is the original creditor's policy to issue agreements at the start of the contract and statements throughout the duration of the agreement and, in this regard, we ask you to refer to your own records.

As you will be aware a Claim was issued in this matter on 15 July 2015 and we are in receipt of your Defence.

We recommend you seek independent legal advice".


Letter Two (dated the 26/08/2015)

"Lowell Portfolio I V Mr PreeceClaim No: xxxxxxxx
Account No. xxxxxxxx

We thank you for your letter dated the 15 August 2015 and note the contents.

As confirmed in our previous letter dated the 18 August 2015, we are in receipt of your Defence.

In view of your health issues we have referred this matter to our client and we are currently awaiting their instructions.

We note from your letter that you are happy to supply medical evidence from your GP and we would be grateful if this could be made available to us, either by your GP or any consultant that you may be currently seeing in relation to your health issues. All medical information is treated with utmost confidence and secured on our system, protected as per Data Protection requirements.

We confirm that the reason we have requested this is once we are aware of specific medical issues, it will help us to communicate with you and manage your account more effectively. Also, our client very often requests medical evidence so that they can see the customer's full medical picture which will assist them to provide us with appropriate instructions and in keeping with your circumstances.

We note your financial circumstances and enclose a financial statement form for you to complete and return please, in the enclosed pre-paid envelope. Once we have received this, we can then assess your financial position.

We look forward to receiving the requested information and recommend you seek independent legal advice in relation to this matter if you have not already taken steps to do so".


As you can see from 'Letter One' it is pretty much as you previously anticipated, with regard to the response from B C Solicitors LLP, where they will still not send the requested documents as per CPR Part 13. However as is evident from 'Letter Two' it is somewhat more positive & encouraging, where B C Solicitors LLP have at least taken the time to read the letter regarding my mental health issues and how they affect me. Regardless of their reply I had an appointment with my GP on Friday 28th August 2015, with my GP, to specifically discuss my debt issues and the increasingly detrimental effect they're having upon me. My GP wrote me a letter, which I can now send to B C Solicitors LLP / Lowells I Portfolio that corroborates the medical information I have already provided about my medical health issues. So at least so far this is one positive 'development'.

However the one issue, which does concern me is the request from B C Solicitors' regarding their request for my financial information, and also evidence of my benefits income. Hypothetically, if I was to provide this information about my 'Income & Expenditure' and 'Benefits Income' does this supersede the information that potentially would be required by the Court, i.e. by submitting this information to B C Solicitors does this mean that this 'debt' matter would no longer be dealt with by the Court? OR, is this a supplementary exercise being done by B C Solicitors, and the matter IS still going to be dealt with by the Court? My overall underlying concern is that irrespective of whether it does go to Court or not, by submitting an 'Income & Expenditure' account and evidence of my Benefits.. it is almost as though it's an admission of the 'debt, of which I still have no knowledge!

I apologise for the lengthy post, and thank you in advance for your time & patience in reading it. And once again I am truly appreciative for your advice and help.

Kind Regards,

Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hello Tom.

Basically the I & E statement in this situation is really to see if it is worth the claimants time taking the claim further so if your " disposable" income is Nil and is not likely to improve there is need to take a " commercial" view on the possibility of recovering anything is worthwhile.
In the event that you decide to provide the information the statement can be stated as being made " without any admission of liability for the amount claimed".

nem
As you have no knowledge of any such account/debt this is still paramount, the claimant has to prove you owe the debt.

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hello Tom.

Basically the I & E statement in this situation is really to see if it is worth the claimants time taking the claim further so if your " disposable" income is Nil and is not likely to improve there is need to take a " commercial" view on the possibility of recovering anything is worthwhile.
In the event that you decide to provide the information the statement can be stated as being made " without any admission of liability for the amount claimed".

nem
As you have no knowledge of any such account/debt this is still paramount, the claimant has to prove you owe the debt.

Many thanks Nem for your reply. I don't mind replying at all, as at least then B C Solicitors LLP will know that I have very little disposable income, and will have a clearer picture of my financial situation. It's reassuring to know though that I can provide this information, without any prejudice to my case.. and that it is still up to the claimant to prove I owe the debt. I will make it completely clear in my covering letter that I still have no knowledge of the alleged debt, and that the information is being provided without any admission of liability. :-) I will keep you posted, once they reply.

Kind Regards,

Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Many thanks Nem for your reply. I don't mind replying at all, as at least then B C Solicitors LLP will know that I have very little disposable income, and will have a clearer picture of my financial situation. It's reassuring to know though that I can provide this information, without any prejudice to my case.. and that it is still up to the claimant to prove I owe the debt. I will make it completely clear in my covering letter that I still have no knowledge of the alleged debt, and that the information is being provided without any admission of liability. :-) I will keep you posted, once they reply.

Kind Regards,

Tom

Hello Tom everything you write to them should clearly "state that it is written without any admission of liability"

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hello Tom everything you write to them should clearly "state that it is written without any admission of liability"

Hi there,

It has been quite some time since I have posted on here, due mainly to having had no news to report really. But, however, having been waylaid by other personal & unfortunate circumstances lately it is only now I have had the opportunity of coming on here.

Anyway, to bring you up to speed it was some time ago, but I completed and sent off the requested financial statement, which Bryan Carter Solicitors sent me. I ensured that all correspondence was clearly marked that it was 'written without any admission of liability'. However, I haven't heard anything from either B C Solicitors or Lowells Portfolio since. It has slipped my attention, but I've realised more significantly that there hasn't been anything forthcoming from the Court, with regard to the company, within the stipulated 28 days (from the 17/08/2015). Am I correct in understanding that the Claimant's claim has now become 'stayed'? If so, what happens from here on in? Is there anything I need to do?

Kind Regards,

Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hi there,

It has been quite some time since I have posted on here, due mainly to having had no news to report really. But, however, having been waylaid by other personal & unfortunate circumstances lately it is only now I have had the opportunity of coming on here.

Anyway, to bring you up to speed it was some time ago, but I completed and sent off the requested financial statement, which Bryan Carter Solicitors sent me. I ensured that all correspondence was clearly marked that it was 'written without any admission of liability'. However, I haven't heard anything from either B C Solicitors or Lowells Portfolio since. It has slipped my attention, but I've realised more significantly that there hasn't been anything forthcoming from the Court, with regard to the company, within the stipulated 28 days (from the 17/08/2015). Am I correct in understanding that the Claimant's claim has now become 'stayed'? If so, what happens from here on in? Is there anything I need to do?

Kind Regards,

Tom

Good morning Tom,

The silent treatment form Carter often indicates that a claim has been stayed because BC has failed to respond to the court on time or not filed at all.

Give the court a quick call to check on the status of the claim as if the above has happened and the court has stayed the claim you are not informed that this happened.

If a stay is prolonged you can apply for the claim to be struck out or write to BC giving 7 days notice that you intend to make any application for strike with his client to pay the cost of the application.

nem

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Good morning Tom,

The silent treatment form Carter often indicates that a claim has been stayed because BC has failed to respond to the court on time or not filed at all.

Give the court a quick call to check on the status of the claim as if the above has happened and the court has stayed the claim you are not informed that this happened.

If a stay is prolonged you can apply for the claim to be struck out or write to BC giving 7 days notice that you intend to make any application for strike with his client to pay the cost of the application.

nem

Hi there Nem,

My sincere apologies for the long delay in posting anything about B C Carter Solicitors / Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, but there have been a number of personal and health reasons as to why I haven't been able to get on here. Also, I unsuccessfully tried on a number of occasions to contact the Court by phone but I could not get hold of them, so I had to write to them eventually. Anyway, I won't post the full reply but the upshot is that the Court has confirmed that the claim has been stayed. The letter further explains that if the claimant wishes to proceed with the claim, they will now need to submit a formal application to the court requesting that a Judge lifts the stay on the claim - and that there is no deadline for this. However, it does add that the claimant does need to explain to the Judge as to why they could not / did not respond to my defence prior to the claim being stayed, and account for the further delay.

The court adds that I may wish to contact the claimant's solicitor's to query the reasons for the delay and if they are intending to apply to lift the stay and proceed. If they no longer intend to pursue the claim, I need to ask them to file and serve a 'Notice Of Discontinuance' to confirm this.

It seems to make sense to me, but with reference to the 'Notice Of Discontinuance', will this be something that will cost me? Also, I was wondering as the claim is now stayed, and bearing in mind that I have already done a Personal Financial Statement for B C Solicitors, which shows that I have hardly any disposable income, is it likely that they will now drop the claim?

Kind Regards,

Tom

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hi there Nem,

My sincere apologies for the long delay in posting anything about B C Carter Solicitors / Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, but there have been a number of personal and health reasons as to why I haven't been able to get on here. Also, I unsuccessfully tried on a number of occasions to contact the Court by phone but I could not get hold of them, so I had to write to them eventually. Anyway, I won't post the full reply but the upshot is that the Court has confirmed that the claim has been stayed. The letter further explains that if the claimant wishes to proceed with the claim, they will now need to submit a formal application to the court requesting that a Judge lifts the stay on the claim - and that there is no deadline for this. However, it does add that the claimant does need to explain to the Judge as to why they could not / did not respond to my defence prior to the claim being stayed, and account for the further delay.

The court adds that I may wish to contact the claimant's solicitor's to query the reasons for the delay and if they are intending to apply to lift the stay and proceed. If they no longer intend to pursue the claim, I need to ask them to file and serve a 'Notice Of Discontinuance' to confirm this.

It seems to make sense to me, but with reference to the 'Notice Of Discontinuance', will this be something that will cost me? Also, I was wondering as the claim is now stayed, and bearing in mind that I have already done a Personal Financial Statement for B C Solicitors, which shows that I have hardly any disposable income, is it likely that they will now drop the claim?

Kind Regards,

Tom

Good morning Tom.

I hope you are feeling better now!

Personally I would be writing to Lowell directly with a copy to Carter, suggesting that they withdraw the claim as it seems they have little prospect the claim going forward.
If they are not wiling to withdraw/discontinue of their own volition you will make an application for the claim to be struck out and you will expect Lowell to pay the costs of the application.

Nem

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Good morning Tom.

I hope you are feeling better now!

Personally I would be writing to Lowell directly with a copy to Carter, suggesting that they withdraw the claim as it seems they have little prospect the claim going forward.
If they are not wiling to withdraw/discontinue of their own volition you will make an application for the claim to be struck out and you will expect Lowell to pay the costs of the application.

Nem

Many thanks Nem, I am feeling a bit better now.. at least human again anyway (lol).. but I'm still suffering from a chest infection, unfortunately. Anyway, many thanks for your reply. I also feel that there is little prospect now of B C Solicitors progressing the claim any further, on behalf of Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, as if they had wished to do so they would have done this by now.


It seems that the onus is on the 'Defendant' to instigate matters in this respect, where the claimant is only too happy to start the ball rolling in the first place by issuing me with Court papers, threatening that a CCJ would have been made against me. However, when it's clear that it really isn't at all feasible to continue chasing down the claim (chasing me), it just seems conveniently left & forgotten about! But I am only too happy to put together a letter FAO Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (cc: B C Solicitors) to suggest that they now withdraw the claim, and to put an end to this matter. :-)


Kind Regards,


Tom


P.s. Please keep your eyes out for another post of mine, which I will be putting up later this evening. It is another urgent matter, and independent of this (the Lowell) case. :-/

[nemesis45]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Many thanks Nem, I am feeling a bit better now.. at least human again anyway (lol).. but I'm still suffering from a chest infection, unfortunately. Anyway, many thanks for your reply. I also feel that there is little prospect now of B C Solicitors progressing the claim any further, on behalf of Lowell Portfolio I Ltd, as if they had wished to do so they would have done this by now.


It seems that the onus is on the 'Defendant' to instigate matters in this respect, where the claimant is only too happy to start the ball rolling in the first place by issuing me with Court papers, threatening that a CCJ would have been made against me. However, when it's clear that it really isn't at all feasible to continue chasing down the claim (chasing me), it just seems conveniently left & forgotten about! But I am only too happy to put together a letter FAO Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (cc: B C Solicitors) to suggest that they now withdraw the claim, and to put an end to this matter. :-)


Kind Regards,


Tom


P.s. Please keep your eyes out for another post of mine, which I will be putting up later this evening. It is another urgent matter, and independent of this (the Lowell) case. :-/

Hello Tom,

Just put [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] in the post and I'll pick up on it.

nem

[Snoop1Tommy]

Re: Court Claim - Lowell / Orange - 15-7-2015

Hello Tom,

Just put @nemesis45 in the post and I'll pick up on it.

nem

Many thanks, Nem. :-)

Tom