Tweet
Hi
Bit of background - I defaulted on a £1000 overdraft (as well as a cc and a loan) when I was made redundant back in 2010. Did contact the bank but they weren't that helpful and ended up just ignoring any of the letters they sent (I was out of work for 3-4 months so became quite depressed and my main concerns were paying rent etc)
By the time I'd got back on my feet it had already been passed round a couple of debt collection agencys and it seemed to me they were unable to enforce the debt. I'd get a couple of letters, then wouldn't hear anything for a few months.
Anyway in November 2015 I received a letter from the county court business centre saying that BW Legal, acting for Lowell Portfolio, were taking me to small claims court to recover the debt (now £1800 with the interest and charges that have been added on). I responded saying that I intended to defend the claim on the grounds that I didn't recognise the account and could the claimant provide me with some original documents supporting their claim.
A few weeks passed and I received a copy of a letter from the court stating that they had to provide the documents by a certain date or the claim would be struck out. The date passed and sure enough I received another letter from the Court saying the case had been struck out, and that they had 7 days to appeal. (this was back in December)
A few weeks passed and I thought that was the end of it. But yesterday I received a letter from the court with a hearing date set for 5 Feb and a copy of the documents they needed (about 2 months worth of bank statements)
I realise I'm going to have to pay them so what I'm really asking is, how can I get away with paying them the least amount as possible, is it too late to settle it out of court?? (I've had absolutely no contact with lowell to this day)
Sorry for the essay, hope someone can help!
Bit of background - I defaulted on a £1000 overdraft (as well as a cc and a loan) when I was made redundant back in 2010. Did contact the bank but they weren't that helpful and ended up just ignoring any of the letters they sent (I was out of work for 3-4 months so became quite depressed and my main concerns were paying rent etc)
By the time I'd got back on my feet it had already been passed round a couple of debt collection agencys and it seemed to me they were unable to enforce the debt. I'd get a couple of letters, then wouldn't hear anything for a few months.
Anyway in November 2015 I received a letter from the county court business centre saying that BW Legal, acting for Lowell Portfolio, were taking me to small claims court to recover the debt (now £1800 with the interest and charges that have been added on). I responded saying that I intended to defend the claim on the grounds that I didn't recognise the account and could the claimant provide me with some original documents supporting their claim.
A few weeks passed and I received a copy of a letter from the court stating that they had to provide the documents by a certain date or the claim would be struck out. The date passed and sure enough I received another letter from the Court saying the case had been struck out, and that they had 7 days to appeal. (this was back in December)
A few weeks passed and I thought that was the end of it. But yesterday I received a letter from the court with a hearing date set for 5 Feb and a copy of the documents they needed (about 2 months worth of bank statements)
I realise I'm going to have to pay them so what I'm really asking is, how can I get away with paying them the least amount as possible, is it too late to settle it out of court?? (I've had absolutely no contact with lowell to this day)
Sorry for the essay, hope someone can help!
... you can click "go advanced" and there's an attachment option there (make sure you redact first), or email them to me (
Comment