Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

[charitynjw]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Lowell Portfolio LTD

Are you sure that that is the exact name?

[Darter245]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

No sorry I've made a mistake it should read Lowell Portfolio 1 LTD

Micky

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Presumably mediation carries a cost to Lowell so possibly better to have a bash beforehand directly..

The Small Claims Mediation Service is free for both parties.

Any Tomlin Order drafted by Lowells would need to be filed at court and the OP would have to pay the filing fee of £100 (unless they're entitled to fee remission).

Di

[Darter245]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken time to offer their knowledge and valued help so far.

Is the general consensus then that I should try and explore striking a deal at mediation this Wednesday?

Micky

[warwick65]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Hi Micky

I do not want to advise you one way or another but maybe, and this is just a thought, as Di alluded to, if that first attachment saying notice of sale between Vanquis and Lowell is the only page they did sent and there is nothing with either you vanquis account number or your Lowell account number on you may think they have not complied with the judges orders and not produced any proof of ownership of the debt. After all if that one page is all they sent it could be argued it included any vanquis account on it.

As such you may want to start off negotiations with something like

They have failed to provide any proof of ownership because they have not provided the deed of assignment but as a gesture of good faith and to make this go away , while I do not admit liability i am willing to make a full and final offer of £25 (or £50, or £75- whatever you think is worth it to get rid of it) After all they can only say no and come back with a counter offer

[warwick65]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Personally, I find it hard to believe that a legal document that probably contained 100's of accounts had the date scrawled on it in biro

jesus i could print that out, do a quick photoshop and write any old date on it
[MENTION=5553]charitynjw[/MENTION] [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION]

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

or just going direct to Lowell before the mediation appointment. Presumably mediation carries a cost to Lowell so possibly better to have a bash beforehand directly.

I don't know if you could look at 50% plus court fees as a lump sum ( is that manageable ?) might be a decent starting point. If installments only then it's unlikely you'd be able to get as much of a discount - it depends how long you could do installments over.

Otherwise if they know they have you by the whatsits they might insist on the full amount at mediation knowing they are likely to get the judgment if it goes into court.

As it isn't a humongous sum then I think it's worth negotiating and settling rather than risking a CCJ.

The only thing I would add to that is any offer made direct to Lowells at this stage should be headed "Without Prejudice" so as not to be considered as an admission of the claim which could result in a CCJ.

Mediation negotiations are automatically Without Prejudice.

Di

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

as Di alluded to, if that first attachment saying notice of sale between Vanquis and Lowell is the only page they did sent and there is nothing with either you vanquis account number or your Lowell account number on you may think they have not complied with the judges orders and not produced any proof of ownership of the debt

I can only "allude" because I've not seen the papers

But generallŷ (hypothectally) speaking there may need to be some evidence of "linkage" between the debt claimed and any deed produced.

Di

[EXC]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

The Small Claims Mediation Service is free for both parties.


Di

I think Amethyst meant a cost in terms of Lowell providing the human resources?

[charitynjw]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

@Amethyst @Diana M @warwick65

I'm not a defendant in court very regularly (well, not for this kind of case ), so I'm not certain of the actual current sequence of events on the day of the hearing.
But I've seen reports that the judge sometimes tells both parties to have a last-ditch attempt at coming to an amicable settlement before battle commences.
How likely is that?

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

I think Amethyst meant a cost in terms of Lowell providing the human resources?

Which they would also have to provide in order to negotiate a settlement and then draft a Tomlin Order, so not necessarily an incentive to negotiate direct in preference to Mediation.

The Mediation session is limited to one hour and the associated paperwork provided by the Mediation service free of charge, whereas direct negotiations and the subsequent paperwork provided by the solicitor could take more time than that.

The main difference costwise would be the OP would have to pay the £100 court filing fee for any Order (unless they're entitled to fee remission).

Another difference is the Mediators are skilled negotiators who act as the go-between so neither party has to speak to the other. With direct negotiation the OP would have to deal with the solicitors themselves which some people don't find comfortable so end up agreeing to anything just to get it over and done with.

Di

[Darter245]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Evening everyone,

Again thanks for all your valuable advice and input. It appears I have a bit to consider before mediation on Wednesday. I will certainly start by highlighting to the mediator what has been mentioned in the most recent posts. Hopefully I do have something to use to my advantage too.

Micky

[Darter245]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

Evening everyone,

Final update, I had my Mediation this Wednesday morning. I used the full hour, I tried to force the issue however Lowell dug their heels in and didn't give much. I said what I had to say but Lowell were extremely confident they had all the paperwork asked of them in good order. I tried to call their bluff but they were happy for things to proceed to a hearing.

Mediation is nothing to be scared of, the mediator seemed a very decent person and had an extremely friendly manner.

The final outcome was I am going to pay £770 in installments, so a little bit of a discount but the main thing is NO CCJ!!

Thanks to everyone who has added their valued wisdom and much appreciated help. I would certainly recommend Legal Beagles to anyone and would happily come back in future if need be.

Thanks a million

Micky

[warwick65]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

I am pleased you have reached a settlement you are happy - or at least can live with. Well done

[Diana M]

Re: Lowell solicitors have applied for a ccj, please help!

The final outcome was I am going to pay £770 in installments, so a little bit of a discount but the main thing is NO CCJ!!

Thank goodness this is finally over for you.

Your nightmare started in September 2016 and now over nine months and 209 posts later it's finished *phew* .

This was a Vanquis credit card opened about 3 years ago (unless I've misunderstood) so your legal arguments were limited.

The assignment issue may have been worth arguing in court but it's a difficult one for a LIP to get across to a DJ and involves arguing endless case law including everything short of the Magna Carter!

As you say the Mediation settlement sidesteps a CCJ.

But it's a legally binding agreement so make sure you don't default.

My advice would be to pay one month in advance (i.e. the first payment covers two months) in case there's a bank technical blip with a Direct Debit or Standing Order which allows the Claimant to return to court for a CCJ.

I'm happy for you

Di