county court business letter for 20 year old debt

[p1w1]

Hi

Thanks in advance for any advise.

I received a county court business letter today 04/05/17 for the amount of £298.00 although up to £373 with court fee and a legal representative on behalf of a company called Capquest.

Particulars of the claim are

Defendant & Littlewoods dated on or about sept 1998 and assigned to claimant on Aug 2007. I have no recollection of any debt with littlewoods and have nothing on my credit file I would of had credit cards couple of mail order accounts but i can't honestly remember or have any paperwork from 20 years ago.

I have not been in any contact with Capquest on the phone or written (and after a bit of research I dont really want to deal with them at all). So basically i have done a little research and have done the acknowledgment of service to get the extra 14 days but thats it.

So after some advice or links to on how best to proceed and ideally be a little knowledgeable on the legal side of things (sort of know my rights) before i defend the claim. After my partner went through her iva i know how snidy these debt collection companies can be to scare you into things (just trying it on), we dont have any financial ties either.

Appreciate any help
Kind regards
Paul

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

Hi Paul, welcome to LB.

Could you post up (or type verbatim) the PoC? (Remove any personal identifiers).

The usual suggestion is to send CCA, CPR 31.14 & SAR letters. (See links below)
The PoC will govern what you can ask for via CPR 31.14.

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...y-of-Agreement

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...ic-information

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...quest-template

Don't forget proof of posting.

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

Hi Paul, welcome to LB.

Could you post up (or type verbatim) the PoC? (Remove any personal identifiers).

The usual suggestion is to send CCA, CPR 31.14 & SAR letters. (See links below)
The PoC will govern what you can ask for via CPR 31.14.

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...y-of-Agreement

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...ic-information

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...quest-template

Don't forget proof of posting.

Hi charitynjw

Thank you for your quick reply.
By POC do you mean the particulars of claim? if so they are as follows

The Claimant claims payment of the overdue balance due from the defendant(s) under a contract between the Defendant(s) and Littlewoods
dated on or about Sep 04 1998 and assigned to the Claimant on Aug 01 2007.

Particulars a/c no - ######## (this is an account number)

Date: 20/03/17
Item: Default Balance
Value: 298.65
Post Refrl Cr NIL
Total: £298.65

I haven't had time to look at your links just yet but will do first thing when i get home today. I just want to get my facts right and know where i stand before i start any defending.

Thank you again
Paul

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

I have not been in any contact with Capquest on the phone or written (and after a bit of research I dont really want to deal with them at all).

and assigned to the Claimant on Aug 01 2007.

It should be a slam-dunk statute-barred if these details are correct.

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

Thanks for the reply, can you recommend then the best way to proceed with this.
Kind regards Paul

[Amethyst]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

When preparing your CPR 31.14 letter Charity linked you to I would add an extra line in there that the debt appears to be statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980.

You've acknowledged so get your CCA, CPR letter off, I'm not convinced a SAR is absolutely necessary with such an old debt. Are you absolutely certain there's been no contact/ payment etc since the account defaulted? No Debt Management plan etc that might have kept it alive?

Regardless of that it is exceedingly unlikely they will have copies of the documents, Littlewoods weren't the greatest at getting credit agreements signed back in 1998 so its actually unlikely any actually exists.

I'll move your thread to the court claim forum then you'll be able to see the info in the top section with links to the template letters and you can have a read of the example defences, and also look through some other peoples threads so you get an idea of the process

edit: done
First Steps || Templates || Defence Example || CCA Request || CPR 31.14 Request

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

When preparing your CPR 31.14 letter Charity linked you to I would add an extra line in there that the debt appears to be statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980.

You've acknowledged so get your CCA, CPR letter off, I'm not convinced a SAR is absolutely necessary with such an old debt. Are you absolutely certain there's been no contact/ payment etc since the account defaulted? No Debt Management plan etc that might have kept it alive?

Regardless of that it is exceedingly unlikely they will have copies of the documents, Littlewoods weren't the greatest at getting credit agreements signed back in 1998 so its actually unlikely any actually exists.

I'll move your thread to the court claim forum then you'll be able to see the info in the top section with links to the template letters and you can have a read of the example defences, and also look through some other peoples threads so you get an idea of the process

edit: done
First Steps || Templates || Defence Example || CCA Request || CPR 31.14 Request

Thanks again for the helpful replies much appreciated.

The letters you have mentioned can you tell me who i send them to is it the county court or to capquest. And do i need to fill in the dispute form on the county court website?

thanks again
Paul

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

So basically i have done a little research and have done the acknowledgment of service to get the extra 14 days but thats it

If you have already done an AoS (via MCOL?), the next milestone as far as the court is concerned will probably be a filed defence (33 days from the court claim issue date stated on the N1 court claim).

- - - Updated - - -

CCA request + £1 fee to the Claimants.
CPR 31.14 (no fee) to the Claimant's legal rep.

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

If you have already done an AoS (via MCOL?), the next milestone as far as the court is concerned will probably be a filed defence (33 days from the court claim issue date stated on the N1 court claim).

- - - Updated - - -

CCA request + £1 fee to the Claimants.
CPR 31.14 (no fee) to the Claimant's legal rep.

Ok so just clarify. Do i send the CCA and CPR letter to capquest and do i send them together in 1 envelope or is it best to send them separately? ( will be sent recorded delivery) and i have 33 days from the date of the court letter to respond to the defence? Is it also best to wait for a response from the above letters before i submit my defence online with the court?

Also is it best not to actually sign the letters with my signature and just print my name on the end of the letter (as i've seen it mentioned while i did my first bit of research, i just dont trust these debt collection agencies)

I will definitely read through some posts etc this evening, its actually quite interesting reading

Thanks again for your time in helping me.
Paul

~~update~~ sorry i didnt see your last 2 lines so CCA to capquest and CPR to the acting solicitors?

thanks

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

~~update~~ sorry i didnt see your last 2 lines so CCA to capquest and CPR to the acting solicitors?

thanks

Yes.
Keep copies & yes, get proof of posting.

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

.......and i have 33 days from the date of the court letter to respond to the defence?
Yes....unless they agree to the 28-day extention in the CPR letter. If they do, you (Defendant) must notify the court.
Is it also best to wait for a response from the above letters before i submit my defence online with the court?
The court deadline is paramount. Do not miss it.

Also is it best not to actually sign the letters with my signature and just print my name on the end of the letter (as i've seen it mentioned while i did my first bit of research, i just dont trust these debt collection agencies)
If you're concerned, copy/paste the attached anti-tamper strip.

I will definitely read through some posts etc this evening, its actually quite interesting reading

Thanks again for your time in helping me.
Paul

~~update~~ sorry i didnt see your last 2 lines so CCA to capquest and CPR to the acting solicitors?

thanks

####

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

Hi
I am currently writing my letters out, quick question for the CPR letter to the solicitors and going by my particulars of claim information posted in an earlier post, is the only document i can request the "contract" or is there any others to ask for.

Also the line in the cpr letter "To enable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I require inspection of documents you mention in your statement of case ahead of filing my defence on XX XXXX 201X". What should the date be that i will be filing my defence.

thanks again

[p1w1]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

If possible could someone advise me what documents i can actually request in regards to my POC.

Many thanks

Paul

[Amethyst]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

You can ask quite legitimately for the contract as that is mentioned, fine line wise the assignment and the default notices as they are mentioned but not directly - so I'd just ask for all three in your CPR letter, but you'd really only be able to go to court to force compliance for the contract.

[charitynjw]

Re: county court business letter for 20 year old debt

Hi
I am currently writing my letters out, quick question for the CPR letter to the solicitors and going by my particulars of claim information posted in an earlier post, is the only document i can request the "contract" or is there any others to ask for.

Also the line in the cpr letter "To enable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I require inspection of documents you mention in your statement of case ahead of filing my defence on XX XXXX 201X". What should the date be that i will be filing my defence.

thanks again

If possible could someone advise me what documents i can actually request in regards to my POC.

Many thanks

Paul

Defence due 33 days after the claim issue date (front of claim form.

The PoC is rather thin.
I would ask for for the contract, the Notice of Assignment & the Deed of Assignment.