br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

[br74649]

Good Morning Beagles,


I have received an NCC letter for an old BT bill, actually it went to my parents who gave it to me as it was a brown envelope


issued date 09th may 2017


Particulars


1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with BT PLC under account ref XXX
2) the defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated
3) the agreement was later assigned to the claimant on XX/2016
4) despite repeated requests the sum of XX200XX remains due and outstanding


the Claimant claims
a) the said sum
b) interest pursuant to S69 county court act 1984 blah blah being £16
c) costs


I am just compiling my CPR 31.14 request and will acknowledge service, however i genuinely don't know what the charge is for, certainly i have never been cut off from BT nor failed to keep up repayments.
I did leave the country for 4 years in 2011 and looking through my records i was paying by direct debit and cancelled the contract with them myself. I explained this to them on the cancellation date so any
subsequant bills would not have got to me so i told them to contact via email.
Either they didn't cancel it when they said the did (i have a confirmation email), or they had some internal processing issue with taking a final payment (i used to work for them so know how rubbish they are)


certainly i want to know how a monthly phone bill got to £200 before i admit/defend it.
i know to ask for the agreement
notice of assignment


however what i actually want is a bill explaining what this charge is for, proof that i failed to maintain payments and the service was terminated and proof that was notified can this be done in the cpr request or separately.


Thanks in advance


T

[MIKE770]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

First Steps ||

- - - Updated - - -

First Steps || CPR 31.14 Request acknowledge and state defend all

[charitynjw]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

& SAR BT for all data held. (See above, green box).

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Hi Beagles,

I have now received a response from lowell with regards my cpr 31.14 request.

my request asked for the following:-

1. Agreement (account reference xxxxxxxxx)

2. Notice of assignment and proof that notice was given

3. Any other documentation that you hold about the account that you intend to rely on in court.


The response is as follows

Account opened March 2010, for phone number XXXX, default date September 2011 and that the line was disconnected when advised it was no longer required.

they then say please find enclosed the notice of assignment originally sent in may 2016.

followed by as the account is not regulated by the consumer credit act the original creditor is not obliged to provide me with a copy of the agreement.

they also have given me a bogus date by which i need to file a defence (15th May 2017)

The attachment is a letter from lowell portfolio explaining that they have passed the account onto lowell solicitors, and on the other side of the page is a notice of acting, both dated 7th April 2017.

As court papers were issued 9th may, i believe its got to be in by 11th june (sunday).

I will draft a reply reinforcing their duties under cpr 31.14 as they havnt complied with the request in any way. No notice and no agreement.

or is there something different because its a phone contract?

Kindest Regards

T

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Hi,

i have written the following letter for lowell, can someone please let me know what they think?

Kindest Regards

T

Sir / Madam,

I refer to your letter dated xxx May xxxx in response to my request made under the provisions of Civil Procedure Rule 31.14.

I am sure you are aware that my request to see the documents that you have disclosed in your pleadings is valid, the claim has not yet been allocated a track and I am therefore entitled to inspect the documents mentioned.

The particulars of your claim are as follows:-

1) The Defendant entered into an agreement with BT PLC under account ref xxxxxxxxx
2) the defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the service was terminated
3) the agreement was later assigned to the claimant on XX/2016
4) despite repeated requests the sum of 203.92 remains due and outstanding


The fact that this alleged debt is for a telecommunications service and is not regulated by the CCA 1974 does not mean that your obligations under the Civil Procedure Rules do not apply.

To re-iterate, I wish to see the notice of assignment and the agreement with BT PLC for me to be able to file a defence, to date you have not sent either of these documents only the notice from lowell portfolio stating that they have passed the account to lowell solicitors and lowell solicitors saying they are acting in this matter. I assume all within the same company (lowell group)

Please forward the requested documents by return of post.

Given that the 33 day time limit expires on the 11th June, there is no reasonable time for me to file a defense with the court, you have not complied with CPR31.14 and as such failed to follow pre action protocol, this being all I am able to say without first seeing the documentation, I therefore urge you to make arrangements with the court to allow inspection of your disclosed documentation and give me time to file my defense/admission once I am in a position to do so.

I have sent a Subject Access Request to BT PLC as I am at a complete loss of how an alleged balance with them has got to 203.92 on a phone number I do not recall ever having.

Yours Sincerely

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Sorry for a bump post, i know you guys are very busy but i was hoping to get the letters off in the post today


kindest regards

t

[MIKE770]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

surely your defence is you are unable to complete the defence due to the failure of the claimants response for documents under CPR31.14 etc, their not supplying is their problem they know the rules also after allocation then steps can be made for them to be forced to supply, do not do their work for them shows your weakness?

most solicitors will not supply prior to allocation anyway!

read other such threads and cases

[charitynjw]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Imho, there is no harm done by sending the letter.

I'd tack on that I'm perfectly willing to compensate them for any reasonable costs which may be incurred.

But I'd scrub the reference to the SAR...that's none of their business!

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Thanks charity,

will do

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

ok so do i just leave it and work on my defense for sending on friday? [MENTION=3599]MIKE770[/MENTION] [MENTION=5553]charitynjw[/MENTION]

[charitynjw]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Why not both?

If the claim issue date was 9th May, your defence can be submitted by Mon 12th June, but if you want to file it earlier, that's fine.

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Hi Begals @MIKE770 @charitynjw

I have compiled my defense and hope that someone is around today to have a look for me, not sure i should put all my cards down now but here it is

best regards

T

1: I received the claim XXXXX from the Northampton County Court Bulk Centre on 20th May 2017

2: Each and every allegation in the Claimant’s statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this defense

3: This claim is stated on the particulars to be for a defaulted balance under agreement between the Defendant and BT PLC.

4: The Defendant avers that the Claimant’s pleadings are an abuse of process. The Claimant’s pleadings are lacking detail, despite a request for information by the Defendant, the Claimant has not provided any details as to how the sums claimed have accrued. Accordingly the Defendant contends that the pleadings are wholly inadequate for a contested matter and that the Claimant should be required to plead its case coherently and accurately as required by the CPR 16 and PD 16. The Defendant reserves the right to replead his defence should the Claimant replead its claim adequately

5: The Defendant accepts the claim was issued in the Northampton County Court Bulk Centre and that there are restrictions on pleading. However the bulk centre rules clearly state that if you cannot plead in the allowed number of characters then you should not use the Bulk Centre or in the alternative the Claimant was at liberty to issue and set out that particulars were to follow

6: It is unknown if the Defendant had entered into an agreement with BT or how an outstanding sum of XXXXX would have accrued

7: The defendant has no recollection of having a BT service terminated in his life.

8: The particulars of claim fail to state what address the service was supplied

7: In summary the Claimant’s statement of case fails to give adequate information to enable the defendant to properly assess his position with regards the claim

9: The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from BT PLC to Lowell Portfolio. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment

10: On the 18th May 2017 the defendant sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimant’s particulars under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Lowell Solicitors.

It was requested that Claimant provide copies of the alleged agreement and proof of Assignment as mentioned in the particulars of the claim and proof of the termination of service.

A: Lowels solicitors replied with a copy of an a notice of instruction from them and on the other side of that printout a letter from lowell portfolio instructing lowells solicitors, Both dated 7th April 2017,No proof at all that lowellshave been assigned thisalleged debt

B: None of the documentation requested was supplied

C: The claimant also claims in his letter that as this accountis not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 the creditor is not obliged to provide me with a copy of the agreement.

11: The defendant disagrees, where a claim has not yet been allocated a track, cpr31.14 states that a party may inspect a document mentioned in the particulars of claim. The claimant has disclosed an agreement and an assignment, the defendant requested inspection of the disclosed documents

12: The defendant infers that upon request, the refusal to providethe documents mentioned in the particulars, that the Claimant is not in possession of said documents and has pleaded to the court without being in possession of them, is using the court process as a phishing exercise to trick the defendant into admission of an alleged debt to which he has know knowledge

13: Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore It is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

14: The defendant suffers from pernicious anemia, which has caused permanent nerve damage and as a result has been diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder, he has suffered from this for many years. Events of this nature cause days of upset, stress, spinning thoughts, memory loss and many other symptoms causing upset within his family and interferes with his ability to work.

15: It is therefore unappreciated when accusations are made without following procedure and pre action protocol, and he finds himself splitting hairs with solicitors when they know full well their obligations when they start civil procedures against him

16: The defendant is considering his position with regards of a counter claim against Lowell solicitors for the damage they have already caused to his health

17: For the avoidance of doubt the Defendant requires the Claimant to plead effectively and disclose the legible documents upon which the Claim is based. In the event the Claimant fails to re-plead, then the Defendant reserves the right to apply for whatever orders it deems fit including an order striking the Claim out

18: I request the court orders the Claimants to provide relevant documentation in order for me to fully plead my case else the Claim should stand struck out

19: In the event that the relevant documents are received from the Claimant’s the defendant will be in a position to amend his defense, and would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment



Statement of Truth



The Defendant believes that the facts stated in this Defense are true.

[br74649]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Ping

[charitynjw]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

Hi

Not sure where you're going with para #14?

Are you endeavouring to counterclaim?
If so, how? What legal argument would you use?

[MIKE770]

Re: br74649 vs lowell portfolio 1

para bit chancy???