** WON ** County Court Claim form from bryan carter solicitors in behalf of lowell

[chloe38]

have received a claim form for a debt dating nealry 7 years ago.
It was debt of pure bank charges on a lloyds bank account.
We hadnt heard anything about this for years (had the odd letter when we moved)and now we have recieved this.
I want to defend the claim but not sure where we stand as we are aware of the debt but as i said previously it is from bank charges levied on a basic account many years ago.
Dont know what to do next. The debt was originally for 587£ according to their letters (i believe that is slightly more than original debt) but that has now been upped to £717
advise guidance ??
thank you

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Hi and welcome

have received a claim form for a debt dating nealry 7 years ago.
It was debt of pure bank charges on a lloyds bank account.
We hadnt heard anything about this for years (had the odd letter when we moved)and now we have recieved this.

If you haven't used this account for over 6 years, it would be statute barred. Any idea when you stopped using the account?

I want to defend the claim but not sure where we stand as we are aware of the debt but as i said previously it is from bank charges levied on a basic account many years ago.
Dont know what to do next. The debt was originally for 587£ according to their letters (i believe that is slightly more than original debt) but that has now been upped to £717
advise guidance ??
thank you

It doesn't matter whether you were aware of the debt, if there's been no payments or written acknowledgment in the past 6 years, it would be statute barred. :thumb:

First thing to do would be to acknowledge the claim as soon as you can, you can do so online using the P/W on the claim. :typing:

You have 14 days to do that, + 5 allowed for service. Tick the box stating your intention to defend in full, that should give you a further 14 days to submit a defence (a total of 33 days max. from date on claim). :clock:

Looks like our favourite Dynamic Duo Lowell/BC have decided to issue claims on old overdrafts, you may want to look at this thread which is similar to yours for more info: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...493#post453493

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

i did think this but as i said we have had occasional letter (potentialy more but we have moved numerous times so wouldnt have picked up majority if they were ever sent)
But my husband personally has never spoken to anyone regarding the debt since the charges were originally put on (nearly 7 years ago)
Worried that if we say we are going to defend it we will loose and be left with this ludicrous debt which is nothing more than charges/fees/costs from various banks/collction agencies.
What would his defence be for this?
Thank you

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

i did think this but as i said we have had occasional letter (potentialy more but we have moved numerous times so wouldnt have picked up majority if they were ever sent)
But my husband personally has never spoken to anyone regarding the debt since the charges were originally put on (nearly 7 years ago)

It doesn't matter if you have received letters, letters from creditors don't reset the clock. :thumb:

Worried that if we say we are going to defend it we will loose and be left with this ludicrous debt which is nothing more than charges/fees/costs from various banks/collction agencies.

If you don't say you are going to defend you would be filing an admission, which would automatically land you with a CCJ :scared: and then you would be left with a judgment that you would have to pay, as CCJs do not go statute barred and can be enforced in various ways.

What would his defence be for this?
Thank you

From what you say above, it's likely to be statute barred, which is the best defence there is! :whoo:

If it turns out not to be SBd, then we could look at the charges angle. If all else fails, you could negotiate with the creditor and/or sign a Tomlin Order that would stay the proceedings as long as the terms of the order are kept to. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves here. :bolt: The plan is to avoid a CCJ! :grin: :grin: :grin:

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

okay thank you!
Just going through form now.
so i am completing acknowledgement of service claim form?
This will then allow me additional time to organise my defence yes?
scared of clicking next/confirm buttons here !

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

am i contesting jurisdiction? haha
So in over my head!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

okay thank you!
Just going through form now.
so i am completing acknowledgement of service claim form?

Yes :thumb:

This will then allow me additional time to organise my defence yes?

Yes, it will give you a total of 33 days from date on claim, and stop them from getting default judgment. :scared:

am i contesting jurisdiction? haha
So in over my head!

No, not if you live in England or Wales. :nono:

Whilst we're at it, remember to tick the DEFEND IN FULL box! :typing:

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Okay so made the amateur mistae of not writing down the user ID.... which they now say cant be retrieved,
Didnt realise th significance at the time as normally they are snet via email!
Anyway have filed in acknowledgment form on the paper copy, so next step is defence?
Do i just state that the debt is from bank charges dating ..... which means that .... as stated in the....
Mayy need help in filling the blanks to make it sound better !
and as im doing this on my husbands behalf as is for the best am i his litigation friend"? for signing the form etc.
Thank you
Having a bit of advice is helping to stop me panicking!
Have sent form to the st katharines house adress? should i call in a few days to confirm they have received?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Okay so made the amateur mistae of not writing down the user ID.... which they now say cant be retrieved,
Didnt realise th significance at the time as normally they are snet via email!
Anyway have filed in acknowledgment form on the paper copy, so next step is defence?

Before that, you'd send a request for documents relied on. The one here is tailored to overdrafts: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...682#post409682

Do i just state that the debt is from bank charges dating ..... which means that .... as stated in the....
Mayy need help in filling the blanks to make it sound better !

I thought you said on your opening post that you had not used this account in 7 years, hence it would be SBd. :whoo:

SBd is an absolute defence, meaning that even if the balance was all money you actually borrowed rather than charges, it still couldn't be enforced with a judgment as more than 6 years have elapsed. :thumb:

and as im doing this on my husbands behalf as is for the best am i his litigation friend"? for signing the form etc.
Thank you
Having a bit of advice is helping to stop me panicking!

That's what we're here for.

Have sent form to the st katharines house adress? should i call in a few days to confirm they have received?

I think you should, given what I've been reading about courts misplacing documents lately.

Did you send it recorded delivery?

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Documents relied on to be sent to Bryan carter? Te account was basic account which husband thinks either had no overdraft facility or the OD facility was removed. Will that letter still be relevant? (Charges were from either unplanned OD I.e pennies or possibly even just a DD bouncing) husband can't remember as so long ago !
hadnt posted yet will send it recorded first thing then print off the letter you posted and recorded delivery to Bryan carter?
what will happen of they don't/do send the documents?
I have looked through lots of posts and it's so good to see people fighting back against these disgusting companies!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Documents relied on to be sent to Bryan carter?

No, documents Bryan Carter rely on as the basis of their claim. If someone decides to take you to court, they should be able to produce documents to back it up, otherwise anyone could go to the MCOL site and issue a bogus claim against anyone they know... :mmph:

Te account was basic account which husband thinks either had no overdraft facility or the OD facility was removed. Will that letter still be relevant? (Charges were from either unplanned OD I.e pennies or possibly even just a DD bouncing) husband can't remember as so long ago !

You can't owe money on a current account unless it had gone overdrawn somehow. Current accounts without O/D facilities often end up overdrawn due to the bank applying charges as you mention. If there are insufficient funds, they will refuse to pay your DDs but will still apply their own charges, banks are like that! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

hadnt posted yet will send it recorded first thing then print off the letter you posted and recorded delivery to Bryan carter?
what will happen of they don't/do send the documents?

I can bet you a million quid that they won't send the documents, they never do, however, it's all part of the process that needs to be followed. They are meant to reply to your letter in 7 days. When that doesn't happen, or if they reply with one of their templated gems arguing they don't need to provide anything because this will be small claims, :blah: :blah: :blah: do post up here. :typing:

Keep an eye on the calendar. :clock:

I have looked through lots of posts and it's so good to see people fighting back against these disgusting companies!

Indeed it is! This should cheer you up: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...063#post454063 :high5:

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

sorry yes thats what i meant as in the letter for documents relied on to be sent to bryan carter. Will recorded send it today!

When the court receive my acknowledgement of service will i have 28 days from then?
the claim form was dated 17th of july but we didnt get it until 20th.
Just need to make notes on my calendar for when things need to be in/replied to.
Very good to read. Seems all these money grabbing organisations use scare tactics to get money from you. Feel bad for those who think they have no choice but to pay! Crossing my fingers for this one!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

sorry yes thats what i meant as in the letter for documents relied on to be sent to bryan carter. Will recorded send it today!

When the court receive my acknowledgement of service will i have 28 days from then?

No, the 28 days are from the date of service, which is the date on the claim + 5 days.

the claim form was dated 17th of july but we didnt get it until 20th.
Just need to make notes on my calendar for when things need to be in/replied to.

That's why extra days are allowed for service. 28 days will be on Aug 14 + 5 = Aug 19.

sVery good to read. Seems all these money grabbing organisations use scare tactics to get money from you. Feel bad for those who think they have no choice but to pay! Crossing my fingers for this one!

The more we spread the word, the smaller that group will become. :director:

[chloe38]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Have ent both recorded delivery. does bryan have 7 days from when recieved or from when it was posted?
and presuming that they dont respond do i have to contact the court again?
Or should i just be less impatient and wait and see!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: County Court Claim form from bryan carter in behalf of lowell

Have ent both recorded delivery. does bryan have 7 days from when recieved or from when it was posted?

When received, but we are more likely to get green aliens landing on Trafalgar Square or snow this w/e, than to get BC to comply! msl:

and presuming that they dont respond do i have to contact the court again?

First you'll have to contact BC and ask them to agree to an extension to file your defence, as allowed b CPR 15.5. They'll probably refuse point blank. :rant: :rant: :rant: Or they may send a template letter they often use, saying it will be allocated to small claims, that the documents would have been given to you when you opened the account, etc. :blah: :blah: :blah: Let's see... :mmph:

Or should i just be less impatient and wait and see!

Just keep an eye on the timescales. If you hear from BC, post up here. :typing: If the 7 days go by and you don't hear from them, also post up. :thumb: