** DISCONTINUED ** OwlWatcher v PRA

[OwlWatcher]

I have used Legal Beagles before and got excellent advice resulting in successfully fending off a claim from 2 companies (Lowell & BW Legal) resulted in CCJs to pay £1 per month Until further notice. One of these involved a Mediation service. These are still in place though one company has stopped claiming the £1 set up on DD.

Poor memory prevents me recalling the exact steps taken previously but will follow recommended steps on site.

Haven't responded to claim or acknowledged it yet but will do so unless advised otherwise by response in Forum.

Received a claim? Yes
From N’ton County Court Business Centre
Issue Date: 22 Dec 2016
Amount approx: 15,371.47 (debt 10553.17, interest 4060.68, court fee £657.62. legal rep costs £100
Claimant: PRA
Solicitor: ?? Surjit Gida (Claimants legal representative)
Original Creditor: MBNA though this debt bought from Activ Kapital
Particulars of Claim: (copied from County Court Claim Form)
The claimant claims the sum of 14613.85 for debt and interest. On 23/09/02 the defendant entered into an agreement with MBNA for a credit card under reference xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. On 27/02/2010 the defendant defaulted on the agreement with an outstanding balance of 10553.17. On the 29/12/12 the debt of 10553.17 assigned to Activ Kapital Portfolio AS. Oslo, Zug branch who itself assigned the debt to PRA Group (UK) Ltd on the 31/12/14. Notices of assignment were sent to the defendant in accordance with S136 Law of Property Act 1925. AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS 1. The sum of £10,553.17. 2. Statutory interest pursuant to Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from 29/02/12 to 21/12/16 4060.68 and thereafter at a daily rate of 2.31 until judgement or sooner payment.


Is the debt Statute Barred? No. Not yet but soon will be.
List any letters you have sent: none yet
Any Other Info: Never heard of PRA. Received 2 letters from then which I ignored as I cannot afford any form of repayment plan as I have very limited income from P/t job. I am 64 and have medical problems which make it extremely unlikely that I will get any form of job that pays above Min wage.
Original debt was from a c/c from MBNA. I defaulted on a c/c. They chased for 6 months but gave up. Debt probably written off but no proof of this. Debt chasing firm called Activ Kapital (Oslo) then started chasing me for the original debt. Again I did not respond to their letters and threats. It seems they sold the debt to PRA in December 2014. All went quiet until PRA letters arrived in Nov and Dec 2016. I did not respond. County Court letter arrived 24^th December 2016. It seems PRA are trying to claim original debt (£10,553.17) plus interest (£4060.68) dating back to 29/02/2012 plus ongoing daily interest.

I did not receive any notice of assignment as claimed in the Particulars of Claim on County Court Claim Form.
The second of the PRA letters appeared to offer the opportunity to go to Mediation. This was successful previously. As I did not respond will this not be possible now?

Advice on how to proceed with this welcomed. Thank you.
OwlWatcher

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

My instant response is you need to go online and file your Acknowledgement of Service stating that you intend to defend all of the claim in order to protect your legal position. Be careful not to file a Defence at the same time by mistake.

From what you say this claim is around £14k so it's destined to be allocated for the Fast Track where you will be at risk of paying the Claimant's legal costs if you lose, so you need to treat this situation seriously.

Having said that the POC refer to an MBNA credit card opened in 2002 so there's hope

Di

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Is the debt Statute Barred? No. Not yet but soon will be.

No it won't unless the debt was SB before the summons was issued/served which is when the SB clock stops ticking.

Di

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

One more question.

The POC state the debt was assigned from MBNA to Aktiv Kapital before being assigned to PRA.

Is there any chance the debt was actually assigned to Varde/Experto Credite before being assigned to AK?

Di

[OwlWatcher]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Thanks Di
Happy New Year to you.

I obviously didn't understand what Statute Barred actually means. I thought it meant if it is 6 years since the default date then no further action can be taken against you. From what you are saying that is not the case. Does that mean that this case cannot be statute barred now?

Now you mention it I think there is a chance that this debt was assigned to Experto Credite. This name is familiar though I cannot find any paperwork relating to them. Does this affect the situation in any way?

OwlWatcher

[charitynjw]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Hi OwlWatcher

SB in a case such as yours is 6 years from the date of cause of action.
The cause of action is not normally the date of the last payment because at that time there would be no cause of action; the account would be up to date, paymentswise.
So it follows that the cause of action must be a later date than 'last payment'.
If a court claim has been initiated within the 6 year period, the SB 'clock' pauses at that point.

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Thanks Di
Happy New Year to you.

I obviously didn't understand what Statute Barred actually means. I thought it meant if it is 6 years since the default date then no further action can be taken against you. From what you are saying that is not the case. Does that mean that this case cannot be statute barred now?

Happy New Year to you too

When did you last make a payment towards this account and when (if ever) did you receive a 'valid' Default Notice from MBNA?

Send a Subject Access Request to MBNA to get the full history of the debt so that when the Claimant produces documents you'll know if they are 'honest and accurate'.

If you've handled two previous county court claims then you'll know the drill.

Send a CCA Request to the Claimant (PRA) with a £1 postal order UNLESS you've previously done that and what you were sent is unenforceable.

Send a CPR 31.14 Request to the legal representative of PRA.

Claims allocated to the Fast Track take a different more 'thorough' route but at this stage it's the same until allocated.

Di

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Now you mention it I think there is a chance that this debt was assigned to Experto Credite. This name is familiar though I cannot find any paperwork relating to them. Does this affect the situation in any way?

I'm glad I mentioned that

A creditor has to prove that they have the legal right to claim a debt. I'm always on the lookout for PRA accounts which arrived via Varde/Experto Credite because that can have an affect on the chain of events.

Normally I advise people to send a SAR to Experto Credite too, but they went into voluntary liquidation last month so access to information may be complicated. I'll get back to you on that point.

Di

[OwlWatcher]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

[QUOTE=Diana M;698332]Happy New Year to you too

When did you last make a payment towards this account and when (if ever) did you receive a 'valid' Default Notice from MBNA?

Send a Subject Access Request to MBNA to get the full history of the debt so that when the Claimant produces documents you'll know if they are 'honest and accurate'.

If you've handled two previous county court claims then you'll know the drill.

Send a CCA Request to the Claimant (PRA) with a £1 postal order UNLESS you've previously done that and what you were sent is unenforceable.

Send a CPR 31.14 Request to the legal representative of PRA.

Claims allocated to the Fast Track take a different more 'thorough' route but at this stage it's the same until allocated.


Reply

Thank you.

Have acknowledged Claim online. Sending letters on 3rd Jan. Checking facts re payments / default notice.
Not sure I can remember the drill. Will respond with more info as soon as possible.
Q. One of previous cases went to mediation. Is that unlikely/impossible here?

[charitynjw]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Q. One of previous cases went to mediation. Is that unlikely/impossible here?

Mediation is always possible; it is actively encouraged all the way through the litigation process.

However, I'm guessing our [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] has a trick or two to play, so best to wait for a reply from her. (This will give Di a nudge).
In the meantime, send those letters, including the SAR to MBNA.

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

Q. One of previous cases went to mediation. Is that unlikely/impossible here?

The Small Claims Court Mediation Service is not on offer for claims over £10k in the Fast Track.

Di

[OwlWatcher]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

It's good to be able to report a success on fighting a large alleged debt against a c/c company. So here is a huge vote of thanks to Legal Beagles and particularly all at Joanna Connolly Solicitors who helped me gain a 'Debt Unenforceable' ruling against PRA with the Court Case being abandoned one week prior. This was a great relief after a long fight (over 6 months) but the support given by JCS was superb. I highly recommend them. Thank you.

[Diana M]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

It's good to be able to report a success on fighting a large alleged debt against a c/c company. So here is a huge vote of thanks to Legal Beagles and particularly all at Joanna Connolly Solicitors who helped me gain a 'Debt Unenforceable' ruling against PRA with the Court Case being abandoned one week prior.

In fact it was was almost a year ago when you received your court claim on Christmas Eve (or thereabouts) and they didn't concede defeat until the week before the Trial listed for last month. This put an enormous strain on your health but it is finally over.

As ever there were 'assignment issues' amongst other legal arguments in your Defence.

We hope you and your family have a brilliant Christmas this year knowing that you will not have to pay £15k to the PRA.

Enjoy the holidays!

Di

[Brijay638]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

I have submitted the above defence with a few changes as advised.
Just wondering on an idea of timescale before mediation or court session would be allocated. Would it be possible to ask for it to be dealt with at a local court as opposed to northampton?
Thanks

[Amethyst]

Re: OwlWatcher v PRA

It's good to be able to report a success on fighting a large alleged debt against a c/c company. So here is a huge vote of thanks to Legal Beagles and particularly all at Joanna Connolly Solicitors who helped me gain a 'Debt Unenforceable' ruling against PRA with the Court Case being abandoned one week prior. This was a great relief after a long fight (over 6 months) but the support given by JCS was superb. I highly recommend them. Thank you.

Result, well done

In fact it was was almost a year ago when you received your court claim on Christmas Eve (or thereabouts) and they didn't concede defeat until the week before the Trial listed for last month. This put an enormous strain on your health but it is finally over.

'Debt Unenforceable' ruling against PRA with the Court Case being abandoned one week prior.

So this wasn't actually a ruling but a discontinuance before the hearing took place?

( just so I can mark your thread as Discontinued or Won )