**DISCONTINUED**Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

[Head_Burried]

Hi,

To cut a long story short Lowell Portfolio have been chasing me for an alleged debt for a while for just over £9000.

Despite requests for further information on the debt - such as the Credit Agreement, deed of assignment, default notices etc. I have still not received anything.

The case has been transferred from the Northampton Bulk Clearing Centre to my local court with a hearing date of 14/07/17.

I have filed my witness statement to the court and sent a copy to Lowell but I have not received anything in return.

What is my next step. Should I ring the court to see if they have received a copy and explain I haven't had anything?

Is it normal they are late in providing a witness statement?

When I received the summons letter it advised witness statements were to be sent within 14 days of the hearing which would have been on 30/06/17.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

H

[jon34]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Bump this post. 54 times read and no answer

[Diana M]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Bump this post. 54 times read and no answer

Hello jon34

Do you have a similar problem to Head_Burried which may need this forum's help?

Di

[jon34]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hello jon34

Do you have a similar problem to Head_Burried which may need this forum's help?

Di

No. Just trying to be helpful to the original poster. But thanks Di

[jon34]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

No. Just trying to be helpful to the original poster. But thanks Di

Have I spoken out out of tune ?. My oppologise's if I have.

[jon34]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Just thought that as the witness statement was long overdue from the claiment, that the request for an answer was urgent

[Diana M]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Have I spoken out out of tune ?. My oppologise's if I have.

No you haven't spoken out of tune at all!

Forums are a community effort so it's nice to see members looking out for each other

Di

[Head_Burried]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Thank you Jon34. Any replies would be gratefully received.

[Amethyst]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hi there, Yes give the court a call and check if they have received the witness statement and inform them you have not.

Does the court order give any consequence of failing to file witness statements, other than being unable to rely on the statement and exhibits at the hearing?

Did you file and serve your witness statement ?

Sometimes we do see a case discontinued at witness statement stage, particularly where documents have not been produced - see what the court says for now though.

[Head_Burried]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have called the court this morning and they advised that Lowell filed their witness statement on 30/06 with the court.

I told them I had not received anything and they said to contact them directly. I am a little reluctant to do this.

She also said to write a letter to the court to file with the judge that I hadn't received anything.

In answer to your question there was nothing on the letter I received advising of any consequences of not filing a witness statement.

I sent mine on 27th June so they would have received it on 28th June.

[Amethyst]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have called the court this morning and they advised that Lowell filed their witness statement on 30/06 with the court.

I told them I had not received anything and they said to contact them directly. I am a little reluctant to do this.

She also said to write a letter to the court to file with the judge that I hadn't received anything.

In answer to your question there was nothing on the letter I received advising of any consequences of not filing a witness statement.

I sent mine on 27th June so they would have received it on 28th June.

If they filed it on the 30th it may have been delayed in post to you ( they may have filed electronically and posted to you on same day ) so see if it appears today and if not then I'm afraid you will need to contact the solicitors and ask them where your copy is and to resend. You don't need to get into any discussion about the case.

[jon34]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I have called the court this morning and they advised that Lowell filed their witness statement on 30/06 with the court.

I told them I had not received anything and they said to contact them directly. I am a little reluctant to do this.

She also said to write a letter to the court to file with the judge that I hadn't received anything.

In answer to your question there was nothing on the letter I received advising of any consequences of not filing a witness statement.

I sent mine on 27th June so they would have received it on 28th June.

It might also be worthwhile checking your spam/junk folder in your email account just incase they have sent it by email.

[Amethyst]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

They shouldn't have without a written agreement that service electronically is okay, but yes have a check.

[Diana M]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Also check with the court to see if the Claimant has paid the hearing fee by the date given in the Notice of Hearing (Directions). They sometimes say that the claim will be struck out if the hearing fee isn't paid on time. Not always.

This is a £9k claim so I wouldn't expect them to walk away/discontinue without giving it a go in court since it's in the Small Claims Track (I presume) where legal costs wouldn't be an issue for them unless there have been conduct issues.

Even if there was no sanction mentioned in the Order for late filing that doesn't mean the court won't take a view - perhaps that's why the lady you spoke to at MCOL hinted you should write to the court.

If the Claimant's WS introduces new evidence and Exhibits you may need to consider how you could/should respond to that before the hearing.

It's hard to comment without knowing anything about the case but if the Claimant is guilty of late disclosure you may consider whether an adjournment of the hearing which is due to take place in 9 days time is helpful or not. An adjournment can be agreed by consent (Order).

As I say, without knowing the facts of the case it's hard to suggest your options.

Di

[Head_Burried]

Re: Witness Statement not received - Court Date 14/07/17

Hi,

Thank you all for your continuing support in this case.

Yesterday morning I sent an email to the court advising I had not received Lowell's Witness Statement. As of yet I have had no reply from the court.

The Witness Statement however did land on the door mat yesterday lunchtime (not recorded or signed for like I sent mine).

They don't actually seem to have provided me with a lot of the information that I have been requesting for the last 10 months. I have now got an unsigned copy of the credit agreement. (Dated August 2007) and then just copies of their letters they have sent offering me to call them to receive a discount etc.

One thing I have noticed though is the original lenders account number on the credit agreement is different to the one on all of Lowell's letters.

Is this something I can bring up in court as part of my defence?

Also, my name and address on the copy of the agreement is not readable.

One other question I have is the last paragraph in their Statement says: The Claimant has requested with the permission of the Court to adjourn the hearing of 14 Jul 2017 to allow the Assignor to provide documents as requested by the Claimant. The Claimant therefore reserves the right to file and served an amended statement of case upon receipt of these documents.

What exactly does this mean? Will it be adjourned?