I had a genuine dispute with a bank going back to 2014.
I was unable to resolve it with them at the time and so I did nothing else about it. In 2016 they sold the debt to one of the well known debt purchase companies.
The company did contact me and I asked them to provide me with details of the dispute.
They did not and instead issued a county court claim, presumably in the hope and expectation that I would simply pay it. The amount was relatively small, around £700.00.
I submitted a holding defence and challenged the claimant to prove its case. Obviously, the subsequent changes in the Civil Procedural Rules stop companies from issuing claims in such a hap hazard way. They would now need to provide the information beforehand. Or at least they are supposed to!
In view of the claimant’s inactivity, the claim was automatically stayed by the court.
In the spring of 2019 the claimant finally sent me a bundle of documents, but it was simply copies of bank statements and the bank’s terms and conditions. There was no correspondence relating to what the dispute was actually about, so to this day the claimant is still unaware of the core issues.
I am aware that in order to progress the matter, the claimant will have to make an on notice application to get the claim reactivated. I also understand that they would be unlikely to recover costs because it is their conduct that caused this. Obviously, if they do reactivate it, I will need to submit a revised defence, which I would do based on the information that they sent to me, plus I will then explain what the original dispute was about.
I have tried to research the situation regarding stayed claims, but it is hard to come up with much information. Can anyone tell me if there is a date whereby the court will simply dismiss the claim if the claimant takes no further action, or will it simply sit there for ever waiting for them to do something?
I don’t feel the need to do anything until the claimant acts, as there is a good chance that they will simply do nothing about it. I don’t want to stir them into action unnecessarily!
I would be grateful for any advice on this point.
I was unable to resolve it with them at the time and so I did nothing else about it. In 2016 they sold the debt to one of the well known debt purchase companies.
The company did contact me and I asked them to provide me with details of the dispute.
They did not and instead issued a county court claim, presumably in the hope and expectation that I would simply pay it. The amount was relatively small, around £700.00.
I submitted a holding defence and challenged the claimant to prove its case. Obviously, the subsequent changes in the Civil Procedural Rules stop companies from issuing claims in such a hap hazard way. They would now need to provide the information beforehand. Or at least they are supposed to!
In view of the claimant’s inactivity, the claim was automatically stayed by the court.
In the spring of 2019 the claimant finally sent me a bundle of documents, but it was simply copies of bank statements and the bank’s terms and conditions. There was no correspondence relating to what the dispute was actually about, so to this day the claimant is still unaware of the core issues.
I am aware that in order to progress the matter, the claimant will have to make an on notice application to get the claim reactivated. I also understand that they would be unlikely to recover costs because it is their conduct that caused this. Obviously, if they do reactivate it, I will need to submit a revised defence, which I would do based on the information that they sent to me, plus I will then explain what the original dispute was about.
I have tried to research the situation regarding stayed claims, but it is hard to come up with much information. Can anyone tell me if there is a date whereby the court will simply dismiss the claim if the claimant takes no further action, or will it simply sit there for ever waiting for them to do something?
I don’t feel the need to do anything until the claimant acts, as there is a good chance that they will simply do nothing about it. I don’t want to stir them into action unnecessarily!
I would be grateful for any advice on this point.