HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

[Amethyst]

If you have received a CLAIM FORM from the court follow the Steps below.

STEP ONE

ACKNOWLEDGE THE CLAIM - within 14 days from getting the claim.

• Visit https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome and register with government gateway, follow the instructions on the page for defendants. This will enable you to log in to the claim online using the claim number ( top right of the court form ) and the Password given ( middle/bottom right )
• Tick the 'I intend to defend all of this claim'
• You do not need to contest jurisdiction.
• You do not need to complete any further information at this stage.
• Acknowledging the claim protects you from the claimant's obtaining a default judgment against you and extends the time you have to enter a defence to the claim to 28 days from service (when you recieved the claim form)

STEP TWO

START A THREAD ON LB

• Start a thread and write a little bit about your experiences with the company, how to came to use the site, telephone them etc, whether you tried to cancel, whether an appointment was booked, and whether it was in your name at the right place etc. Outline any calls/emails/harrassment you have experienced with the firm and anything else you think may be relevant.

STEP THREE

• Sort out a defence. This must be in to court within 33 days from the ISSUE DATE printed on the front of the claim form.
• A Defence is the main legal points you are arguing why you are not liable to the claimant for the money he is claiming.
• Any personal arguments which back up the legal arguments will be submitted to the court at a later stage in form of a witness statement and evidence. For now the court wants to know why they should not give judgment to the Defendant on a legal basis.
• I won't put a template as it's too easy for things to go wrong with templates cut and paste etc, so please post your own thread and ask for help with it.
• The Defence will need submitting to the court on paper or by email or through MoneyClaim Online.
• The print the Defence make your amendments and add the formal HEADING and STATEMENT OF TRUTH

[Amethyst]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

STEP FOUR

DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING FITS YOUR CASE - ASK IF YOU ARE NOT SURE !!!!


STEP FIVE

If you are submitting the defence on an email you will need to paste the defence into a word document, and amend accord to your own case, you will need to add the proper heading and footer in the following format; and sign it, then Print to a PDF document.

This can then be attached to an email to defendantsccbc@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk ( if at Northampton CCBC ) with a covering note stating DEFENCE - UK SERVICES & SUPPORT v YOUR NAME - CLAIM XXXXXX

You will also need to mail a copy to the Claimants at the address they have given on the claim form.

Claim No. XXXXX

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT BUSINESS CENTRE
B E T W E E N:-

UK SERVICES & SUPPORT LTD

Claimant

and

YOUR NAME

Defendant

____________________________________________
DEFENCE
____________________________________________

DEFENCE GOES IN HERE

Then this at the bottom.

Statement of Truth

I, xxxxxxxxx, believe that the facts stated in this Defence are true

Signed:

Dated:

[Amethyst]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

STEP SIX

Once you have submitted your defence it will be sent to the Claimants. We have had reports from defendants that the harrassment can ramp up at this stage so just be aware of that and don't respond to emails / texts and telephone calls. Most claims are for under £750 which means they CANNOT bankrupt you despite their claims. The could, if they got judgment gain a warrant for bailiffs to collect the judgment debt, but that would be at least two months after Judgment has been awarded by the court. They also cannot ''send the police round'', damage your credit file, or any other bizarre nonsense they come out with to try and intimidate you.

The Claimants will have to respond to the court within 28 days to say if they wish to continue. They seem to be doing this quite quickly so within a couple of weeks you will recieve a SMALL CLAIMS TRACK Directions / Allocation Questionnaire.

STEP SEVEN

The N180 ( directions questionnaire ) is to let the court know if there are any specific arrangements you need for court - such as wheelchair ramps/hearing loops etc and helps the court allocate the case to your LOCAL COURT. You can find your local court here ->https://courttribunalfinder.service....search/address bytyping in your nearest town - you are looking for a COUNTY COURT or COUNTY COURT HEARING CENTRE - not a Magistrates court.

The Claimants will also receive this form, if they don't fill the form in then they may have their claim struck out. If you don't fill in the form then your defence may be struck out which would mean you get a CCJ against you.

This is an example of the N180 completed for a simple small claims track case;

[Amethyst]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

STEP EIGHT

After that has gone to court you should received a letter from the court telling you the case has been transfered to your local court. The local court will then look at the papers breifly and issue directions or a hearing date ( or both). POST ON YOUR THREAD.

The directions are usually to submit Witness Statements and documents you intend to rely on in court at least 14 days before the hearing.

At this point the Claimant will have to pay their hearing fee. The Claimants can get a refund of the hearing fee if they discontinue up to seven days before the hearing.

You should ALWAYS follow the directions of the court regardless of what the Claimant may tell you. If the Claimant tells you they have discontinued then you need to telephone the court and check with them, or wait for a notice of discontinuance FROM THE COURT. Otherwise carry on with the court process.

It is likely you will be posting on your thread by now for help and support anyway so any questions please ASK.

STEP NINE

Witness Statements and EVIDENCE

Your witness statement should be along the lines as follows; it should be a factual account of what has happened.
YOu should include as many emails / letters / ''contract'' / invoices etc as you can and mention each within the WITNESS STATEMENT and refer to them as EXHI BIT A / EXHIBIT B etc. These should then be sent in with the Witness Statement clearly marked as EXHIBIT A / EXHIBIT B etc.

Claim No. xxxxxx

IN THE COUNTY COURT BUSINESS CENTRE
B E T W E E N:-

UK SERVICES & SUPPORT LTD
Claimant
and

YOUR NAME
Defendant

____________________________________________
WITNESS STATEMENT
_____________________________________________

I, [NAME] of [address] will state as follows;


1: I am a [state occupation or, if none, description, e.g. housewife, retired …] and the defendant in these proceedings. I make this witness statement in support of my defence in this case.

2: On xx/xx/2014 I found myself in a position where I needed to renew my passport ..........

3: I searched online using Google and clicked a result which stated xxxxxxxxxxxxx

4: This took me to the BritishPassportServices website ....... describe what you did

5: On xx/xx/2014 at xxxxpm I received an email / text / telephone call [EXHIBIT A] stating ..................

6: I realised that the website I had been using was not the official Government website ..................

7: On xx/xx 2014 at xxx pm I sent an email to xxxxxxxxxxxx to request cancellation of their services

8: I received a text....

and so on until present day .....

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.

Signed ________________________
Dated ________________________

[Amethyst]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

STEP TEN

A copy of your witness statement and documents should also be sent by post to the Claimant.

The directions also apply to the Claimant and you should receive their WS and documents before the deadline set by the court.

If you do not receive them you should telephone the court and ask them if they have received documents, and if not ask them to note on the file that no documents have been lodged.

[Amethyst]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

Reminder to read this.

[enaid]

Re: HOW TO DEAL with a claim from BPS

A reminder too, that any correspondence you receive on this, at any stage should be posted on your thread or emailed to admin then you can be advised at what happens next and in what time scales.