Hello

[Tez4b4]

I;ve been reading through a few of the threads & find some very interesting.. Could any one help with my query please? Do you think I would have a chance of winning in the Small Claims Court?

[VoltairAmour]

Hello Legal Beagle and friends, thank you for welcoming me to the forum
I would like to share my little ditti which is my philosophy for life!

When life is getting you down, follow these steps.....
Chin up
Shoulders back
Chest out
Belly in
Stick yer tongue out
and shout...…..
"I won't let the bastards grind me down!"
VA

[lostsoul]

Dear Beagles, I am facing a very difficult situation with a debt collection agency that has ended up making me ill with stress and having to take an extended period off work. They are not listening to anything I say and are now threatening court action - I explain in more detail when I find the correct area to post such things.

For now though I would like to say hello and thank you for such a wonderful resource.
LS

[VoltairAmour]

I urgently need your support friends, this is my problem....

* December 2016 agreed to be guarantor for my Sons partner to purchase mobile contract with Vodafone as a Christmas gift for my Son as she was young did not have a credit rating.

* The sales assistant assured us that the contract could be completely transferred over to the recipient after Christmas because it was being purchased and set up as a gift, otherwise I would not have agreed to it. We were told no written confirmation was needed because it was going to be transferred after Christmas, although we did ask for it.

* We were told to make DD payments for a couple of months then call into the store to transfer the contract to the recipient. I complied.
*A DD was then set up with my Son & Partners bank but the money did not begin being taken from their account.

* Over several months we visited the store to complain and chase this up. We also began to complain about the inconsistent, poor and non existent service. The same sales assistant who sold us the contract telephoned Vodafone on each occasion to rectify the transfer of the contract and report the bad service.

* I paid the DD from December 2015 through to June 2016 inclusive before it was finally transferred and we were told the contract and DD had all been transferred. We were also told at this time to contact Vodafone direct by phone to complain about the service not fit for purpose as they could not do anything.

*This my son did on a monthly basis during 2016 when they charged full price having said they would either reduce that months contract or waive it. He insisted they test the line which proved he was getting either a very poor, intermittent reception or not getting one at all. Vodafone agreed this was the case.

*Eventually Vodafone said they would release us from the contract because they could not improve or provide a better service.

*We did not receive written confirmation for any of this as they said they deal with it over the phone. We thought this was an end to the matter and ceased paying the contract.
We heard nothing more.

* I suddenly started getting letters from a company called DCA Lowell Solicitors towards the end of 2018 demanding money which I ignored as I had moved away by this time and dealing with issues of my own which had exacerbated the debilitating and disabling condition I suffer with, I was very unwell at the time and as I have heard of such things I had thought the letters were a scam, I paid no attention to them.

*I then received a letter informing me DCA Lowell Solicitors had now issued a legal proceedings claim for a total of £655.17 with interest, legal and Court costs included.

* My son telephoned the Court to seek advice, who told him that as the debt was still in my name they could not discuss the matter with him and I needed to telephone, but suggested we visit the store and discuss the matter with them and see if we can get them to accept liability for the mess. I also telephoned and was given similar advice and to explain this in my defence.

* At this point we learned that the Vodafone store had sold a number of contracts on the same basis along with other dubious actions and as a result, the assistant who mis-sold us this contract along with three other members of staff from the branch had been sacked for this behaviour.

*My son and Partner visited the store and spoke to the branch manager armed with the above knowledge, explaining the circumstances and asked them what they were prepared to do to remedy the situation. Telephone conversations took place between Vodafone, the store manager, my Son and his Partner. I was unable to travel and at such short notice due to being not well enough to travel the long distance.

The Vodafone store branch issued me with an email letter stating that Vodafone acknowledged and accepted responsibility for the' not fit for purpose service' also stating due to a 'lack of notes', with the store accepting responsibility for 'the issues the customer has had with her phone and now the bills'.
Acknowledging £429.61 would be cleared via the billing team.

* In this meeting, the Vodafone branch manager also mentioned that the account had been sold to Zinc collecting agency in 2016, saying I had contacted them but would not arrange a payment plan with them.
I had never even heard of these people, have had no dealings or letters from them and I most certainly would have told them why I would not offer to pay them, because we were firstly still in dispute with Vodafone regarding the service being unfit for purpose and secondly because Vodafone had waived many of the charges monthly.

However Vodafone only paid £429.61

I assume this amount must have been the amount owing when Vodafone sold the debt to Zinc and they

refused to accept responsibility for any interest or other charges DCA Lowell are claiming, telling my Son and Partner that we would need to pay those costs ourselves. unfortunately they agreed to pay these other charges which they were told amounted to approx. £130 because they were led to believe they had no other choice. This is mis-leading because it is not the amount DCA Lowell are claiming as the original debt they were assigned and is written on the Court claim which is £491.56 plus the blah blah charges added on.

* Having complied with the Court claim, taking the advice of the Court clerk, I briefly explained the circumstances, the reversal of bill back to Vodafone and asked for all the legal costs and fees to be removed under the circumstances.

*The response was DCA Lowell have proceeded with a small claims settlement/mediation for the full amount they were claiming for of £655.17 even though £429.61 has been removed. I know this because this time, I felt I had no choice but to travel over 300 miles to visit the branch to find out if the billing had been reversed as their email letter stated. The branch manager assured me it had saying that Lowell had accepted the reversal, that the account is now clear and gave me the reference number as proof.

He suggested we telephoned DCA Lowell whilst there to clarify the fact. We did but got nowhere with the assistant who was curt to the point of rudeness, would not deal with our enquiry but asked for details she did not need to know like my email address and phone number when I had made it perfectly clear I did not want to be contacted in any other way than by letter. Both I and my Daughter-in-Law spoke to her to no avail.

He also dropped in a little 'ditti' that they would have bought the debt for 'peanuts' about 5% of its value and we would be better off paying the fees, as this would be cheaper than paying for the small claims costs the DCA Lowell assistant has said will be passed on to me, or asking for it to go to Court which will be £250+ and will be added to my costs.

I am now at a loss as to how I should proceed, as I feel that we have not had the opportunity to proceed through the proper channels from the beginning because Vodafone sold the debt whilst in dispute and I knew nothing about this.
And with DCA Lowell still pursuing the full amount when liability has been admitted and most of the debt at least has been reversed, their is no £655 debt outstanding.

Can DCA Lowell do this? Still claim the full amount against me when in the first instance they paid peanuts for the debt and secondly when the main debt has been cleared?

This has all served to exacerbate my condition even more, given rise to further illness and has debilitated me again.

Please advise if you can.

Many thanks for reading.
VA

[Amethyst]

Hiya xx It seems likely this will end up being discontinued but Lowell might need a nudge to do so.

What is the current status of the court claim ? You filed a defence and have received a directions questionnaire? Just to know exactly where things stand and what your next steps should be with regards the claim.

You should send a Subject Access Request to both Vodafone and Lowell separately as soon as possible to get all the info to assist expanding on your defence in witness statements ( https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/ )

[VoltairAmour]

Good afternoon Amethyst,

Thank you for answering my query so quickly.
The directions questionnaire has to be filed by tomorrow 25th June. Unfortunately I was 300+ miles away sorting out the claim, when due to a fall hurting my back and unable to drive home immediately and the questionnaire was here when I arrived home, I was also ill so have been unable to deal with it sooner. However I have telephoned the Court to explain this and for advice and they have sent me an on-line version to fill in and file via email, the clerk also said that if a form is not returned in time they send out a reminder with a further 7 days to submit the form. How do I word and what do I need to ask for in a letter to obtain the SAR's please?

Many thanks

VA

[pt2537]

Good afternoon Amethyst,

Thank you for answering my query so quickly.
The directions questionnaire has to be filed by tomorrow 25th June. Unfortunately I was 300+ miles away sorting out the claim, when due to a fall hurting my back and unable to drive home immediately and the questionnaire was here when I arrived home, I was also ill so have been unable to deal with it sooner. However I have telephoned the Court to explain this and for advice and they have sent me an on-line version to fill in and file via email, the clerk also said that if a form is not returned in time they send out a reminder with a further 7 days to submit the form. How do I word and what do I need to ask for in a letter to obtain the SAR's please?

Many thanks

VA

The clerk should not be giving legal advice

Second, failure to comply with a Court order ie the order to lodge the documents can result in an automatic strike out. Rely on the Court staff word at your peril, i speak from experience here

[Amethyst]

Indeed - get the DQ completed and filed ASAP, and print a copy out to post to the claimant- little guidance here -> https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...uestionnaire//

[Amethyst]

Once that's done you can get your info requests sorted xxx Do you have a copy of the particulars of claim and of the defence that was filed pls ?

[VoltairAmour]

Good morning Amethyst,

I have now filed the DQ with the court by email yesterday and received confirmation.

Yes I do have copies of the claim with my defence and copies of the email letter from Vodafone and the branch taking responsibility and clearing the account, a copy of which was attached to the defence.

Many thanks

VA

[VoltairAmour]

Good morning PT2537,

Many thanks for your response and advice, I have filed the DQ by email to the court and have received confirmation.
I will most certainly bear in mind your comments thank you very much

Many thanks

VA

[VoltairAmour]

Hi,
I have remembered a couple of things that may be of interest:-

1) I have had no default notice served on me
2) I have had no letters dealing with 'Zinc' to whom the branch manager says the account was sold.

A friend has said to me they think that Lowell's is chasing me, not for the 'sold on account' but for the remainder of the contract. Can they do this? Especially since they are the second debt collection company to have bought the debt

Many thanks

VA

[charitynjw]

To the best of my knowledge, Zinc are third party debt collectors, usually working on behalf of the 'owners' of the alleged debt.
If so, the branch manager is probably wrong in stating that the debt was sold to them. (Zinc)

[VoltairAmour]

Good morning CHARITYNJW,

Thank you for your comment.

I am in the process of preparing SAR letters to each party, so I can find out who's done what!

Many thanks

VA