HELP PLEASE!!! Court Claim CCBC from Lowell for fashion world

[Guest]

Hi all,

Been here once before for help but still not sure I'm posting this correctly...

I received a court claim from CCBC on behalf of Lowell for a fashion world catalogue debt.

Date of the court claim is 14th October and received it yesterday on 15th October 2020.

Background:
Account opened around 2013, no problems until end of 2016 beginning of 2017 (I believe)

I began to find payments too high due to reduced income and other debts so started making a £50 payment every month just so I was paying something (never missed a payment).

FW called me at some point and I explained and they agreed to continue the £50 payment plan with interest as they refused to freeze the interest (at the beginning).

November 2017 mother passed away and I made that months payment 1-3 days late as I was arranging EVERYTHING.

Fashion World passed the account to Lowell without notice (sold I think).
I called and kicked off, I was fuming. They ignored my circumstances at the time and said call Lowell as they are dealing with it now. I informed them that I would continue to pay them as I made the agreement with them NOT Lowell.

For a few months I continued to pay FW as I refused to deal with Lowell and they passed the money onto to Lowell.

Then they closed my online account so I couldnt make payments so I called them and they told me to stop paying FW and pay Lowell as they had to pass the money over to Lowell every month which was annoying them.

I then started making bank transfers to FW. They continued to pass the money over for a month or two then I realised that the balance on my credit report was no longer decreasing. Then I stopped making payments altogether.

I have never made contact with Lowell but they did send letters (regularly at first then every now and then). I assume they have called but never answered.

Lowell claim I owe £882 but I know that at least £100 was not reduced from the balance (exact amount is being checked).

My grievance was with FW really but refused to bend and now this.

Should I make contact with Lowell or do I need to respond to the court claim?

Should I defend or not?

Advice please... not sure what to do AT ALL!

I was going to continue to ignore but seen on other posts that this is a bad idea.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions And sorry so long winded...

[R0b]

Companies usually have the right to assign/sell the debt on so I'm not sure why you kicked off and refused to deal with Lowell. Whether you like it or not, you have no right to dictate who you choose to pay. If anything, you've made things a lot worse for yourself.

If you are going to defend the claim then you need a reason, so what basis are you going to defend it? There might be a defence based on a technicality/procedure but we would need to see the particulars of claim verbatim.

Aside from that, you could negotiate a settlement to avoid a CCJ for the next 6 years.

[missuzc]

Hi ROB,

Thanks for your reply,
Not sure why it has posted as guest (maybe I wasnt signed in).

Well I kicked off as I was under immense stress as my mother had just died and was dealing with arranging funeral and her finances etc. I also did make payment therefore sticking to the agreement although payment was a day or two late.
They also continued to receive the payments for a month or two although they had sold on the debt.

The particulars of the claim:
1) The defendant entered into an agreement with Fashion world which was regulated by consumer credit act 1974 under reference ***** on 19/07/2013 ('the Agreement').
2)In breach of the Agreement, the Defendant failed to maintain the required payments and the Agreement was terminated.
3) The Agreement was later assigned to the Claimant on 29/12/2017 and written notice given to the Defendant.
4)Despite repeated requests for payment, the sum of £882. remains due and outstanding. And the Claimant claims
a) The said sum of £882.
b) Interest pursuant to s69 Count Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue, accruing at a daily rate of £0.193, but limited to one year, being £70.56
c) Costs

Total costs are £1082.56

I know that the actual balance is less than £882. Fashion world have obviously not sent it to them.

So I am asking is there any defence you can see?
Should I ask them to prove it?
Should I contact Lowell now?
Will I get a CCJ irrespective of my choices now a claim has been lodged with CCBC?
What should I log with CCBC (although I have just acknowledged and said I would defend)?
Can I change the defense part if you think I have no chance?

Thanks again in advance.

[R0b]

There's nothing in the particulars of claim that indicates a default notice was served on you and on what date. Consumer Credit Act 1974 says before a creditor can terminate the agreement and demand an accelerated sum of money under the agreement, they must serve a default notice and allow at least 14 days to remedy.

You could argue that in failing to comply with that requirement, the agreement was wrongfully terminated and Lowell have no right to claim the sums as alleged - they cannot benefit from their own wrongdoing.

The alternative argument is that amount claimed is incorrect if the court finds the contract was properly terminated, so this would be a secondary point the primary one above.

No need to contact Lowell at this stage, and if they come up with the goods then you might want to make an offer of settlement with repayment of instalments and avoid a CCJ that way. However, one step at a time.

To get started, there is an example defence which you can find here. Don't just do a copy and paste job, fill it in and delete anything you think is not relevant to what I've discussed and post up a copy on here and we can comment on it. From there we can see if there's anything else to add.

[missuzc]

Thanks for the guidance Rob.
Having a look now...

[unluckyjim]

very interesting i think i could use this info in my case.... Consumer Credit Act 1974 says before a creditor can terminate the agreement and demand an accelerated sum of money under the agreement, they must serve a default notice and allow at least 14 days to remedy.
You could argue that in failing to comply with that requirement, the agreement was wrongfully terminated and Lowell have no right to claim the sums as alleged

[MIKE770]

If record states default issued - a judge in most cases state that is it

[missuzc]

MIKE770 is this the case at any point on the record?

[MIKE770]

Record = companies computer states default issued! even then a copy of a default notice is usually supplied in cases if one has not initially been sent to you once a court proceedings instigated:- then it has to comply with regulation in contents, I proved a default faulty to a judge once they were going to accept my evidence - then the white book entry was shown (not issued by Parliament by the way but some legal senior judge as guideline - a judges get out clause) - disgraceful makes Parliament a laughing stock in the name of profit>

[missuzc]

Hi all slight update....

I recieved a letter from Lowell solicitors dated 19/10/2030 with the title Notice of claim issue.
The letter discusses that I have not repaid the debt or contacted them to agree a suitable resolution and that legal proceedings have been issued and I will shortly receive a county court claim from Northampton county court with the debt, interest, court fees and solicitor costs as stated on the claim form.

They then proceed to tell me what to do next with responding to the claim. When registering an account with them I can respond to the claim, pay balance in full and check affordability with calculator etc.

They then offer other payment options and the option to discuss the case in confidence.

Lastly, if I do not contact them to resolve this matter or respond they may enter a county court claim against me and a ccj may remain on my file for upto 6 years.
They want to assure me that wherever possible they will work with me to ensure a suitable solution to my situation but cannot help unless I engage with them.

So my question is... should I engage with them at this point? Would it hurt my defense?

I have been preparing my defense and checked through my bank statements and I actually continued to pay £50 a month until October 2018 to fashion world. I'm not sure how much of this money was passed to them. But I stopped paying when I realised that the balance was not decreasing on my credit report.

Thanks again

[missuzc]

Sorry letter received 2020

[MIKE770]

routine they theat you with, they tend to issue regardless hoping it is enough to frighten you into submission, lol