urgent help court case

[Jdeey]

First of all hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help you can offer me. I have a debt with Lowell that is going to court on the 7th july. I was issued with a summons dated 15th march 2016, stupidly I just put on the defense form simply, I do not owe the debt, thinking they would go away . the debt came off my credit file on the 31/5/2016, I have not acknowleged this debt in over 6yrs and Lowell (bw legal) have got a copy of a digital signature but no cca that they are going to produce in court, they have sent separate letter offering 20% discount ,IMG_0438.jpgadvice greatly appreciated

[Amethyst]

Re: urgent help court case

Did you do a Witness Statement ?

If the summons was 15th March 2016 and the default date/charge off date was 31/5/2010 then you may have difficulties trying to argue statute barred. You'd have to amend your defence to plead stat barred, and you'd be arguing two/three months from last payment - which takes you to Feb/March 2016 anyway so very tight even if you could argue against the default date arguments.

Did you ask for just a 'hard copy' of the agreement from Vanquis or did you send a formal CCA request to Lowell ?

How much is the claim for overall ?

[Jdeey]

Re: urgent help court case

Thanks for your reply my maths make it 6years and 4 months from when I last acknowledged debt to the issue of a court summons and I did not ask for any papers these are what I recieved yesterday

[Guest]

Re: urgent help court case

First of all hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help you can offer me. I have a debt with Lowell that is going to court on the 7th july. I was issued with a summons dated 15th march 2016, stupidly I just put on the defense form simply, I do not owe the debt, thinking they would go away .[ATTACH=CONFIG]24577[/ATTACH]

Unfortunately such as defence isn't likely to stand up unless you really never had the card in question. What is the document you posted, were you can only see points 23 to 28? Point 23. states that your defence offers no triable issues. Are they applying for summary judgment, or what does this document relate to?

the debt came off my credit file on the 31/5/2016, I have not acknowleged this debt in over 6yrs

Defaults are recorded a few months after you breach your agreement by not paying, so it may be SB if it has dropped off, as long as you didn't make any payments after that, a lot of people pay through a DMP, etc. You'd still have to amend your defence to say the debt is statute barred.

and Lowell (bw legal) have got a copy of a digital signature but no cca that they are going to produce in court, they have sent separate letter offering 20% discount ,advice greatly appreciated

If you took out the card in 2005 or later, a digital signature is as good as a wet ink signature for online applications. You'd have agreed to the T&Cs when you ticked the box and wouldn't have signed a hard copy, so there wouldn't be one, although they should still supply you with the T&Cs that were applicable to your account.

[Jdeey]

Re: urgent help court case

Its not looking good got to phone up tomorrow and get mcol password reset what exactly should I write as my updated defense. Also as I am unemployed would I be able to get legal aid to argue the case in court . The original debt was £348 now they are demanding over £400 discount included. Are they likely to accept less if I contact them

[Guest]

Re: urgent help court case

Its not looking good got to phone up tomorrow and get mcol password reset what exactly should I write as my updated defense. Also as I am unemployed would I be able to get legal aid to argue the case in court . The original debt was £348 now they are demanding over £400 discount included. Are they likely to accept less if I contact them

There is no legal aid for these types of cases. If your defence has been sent to the claimant, you'll need permission from either the claimant or the court to file an amended defence, you can't just log in and resubmit your defence. Unless you get written permission from the claimant, you'd need to submit an application to amend your defence, at a cost of £255. If you are unemployed and have less than £3,000 in capital you should qualify for remission of the application fee.

Given the relatively small sums involved, it may not be a bad idea to contact them saying you've got evidence the debt is SB and you intend to apply for permission to amend your defence to one of SBd which is an absolute defence, in which case they'd get nought, and see what agreement you can reach.

[Amethyst]

Re: urgent help court case

You likely received the documents and Witness statement because the court order for the hearing will have ordered Witness statements be exchanged 14 days before the hearing. I'm guessing you didn't do yours. It would cost you £255 to amend your defence at this stage and the application would likely be decided at the already set hearing.

If they have provided all the documents and it's very much on the edge of being stat barred ( remember the clock stops the moment a court claim is issued and stat barring clock doesn't start until a cause of action - which on a credit card isn't the last time you pay, it's the date when they could recall the entire debt- usually a couple months of missing payments ) then it is likely to be better for you at this stage to see if they will accept installment payments on the offer they have made (£422 ish) rather than go to court and leave you with a CCJ.

If you decide you want to fight then you need to apply to amend your defence, you are meant to ask for the claimant's consent before making the application, and you have already missed the deadline for the witness statements - you should also send a formal CCA request. I think you're unlikely to get very far I'm afraid. Without a CCA request and with the documents you have been sent evidentially the court is likely to award them the CCJ on the balance of probabilities, and for a £422 settlement I think it's worth sorting out some negotiation and avoiding a CCJ on your file for 6 years.

[Jdeey]

Re: urgent help court case

If I come to a repayment plan with them would that go back on my credit file

[Guest]

Re: urgent help court case

If I come to a repayment plan with them would that go back on my credit file

Not if doesn't reach the point where they obtain judgment against you. There can only be one default recorded per account and when it drops off, it's the end of it. However, if a CCJ is obtained, that goes back as a new entry both on you credit file and the public registry, for six years, although if the judgment is paid in full within one month, it doesn't get recorded.

[Jdeey]

Re: urgent help court case

The full amount is £517 with charges or £442 settlement if I went to court and lost would there be any other charges added to the £517

[Jdeey]

Re: urgent help court case

[MENTION=86454]freshfield[/MENTION]. Thanks for the advice. I did what you suggested and have accepted an offer of £370 in full and final settlement of case which they have emailed me

[seter]

Re: urgent help court case

try to phone them explain your situation