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Hi Everyone. I'm in a bit of a panic because this morning I received a court claim form from Lowell Solicitors. This is regarding an old Barclays overdraft from a joint account with my ex. A few years ago I got a letter saying he'd applied for bankruptcy, so I suppose I'm liable for all of the debt even though he spent the money.
In 2009 I spoke to the CCCS who advised me to pay off this and some other debts at £1 a month. I did that for a while, but after I left my ex I stopped at some point. The spreadsheet I have shows that I paid until about October 09, but it's possible it was longer than that. In 2011 I had a mental health crisis and lost my job, the PO stubs and a spreadsheet were at work but I never went back. I was sedated on heavy meds for the next 4 years and just ignored any letters, hoping it would go away. The spreadsheet I have is the last one I emailed to myself in 09. I've applied for a credit report to find out exactly when I last paid. It could be statute barred but I can't ask them for this information without admitting to the debt. The debt has since been sold on from Sigma to Lowell.
The claim states that I entered into a CCA 1974 regulated agreement with Sigma, that a default notice was served and not complied with (doesn't say when, I have little memory of those 4 years and apparently I didn't keep the letters. I've looked everywhere). The agreement was assigned to Lowell in December 2015 and notice was given to me. Despite repeated requests for payment I still owe about £2,500.
They're claiming this and interest at 8%, limited to 1 year, and costs.
I've had letters in the last few months offering to halve the outstanding amount if I respond - I thought that was because it was statute barred and they were not confident of getting it back through the court, so the letter today was a shock. I've read through a lot of the posts re Lowell on here but I'm still confused. I thought I needed to send a CPR 18 letter, but I also had a web chat with National Debtline who said it was risky to defend and I shouldn't do it.
I could offer to pay it back at up to £10 a month, but another worry is whether they'll just take my savings. I am claiming DLA and ESA and am also a full time student. When DLA changes to PIP I'll probably lose it all, most people do, and that's my safety net to get me through the next 2 years of uni.
I'm trying not to panic but this has really freaked me out. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Edit: Also, if I send a CPR 18 to Lowell I will have to return the AoS before I get an answer from them. If I find out that they have a valid claim I'll have already told the court that I'm defending it, so that will make things worse!
In 2009 I spoke to the CCCS who advised me to pay off this and some other debts at £1 a month. I did that for a while, but after I left my ex I stopped at some point. The spreadsheet I have shows that I paid until about October 09, but it's possible it was longer than that. In 2011 I had a mental health crisis and lost my job, the PO stubs and a spreadsheet were at work but I never went back. I was sedated on heavy meds for the next 4 years and just ignored any letters, hoping it would go away. The spreadsheet I have is the last one I emailed to myself in 09. I've applied for a credit report to find out exactly when I last paid. It could be statute barred but I can't ask them for this information without admitting to the debt. The debt has since been sold on from Sigma to Lowell.
The claim states that I entered into a CCA 1974 regulated agreement with Sigma, that a default notice was served and not complied with (doesn't say when, I have little memory of those 4 years and apparently I didn't keep the letters. I've looked everywhere). The agreement was assigned to Lowell in December 2015 and notice was given to me. Despite repeated requests for payment I still owe about £2,500.
They're claiming this and interest at 8%, limited to 1 year, and costs.
I've had letters in the last few months offering to halve the outstanding amount if I respond - I thought that was because it was statute barred and they were not confident of getting it back through the court, so the letter today was a shock. I've read through a lot of the posts re Lowell on here but I'm still confused. I thought I needed to send a CPR 18 letter, but I also had a web chat with National Debtline who said it was risky to defend and I shouldn't do it.
I could offer to pay it back at up to £10 a month, but another worry is whether they'll just take my savings. I am claiming DLA and ESA and am also a full time student. When DLA changes to PIP I'll probably lose it all, most people do, and that's my safety net to get me through the next 2 years of uni.
I'm trying not to panic but this has really freaked me out. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Edit: Also, if I send a CPR 18 to Lowell I will have to return the AoS before I get an answer from them. If I find out that they have a valid claim I'll have already told the court that I'm defending it, so that will make things worse!
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