Received a letter before court action from a debt collection company / solciitors ?

[Amethyst]

If you receive a letter from a solicitors or debt collection firm or lender which indicates their intention to issue a court claim against you for the repayment of a debt then you should respond formally to the letter. In some cases this may halt the creditor / solicitors bringing the action against you.

You can respond to say that you are seeking advice from a debt advice provider such as Citizens Advice/StepChange, or inform the potential claimants that you require further information from them in order to consider their claim. It is often a good time to send a formal CCA request for a copy of your credit agreement (if applicable).

There is guidance within the Civil Procedure Rules (the rules which govern how the courts, claimants and defendants handle claims) called the Pre-Action Protocols.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...on_conduct#9.2 for general information.

7. Exchanging information before starting proceedings

7.1 Before starting proceedings –

(1) the claimant should set out the details of the matter in writing by sending a letter before claim to the defendant. This letter before claim is not the start of proceedings; and

(2) the defendant should give a full written response within a reasonable period, preceded, if appropriate, by a written acknowledgment of the letter before claim.

It also lays out the information that should be given to you in the pre-action letter.

Information to be provided in a debt claim where the claimant is a business and the defendant is an individual

1. Where paragraph 7.4 of the Practice Direction applies the claimant should –

(1) provide details of how the money can be paid (for example the method of payment and the address to which it can be sent);

(2) state that the defendant can contact the claimant to discuss possible repayment options, and provide the relevant contact details; and

(3) inform the defendant that free independent advice and assistance can be obtained from organisations including those listed in the table below.
INDEPENDENT ADVICE ORGANISATIONS
National Debtline Tricorn House FREEPHONE 0808 808 4000 www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) FREEPHONE 0800 138 1111 www.cccs.co.uk
Citizens Advice Check your local Yellow Pages or Thomson local directory for address and telephone numbers www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Community Legal Advice (formerly Community Legal Services Direct) 0845 345 4345 www.clsdirect.org.uk

2. The information set out in paragraph 1 of this Annex may be provided at any time between the claimant first intimating the possibility of court proceedings and the claimant’s letter before claim.

3. Where the defendant is unable to provide a full response within the time specified in the letter before claim because the defendant intends to seek debt advice then the written acknowledgment should state –

(1) that the defendant is seeking debt advice;

(2) who the defendant is seeking advice from; and

(3) when the defendant expects to have received that advice and be in a position to provide a full response.

4. A claimant should allow a reasonable period of time of up to 14 days for a defendant to obtain debt advice.

5. But the claimant need not allow the defendant time to seek debt advice if the claimant knows that –

(1) the defendant has already received relevant debt advice and the defendant's circumstances have not significantly changed; or

(2) the defendant has previously asked for time to seek debt advice but has not done so.

[Amethyst]

Re: Received a letter before court action from a debt collection company / solciitors

To update.