Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

[matrix2012]

Hello everyone! I just registered on your forum and I must say there is plenty of useful information available. I am just about to take legal action against Capquest for damages to my credit worthiness and I was wondering if someone could advise with the correct wording when filling in the particularities of the claim on Money Claim Online.

[MIKE770]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

Hello everyone! I just registered on your forum and I must say there is plenty of useful information available. I am just about to take legal action against Capquest for damages to my credit worthiness and I was wondering if someone could advise with the correct wording when filling in the particularities of the claim on Money Claim Online.

Bit vague, give more information so the peeps can digest the actual situation?

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

To cut a long story short the facts are as follows:
As a result of an administrative error in December 2011 Natwest bank sold to Capquest an old debt (penalty charges related) which has been marked as settled on my credit file since 2009. I was contacted by Capquest in December 2011 requesting the payment of the already settled debt. Although I explained them that I did not owe any money and that the account was settled since 2009 they kept phoning me and threatening me with default on my credit file and court action to recover the money. This situation has been going on for 6 -7 months and as promised Capquest entered a default on my credit file in March 2012. I made a complaint straight away and asked them to remove the default immediately. They started an investigation and four months later Capquest admitted that the account was purchased in error and they should not have placed a default on my credit file as the debt was not owed. They also removed the default I believe sometime in June 2012 and apologised for the letters and telephone calls.
They refused to pay any compensation on the grounds that they are unable to do so and then they ignored my 14 days Letter Before Action.
I am not sure whether to see a solicitor or to start the claim on my own.
Any help would be much appreciated.

[bluebottle]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

For a start, CapQuest are lying about not being able to pay you compensation. If they have caused you loss as a result of their actions, there is a cause of action. If they have failed to reply to a 14-day notice Letter Before Action, they have not complied with CPR Pre-Action Protocol. This means that if your case goes into court and they have not made available to you any evidence they rely on in their defence prior to the hearing, the judge can and will refuse to admit their defence into evidence, i.e. it will be disallowed.

I would advise that you would be wise to consult a legal professional about taking CapQuest to court as the legal professional would be able to warn you of any stunts they might try and pull and, also, how to give them as little wriggle room as possible.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

Capquest had until the 6th of August to reply. I imagine they won't rush.

[miliitant]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

If you look at the Durkin Judgement it states clearly that you can claim purely for the damage to your creditworthiness irrespective of whether you have actually suffered any loss as a result of the incorrect information recorded.

General loss to credit
114. Counsel for the pursuer submitted that in addition to the actual losses which he had sustained the pursuer had suffered a general loss to credit along the lines recognised in King v British Linen & Co (1899) 1F 928 and Wilson v United Counties Bank Limited. [1920] AC 102. He submitted that this general loss to credit sounded in damages over and above any actual damages which the pursuer may, as he had done here, sustained. Counsel for the second defender submitted that any award for damages to credit was circumscribed or limited by the actual damages sustained.

115. The case of King v British Linen & Co dealt with the situation where there had been no specific damage. The only loss which the pursuer had occurred sustained was the loss to his credit standing. That was valued by the sheriff at £100 in 1897, a figure which was not interfered with in the Inner House. It is clear that the reason that the Inner House did not consider it appropriate to interfere with it was because they were dealing with a case where, in the words of Lord Kinnear, "No exact measure" of damages could be fixed. The case is clear authority to the effect that award of damages can be made for simple injury to credit although no actual loss is sustained. It is not, in my opinion, authority for the proposition where injury to credit causes actual loss or damage the fact of the injury itself warrants an award over and above the actual losses.

116. Wilson v United Counties Bank Limited was a case brought by an individual (Wilson) and his trustee in bankruptcy against Wilson's bank. The defenders' negligent handling of the plaintiff's estate whilst he was away on military service caused an actual loss to the estate, and also resulted in the pursuer, Wilson being made bankrupt. The trustee in bankruptcy was held entitled to recover actual losses caused by the negligent management. There was only one claim in respect of damage to credit, namely the fact that Wilson was made bankrupt when, had the defenders managed his affairs prudently, he would not have been. There was no claim that Wilson had suffered any specific loss to his credit by virtue of the bankruptcy, but the fact of bankruptcy was recognised as a serious injury to his general credit standing. This resulted in an award in 1919 of £7,500. The case, as was also the case with King v British Linen, was based on breach of contract and not negligence. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Birkenhead, said of the type of case where a banker, though his customer's account is in funds, nevertheless dishonours the customer's cheque, that the refusal to meet the cheque is so obviously injurious to the credit of a trader that the latter can recover without allegation of special damage reasonable compensation for the injury done to his credit. He applied that principle to the circumstances of Wilson's case where a defendant had expressly contracted to sustain the financial credit of a trading customer and breached that obligation. At page 120, Viscount Findlay said that the fact of bankruptcy must injure the credit of the person made bankrupt, apart from damage to the estate. He continued "In an action for negligence against a solicitor leading to the bankruptcy of his client even if due to fortuitous circumstances the estate had not been damaged, it seems on principle that the jury might give substantial damages for injury to the credit of the person made bankrupt." Later on he said "It was urged that proof must be given of special damage in order to sustain the verdict on this head for more than nominal damages. I cannot see on what principal this contention rests. The mere fact of bankruptcy imports damage to the credit of the bankrupt. It is a natural consequence, and it is for the jury to assess the damages for such a slur."

117. Had there been no finding of specific loss in this case, I would have had no hesitation in finding that an award of damages for the mere injury to credit was appropriate. In modern society credit plays a very big part in the conduct of the daily lives of a significant portion of the population. The financial services industry is constantly advertising loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages, consolidation accounts etc. To have one's credit worthiness impugned so that one is at risk of being unable to obtain credit on the grounds that he is not credit worthy is, if anything, a more significant matter for the individual than it would have been at the time of King, over a hundred years ago. Mr Beynon has submitted that a figure of £10,000 would be appropriate. The figure of £100 awarded by the sheriff and left standing by the Inner House in King v British Linen translates, according to the Office of National Statistics Publication "Focus on consumer price indices" 2008, table 5/3, to £9,975 in the year 2008. The figure of £5,500 awarded to an individual in Kpohraror v WoolwichBuilding Society 1996 4All ER 119 was not interfered with by the Court of Appeal in 1996 and, in today's figures, would be worth £8,215.

118. Kpohraror confirmed that such damages were available to individuals who were not traders. In that case a cheque was dishonoured and then the matter put right within 24 hours. Also in that case the plaintiff claimed both special damages and the general damages of £5,500. Lord Justice Evans said at page 124 "The credit rating of individuals is as important for their personal transactions, including mortgages and hire purchase as well as banking facilities, as it is for those who are engaged in trade, and it is notorious that central registers are now kept. I would have no hesitation in holding that what is in effect a presumption of some damage arises in every case in so far as this is a presumption of fact."

119. Evans LJ went on to consider the issue of special damages separately. There is, however, nothing in the judgment of Evans LJ to indicate that had the special damages claim been made out he would not have made an award in terms of the general damage claim. Lord Justice Waite and Sir John May each agreed in all respects with the judgment of Lord Justice Evans

120. The cases of Kpohraror, King and Wilson were all based on contract but it does not seem to me that there is any difference in principle between the nature of damages to be awarded in respect of a loss of credit brought about by a breach of contract, and one brought about by negligent misrepresentation.

121. In these circumstances and standing such a recent decision where the claims appear to have been treated as being capable of existing together, I find that the pursuer is entitled to an award for the general damage to his credit in addition to an award in respect of the actual loss flowed sustained. Having regard to all the circumstances I consider that an appropriate award would be £8,000.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

Can anyone suggest a good solicitor that would be able to assist with this matter ?

[miliitant]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

your sinario is starting to be far to common. a DCA does not have cart blanch to trash a persons credit file and have no penalty against it

i think i might try my hand at doing a particulars of claim in this instance, and post it on your thread to get comments as well from our more experienced users on the forum. i will be looking at making it a template

give me a week to hit the books and do a draft or you can just go straight to a solicitor but this is quite a specific are of law ,(consumer) and i doubt most solicitors would not like to touch it

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

That would be great !

[bluebottle]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

In the meantime, Matrix, I would strongly recommend you lodge a formal complaint against CapQuest with OFT Credit Fitness Team and your local Trading Standards Department. In the last week, an LB member has lodged a serious complaint against CapQuest that involved no fewer than 11 breaches of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines.

Making a complaint to OFT Credit Fitness Team is fairly straightforward. Send an email to enquiries@oft.gsi.gov.uk and insert CREDIT FITNESS in the subject box. Give a clear and concise resume of your complaint. Include the following details in your complaint -

Company Name: CapQuest Debt Recovery Limited
Credit Licence No.: 475757

Also include all and any breaches of the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines in your complaint. I am attaching a copy to this post.

Send that off to the OFT, then, forward a copy to your local Trading Standards Department with a brief covering email.

When you've done all that, wait for Miliitant to get back to you and then wait for the proverbial to hit the air conditioning.

[Nikolai]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

Militant is right. Consumer law is a specialised area that many high street solicitors know little about. I've seen better advice on this forum than is available from many solicitors I've encountered.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

I'll lodge the complaint with the OFT and forward a copy to the local Trading Standards office in the next 48 hours and once it is done I will post back.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

I lodged the complaint with the OFT based on the following:

Communication
3.3 (j) and (k),
3.5 (a),( b) and (g),


Physical/Psychological Harassment
3.7 (a),(e) and (o),


Deceptive and/or Unfair Methods
3.9 (a),

Data Accuracy
3.17 , 3.18.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

OFT acknowledged the receipt of the email.

[matrix2012]

Re: Hello everyone ! New member ready to take on Capquest

I received this morning the response from OFT:


Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the Act)
Complaint Against: Capquest Debt Recovery Limited
Licence No: 475757

Thank you for your email received on 14 August 2012.

I can confirm that the business you mention holds a consumer credit licence. Under the Consumer Credit Act, holders of consumer credit licences must be fit and competent to do so and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has a duty to monitor the fitness and conduct of all traders who hold such a licence.

The OFT has issued guidance to consumer credit licence holders engaged in the debt collection industry. The guidance is intended to ensure that debt collectors treat individuals fairly. Non-compliance with this guidance will call into question the fitness of licence holders and applicants. You can view our guidance at:www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/cca/debt-collection

We have therefore recorded the details of your complaint, and we will consider this alongside any other complaints we have received with a view to any consumer credit licensing or other action we may decide to take. If we do take any action against this trader we may need to contact you again in the future. Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any details about any action we may take, due to legal restrictions on the OFT relating to disclosure of information.

While we are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing, the OFT has no authority to become involved in individual disputes between consumers and traders so we cannot advise you directly in this matter.

The Financial Ombudsman Service can help with most complaints about consumer credit products and services if the consumer has failed to satisfactorily resolve the matter directly with the consumer credit licensee itself. The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted at:

The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR

Telephone: 0800 0234 567

The OFT has published a consumer guide about debt collection which you may find helpful. The guide can be viewed on the OFT’s website: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/con...it/oft1299.pdf

Thank you again for writing to us and bringing this matter to our attention.

Yours sincerely



Enquiries and Reporting Centre
Office of Fair Trading