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Hello everyone!
- Im hoping to get some advice on how to respond?
I received a letter from Shoosmiths stating the usual you owe this debt & if no agreement is arranged we will start court proceedings. I responded with the below:
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Dear Sirs
Ref:
Client Name:
Client Agreement Number:
Original Lender:
Balance Outstanding:
Thank you for your letter dated . As the letter contains a threat of litigation, it is being treated as a formal letter before action. As such, I refer you to paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states: “before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to (a) understand each other’s position; (b) make decisions about how to proceed; “Paragraph 6 states “the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives“ and Paragraph 6 (c) of refers to “the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.” My request refers to the documents I require to obtain the necessary information to assess my position in this case.
I require copies of the following:
These documents would be expected to be supplied if proceedings were issued and would likely be in your possession if you were issuing a claim. If you consider that there is difficulty in providing a copy of a document, please identify that document and the reason. Additionally, there is a duty to supply documents under the Consumer Credit Act 1974
I shall be able to provide you with a full response to your letter within 14 days of receipt of the documents listed above and also reserve the right to refer to the contents of this letter if proceedings are issued without first providing copy documents to me
I note that upon a search of the FCA register, that the status of your client's license is LAPSED and it did indeed lapse on 28/02/2015, which I note is before your letter of claim was sent. I would like to draw your attention to s.39 of the Consumer Credit Act which makes it a criminal offence to engage in activities for which a license is required without having one.
If a claim was to be issued, it is also potentially contempt of court to sign a statement of truth for a court claim on which they cannot have had a reasonable belief in its truth.
I would also point out that s.40 of the Consumer Credit Act makes enforcement without a license impossible.
I await with interest your response.
Yours Sincerely,
Chloe Beale
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They acknowledged this & said they have requested the documents from the client. I followed up asking them to confirm that all recovery has been suspended till the documents have been received. To which, I got this response..........
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Thank you for your email.
We confirm that we have requested documentation from our client and once in receipt, will provide this to you in the first instance.
Our clients position on this matter is that there is an outstanding debt which needs to be repaid therefore a payment arrangement needs to be put in place for this account. In the event that we have not reached an agreement with 14 days, we will take our clients instructions and raise court action against you. In the event that an agreement is not in place by 30 March 2018, please be aware that our client may instruct us to take further legal action against you which may include raising court proceedings. Any Court Decree granted may affect your ability to gain credit in the future.
We enclose an Income and Expenditure form for your use.
If you require any further information, we recommend that you seek free and independent legal advice from any of the agencies referred to at the bottom of this e-mail.
How would I respond to this? They seem to just be ignoring the fact I have requested the documents & dont care that they cannot provide them as of yet?!
Please help!!
Thank you
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