Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

[needhelpunsure]

Hi,

I know there are other threads about this, but I am really new and need advice.

Today (20/02/14), I have received a letter from the above, saying that as I 'have failed to make repayments we have now issued litigation proceedings in the county court. You will receive the claim form in the next 48 hours'

It says the client is Lowell, I think (am not sure) that it relates a catalogue that was opened in 2008, and defaulted around 2009 - I could no longer pay, and did the stupid thing and ignored almost all correspondence.

As my finances are all over the place, I think (again not sure if its this account though) there were small payments made to it by Direct Debit; this lasted about 6 months until I could no longer afford it - this was somewhere in the last 18 months.

I'm certain its this catalogue, but the letter only says lowell (i haven't got any paperwork right now from them) so not 100%

My main issue is, the principal amount is £1714.05, interest £351.92, court fee £80 and solicitor fee £75.

In two separate sections on the letter it says owed £1714.05

There is an entry on my credit file from lowell, matching the reference on the letter from Bryan Carter, however, the balance is £1207.

So is the letter from BCarter saying it's £1714.05 all in? Or £1714.05+351.92+80+75 =£2220.97

As if I add £1207 (from credit file) to £351.92+80.+75 I get £1713.92 (very close to bcarter total balance)

Any help would be appreciated, I am sure I owe (if it is this account i am thinking it is).

However, could really do without a ccj and cant pay it all in one go.

Thanks for reading.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Hi and welcome to LB!

You may want to look at this thread, which also relates to a similar claim for a catalogue account issued by the same Dynamic Duo Lowell/BC: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...dvice&p=411970

You have 14 days to acknowledge the claim from the date of service, which is calculated by adding 5 days to the date on the claim. You can usually do this online, using the password provided. :typing: If you tick the box stating your intention to defend in full, you'll get a further 14 days to prepare a defence. :thumb:

You should then send the letters below, on separate posts to avoid confusing you.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Below is the CCA request that should go to Lowell, with a PO for £1. Sign digitally using a computer font and send recorded delivery. They have 14 days to respond (they never do). Send Bryan Carter a copy for reference w/o the fee.

Dear Sirs

Ref: xxxxxxxx

I hereby formally request a copy of my Consumer Credit Agreement, pursuant to s.77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA1974).

I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide. I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit (12 + 2 days).

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties. Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b), 6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).
In line with recent OFT Guidance (issued Oct 2010) surrounding Unenforceability, I presume you're aware that the OFT has stipulated that 'sections 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 outline the information creditors must provide to debtors under fixed-term, running account & Hire Agreements'. This simply means that under these sections a debtor can pay £1 to get:

• a copy of their agreement
• copies of some of the other documents mentioned in their agreement
• a statement of account

If this information is not provided within 12 working days the debt becomes unenforceable. This means a creditor cannot:

• make the debtor pay the debt before they're supposed to
• get a court judgment against the debtor

So, in line with the OFT Guidance, and the Consumer Credit Act, please find attached my £1 payment, which is the statutory fee - note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose. If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity and return the fee.

Yours faithfully,

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

This is the CPR 31.14 request to be sent to Bryan Carter (no fee required for this one), recorded delivery. They should respond in 7 days (they never, ever do), otherwise you have to contact them, asking them to agree to an extension to file your defence.

Dear Sirs,

Re: XXXX v YYYYY
Case No: xxxx

CPR 31.14 Request

On xx/xxx/xxxx I received the Claim Form in this case issued by you out of the Northampton County Court.

I confirm having returned my acknowledgement of service to the court in which I indicate my intention to contest your entire claim.

Please treat this letter as my request made under CPR 31.14 for the disclosure and the production of a verified and legible copy of each of the following documents mentioned in your Particulars of Claim:

1. The Agreement. Together with the relevant terms associated with that account, you will appreciate that in an ordinary case and by reason of the provisions of CPR PD 16 para 7.3, where a claim is based upon a written agreement, a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original(s) should be available at the hearing. Further, that any general conditions incorporated in the contract should also be attached.
2. The notice of assignment.
3. The default notice, compliant with 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Although your claim is for a sum which does not exceed £10,000.00 and thus in all likelihood it will be allocated to the small claims track once I deliver my defence, however as I am unable to lodge my defence at this moment, the case has not been allocated to a track for determination upon delivering a defence, as a consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) have no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise.

You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the documents I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter. Your CPR 31 duties extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for the originals of the documents I have requested, the better for you to be able to verify the document's authenticity and to provide me with a legible copy. Further, where I have requested a copy of a document, the original of which is now in the possession of another person, you will have a right to possession of that document if you have mentioned it in your case. You must take immediate steps to recover and preserve it for the purpose of this case.

Where I have mentioned a document and there is in your possession more than one version of that same document owing as a result to a modification, obliteration or othermarking, or feature, each version thus will be a separate document and you must provide a copy of each version of it to me. Your obligations extend to making a reasonable and proportionate search for any, and all version(s) and include an obligation to recover and preserve such version(s) that are now in the possession of a third party.

In accordance with CPR 31.15(c) I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request.

If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing. You must tell me before the time for compliance with this request has expired. In telling me you require more time you must tell me what steps you have taken and propose to take in order to comply with this request and also state a date by when you will comply with this request. In addition your statement must be accompanied with a statement that you agree to an extension of the time for me to file my defence. Your extension of time must be not less than 14 days from the date when you say you will have complied with my request and you must state the new date for filing my defence.

If you are unable to comply with this request and believe that you will never be able to comply with this request you must tell me in writing.

Please note that if you should fail to comply with this request, fail to request more time or fail to agree to an extension of time for the filing of my defence, I will make an application to the court for an order that the proceedings be struck out or stayed for non-compliance and a summary costs order.

I do hope this will not be necessary and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

And finally, as you want to query the charges, you could also send the Part 18 request below. You may have to amend it to suit the details of your account and what you need to find out about charges, etc. but should give you an idea. :thumb:

As your account is from 2008, strictly speaking it wouldn't be unenforceable (unless it is for an account opened earlier, as you are not 100% sure), so it's worth exploring every avenue.

IN THE xyz county court
CLAIM NO:


BETWEEN:

XXXXXXXXXX

Claimant

and

XXXXXXXXXXX

Defendant

PART 18 REQUEST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

To: XYZ (claimant)

I have received a recent court claim from your organisation. In order to file a defence and counter claim I require some information. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below.

The information must be furnished within fourteen days of the receipt of this letter. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.

In relation to each and every breach by the Defendant which resulted in a charge being applied, please provide full details and relevant documentation of the following:

a) any incidents of manual intervention in respect of each and every charge applied to the account;

b) how and when are charges applied to the account, whether automatically or by other means;

c) the Claimant’s assessment of the cost of sending letters, making phone calls, or otherwise administering the account, with details of how the cost is calculated and what items of expense are included;

Yours faithfully

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Hi and welcome to LB!

You may want to look at this thread, which also relates to a similar claim for a catalogue account issued by the same Dynamic Duo Lowell/BC: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...dvice&p=411970

You have 14 days to acknowledge the claim from the date of service, which is calculated by adding 5 days to the date on the claim. You can usually do this online, using the password provided. :typing: If you tick the box stating your intention to defend in full, you'll get a further 14 days to prepare a defence. :thumb:

You should then send the letters below, on separate posts to avoid confusing you.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

Lo and behold I received the County Claim form this morning, so helpful with it being only one day after the letter saying that I would get one

So once I go online and indicate intention to defend, I then send the letters to lowell/bcarter?

Do I just then wait for lowell/bcarter?

Does this mean I will not be paying? Or do I pay without getting a CCJ - I cant really afford to pay all of it, but desperately want to avoid a CCJ.

Thanks again.

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Oh, also I have the address in Weybridge for Bryan Carter - is this the right one? I assume if I have Lowell paperwork, their address will be an address on there?

Thanks

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

Lo and behold I received the County Claim form this morning, so helpful with it being only one day after the letter saying that I would get one

That's Bryan Carter's extremely poor attempt at complying with pre-action protocol.

So once I go online and indicate intention to defend, I then send the letters to lowell/bcarter?

Yes, the CPR letters to BC, the CCA request to Lowell, copy to BC.

Do I just then wait for lowell/bcarter?

Yes, but keep an eye on the calendar. Don't worry about chasing Lowell with the CCA request, if they don't respond, that works in your favour, but you need to chase BC as they NEVER respond to the CPR letters, give them their 7/14 days respectively, then you'll have email/ring them and ask them to agree to an extension to file your defence so you can notify the court.

Keep an eye on the clock, remember you have 14 days (+5 for service) from DATE ON CLAIM to acknowledge, :typing:, then a further 14 days to submit a defence. :clock: :clock:

Does this mean I will not be paying? Or do I pay without getting a CCJ - I cant really afford to pay all of it, but desperately want to avoid a CCJ.

Let's see how it goes, many things can happen and there have been cases where BC have decided to discontinue after receiving a defence: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ontinued/page3 :cheer2:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Oh, also I have the address in Weybridge for Bryan Carter - is this the right one? I assume if I have Lowell paperwork, their address will be an address on there?

Thanks

The CPR letters to Bryan Carter should go to the address for correspondence quoted on the claim form.

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Thanks, so I am online indicating to defend in full, do I contest jurisdiction too? (it gives me the option to do this).

And if my partner helps with this, do I put defendant or litigation friend? Sorry for so many questions, and I really appreciate you taking the time to help.

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

I have also noticed what has been mentioned by others on this site.

On my credit file, it says the default by Lowell was on 21/06/2010.

On the County Claim form it says 'THIS DEBT WAS ASSIGNED TO/PURCHASED BY Lowell Portfolio I Limited ON 28/06/2010 AND NOTICE SERVED PURSUANT TO THE LAW OF PROPERTY ACT 1925'

So the form says they got the debt, 7days after defaulting it?

So confused :tinysmile_aha_t:

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Hello again,

So I have now filled out online, indicating intention to defend whole claim.

I will send these letters tomorrow.

Thanks

[Amethyst]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

You're doing good I wouldn't worry about the date of default and assignment. When did you stop payments on the debt ?

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Hi,

I need a bit more help, please

I think I have ruined the chances of getting this defended.

I filed the intention to defend on the 26th Feb, but due to being ill, have still not sent the letters.

If I send these letters at the earliest tomorrow, will I still be ok to follow the above?

Amethyst - the account was opened in 2008 and stopped being paid and then defaulted at the end of 2009. Over the years there have been payments stopped and started with the debt collection agencies. The last time it was paid was somewhere in the last 18 months, for a duration of around 6 months, then stopped again.

I am just so lost, yes my own fault for not continuously paying, and hiding my head in the sand, but I hope I can still sort this.

Thank you

[needhelpunsure]

Re: Bryan Carter/Lowell - Letter of saying a County Court Claim Form will arrive

Hi,

I need a bit more advise please.

I think I did leave it too late to defend.

I received the following letter this morning (19th March)

We write further to your recent correspondence requesting disclosure under Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

We confirm the Claim Form was issued by the Northampton County Court Bulk Centre and that the Court's Protocol was followed when issuing the Claimant's Particulars of Claim. Practice Direction 7C point 1.4 (3A) eliminates the requirements to attach the documents to the Particulars of Claim when they are issued by this Court.

we confirm this matter will most properly be allocated to the Small Claims Track as this is a simple contractual matter and Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules will therefore not apply.

In any event the Notices of Default and Assignment left the control of the Claimant when they were dispatched to you.

It is the original creditor's policy to issue agreements at the start of the contract and statements throughout the duration of the agreement and, in this regard, we ask you to refer to your own records.

We confirm we are not agreeable to an extension for filing your defence.

We confirm we are not in receipt of your acknowledgement of service.

As you will be aware a Claim was issued in this matter on 6 February 2014. Please respond to the Claim using the Response Pack provided by the Court. You should comply with the deadlines outlined by the Court in order to avoid a default Judgment being entered against you.

Any advice on what to do?

Thanks