Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carter

[rufc2014]

Hi there,

New poster here so thanks in advance to any advice.

I had a debt pop up from Lowell around this time last year. It's from an old bank account, that I had left at £0.00 but not closed in around 2009 (I can get the date if needed, this is from memory and definitely the date that shows in my credit file)

The account was left at £0.00 - but apparently I didn't move a direct debit in time, and therefore started to rack up charges as I had an agreed overdraft of £250. The debt now stands at £943.78 based on the overdrafts re-occuring charges.

I've never dealt with BCW, but lots of conversations and a request for statements to Lowell - Lowell never supplied them even though they said they had, and I ended up getting the whole of my account information from Lloyds through a SAR request.

I sent an abridged copy to Lowell explaining that the debt was made up solely of charges and interest and I didn't think I was liable - and nothing back, so didn't think to chase (That's their "job" being my thoughts)

A few weeks ago I received a call from Frederickson saying they'd bought the debt, I asked for a statement and they sent me a 1 pager, stating that I owed them the amount and I should pay. I've nowreceived a "Letter of Claim" from Bryan Carter and I'm not sure what to do? I didn't want to get back to them and certainly not on the phone, so haven't, yet. Is the next step to send Bryan Carter something? I don't want to ignore this and get taken to court, obviously.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance.

[MIKE770]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Freds are Lowells next desk, & B.C. their per solicitors initial letter headed B. Carter is usually from Freds to scare you i.e. nxt drawer.

keep everything in writing no phone calls, keep copies of all letters, give more info here if possible./

confusion your heading BCW but you mention Carter??

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Freds are Lowells next desk, & B.C. their per solicitors initial letter headed B. Carter is usually from Freds to scare you i.e. nxt drawer.

keep everything in writing no phone calls, keep copies of all letters, give more info here if possible./

confusion your heading BCW but you mention Carter??

Thanks Mike.

What should I send to BC? Would posting a copy of the letter from BC help at all?

BCW are another subsidiary of Lowells as far as I can tell - it was just a "We've been passed this debt" letter which I replied to and said "I'm still discussing it with Lowell"

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Thanks Mike.

What should I send to BC? Would posting a copy of the letter from BC help at all?

BCW are another subsidiary of Lowells as far as I can tell - it was just a "We've been passed this debt" letter which I replied to and said "I'm still discussing it with Lowell"

Hi, does anyone have any thoughts on the above?

Thanks in advance

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

A few weeks ago I received a call from Frederickson saying they'd bought the debt, I asked for a statement and they sent me a 1 pager, stating that I owed them the amount and I should pay. I've nowreceived a "Letter of Claim" from Bryan Carter and I'm not sure what to do? I didn't want to get back to them and certainly not on the phone, so haven't, yet. Is the next step to send Bryan Carter something? I don't want to ignore this and get taken to court, obviously.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance.

You need to respond to that letter because Bryan Carter do issue claims. A letter of claim is the first stage in accordance with the pre-action conduct and you are supposed to respond. In many cases, a suitable response can avoid court proceedings being issued. ray:

You need to write a letter like the one below, it has to be all in writing rather than over the phone. The letter should be sent by recorded delivery.

Dear Sirs,

Ref: xxxxxxxx

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xxxx/2014. 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 1 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states the purpose of such a letter is to “enable the parties to settle the issues between them” and to encourage the parties to “exchange information”.

Paragraph 2.2 (1) of Annex A states you have an obligation to “list the essential documents on which the Claimant intends to rely”. I could not identify such a list in your letter, please list the documents so I can see your case against me and request copies of anything that I may need.

Paragraph 3.2 (3) of Annex A allows me to “request further information to enable me to provide a full response”. My request is a request for documents as the information I require would come from those documents. Paragraph 5.1 of Annex A states that you should “provide the documents requested within as short a period of time as is practicable or explain in writing why the documents will not be provided”.

I require copies of the following:

1. The original current account agreement;
2. The Default Notice;
3. The Termination Notice;
4. The Notice of Assignment;
5. Statements of account;

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.

I shall being 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.

Yours sincerely,

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

You need to respond to that letter because Bryan Carter do issue claims. A letter of claim is the first stage in accordance with the pre-action conduct and you are supposed to respond. In many cases, a suitable response can avoid court proceedings being issued. ray:

You need to write a letter like the one below, it has to be all in writing rather than over the phone. The letter should be sent by recorded delivery.

Brilliant, thank you so much FP.

I'll get that sent off tomorrow and see what comes back. Will let you know if I need any more help or information.

Thanks again.

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Hi,

Have sent the letter suggested, and BC have replied with the below.

Any thoughts from anyone? They haven't supplied the items I requested - does that mean they don't have them?

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Buchanan Clark &Wells is part BCW Group Plc.
Debt Collection and Debt Purchase arms.

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Buchanan Clark &Wells is part BCW Group Plc.
Debt Collection and Debt Purchase arms.

Yeah, they're all part of the same thing aren't they.

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Yeah, they're all part of the same thing aren't they.

BCW is the independent debt collection agency preferred by Lowell at present, it's not part of the Lowell Group (yet).

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Have sent the letter suggested, and BC have replied with the below.

Any thoughts from anyone? They haven't supplied the items I requested - does that mean they don't have them?

My thoughts is that they are talking rubbish as usual! As they so aptly pointed out, a claim has not yet been issued, let alone allocated, so their usual small claims drivel is irrelevant. Nowhere in the CPR does it say that the pre-action conduct does not apply to small claims.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...es/part27#27.2

(1) The following Parts of these Rules do not apply to small claims –

(a) Part 25 (interim remedies) except as it relates to interim injunctions^(GL);
(b) Part 31 (disclosure and inspection);
(c) Part 32 (evidence) except rule 32.1 (power of court to control evidence);
(d) Part 33 (miscellaneous rules about evidence);
(e) Part 35 (experts and assessors) except rules 35.1 (duty to restrict expert evidence), 35.3 (experts – overriding duty to the court), 35.7 (court’s power to direct that evidence is to be given by single joint expert) and 35.8 (instructions to a single joint expert);
(f) Subject to paragraph (3), Part 18 (further information);
(g) Part 36 (offers to settle); and
(h) Part 39 (hearings) except rule 39.2 (general rule– hearing to be in public).

The PD pre-action conduct doesn't say anything about excluding small claims: http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...action_conduct

2. Scope

2.1 This Practice Direction describes the conduct the court will normally expect of the prospective parties prior to the start of proceedings.
2.2 There are some types of application where the principles in this Practice Direction clearly cannot or should not apply. These include, but are not limited to, for example –
(1) applications for an order where the parties have agreed between them the terms of the court order to be sought (‘consent orders’);
(2) applications for an order where there is no other party for the applicant to engage with;
(3) most applications for directions by a trustee or other fiduciary;
(4) applications where telling the other potential party in advance would defeat the purpose of the application (for example, an application for an order to freeze assets).

I don't see any mention of small claims above. :noidea:

Furthermore the sections that deals with sanctions for non-compliance makes specific mention of small claims. If the pre-action conduct didn't apply, it wouldn't be mentioned:

Sanctions for non-compliance

4.5 The court will look at the overall effect of non-compliance on the other party when deciding whether to impose sanctions.
4.6 If, in the opinion of the court, there has been non-compliance, the sanctions which the court may impose include –
(1) staying (that is suspending) the proceedings until steps which ought to have been taken have been taken;

(2) an order that the party at fault pays the costs, or part of the costs, of the other party or parties (this may include an order under rule 27.14(2)(g) in cases allocated to the small claims track);

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Another point on their letter is where they say "it is the policy of the original creditor..." How the hell do BC know the internal policies of ALL the banks, catalogue companies, finance companies, credit card companies, mobile phone providers, etc. that their clients buy debts from? Through the years, i.e. from the early 90s till a couple of years ago... :confused2: :noidea:

The fact they use the words "original creditor" rather than the name of the company clearly shows the letter is a generic template and they are making a false statement because they haven't got the faintest idea as to what the original creditor actually did/does. :mad2:

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

The is a common response from Carter when he knows there is no documentation to supply.
Clueless as usualmasroll:

[rufc2014]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Hello,

Firing this old thread up as things have started to happen again. After the letters in December last year, I had nothing back, so obviously didn't chase.

About two weeks ago I received the same "letter of claim" so sent the same letter back asking if it was a real claim and if they could supply the items I need.

Have since received a letter from Bryan Carter listing the items I need, and also a Claim form from the County Court Business Centre.

At a bit of a loss here.

Bryan Carter have replied to my letter stating (abridged version here);

• They've been instructed by their client
• They can confirm the Claim Form was issued by the CCBC and that protocol was followed
• They believe their client has complied with pre-action protocol so far
• Have enclosed a statement of the account for reference and taking further instructions from their client in regard to this
• Are willing to enter into "without prejudice" negotiations to settle this matter by way of Tomlin Order

Any help or advice would be great. As said previously, it is my account, but I only had a £250 overdraft limit on it, and the remaining balance of £700 of so is made up of charges.

Also worth pointing out that the date of default on this is listed as 19th October 2009.

Hope someone can help, slightly lost and worried.

Thanks

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell, to Buchanan Clark & Wells, to Fredrickson International & now Bryan Carte

Firing this old thread up as things have started to happen again. After the letters in December last year, I had nothing back, so obviously didn't chase.

About two weeks ago I received the same "letter of claim" so sent the same letter back asking if it was a real claim and if they could supply the items I need.

Have since received a letter from Bryan Carter listing the items I need,

What items are those? :noidea:

and also a Claim form from the County Court Business Centre.

At a bit of a loss here.

Bryan Carter have replied to my letter stating (abridged version here);

• They've been instructed by their client
• They can confirm the Claim Form was issued by the CCBC and that protocol was followed
• They believe their client has complied with pre-action protocol so far
• Have enclosed a statement of the account for reference and taking further instructions from their client in regard to this
• Are willing to enter into "without prejudice" negotiations to settle this matter by way of Tomlin Order

Any help or advice would be great. As said previously, it is my account, but I only had a £250 overdraft limit on it, and the remaining balance of £700 of so is made up of charges.

You need to start by acknowledging the claim, which you can do online, it needs to be done within 14 days. Full instructions here: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...313#post499313

Below are the usual steps to take upon receipt of a claim. I've left out the CCA request because it doesn't apply to a current account overdraft. Is there any chance you could post up the particulars of claim? :typing:

So, first steps (within 14 days of receiving the claim)

1: ACKNOWLEDGE THE CLAIM - you can do this online usually at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk
You'll need your claim reference and password from the front of the claim form - this will extend the time you have to respond to the claim to 28 days from when you received it

3: Send a CPR request to the CLAIMANT'S SOLICITORS ( see here )

The Tomlin Order is a good way to avoid a CCJ when everything else fails, basically it stays proceedings as long as you keep to the terms of the order (the agreed monthly instalments), however, I'd say it's a little early for that at this point.

Also worth pointing out that the date of default on this is listed as 19th October 2009.

Is that on your credit file? With overdrafts, for the purposes of limitation the clock starts running from when the bank sent a final demand recalling the overdraft.
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