Court and Bryan Carter help please

[Franko102]

Hi all I'm in need of help please. I am very new to all of this and very confused as to what my next step should be. I received a claim from the Northampton court 13th Oct saying Lowell are pursuing me for £434 for a shop direct account I had in 2008. Lowell have added to my credit report this was defaulted in 2010 but I've never made a payment on this account or ever acknowledged it to
Lowell either. I have registered on
MCOL to acknowledge service and ticked that I will defend the case. I have sent Lowell a prove it letter with £1 postal order sent recorded delivery and sent a CPR 31 14 request to Bryan Carter solicitors. I have received a letter back for BC saying that they will not extend and the matter will be properly be allocated to the small claims track and therefore part31 will not apply.
Lowell claim the debt is not SB and state that I made a payment to the account 3rd July 2009 and that the account fell into default on 6th March 2010. The claim was issued on the 13th March 2015. The account is not statute barred.
What do I do next please?
Many thanks

[Amethyst]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Hi, you have done everything right so far

With ShopDirect I think there is a certain period where you don't have to make payments, and the cause of action arised when your payment that is due is missed, that may well not have been for a year after opening the account. But you would need a copy of the agreement to check that...

However if you have not made a payment to the account at all, then the 3rd July 2009 payment is fictional. You should try get hold of you bank statement for that date in the event you need to dispute their claim there was a payment.

In the meantime you can respond to them and inform them you have sent a formal CCA request to their client, and ask them to provide evidence of this payment as it does not appear in your records.

So you have to about the 13th November before your defence is due. ( check the date - 33 days after the issue date printed on the claim form).

xx

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Hi all I'm in need of help please. I am very new to all of this and very confused as to what my next step should be. I received a claim from the Northampton court 13th Oct saying Lowell are pursuing me for £434 for a shop direct account I had in 2008. Lowell have added to my credit report this was defaulted in 2010 but I've never made a payment on this account or ever acknowledged it to Lowell either. I have registered on MCOL to acknowledge service and ticked that I will defend the case. I have sent Lowell a prove it letter with £1 postal order sent recorded delivery and sent a CPR 31 14 request to Bryan Carter solicitors. I have received a letter back for BC saying that they will not extend and the matter will be properly be allocated to the small claims track and therefore part31 will not apply.

Hi and welcome to LB

You seem to have done everything you have to do. :clap2:

Carter's response is his usual template letter response. This is our usual template letter response: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...385#post410385 :grin:

He won't send you any documents simply because neither him nor his clients would be in possession of them, they'd have to rely on Shop Direct to dig them up for them and if they've sold the account years ago, they won't be in a big hurry. However, you still need to show that you are following the process so you can use their non-compliance in your defence.

There is no need to chase Lowell for the CCA request, as being in default is a bar to enforcement. :thumb:

Lowell claim the debt is not SB and state that I made a payment to the account 3rd July 2009 and that the account fell into default on 6th March 2010. The claim was issued on the 13th March 2015. The account is not statute barred.

You say above in the first line of your post, that the claim was issued on the 13th of OCTOBER 2015, not in March. :confused2: :noidea: If it was issued in March you'd have had to file your defence back in April. If the last payment was in July 2009 and the claim was issued in October 2015, I reckon you have a good case for statute barred, because the cause of action would be when you first missed a payment, in this case in August 2009, so by the 13th of October 2009 they'd have had enough cause to take action, so the clock would have started running before that. :thumb:

Lowell love to argue that the default date on the credit files is when the clock starts but that's absolutely NOT the case, :nono: the Limitation Act makes no mention whatsoever of credit reporting and Lowell themselves often 'update' default dates to suit their devious purposes. :mad2: :rant:

Although not relevant for the purpose of statute barred, if your last payment was in July 2009, the principles for credit reporting state that a default should be recorded between three to six months after you broke the contractual relationship with the creditor by not paying as agreed, in this case it would have been in August 2009 so March 2010 is stretching it a little, however, as it's not got long to stay on there, it may not be worth arguing about it. I'm just referring to restoring your credit file to its former glory here, nothing to do with statute barred.

What do I do next please?
Many thanks

For now you can just send the letter linked to above to Carter, then when the time comes, prepare a defence that combines the fact that the debt IS statute barred (unless the claim was issued back in March ) AND they've failed to supply you with any documents. If the date printed on the claim was Oct 13th then your defence is due by the 15th of November: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/date...aw=&ad=33&rec= :typing:

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Sorry yes the court papers are dated the 13th October 2015. Thank you both for your reassurances that I've followed the correct path. I'm very very very scared at the minute. I will send the template today. Is this to BC or Lowell or both... Sorry 😁

[nemesis45]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Sorry yes the court papers are dated the 13th October 2015. Thank you both for your reassurances that I've followed the correct path. I'm very very very scared at the minute. I will send the template today. Is this to BC or Lowell or both... Sorry 

I know this seems very scary at the moment, but you will get good advice and support here!

Lowell are well known for " mystery " one off payments so we need to challenge them on that:
e.g. The exact date the payment was made.
Who made the payment.
What was the method of payment.

This can be challenged now if you wish and I can help with this if needed.

nem

How much was paid.

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry yes the court papers are dated the 13th October 2015. Thank you both for your reassurances that I've followed the correct path. I'm very very very scared at the minute. I will send the template today. Is this to BC or Lowell or both... Sorry 

CCA request to Lowell, CPR31.14 to Carter.

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Sorry yes the court papers are dated the 13th October 2015. Thank you both for your reassurances that I've followed the correct path. I'm very very very scared at the minute. I will send the template today. Is this to BC or Lowell or both... Sorry 

The letter I linked to would be in response to BC's letter, no need to send a copy to Lowell. :thumb:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

I know this seems very scary at the moment, but you will get good advice and support here!

Lowell are well known for " mystery " one off payments so we need to challenge them on that:
e.g. The exact date the payment was made.
Who made the payment.
What was the method of payment.

This can be challenged now if you wish and I can help with this if needed.

The alleged payment doesn't make much difference in this case because the OP has confirmed the claim was issued in October 2015 (the 13th of March must have been a typo) and the payment in question was in July 2009, three months should be enough for a cause of action.

Sorry yes the court papers are dated the 13th October 2015. Thank you both for your reassurances that I've followed the correct path. I'm very very very scared at the minute. I will send the template today. Is this to BC or Lowell or both... Sorry

Lowell claim the debt is not SB and state that I made a payment to the account 3rd July 2009 and that the account fell into default on 6th March 2010.

CCA request to Lowell, CPR31.14 to Carter.

Looks like the OP has already sent the letters in question and even received Carter's generic response:

I have registered on MCOL to acknowledge service and ticked that I will defend the case. I have sent Lowell a prove it letter with £1 postal order sent recorded delivery and sent a CPR 31 14 request to Bryan Carter solicitors. I have received a letter back for BC saying that they will not extend and the matter will be properly be allocated to the small claims track and therefore part31 will not apply.

I assume by 'prove it' letter this refers to the CCA request posted here: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...y-of-Agreement

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Thank you Nem, I have not been given the amount the payment was for other than the date they claim it was made. I do not have any bank statements from 2009 as I was on an old joint account with my ex wife which I no longer have access to but I am 99.9% certain no payment was made by me to them.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you. I will of course keep you update with the response if any from BC☺️

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Correct flaming this was send recorded next day to lowell

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Thank you Nem, I have not been given the amount the payment was for other than the date they claim it was made. I do not have any bank statements from 2009 as I was on an old joint account with my ex wife which I no longer have access to but I am 99.9% certain no payment was made by me to them.

It shouldn't matter because the debt would still have been statute barred on the 13th of October. :thumb:

Correct flaming this was send recorded next day to lowell

Just wanted to double-check as there is also a different letter referred to as a prove it letter which is not an official request under s.78 of the CCA and not much good when you're taken to court.

No need to chase Lowell for that one, as non-compliance is a bar to enforcement.

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

It shouldn't matter because the debt would still have been statute barred on the 13th of October. :thumb:

Just wanted to double-check as there is also a different letter referred to as a prove it letter which is not an official request under s.78 of the CCA and not much good when you're taken to court.

No need to chase Lowell for that one, as non-compliance is a bar to enforcement.

Reply letter sent recorded today. I'll update with the next croc of poop Bryan sends me. Thanks you for your help thus far. Could anyone help me draft a defence based on no information received by BC or Lowell despite my requests for me to collate a defence and whether I should include the debt being SB or not? Thanks in advance. 🙂

[Kati]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Reply letter sent recorded today. I'll update with the next croc of poop Bryan sends me. Thanks you for your help thus far. Could anyone help me draft a defence based on no information received by BC or Lowell despite my requests for me to collate a defence and whether I should include the debt being SB or not? Thanks in advance. 

There's a draft defence here (http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...t-Court-Claims) which you can have a play around with ... post up when you've adapted it and you'll get more advice

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

There's a draft defence here (http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...t-Court-Claims) which you can have a play around with ... post up when you've adapted it and you'll get more advice

Thanks Kati I'll have a play. Whilst I'm focuses on this I'm trying to get prepared the best I can. 😀

[Amethyst]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Reply letter sent recorded today. I'll update with the next croc of poop Bryan sends me. Thanks you for your help thus far. Could anyone help me draft a defence based on no information received by BC or Lowell despite my requests for me to collate a defence and whether I should include the debt being SB or not? Thanks in advance. 🙂

Yes include in the defence that you contend any debt is statute barred pursuant of section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980.

The onus of proof is firmly in their corner then

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Thank you amethyst 👍

[Franko102]

Re: Court and Bryan Carter help please

Hi all following the last advice I received from parrot about sending the reply letter to Bryan Carter, I have today received his response.
Dear xxxxxx,
We write further to your letter dated 27th October 2015.
We re-iterate the contents of our last letter.
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 procedures rules will therefore not apply.
It is the original creditors policy to issue agreements and in this regards we ask you to refer to your own records.
We confirm our client is not agreeable to an extension for filing your defence
Yours sincerely
Bryan Carter


So the above is their response, and I have received no documentation for Lowell either despite my two letter requests.

please could I ask for help
With my defence please as they clearly have no evidence to
Support I owe them.
Thanks in advance 😀