Lost Case Against Lowell - Help Needed Urgently - Deadlines, Bailiffs etc.

[Smurf1510]

Hi. Lowell are taking me to court over an alleged debt and I need some advice. All of the witness statement/evidence etc has been submitted to the court and Lowell. The deadline given by the court was 17th Feb for the hearing on 5th April, however Lowells have now written to me (on 21 Feb) asking me to provide information to them! In my statement I provided information relating to the fact that I am disabled and medically unable to work (Lowell had said they had information that I was working). The evidence I submitted was a copy of my DWP Employment Support Allowance letter. I am in the Support Group (i.e. medically unable to work). I gave information in my statement that detailed what my medical conditions are and how they affect me. The reason for this is that Lowell's behaviour has caused me undue stress and anxiety which has a massive impact on my health.
The letter I received states that "in order to fully understand your medical condition" I should supply them with a Fitness to Work certificate, hospital reports and appointment letters detailing my medical condition, consultants/GP letters again detailing my medical conditions. Just to give a bit of background about the case, Lowell have consistently failed under their CPR duties, not supplying information requested, not agreeing to any extension etc. Even the evidence they have submitted seems to be fabricated and every time they write they increase the alleged figure owed.
My question really, is can they now ask me to provide what is essentially personal information AFTER the court's deadline and do I/should I respond and how? Also, as my evidence has now been submitted to the court, could I send this letter as additional evidence to show how they are harassing me? Incidentally the letter now alleges I owe then a further £120 on top of the original claim and court fees. I suspect the court are going to throw the case out based on Lowell failing to comply with their obligations under the CPR rules but I want to be as prepared as possible. Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Smurf1510]

Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Hi. Lowell are taking me to court over an alleged debt and I need some advice. I'm worrying about this almost constantly.
All of the witness statement/evidence etc has been submitted to the court and Lowell. The deadline given by the court was 17th Feb for the hearing on 5th April, however Lowells have now written to me (on 21 Feb) asking me to provide information to them! In my statement I provided information relating to the fact that I am disabled and medically unable to work (Lowell had said they had information that I was working). The evidence I submitted was a copy of my DWP Employment Support Allowance letter. I am in the Support Group (i.e. medically unable to work). I gave information in my statement that detailed what my medical conditions are and how they affect me. The reason for this is that Lowell's behaviour has caused me undue stress and anxiety which has a massive impact on my health.
The letter I received states that "in order to fully understand your medical condition" I should supply them with a Fitness to Work certificate, hospital reports and appointment letters detailing my medical condition, consultants/GP letters again detailing my medical conditions. Just to give a bit of background about the case, Lowell have consistently failed under their CPR duties, not supplying information requested, not agreeing to any extension etc. Even the evidence they have submitted seems to be fabricated and every time they write they increase the alleged figure owed.
My question really, is can they now ask me to provide what is essentially personal information AFTER the court's deadline and do I/should I respond and how? Also, as my evidence has now been submitted to the court, could I send this letter as additional evidence to show how they are harassing me? Incidentally the letter now alleges I owe then a further £120 on top of the original claim and court fees. I suspect the court are going to throw the case out based on Lowell failing to comply with their obligations under the CPR rules but I want to be as prepared as possible. Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Kati]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

tagging [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] [MENTION=7765]Joanna C[/MENTION] [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]Celestine[/MENTION] xx

[charitynjw]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Hi Smurf1510 & welcome to LB.

What, if anything, is your submitted defence?
Are you defending in full?
Or are you admitting to owing the debt or part of it, with extenuating circumstances.
What happened re court mediation? (if applicable).

[Smurf1510]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Hi,
Thanks for getting back to me. Apologies in advance if this is rather long-winded. I'm defending the whole case as Lowell have not followed the correct procedures from the start. They never sent a notice of assignment or transfer and nor did I receive anything from the original creditor stating that they were passing it to Lowell. It has been a farce right from the start. I've followed all of the procedures, having sent the relevant CPR letters and CCA request etc. They did not provide any of the items requested until 6 weeks after the deadline in the CPR letters as well, as if they have a blatant disregard for the regulations. When they did finally send some of the items a month and a half after the deadline, half of the requested items were missing, and the rest just seem to have been fabricated. They have stated that they took over the debt in late 2010 which is a nonsense, as I didn't default until 2014 and even their own paperwork shows this! Similarly they stated that they have information that I was working at a particular time period, when in fact I have been able to prove that I was not (DWP letters, P45 etc).
To cut a very long story short, all my evidence which includes the above, credit reports, evidence of their using harassment tactics etc, was all submitted the Court by 17th Feb which was the deadline set by the court prior to the hearing date of 5th April. The day I sent mine (copying Lowell in as required), I received theirs in the post. It contains "evidence" (in inverted commas as it appears to have been fabricated) that should have been sent to me after my CPR requests.
I thought that was that until the letter from Lowell arrived dated 21 Feb, telling me I needed to send them proof of my disabilities and medical conditions! There is no mention of sending anything to the court and it just seems off. If the evidence from both myself and Lowell has already been submitted to the court, how can the Claimant then ask me to provide what is essentially very personal (and in my case medically graphic) information?? They clearly state in their witness statement, that in their words, my defense "carries no merit whatsoever" and ask the judge to strike it out!! Clearly they believe they are going to win, and this to me feels awful - they are asking me to essentially open up my personal medical records to them and I cannot fathom out why they would do this at all, even worse, at this point in the proceedings? They are essentially calling me a liar a if everyone pretends to be disabled and seriously ill and it is my duty to prove that I am not lying...
I guess my real questions are:
1) Can they do this to me?
2) How should I respond (if at all)?
3) Can I send this letter to the court as an addition to my defense to show further how they are harassing me?

You asked about mediation - I declined to enter into mediation, on the basis that they have not been willing to adhere to the CPR regulations so I had absolutely every reason to believe that they would use the mediation as a tool the browbeat me into paying them.

Any help, no matter how small would be really appreciated. I just need to be able to deal with this latest letter from Lowell.

[Smurf1510]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Hi
This is really playing on my mind. Does anyone have any idea how to deal with this please? I've seen some of the other threads in relation to Lowell and there seems to be a pattern to their behaviour but I just need to know how to respond.
thank you.

[Smurf1510]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Hi,
Just an update. As I was at a complete loss as to how to deal with the issue and no-one here seemed to be able to offer any ideas, i did some more digging about Lowell and have written directly to the judge who is hearing the case. Lowell had not stated anywhere in the letter what their policy was for handling/processing personal data and how they would use it under the DPA 1998. I found online, Lowell's terms and conditions in which they clearly stated that they do not ask for sensitive, personal information (by their own definition, sensitive information includes physical and mental health information) and that information is provided to them on an entirely voluntary basis). So they do not ask for this information but clearly have asked for it in their letter! As this was sent after they had read my defense evidence, I can see no reason to provide them with anything,
The letter I have sent to the judge includes a copy of Lowell's letter and their own terms and conditions. I've highlighted that they have only asked for this after my evidence has been submitted and emphasised the stress and anxiety this has caused me. To "prove" my medical conditions I have also sent copies of medical reports but said that I was only willing for the judge/court to see it.

I have no idea whether this is allowed (sending the judge a letter prior to the court case), however I figured for the price of a stamp and for my own sanity, it had to be worth a try!

And now I wait. The case is being heard on 5th April so I'll post an update as to the outcome in case it can be of any use to anyone here.

[charitynjw]

Re: Help Needed - Court Case v Lowell - Faitly Urgent

Just about every WS I have seen from Lowells proclaim that the defence submitted by the defendant is 'without merit' & should be 'struck out'.
Good job, then, that they are not the judge. (Regardless of what they may think!).

[Smurf1510]

Lost Case Against Lowell - Help Needed Urgently - Deadlines, Bailiffs etc.

I posted a while ago about a case being brought against me by Lowells. I thought I had done everything right and that showing that they had not adhered to the CPR regulations would be helpful to my defence. To cut a very long story short, the case went to court on 5th April and I found out today that i lost.

I had written to the court advising that I would not be attending (I am disabled and in ill-health). Due to some peculiar behaviour by Lowell before the hearing date, but after the submission of the final evidence, the court wrote and asked me to confirm the date that I had submitted evidence to the court originally, which I did and heard no more.

I am not au-fait with court processes, however having not heard anything last week I started trying to phone the court to find out but could not get them to answer the phone!

I received a letter this morning from Lowell (dated 27.04..17)stating that "As I will no be aware a judgement was entered against you on 05/04/17" and that I must now pay £845.67 by 05.05.17.

I eventually got through to the court and they said firstly that the judgement probably went against me as I had not attended the hearing. When I queried this and advised that I had written to the court weeks in advance, the lady then said that I had not requested ab adjournment?? The court paperwork only states that you must notify the court in writing no less than 7 days before the hearing of your intention to to attend the hearing - nowhere does it say that you need to request an adjournment. The lady then go very uppity when I asked if the judge even had my letter and said that she didn't know as she couldn't see the case file!
She stated that if the creditor had said in their letter that they had won the case then that must mean that lost! It was only when I said that the claimant had been difficult to deal with, that she agreed to look for the case file.

It appears that the judge did have my letter and that he did rule against me.

I asked why I had not been sent the judgement almost one month on from the hearing date - the response was that they were "very behind on their paperwork" and that the judgement had not been sent out yet! When I pointed out that Lowell's letter of 27 April said that I had 1 month from the date of judgement to pay £845 or the CCJ would stand and that this was now just 3 days away, she was stuck for words. She tried to say that I should have either attended the hearing or contacted the court sooner. I did try and contact the court - there is only so much time I can physically spend on hold trying to actually speak to someone at the court. It is not my fault that I could not get through, nor is it my fault that they did not send out the judgement paperwork.

She did say that the Judge had ruled against me but that there was, in her words, " alot of preamble from the Judge". She wasn't willing to go into it over the phone as she said there was too much and she was just admin staff. Apparently, and again I'm not happy with this, that she would try to get someone to send the judgment out to me today. So, by the time I receive the Judgement the one month will have passed and I will have a CCJ in Lowell's favour lodged against me.

She did say that I can apply to have the judgement set aside however everything I've seen says that this should be done within 14 days of the judgement being made, so I have missed the deadline through no fault of my own.

I now feel that I am in an impossible position. I have been ruled against when Lowells broke every rule in the CPR book, the court's admin system has failed me. I have been hung out to dry with a debt of £845 hanging over me. Lowells increased the amount from £766 to £845 prior to the court hearing without any explanation yet this is the amount of the judgement. I am disabled, in ill health, I have no money and am only on benefits, almost all of which go towards bills. Everything I have read says Lowells will not hesitate to get bailiffs onto me.

Please can someone advise...I am desperate.

Thank yiu

[Diana M]

Re: Lost Case Against Lowell - Help Needed Urgently - Deadlines, Bailiffs etc.

I believe this is the history of your claim on your other thread here > http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...162#post712162

And here > http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...ell&highlight= and here > http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...ded&highlight=

I can see in that third link you raised your medical issues with Lowells who were seeking formal confirmation/evidence from you at that time.

Maybe ask @Kati if she can merge your threads so that the full background is all in one place to help anyone who can offer you advice.

Hopefully bailiffs won't be the enforcement option Lowells decide to take but you may need to make an Application to vary the Order (CCJ) to an instalment Order which reflects your income. You should be entitled to fee remission for this.

Di

[MIKE770]

Re: Lost Case Against Lowell - Help Needed Urgently - Deadlines, Bailiffs etc.

PDF]FL403 - Application to vary, extend or discharge an order in existing ...

https://formfinder.hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/fl403-eng.pdf



EX160 - Apply for help with fees - StepChange

https://www.stepchange.org/Portals/0/Clients/EX160_form.pdf

[Smurf1510]

Re: Lost Case Against Lowell - Help Needed Urgently - Deadlines, Bailiffs etc.

Hi
Thanks for the response. I received a copy of the Judgment in the post today. They ruled against me based on my apparently not responding to a letter from the judge in February requesting confirmation of the date my evidence was served on the Claimant. This is wrong! I wrote in response to the Judge giving the information requested. The letter was sent 1st class and I posted it myself! The CPR rules they cited in the order were 27.9 (1) (a) and (b).

The first is not advising the court i would not be attending. I did, in writing, Ridiculously, the judgement states that it was noted that I had advised the court I would not be attending and that I had requested the case to be heard in my absence.

The second part relates to me not responding to the judge;s request - again I did, in writing but it seems the Court have lost my letter.

The real issue aside from the above, is that the court told me they were so far behind on issuing the documents that mine had not been sent out. The order I received on 3rd May was for a hearing on 5th April with the order date (at the top) being 2nd May! This means I am outside of the guidelines for requesting a Set Aside through no fault of my own. The Court appear to be in such a mess that they can't even answer a phone - I tried so many times to get through over the last week or so.

Anyway, I have put in an N244 and compiled all my evidence as to how I did not fail to comply with the CPR rules and also that due to the errors my evidence was dismissed and that had it not been dismissed the judge would have seen that the Creditor (Lowell) had actually failed to comply with CPR rules back in September last year.

i can only hope and pray that the court allow a Set Aside hearing. This situation is doing nothing for my health.