Example Defence for Consumer Credit Court Claims

This is a very basic example Defence to give you a starting point when defending a court claim for a Consumer Credit Debt.

You can use this defence as a starting point if you are defending a County Court claim for a debt that has arisen from a Consumer Credit Agreement.

Every case is different and you should ensure you amend the example to suit your own circumstances.  If in ANY doubt at all please post a thread on the forum.

Please Note:  Amend to suit – all [Green] parts need editing.

  • A Loan is a Fixed Sum Credit Agreement and falls under section 77 of the Consumer Credit Act.
  • A Credit Card / Catalogue Account is a Running Credit Agreement and falls under section 78.
  • A Mobile Phone / Utility Account is not covered by the Consumer Credit Act.

In the [Northampton County Court Business Centre]

Claim No: [XXXXX]

[Claimants Name]

Claimant

And

[Defendants Name]

Defendant

DEFENCE

1.The Defendant received the claim [Claim Number] from the [Name of Court – often Northampton or Salford] County Court on [Date you received the claim]

2.Each and every allegation in the Claimants statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.

3.This claim [is for/ appears to be for] a [Credit Card / Loan / Catalogue Account] agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4.It is [admitted/denied – Only deny opening the account if you genuinely believe you did not open the account, otherwise admit.] that the Defendant has [previously] entered into [an agreement/agreement] with [Original Creditor /Claimant] for provision of credit.

5.The Claimants statement of case fails to give adequate information to enable me to properly assess my position with regards the claim.

6.The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim [fail to state when the agreement was entered into/states the agreement was entered into on xx/xx/xxxx]

7.[The Defendant contends the alleged debt is statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980 in that no payment or acknowledgment has been made for over 6 years]

8.The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from [Original Creditor] to [Claimant] on [Date]. The Defendant does not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9.It is denied that [Original Creditor] served any Default notice on the Defendant pursuant to s87 Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant is required to prove that a compliant Default Notice was served upon the Defendant. The Claimant is required to prove that the any Default notice relied upon complied with the requirements of s88(4A) Consumer Credit Act 1974 and that the notice was in the prescribed form as required by The Consumer Credit Enforcement Default and Termination Notice Regulations 1983.

10.On the [Date] The Defendant sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimant’s statement of case under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to [Claimant’s Solicitor]. I requested the Claimant provide copies of the [Agreement, Default Notice and Notice of Assignment].

11.[Claimant’s Solicitor] has not sent any of these documents to the Defendant.

12.On the [Date] The Defendant sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to [Claimant] pursuant to section [77 or 78] of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee.

13.The Claimant has failed to comply with [s77 (1) / s 78 (1)] Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by virtue of [s77 (4) / s 78 (6)] Consumer Credit Act 1974 cannot enforce the agreement.

  1. The Defendant have asked the Claimant if we may agree to extend the time period allowed for filing of the defence pending receipt of documents (as allowed under CPR 15.5), but they have declined. [The Parties agreed to an extension to the time period allowed for filing of the defence under CPR 15.5 to allow the Claimants additional time to produce the relevant documentation to evidence their claim, however they have failed to do so.]

15.Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore, it is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

16.The Defendant respectfully requests the court orders the Claimants to provide the necessary documentation in order for The Defendant to fully plead his case else the Claim should stand struck out.

17.In the event that the relevant documents are received from the Claimant, the Defendant will then be in a position to amend his defence, and would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment.

18.It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief as claimed or at all.

Statement of Truth

[I believe][the (claimant or as may be) believes] that the facts stated in this [name document being verified] are true. I understand] [The (claimant or as may be) understands that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed ________

Dated  ________

We now feature a number of specialist consumer credit debt solicitors on our sister site, JustBeagle.com – If your case is over £10,000 or particularly complex it may be worth a chat with a solicitor, often they will be able to help on a fixed fee or CFA (no win, no fee) basis.


If you have received a County Court Claim from a creditor or debt purchaser, don’t panic ! LegalBeagles have many years of experience assisting consumers in dealing with these claims, so you are in the right place to work out what steps you should take before making a decision whether to defend the claim or negotiate a settlement.

If you are looking for formal advice you should get in touch with Citizens Advice or National Debtline.

Visit the Forum – County Court Claims