Just make sure they pronounce my name correctly ... 'ess' not 'ez' OK? I'd like to know they get it right whilst it sticks in their collective throats. D

Damn, more lost Christmas and Birthday cards. I promised them a dose of serious revenge and it looks like their worst nightmares are coming true I thought I could beat the ***stards but I didn't ever think I'd be involved in a case that set a serious precedent!!!! It just goes to show that you can actually fight for yourself and help others without trying to. D

Excellent. I've been following this with great interest due to my own indirect involvement Well done! D

Aren't you going to charge for that PT? :D:D I'll get me coat ... D

That single line sums the whole situation up perfectly. If you need a recommendation for a legal rep PM me D

Use the time you're allowed sensibly and hit all deadlines exactly. Don't submit anything early and ALWAYS use Special Delivery (because of its guaranteed dated/timed nature - recorded delivery isn't). Don't expect your opponents to be so courteous - my experience is that they'll miss deadlines and ignore lawful requests for information. They'll try to use every technicality 'in the book' to put you off too! . It can get worse than that - be aware that they WILL try to play all sorts of dodgy games. When they start to play games you know you have their attention and have them rattled Just keep it all documented and play the game. It's a slow and careful process from now on. Don't be rushed by your opponents! You are answerable to the court ONLY. Anything you receive from the other side marked 'without prejudice' can't be used as initial evidence. A typical example of this may be a letter marked 'without prejudice save as to costs' - one of my alleged 'creditors' tried this on before backing down fully. They made a reduced offer to settle. What this meant is that if they had won the day they could then produce the document to show that they had tried been 'reasonable'. I'd suggest that if you receive anything like this that you consider why they're making such an offer that isn't allowed to be initially presented at a hearing. I hit them with a 'without prejudice save as to costs and sod off because I'll have you and publicise the lot' letter in response and they dropped the claim. The decision was made by a very senior claims manager of a very big bank. A 'name' in debt collection. Be prepared for a fight but it's going to take ages. Respect (& dislike) the opposition but always obey the court and take the advice given by those on this forum that have a history of helping people out (beware trolls). From now on the word of law is your only true guide. D p.s. Nothing by telephone - everything in writing

It's 14 days + a further 14 when you acknowledge. D

With the greatest of respect, and at such a late stage, it seems to me that lack of professional help comes at a much greater price that you can't afford. I'm sure that nobody here wants to see you make a mistake and my own feeling, having been through plenty of this kind of nastiness, is that you're on the verge of doing that. D

This is absolutely correct. Having been through the mill myself (with MUCH more time than you have) I'm still absolutely reliant on (& grateful for) professional guidance. In this case, there is just too much at stake and FAR too much to know to put a cogent and coherent case forward against a trained legal type. You will not be facing an amateur (like you). A specialist solicitor may be able to help you - often companies such as the ones that are suing you will not use a specialist (merely using whoever is available) and this can turn the tables in your favour. D

Sorry to interject but you should really listen to PT here. This is an extremely serious matter that you can't afford to screw up and as a novice LiP you shouldn't attempt to do this yourself. You have one shot at getting this right. Do yourself a favour and get some professional representation. D

One adage that comes to my mind here is that revenge is a dish best served cold.

So, are you saying that the T&C's (allegedly associated with the supplied 'agreement' under the CCA) have different rates from the first statement(s) that you received? D

And I was fortunate enough to be the defendant - as PT says it was truly game over within minutes rather than hours. D

So this lot are still at the SD trick eh? You may want to read this. They've got quite a reputation for throwing this stuff around like confetti. (Check out the successes thread - they did the same to me and got a bloody nose for their trouble)

And a very big from me too. Well done! Another bunch of scumbags get to feel the CAG force

Nothing really. It's very much a waiting game from here on in. Let's see what they do in response to your CPR request. I'm still betting that it'll be ignored until later in the process though. The initial game that they play is very much based on scare tactics. They don't want you to be calm and prepared. There's nothing to be scared of at all and, whilst there may be deadlines, it's all reasonably achievable. YOU must always play by the rules (and be able to show that you have) and take the moral high ground at every point. For now, fire off that CPR letter in some recordable fashion and see what happens. As another tip NEVER reply to the court with formal documents in the future until the very last moment (this may require Special Delivery in future as a guaranteed means of next day delivery - this is its big advantage over Recorded). Don't give them any more time than you have to. Oh and don't sign anything from now on - a made up squiggle or an online signature generator (Google turns these up) will do. All the best, D

Now all you need to do is put together an 'embarrassed defence' whilst you wait for their total failure to comply with your CPR request If you're really lucky you might get a letter explaining why they can't (or won't) comply. It's most likely that you'll hear nothing until much later though. They're not going to take you seriously at this stage and will be dealing with very many cases like yours simultaneously. They play a numbers game. From now on make sure that everything that is sent to them is done either via Recorded or Special Delivery. File everything that you send and receive and keep a diary etc etc. No business by telephone. The war begins and, like all wars, it's going to be mostly very boring periods of posturing inactivity punctuated with short bits of important hectic action. D

If you plan to defend just acknowledge service online now. You may well have gone beyond the deadline from your supplied dates as it is. The AoS allows you extra time to formulate a defence - nothing more. The default is 14 days - the AoS allows for a further 14. At the moment the AoS is important and the defence is not.

You have 14 days to file an AoS (which you can do online)from receipt of the documents from Northampton - that buys you a further 14 days to file a defence (embarassed or not.). DO NOT miss deadlines - your opposition might do this but you should play the whole thing straight.

Think again ... you're likely to have a long and highly technical fight. This is just the start of the process regardless of how 'good' you think that your evidence is. There is nothing easy about this form of litigation. D

Weightmans/HFC can get very 'shouty'. I recently won a case against them and Phoenix with costs against them alone running well into 5 figures. The thing to remember is that their actions are designed to scare you into making rash decisions. You have time and you must always play by the rules even if they don't (trust me, they won't). If you're unsure what the rules and correct procedure are then post here and someone will help. Court proceedings sound very intimidating but, as has been mentioned, as soon as they're started the phone calls and postal intimidation stops. It's really not as bad as it sounds anyway. If you haven't already done so then now is the time to start meticulously filing everything. Don't do any business over the phone and always use special/recorded delivery for postage. Weightmans is a large law firm who like to use scare tactics. They will take things as far as they can by using 'deep pocket litigation' tactics. Don't think that they won't try underhand tactics either - they do. You need to post up more details about this claim (is it a loan or cc or whatever) and what action(s) you've already taken. That way, those of us with some experience can point you in the right direction. As a final note, remember that you're not the first to be in this position and you're certainly not alone now you've found the CAG. I've been there (redundancy and debts etc) and I'll be the first to admit that it scared the hell out of me. Now, 3 years on I'm mostly debt free and have won twice in court and had one discontinuance of proceedings. It's really not as bad as it seems. Don't let these parasites make you think any differently. D

Well, another one bites the dust eh? Well done MM and good on you for sticking it out!!! D

HFC Bank et al are already making voodoo dolls of PT allegedly. This will just add to their frustration Great news. D

Sorry, I don't have these documents in my possession. They are with my legal reps. I will have to ask permission regarding putting you in touch with a solicitor too. D

Write back to them stating that your defence is perfectly clear and that, for a suitable fee, you'll be happy to explain it to them. This serves 2 purposes - it shows that you're not ignoring them if they 'try it on' in court and it also will serve to really really annoy them. D