Hello V! The key with this is to go back to the basics. Do read the SD Set Aside Links that caro has Posted above, and hunt out any others on CAG. I think Surfaceagentx20 Posted a good Thread, so search on that CAG ID to find it. But then think through the key issues that relate to the Debt itself. It appears to be a Debt that arose in relation to a Regulated Agreement, that the original Creditor felt you had not paid, for what ever reason. So... (1.) Where is the original properly executed Regulated Credit Agreement? (2.) Did you send MBNA a s78 (if it was a Credit Card) or s77 Request (if it was a Loan)? (3.) Did MBNA respond to the s77/s78 Request? (4.) If they failed to respond, or their response was not readable, or failed to provide both the original terms and the current terms at the time of the Request, or a Signed Statement of Account, then read up on s78(6) or s77(4), as applicable. (5.) Did MBNA say they were going to Charge-Off the Debt? i.e. write it off against Tax. That alone may suggest they Terminated it. (6.) Did MBNA restrict the facility before Sale, or did they demand the full balance at any time, i.e. a total that included Arrears and also sums not yet due? (7.) When the DCA came along, was the Agreement capable of remedy? IOW, when they issued their own Default Notice, was it served under s87(1) and what amount did they ask for as the default sum, what did they say you had done wrong, and did they suggest the issue could be remedied by you? It sounds like they cocked-up the time allowed anyway! (8.) Did the DCA then demand the full sum, and was that comprised of Arrears and also sums not yet due? I suspect as you work through these questions, you may start to see the true weakness of their case, and the likely strength of yours. It's a shame the MBNA SAR won't be back in time to help (although it might be), because I suspect that will tell you many useful things. On Monday, I would drop the other side a line and make a CPR 18 Request for some key details, such as: (A) What was the Date on the Deed of Assignment. (B) What was the Account Number. (C) Was the Agreement Terminated at that time or not. These are simple questions to ask, so give them 7 days to answer them. I suspect their answers may be in conflict with both your own research, and also the likely results that may come back from MBNA via the SAR. Then start making a case why the SD is weak, and show the Judge that they either have no Claim if there is no Agreement, or their Claim may only be limited to just the Arrears if there is an Agreement but the Termination of it was compromised via their failure to issue a valid s87(1) Default Notice...or was already Terminated before the DCA even acquired the Debt. If the Arrears are less than £750, then the SD will fail. So the key is to throw doubt on the Agreement being enforceable, and then ram it home that even if the Arrears are due, there may be other issues such as, say, s140A Unfair Relationship if both the DCA and MBNA before them ignored your Consumer Rights. In summary, the main Defence will probably be a standard Card/Loan issue, the same as many other MBNA issues on CAG. Show that you have a strong case there, and getting the SD knocked on the head should be fairly easy. As I say, when you win, then shaft them for your Costs...£9.25 an hour time Costs, plus all of your Disbursements. Cheers, BRW

Hello V! Don't forget to ask for your Costs when you win the SD Set Aside! Cheers, BRW

Hello Mum2Four! Firstly, please note that M&S in this case is Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc, owned by HSBC not M&S the Grocer! So, behind this all lies HSBC. M&S broke many rules when they bulk upgraded many Charge Cards to Credit Cards. The two are not the same, and because they failed to secure the necessary properly executed Regulated Credit Card Agreement before sending people the nasty new M&S Credit Cards (Credit Tokens), they were told off about this at the time. Didn't stop them, however, probably because, at the time, there was no CAG! Anyway, get reading on CAG, and take a look at any and all M&S Threads you can find. There is now an M&S Forum, here: M&S Cards - The Consumer Forums Have a read about The Consumer Credit Act 1974 and take a good look at s51: So, if you have not already done so, send Red Castle Recoveries (Gothia) a s78(1) Request along with the £1 fee. They will be acting as Agents for M&S, so are under a duty because of s175 of the Act, to pass this back to M&S: Do also check the small print of the letters from Red Castle Recoveries (Gothia), because I think Red Castle is just the trading names of the following Company: Gothia Limited So, send the s78(1) Request to the Registered Office of that Company, addressed to The Company Secretary. You can look up the current Registered Office address for any Company, for free, here: Companies House Have M&S sent you a s87(1) Default Notice yet? Or has Gothia demanded full payment etc? Was there any PPI added, any charges etc? In summary, start gathering the evidence against them, and run it past the people here to see how it all stacks up. I can say it is highly likely M&S do not have an Agreement. It is even doubful they have an Agreement for the Charge Card, i.e. an enforceable one, so the likelihood of them having one for the later Credit Card is pretty remote. HTH Cheers, BRW

Hello Brigjacj! But this is the point, you did not need to join Experian to see this, the same details could have been seen for just £2, and without giving them any more of your other details than needed. And that's a good thing? This Credit Score nonsense is just something the CRAs have invented to make more money from selling your Data. Cheers, BRW

Hello tal! eBay may be one option. It's a big market place, and you might be lucky and find someone in your area who likes the look of it. At least you can draft the Sale and see what their fees are like, then go ahead once you know, or not, and pay nothing if it looks too costly before you submit the Sale. I suspect most other Sites will charge more or, if they are free or very low cost, that might then suggest they won't have the number of visitors to give you any chance of selling fast. Bottom line is to either go for somewhere low cost where there are plenty of people looking generally...or pay extra to list where there might be a smaller but more focussed body of people who are actually looking to buy Property as opposed to millions of people casually looking for Socks, Underpants or Car Parts on, say, eBay (who might happen to also want a home too). The best place to start is to get out to see what else is selling in your area, visit a few Estate Agents and peer in their Windows, then go on-line to see what is also being offered via the Web, i.e. from any Estate Agents who have Web Sites. Do also check out the bigger Property Web Sites that present many Estate Agents, and then sit back and see where your place slots in. Some Web Sites also publish known Sale Prices based on Land Registry Data, so that you can see what things actually sold for, rather than what Estate Agents are or were asking. The Market is all over the place at the moment, on the one hand Prices are supposed to be going down, but on the other, there has been so much number-money pumped into the banks that when that starts spewing out into the wider economy, the likely effect is probably going to be inflationary. Even with an Economy heading down the Toilet, Property Prices could still rise due to the number-Money Supply being pumped up to protect the banks. But never forget what that really means. For example, if you sold your home Today, you could buy a small bag of Gold. In 2 years time, that same bag of Gold could probably buy back your home, even if it had doubled in Price because of inflation. But sell your home now and fill a bag with money, then in 2 years time, that bag of money may only buy 1/2 of your home. Thus, things like Property and Gold will go up with Inflation, money will go down. Now is not the best time to hoard Cash...because it will just lose value. Perhaps the best way of looking at this is to decide what you need if the Sale is being made to avoid other problems, and go for that amount if your research suggests that amount is attainable. Wait too long, and ask too much, and you may blow the last chance to salvage a situation you are currently hoping to avoid. Sadly, it's a matter of time. If you had more time, then sit back and get the best price you can. If you have no time, then it's going to be a very difficult task to get what you want in the time left available to get it. Cheers, BRW

Hello Folks! I note that Experian seems to think the CRAs have a legal right to hold our Data. Now don't giggle, but here's what they boast in their annoying Guide that is sent out when you receive anything back from them: And what legal right might that be then? Likewise, what positive difference did the millions of Credit Checks make to avoid the mess the bankers made of almost every key Economy recently? Absolutely nothing positive is the answer. All these checks do is give lame brain bankers an excuse to lend without the decision making process going through their self-obsessed and greedy little brains. It is sobering to realise that a good credit record is not good in the sense that many would think. Some examples: Excellent Record = saddled with Debt, but just managing to pay it all off each month, no regular applications for more Debt, but a new one every 6 months or so. Poor Record = no Mortgage, no Debts, no record of any Debt activity. An otherwise astute person who manages their finances well and as a result incurs little Debt but who finds it hard to get Credit of any kind...including Interest Free Credit. Bad Record = Accounts in dispute, unlawful Defaults, record trashed for having the cheek to stand up to the dull greedy bankers. The system is back-asswards, and has demonstrated it is not fit for purpose. The banks need to be decimated, and the ones that are left cut down to a fraction of their former overall size. Then they should be forced to lend only at very keen rates (if at all), by using their brains to assess good risk from bad. Anyone doing that job properly would not then need to rely upon twisted information supplied by the equally twisted CRAs. For now, the main aim of getting the £2 Reports back from the CRAs is to use that information against the banks and CRAs themselves. Take action against any bank or DCA that has recorded inaccurate financially damaging information, and then take action against the CRAs for publishing it. Cheers, BRW

Hello Folks! Under no circumstances should you go near their on-line offerings. The Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) are just grubby Private Companies, who prostitute Data for a living...your Data! My advice is to stick to the simple £2 paper Credit Reports that any CRA has a Statutory duty to provide. Read all about it here: The Data Protection Act 1998 The Data Protection (Subject Access) (Fees and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2000 Statutory Instrument 2000 No 191 The £2 Credit Report is simply an abbreviated Data Subject Access Request, covered by s7 but limited via s9(2) to those issues that may affect your Financial Standing. Because the s9(2) Limited Request is limited, it costs just £2 and they have to respond much faster than they would otherwise have to do if a full s7 Data Subject Access Request was being made. The s9(2) Limited Requests, otherwise known as the £2 Credit Reports, are a special cut-down Report geared for CRA Data Controllers (as opposed Data Controllers who are not licensed by the OFT as CRAs). Needless to say, the CRAs are well geared to churning out these £2 Credit Reports, and have absolutely no problem doing so, because they have absolutely no choice. They are not offering them for your benefit, they are in the poop if they fail to do so. Thus, the s9(2) Limited Data Subject Access Request is your Statutory Right, and the maximum fee payable is £2. The CRA has to respond within 7 Working Days from the relevant day (so allow +2 Working Days for 1st Class Post, or +4 Working Days if you intend to take them to Court should they play games by trying to block your request, as they will all do at some stage). The relevant day being the day on which the CRA receives your request or, if later, the first day on which they receive both the required fee and any additional information referred to in subsection 7(3). But do not let them mess you around over s7(3). They do not need to know more than the basic details that confirms who you are, your address, Postcode and date of birth. Anything else is just Data Harvesting on their part, and should be resisted. Remember, they are simply Private Companies, and have no way to cross-check or verify any other Data, despite the impression they try to give that they have a hot-line to the DVLA, the Government, the Police, the Local Council, the Taxman, God or the Pixies at the end of your Garden. They don't, so give them nothing more than the absolute minimum required to identify you at your home address, or any past addresses if you have moved in the last few years. Under no circumstances should you ever give the CRAs a Data Consent of their own. So take great care when using any of their £2 Report Request Forms (all available via their Web Sites for download without needing to log-in) and check the small print to ensure they are not slipping in a Data Consent under the cover of a Statutory Request. The £2 Credit Reports should be comprehensive (and usually are), and should tell you everything you will see on-line that relates to your Data, as opposed to their own on-line gimmicks. They will hint that you will see more on-line, but you won't. Everything important will be in the £2 Paper Report. The rest is Poison Candy and Venus Fly-Trap Window Dressing designed to entice you into their Data Trapping machine. Their Web Sites are designed to suck out more of your Data, and so should be regarded as being hostile places to visit. For a start, just signing up means they get your IP Address and email, plus anything else they claim they need to verify your identity. The best plan is to send them a £2 Postal Order every few weeks, or more frequently, if you need more regular updates. This keeps them busy, and has the considerable benefit that you get nice paper Reports, mostly at their expense, that you can later produce in Court as Hard Evidence (as opposed to Hearsay Evidence), should you need to confirm Financial Damage because of incorrect Data. I would also send the CRAs a FULL s7 Data Subject Access Request every few Months, just to see the bigger picture of what else they have been up to behind the scenes. That costs £10 and they have 40 Calendar Days to respond. Never forget what these groups get up to, and who their real friends are (DCAs and complete bankers), and never forget they are your enemy, not your friend. Do not be taken in by the glossy TV advertisements suggesting these groups are fun and funky. They are neither. Cheers, BRW

Hello LEYLA! I can't see any sign of an MBNA s87(1) Default Notice, only a joke one from Arrow. Did MBNA send you one? The SAR to MBNA will be key, so get that off to them ASAP...I expect it will contain all sorts of juicy bits and bobs. Cheers, BRW

Hello LEYLA! I'll try to help, but keep reading and learning, and I suspect many of the issues will start to become clear as you do. You now have +14 days to get your Defence in, i.e. from the AOS Deadline Date. Read PT2537's Thread below before you do anything else: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/241827-legal-action-how-start.html#post2695725 Read it slowly, and consider the first few Posts carefully. Then ask yourself if the enemy have set out their Claim clearly or not. Do you have all of the material needed to be able to defend yourself, or are you short and/or in the dark on any key issues? If their Claim is pants, then you can throw this back at them with a very short and simple two line Ultra Short Embarrassed Defence: If nothing else, aim to submit that before the Defence Deadline, otherwise they will win by default if no Defence is Filed at Court. So, that's the starting point for your Defence. The 2nd question to ask now becomes...can you draft a longer Defence or not? If you can't, because the Claimant has failed to draft their Claim in accordance with CPR, then you can't defend it until they do. That being the whole point...do not start guessing what they want, make them set it out, as is their duty. If you are short of some documents, such as the Agreement or s87(1) Default Notice, or evidence that the Debt has actually been assigned to Arrow Globalgob, then get a CPR 31.14 Request off to them pronto, and allow them just 7 days to respond because, after all, these would be the documents they should already have at their finger tips before embarking on a Claim against you/your OH. If they fail to respond, then hit them with an N244 Application to the Court, asking the Court to force them to do so. IOW, keep them on their back foot at all times. In the interim, get a full Data Protection Act 1998 s7 Data Subject Access Request off to MBNA on Monday, send via Special Delivery, ask for everything, and pay via £10 Postal Order. Do not sign the letter or, if you do, make it an extra special version of your OH's Signature so that you will recognise it again if it appears somewhere else! Take a copy of it before sending, and keep the Postal Order receipt to confirm the details. MBNA have 40 Calendar Days to respond, starting from when they get the s7 Request and Fee. This may seem too long, but the issue will drag on for a while, so this will almost certainly come back just in time to be useful. While you are at it, send a SAR to Arrow too, and also send them a CPR 18 Request for the same Data. Most Claimants will fudge the CPR 18, so the SAR is something else to have running in the background that will also pop out just when it might well add something extra to help you. In summary, if you see my point, before embarking on a long Defence, take a step back and see if you even can at this stage. I have not read this Thread yet, as a bit busy, but can guess how Arrow have set things out from what I have seen...badly I think from a quick speed read. HTH Cheers, BRW

I gather that the Meat Hooks in the Ceiling are now ready for the Cabot Donkey. The knives are also very sharp and ready for the work ahead. Let the Donkey Filleting begin... Those of a nervous disposition should look away. Cheers, BRW

Hello Patma! This is just some general advice on how to handle an Appeal (taken from one of my other ramblings elsewhere on CAG), which may be of interest to both you/Fred and any other genuine Caggers that may like to know. Fred has 21 days to get his Appeal in, and whilst it may seem daunting, it's not as bad as it seems, provided he gets started and works through all of the steps to get everything ready in time for the 21 day Deadline. This is the bit of CPR Fred needs to start reading: PART 52 - APPEALS - Ministry of Justice This is the CPR Supplement that goes with the above: PRACTICE DIRECTION 52 – APPEALS - Ministry of Justice A key admin step is to get a Transcript of the Judgement going. That should not be too expensive, maybe £100-£150 approx. You will need that for the Appeal. That needs Form EX107. Here's the link: EX107 That is just a simple Form where you state what the Claim was, and say which Transcriber you will like to use. I can recommend a very good one, but I need to advise the name via PM not in open Forum. The person is listed in the Approved List of Court Transcribers and has been very helpful now to several Caggers. If Fred can afford it, I would also recommend that he has the Full Hearing Transcribed in addition to the Judgment. To clarify, the Hearing is always divided into two key areas when it comes to Transcribing the Tape(s): The Main Hearing (less the Judgment). The Judgment. There can only ever be one Judgment Transcription, because the Judge has the right to check and adjust that, before allowing it to be released. In my experience, be prepared for some changes there to soften how things were actually said in Court! But there's nothing you can do, just get a copy of the Judgment, and allow time to organise that and be prepared that the Judge will want to see it to approve it, before Fred sees it. Best therefore to crack on with that ASAP. I would advise trying to get the Main Hearing as well, although that will cost a lot more, depending on the number of spoken words and the time the Hearing took. But this can prove invaluable. Fred needs this if he can afford it. Transcriptions can be paid for by the Court, if Fred is on a very low income etc, but he has to pay for them first before he can re-claim the costs. It also takes a long time to get any money back from the Courts. On this subject, see CPR Part 52, 5.17 and 5.18 (that's all in the 2nd link above). N460 This is a Form the Judge has to complete if an Appeal was requested and refused on the day. In that case, the Judge is supposed to complete an N460 straight away, rather than being asked. So, if needed, get the Court to chase up the Judge to complete Form N460. That Form is very simple, and just sets out the reasons for refusing the Appeal. Those reasons may also be mentioned in the Judgment as well. There will be an N24 Order that will appear soon too, that's a bit like a précis of the Judgment but should not be confused with the Judgment Transcription which will be much longer than what you see on the N24 Order. Fred will also need that N24 Order for his Appeal Application. That should arrive in the next few days anyway. Fred should be able to get that lot underway in maybe a day or two at most, then you can work on getting his N161 Appellant's Notice ready. The N161 Appellant's Notice is just another Form, many on CAG will help you with that, so don't worry. Here's the link: N161 Appellant's Notice That just leaves the key issues of: (1) Grounds for Appeal: This is the main bit that you need to get sorted within the 21 days, and have it ready to go along with the Appeal Bundle. The main initial documents, provided you get them on time, will comprise the following bits: N161 Appellant's Notice (including Grounds for Appeal) N24 Order N460 Reasons for Appeal Refusal (if needed) Transcript of Judgment It is VIP that you get that lot in within 21 days. Otherwise you risk having to make an Appeal Out of Time, which is a PITA. Get it in on time, and you then you have a further 14 days to follow on with the full Appeal Bundle. That Bundle will include a Skeleton Argument and a routine pile of bumf that relates to the Judgment being Appealed. Most of the docs Fred will have had from the first time around, so the Appeal can be considered for permission to Appeal if that is also needed (i.e. if permission was refused at the Hearing). (2) Route for Appeal: This is just technical and will depend on what Judge you had, and the class of the Judgment the Judge made. It is all listed in the 2nd link above, or just click here: PRACTICE DIRECTION 52 – APPEALS - Ministry of Justice This is Fred's chance to put right what the buggers did wrong the first time out. Get this right, and the opposition will be more worried than you are right now once they know you are Appealing. The most this will cost Fred right now is the Judgment Transcription. He can always back out before the 21 day deadline and just accept the original Judgment, so do keep going and use the time to decide before the 21 days are up. However, don't waste any time getting going, as 21 days is not long and you cannot afford to waste any of it. Once the Appeal has been lodged, then you have 14 days to get the Skeleton Argument done, which is also key, but 2 weeks is a long time. After that, it could take weeks/months to get to Appeal, and in that time you and Fred may be able to find the money for a Barrister who will take it over and take the battle back to them. If you win, you will get the original Judgment overturned, and you should get back all of the Costs, both for the Appeal, and also for the original Hearing. A Barrister can later tweak your Appellant's Notice and your Skeleton, so your main aim is to get them in and good enough to get permission to Appeal (assuming you need permission, if the Appeal was not refused at the Hearing, then you may not need to ask for permission to Appeal and can just go ahead and submit the Appeal)...the Barrister can make the paperwork better later if you end up being able to afford a Barrister down the line. Best of luck with this. Cheers, BRW

Hello Patma! Obviously, this has to be Appealed. I think we have all detected that a stitch up was highly likely, and our suspicions were confirmed by this. OK, the Appeal is pay-back time, and this has the potential to put everything right. I suspect the Appeal will be comparatively easy given the work that has already gone into the case, so far. It's now time to duck under the Radar, and keep the next moves in camera. Cheers, BRW

Hello LEYLA! I forgot to mention that the MCOL Address and your Login Password will be on the Claim Form, so use that to get on-line to File the AOS. Cheers, BRW

Hello LEYLA! If the Claim was issued via Northampton on 23/04/2010, then I believe the Date of Service for the Claim is +5 Days thereafter, making an effective Claim Service Date of 27/04/2010. If correct, then the Deadline for the Acknowledgement of Service, or AOS for short, would +14 Days from the Date of Service... ...so, I make the AOS Deadline 12/05/2010. Right, if so, then time is tight, but still OK. It is VIP that you get on-line via MCOL ASAP, and file your AOS. That is easy, and if defending the whole Claim, as I think you should from what you say, then all you need do is state that, and make sure the AOS is logged. Exit and re-login, and check the Claim's progress to make sure the AOS has been accepted. Print off any confirmations you see, to make sure, and call the Court before the end of play on the 12th to make sure the AOS has been Filed. Once you have Filed your AOS, then you get another +14 Days within which to File your Defence. If the Claim is pants and poorly pleaded, then your Defence might only be a two-line Embarrassed Defence. IOW, that puts the ball back into their court to get their act together. In summary, all is not lost, but could be if you don't jump around a bit Today and get that AOS Filed! Once the AOS is in, come back here and I'm sure you will get all the help you need to work on the Defence. HTH Cheers, BRW

Hello Hushpuppy! Look on the bright side! Now you have seen what a hostile Judge can be like, it may have done you a favour to make you see why being 100% on top of every single issue will be vital if you are to beat them next time out. Court is never easy, and should never be underestimated...never be deluded that the system and a cunning enemy can rat up even the most winnable case. But go in cool, calm and collected, having planned everything from front to back, and covered all angles, and then the result should go your way. As they say, train hard, fight easy. I regret you must re-enter the training stage now, and get a sweat on! Loads to cover, but the starting point is the basic time line and paperwork. Getting that all lined up and in order has to be the very first step. Buy some A4 Lever Arch Files, set up a Spreadsheet like a big Calender, and start collating everything, with a matching entry on your Electronic Time Line/Spreadsheet. But take the weekend off, as I said, chill out, then start all over again from next week onwards, except this time you have a far better idea of what to expect next time out. Cheers, BRW

Hello Hushpuppy! The Judge was wrong, as so many are, sadly. Given that it is very hard to find a Solicitor who understands Consumer Credit, and many County Court Judges are Solicitors, it is perhaps not too surprising so many are clueless on the issues. But clueless is one thing, pompous, arrogant and biased is quite another. I would not worry too much, this was a likely outcome, and one I sort of expected I regret. But it's a minor Skirmish lost, they have not won a Battle, let alone the War. However, next time out, you need to be four times as well prepared, and with a firm handle on all of the issues so that you can argue them fluently calling on Law, Statute, CPR and Case History, to make your point. The Waksman case was used against you by the Judge (whose side was he on?) but, on this occasion you could not argue against that effectively. But by the next time, you must fully understand the Case, and inform the Judge when he has the wrong end of the stick on something. Assume the Judge is impartial and sitting in the middle, present your argument, listen to the other sides argument, and then if the Judge starts heading off at a tangent, step in to guide him back, and spell it out where he is mistaken, and set out your reasons. If he is determined to head off on his tangent, then make it clear that his Judgment will be Appealed, and set out why. But by next time, you need to be better prepared, or else this could all go the wrong way, no matter how wrong that may be. The fight-back starts here, and you must go back over everything and get it all set out in a clear fashion. As I tried to say, I spent a few hours reading this Thread last night, and made two pages of notes, and I really found it hard to work out what was going on. IOW, if I had so much trouble, I think you must be having at least the same problems, so it's likely you went in to Court with too many issues in a jumble. Had the enemy been better briefed, it could all have gone badly wrong Today...so let's make sure that never happens again, and next time out, you will have everything ordered and focussed. Chill out, have a long weekend off, drink something, and then come back fighting when it's all back into perspective. Don't get mad, get even! Cheers, BRW

Hello Pumpytums! I think the thing to appreciate is the banks regard s87 as something inserted for their benefit, not for the Consumer's benefit. Whereas the complete opposite is the case. The whole point is to allow Consumers who have stepped out of line, to be given a formal warning that allows them the option to put things right, then continue on as if they had done no wrong. It's more Carrot than Stick, but there is a Stick element if the Carrot is ignored. By comparison, the banks and DCAs only see it as being a Stick, and often are so keen to rush it all through to whack the Consumer with the Stick they feel was added for their sole benefit, that they cannot bring themselves to cut the Consumer any more slack than the absolute minimum they can get away with. So, they see 14 clear days, and read it as 14 days maximum, not a second more. This is why so many fail to allow for Service, and fail to add in a little extra on top to ensure they are Whiter than White. Many also see it as a one-way ticket, and have little appreciation that it's not intended that way at all. The Act assumes that a genuine default is redeemable, not irredeemable. Whereas the bankers only see it as irredeemable, and a s87(1) Default Notice is their authority to punish the Consumer by calling in sums not yet due without any prospect of reversing that. Without CAG, they would be getting away with this all of the time. But even with CAG, they are still getting away with it most of the time, although a clued up CAGger can stop them dead in their tracks and turn their stupidity against them. Cheers, BRW

Hello gh2008! My main worry is hushpuppy may not have been fully prepared for the Hearing today. If the opposition send a smooth talking rep, and the Judge is a duffer or some rabid anti-Consumer wing nut, then anything is possible. If this does carry on, then I think the next step here has to be to try and outline all of the key issues. One to help hushpuppy, and two to make it easier for others to see the big picture and hone in on the key issues. Fingers crossed it gets wrapped up today without going any further. Cheers, BRW

Hello Pandorasdeus! Sorry to hear this, but this is a damned good case in point why people should steer clear of the on-line Services these people offer. They are invariably trouble. See below: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/credit-reference-agencies/258486-statutory-2-credit-reports.html#post2912206 Cheers, BRW

Hello gh2008 and HP! Sorry for delay. This has been a hard Thread to catch up on, although only 203 Posts! No offence intended by this, but it's very hard to follow, so it's as hard to give any sensible advice in the time available. But I think I have the rough idea. It appears to be a right mess of Loans upon Loans, most of which have lump sum PPI added, and most appear to be consolidation Loans. This all suggests s18 problems for RBS, not to mention s140A Unfair Relationships too. Given more time, I suspect that this is a world of pain for RBS if the events and details can be lined up and inspected in any detail. They've clearly pitched into a Claim without getting their Horse before their Cart, and it's all fallen apart for them the more advice from people like gh2008 that was applied to the problem. The s77 CCA Request has resulted in an admission from them that they cannot find (never had?) the Agreement, and they admit they are constrained from taking any Enforcement because of s77(4)...asking for sums not yet due is enforcement, and obtaining Judgment certainly is, so as things stand, they have shot themselves in the foot, and admitted it. But the s77(4) issue is almost certainly the tip of a very large and smelly Pooberg, and they know this is not going to end well for them. However, you now need to ram this home, and despatch the creature while it is down on the floor panting. Do not let it get up to scamper off to perhaps come back to fight another day. I'd advise that you must attend the Hearing tomorrow, and submit a full Litigant in Person's Bill of Costs. If Track has not been Allocated, then the Case is still Multi-Track, so you can and should get every penny of your Costs. Remember to Claim for Time Costs at the LiP Rate of £9.25 an hour, and also any and all Disbursements at the full cost to you. Include everything, from paper and Toner, to postage, Electricity used, Wear and Tear on PC/Printer, Travel Costs, Parking, you name it, if you paid for it, claim it. This was their Claim, and their Claim is falling apart at the seams. They owe you for all the trouble and inconvenience they have caused by firing off a Claim half-cocked. It was an abuse of the Court system, so it could be wise to argue they should not be allowed to Discontinue but should be forced to attend your Summary Judgment Application (I assume you Applied for one, sorry if I have got the wrong end of the stick there). I would also prepare a list of what you would want from them to allow them to Discontinue, which must include things such as: An undertaking that they will never re-commence these proceedings. They will write off any Debts for both Loan and Overdraft. They will wipe off all adverse CRA Data. They will settle your Costs. If they agree to the above, and agree in writing either before Court or by getting their Rep to sign your prepared document that binds them to the above, then by all means allow them to Discontinue. If not, then proceed to Summary Judgment, and consider making a Claim or Counter-Claim of your own for the PPI and any related Charges, plus s69 Interest, and also perhaps to include Compound Contractual Interest in Restitution. I hope this helps. Cheers, BRW

Hello gh2008 and Hushpuppy! Thanks for the PM GH, will try to catch up and will help if I can. Just off out for a while, but will come back later if I can. Cheers, BRW

Hello CB! Exactly. These muppets should bear the cost of the Expert, for playing their Cards so close to their chest...or up their sleeve should I say. Cheers, BRW

Hello Grone! Welcome to CAG! Sorry to hear this. I have no immediate answers for you, but hopefully others may come along soon who might be able to advise. Cheers, BRW

Hello Z.W! I'd double check the AC number with Lewis directly, only because these people swap banks like anyone else, so they may have jumped ship for an Account that offered them a better deal! Maybe they had too many bank charges on their old Account! Cheers, BRW

Hello Dabbage! Perhaps now is a good time to invest £10 to send Vile a SAR to see what they have been up to behind the scenes. All useful ammo for later on, so don't miss the opportunity they have presented to you. All information is useful information when fighting these vermin. Cheers, BRW