Hello,
Yes the defendant has acknowledged the claim and submitted a defence (part of which was that the claim cut off towards the end actually). The reason I didn't think much of it at the time was because of what someone on the MCOL helpline had told me, and a second time I rang, another helper told me I'd have a chance to submit documents when/if I was instructed to do so by the courts.
The claim has now been transferred to a county court hearing centre for allocation, where a procedural judge will allocate the claim to track and make further directions.
It's not a consumer claim as such, it's against an ex-landlord, but there are very few forums that discuss claims of this kind, and even less people who use them.
A landlord offered me a room at a discount if I paid in advance. However, in our contract it stated that either party could give one months notice to leave. Unfortunately things turned sour and I asked to leave. He agreed to pay me back the remaining money I'd given, and has only paid half back (after repeated badgering), and payments stopped after a few months.
I have all our correspondence over email and I'm sure that once it's seen by the courts (which I've been waiting to do), I have a good case to get my money back. However, now I'm worried it may not even get to that.
