the court have now sent a letter giving a date for a Case Management Conference in July. Is this where the judge will make a decision? As I said way back in the messages, my wife is 100% not going to attend anything at court. Is she able to nominate me to attend in her place and will her non-attendance result in the court finding against her? What happens if neither party turn up? Thanks.

It does thanks. I'll wait and see what they do. The letter the court sent says that one of three things must happen. 1, claimant must notify the court if the whole of the sum has been settled 2, the claimant or defendant must write to the court asking for an extension of the stay (PRA have already written to the court asking for a stay to give us time to look at the statements they sent us) 3, all parties must file completed directions questionnaires PRA have presumably complied with step 2. Do the court now wait for PRA to get back in touch with them to let them know if we've sorted anything out between ourselves? If so, how long will the court wait for a reply? Thanks again.

Thanks Andy. Is the next step, if we don't agree to a stay (which we won't) for the court to allocate a date? What do you think is the likelihood of PRA turning up for a court appearance without the documents?

Had a letter from PRA group yesterday asking for permission to stay the court date whilst they await further documents from the 'original creditor'. They have enclosed copies of some historical account transactions (statements) showing the original loan amount and subsequent payments and some other statement (unidentified) which we believe was a record of the payments made under the debt consolidation mentioned earlier. If we don't agree to stay and it goes to court what is likely to happen? Alternatively, if we do agree to stay what documents will they be hoping to obtain (as we already know the amount owed was for a loan but what they are claiming is for an overdraft)? And how will those two decisions impact on the court's decision (e.g. is either more favourable for a positive outcome for us)? Thanks.

Update. It was all quiet over Christmas but we've just had a 'N24 Standard order for stay for settlement' form from the court. It seems pretty self explanatory, and we don't have to do anything as the defendant. It states that one of the prescribed steps must be taken before 8 March 2017; the steps are for the claimant only, unless they try to come to some agreement with us. So we sit and wait.

Thanks Ford; It's just the stress talking really. The N181 with draft directions has gone off to the court and the claimant; I'll wait and see what comes next.

Thanks Andy. I'm starting to think that just paying up would be a lot less stressful than going through this complicated process (stressed!)

That's what they've requested.

This needs submitting tomorrow. Any suggestions of alterations before I submit?

How does this look so far? A. Settlement 1. No 2. No 3. On receipt of this claim I immediately requested documentation by way of a CPR 31.14 request, which was received by the Claimant on the *******. The Claimant has failed to comply with this request. B. Court 1. Not sure what to put in this section 2. Not sure what to put in this section C. Pre-action protocols 1. Yes D. Case management information 1. No 2. Not sure what to put in this section 3. They have requested fast-track, do I put anything in here? 4. Not sure what to put in this section E. Experts 1. No 2. No 3. No F. Witnesses 1. None? G. Trial or Final Hearing 1. Less than one day H. No precedent H I. Other information 1. No future applications 2. Other info to consider A CPR 31.14 request was delivered on XXXXXX but to this date the claimant has provided none of the requested information as follows:- (a) Provide a copy agreement/facility arrangement along with the Terms and conditions at inception, which this claim is based on which shows a facility of £25,000,00 (b) Provide a copy of the Notice served under 76(1) and 98(1) of the CCA1974 Demand /Recall Notice and Notice of Assignment. © Provide a breakdown of their excessive charging/fees levied to the account with justification. (d) Show how the Claimant has reached the amount claimed. (e) Show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim. J. Directions 1. No proposed directions received from claimant, standard directions to be enclosed?

I will, I'm fairly certain the Notice of Allocation gave until the 28th November to respond. I'll get a response sketched out in the next week and post it here for feedback.

Thanks Andy & Shamrocker, I'm sure this will all work out in our favour with your support. I've read the replies on the threads that Andy suggested and will be posting our intended reply here as soon as I can make sense of it.

You say that like I haven't looked. I'm asking because most of the posts I read are confusing at best. I have no idea what most of this terminology or the process means and it scares the crap out of me that if I do something wrong this will end in court and my wife (who the claim is against) will absolutely NOT go there and will just let it be heard without attending. If anyone can please explain what this form is actually for and what will happen next I'd be grateful.

Update: Today received 'Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Fast Track' form. What do we do now!

Hi. 33 days from the date that the defence was due, would be 05/11/16. How will we know if the case has been stayed or if it's going to continue?

Hi. Had a letter from PRA on 24 Oct simply saying Is this just a standard letter or does it mean they intend to go 'all the way'? Thanks.

Done! I guess we just wait for the court to make a decision now?

Used the one above, then had this reply Send defense as .doc attachment along with Claim Number and defendant's details to ccbcaq@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk .

Does this look like the right email address to use 'MCOL@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk' ? Also, what's the format for submitting via email? Should it be an attachment, in the body of the email, as a pdf or word etc Thanks.

Slight problem. I'm unable to log in to the MCOL site to submit the defense. I'm using the same Claim Number and Password as when I logged in last time but it just keeps saying "The following errors have occurred: Claim number or password is incorrect." I've checked it a dozen times and it's definitely right. Guess I'm going to have to get my wife to call them!

Thanks Andy/DX, you've both been a great help with this. I'll add the date that the CPR was received and then submit this on-line. Finger's crossed that this will be as far as it goes Actually, one question: do I submit the red text or just the defense?

Hi. We may have had one but it would have been £200 at the most.

No problem, thanks for your input

Okay, Thanks. What I have so far are the responses as listed below (I'll obviously remove all of the bracketed text before using, I just left it there to help clarify things at this stage) I can't find anything suitable in other threads to use as a reply to Paragraph 2; any suggestions? Particulars of Claim (for cross reference only) 1.The claimant claims the sum of 19,000 for debt and interest.On 18/07/05 the defendant entered into an agreement with HSBC Bank plc for an overdraft under reference xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. 2.On 30/6/06 the defendant defaulted on the agreement with an outstanding balance of 24,500. 3.On 25/09/07 the debt of 24,500 assigned to Aktiv Kapital Portfolio AS, Oslo, Zug Branch, who itself assigned the debt to PRA Group (UK) Ltd on 31/12/14. Notices of assignment were sent to the defendant in accordance with S136 Law of Property Act 1925. Payments of 324.00 received up to 30/08/13 5.AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS 1. The sum of 15,000 2. Statutory interest pursuant to section 69 of the county courticon Act 1984 at a rate of 8.00% per annum from 30/08/13 to 02/09/16 3669 and thereafter at a daily rate of 3.34 until judgment or sooner payment. Defence The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made. 1. It is admitted with regards to the Defendant once having had banking facilities with the original creditor HSBC Bank Plc. It is denied that The Defendant is indebted for the alleged balance claimed. 2. Paragraph 2 is denied that HSBC Bank Plc has ever served Notice pursuant to 76(1) and 98(1) of the CCA1974 and therefore the Assignee is prevented from seeking any relief for any alleged outstanding balance pursuant to the CCA1974. 3. Paragraph 3 is denied. The Defendant is not aware or ever receiving any Notice of Assignment pursuant to the Law of Property Act 1925. It is denied that the Claimant has the right to lay a claim due to contraventions of Section 136 of the Law of Property Act and Section 82A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Claimant has yet to provide a copy of the Notice of Assignment its claim relies upon. (Payments of 324.00 received up to 30/08/13) 4. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed before even considering adding section 69 interest which I understand is at the court’s discretion. The claimant is also put to strict proof to:-. (a) Provide a copy agreement/facility arrangement along with the Terms and conditions at inception, which this claim is based on. (b) Provide a copy of the Notice served under 76(1) and 98(1) of the CCA1974 Demand /Recall Notice and Notice of Assignment. © Provide a breakdown of their excessive charging/fees levied to the account with justification. (d) Show how the Claimant has reached the amount claimed. (e) Show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim. (f) Show how they have complied with sections III & IV of Practice Direction - Pre-action Conduct. 5.On receipt of this claim I immediately requested documentation by way of a CPR 31.14 request, which was received by the Claimant on the *******. The Claimant has failed to comply with this request. Therefore the claimant in their non compliance to my requests have frustrated my attempts to clarify their claim and against pre-action protocol should be considered when the question of costs arise. 6.By reason of the facts and matters set out above, it is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief. Regards Appreciated.

So today is the 4th, the submission deadline is the 7th and so far nothing else has been received from PRA Group other than the letter saying they have requested the original agreement from HSBC.