Hi there, I have drafted my defense below. I must post to the claimant and the court by close of business tonight as 14 days prior to the court date is Monday 18th. Sincere apologies for the delay. I became complacent and nearly forgot. WITNESS STATEMENT I, xxxx, being the Defendant in this case state as follows; I make this Witness Statement in support of my defence dated 7th November 2018 and in response to the claimant’s claim dated 4th September 2018 which was submitted through County Court Business Centre. 1. It is my understanding that the claimant is an Assignee, a buyer of defunct, disputed or bad debts, which are bought en masse as portfolios at a much reduced cost to the amount claimed ...10p to 15p in the pound and which are already written off as capital loss and claimed against taxable income by the original creditors. The claimant then issues claims en masse with little or no evidence or documentation as a ‘fishing exercise’ claiming the full amount of alleged debt to maximise profit. 2. As an assignee or creditor as defined in section 189 of the CCA this applies to this new requirement on assignment of rights. This means that when an assignee purchases debts (or otherwise acquires rights under a credit agreement) it also acquires certain obligations to the borrower including the duty to comply with CCA requirements (such as the rules on statements and notices and other post-contractual information). The assignee becomes the creditor under the agreement. This ensures that essential consumer protections under the CCA cannot be circumvented by assigning the debt to a third party. 3. Background Save insofar of any admittance it is accepted that a contractual relationship did once exist between myself and Talk Talk Ltd. On receipt of this claim I could not recall the precise details of any agreement or any debt, numerous years having passed since the alleged agreement date, and therefore reasonably sought clarity and information from the claimant. I formally requested via CPR 31.14 on the 14th September 2018: A copy of the original agreement; A statement of account; A copy of the terms and conditions as applicable at the time of the agreement; A copy of any notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action Having made a claim the above data should have been immediately and fully available from the claimant and as per the above formal requests duly sent to the defendant to allow a swift conclusion. 4. Disclosures The claimant has supplied some documentation but has failed to comply fully with my formal requests. The claimant has failed to provide: A copy of the original agreement A statement of the account showing completely and exactly how the amount claimed for has been reached A copy of a default notice/termination notice A copy of a legal notice of assignment showing the claimant’s legal right to take action. I received a rough copy of a bill (no originals) badly drafted and not on a Talk Talk letter headed paper. The bill was dated 11/03/2014 for £104.40. New Charges £33.65 with a 'previous balance' of £70.75 which is not shown how this is accumulated. The £33.65 charge was shown to be accumulated as follows One-off contract breakage fee - £25.95 Direct Debit Rejection Charge - £10.00 Line Rental Reversal “discounts” -£2.27 ***** Should I include the following regarding my initial dispute with TalkTalk as explained earlier in this thread***** I was a client with Talk Talk for a number of years and was not in a contract when I instructed them of my intention to move to another service provider. They were also instructed about my cancelled direct debit due to the ongoing dispute of receiving no service for 2 months. I believe the previous balance, £70.75, was for 2 engineer visits which occurred when they were trying to rectify the service but failed to find a solution. I had no option but to leave as I never received any service and they agreed to remove these charges as they were still trying to fix the line. However because SKY was attempting to take over my line, they wanted me to commit to a new 12 month contract as I was not in contract with them and they required me to do this in order to stop SKY from being my new provider. ****** If so, can you please help me draft it coherently***** Subject to the above, should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the total balance of the remaining contract, OFCOM guidance clearly states that any Early Termination Charge, that is made up of the entire balance of the remaining contract, is unlikely to be fair, as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service. 5. Conclusion The claimant has failed to comply with my formal requests, is in default and therefore I must assume that this is due to the claimant not having any of the above mentioned legally required documentation and has merely issued a speculative claim in the hope of obtaining an undefended default judgment. Hi DX100UK, Are you able to help with the above. I have pasted my defence above.

Hello there, Hope you are both well. Just checking in for further help as I have received my Notice of Allocation to the small claims track and my hearing date is on the 1st April in central London. Just reading the letter again in order to prepare myself for the case and it states that "each party must deliver to the party and to the court office copies of all documents on which that party intends to rely at the hearing no later than 14 days before the hearing." "It also states that this document "must include the statements of all witnesses (including the parties themselves)" Can you please advise me on this? what document must I send to the courts 14 days before. Is this the defense statement. Please kindly advise due to time limit and apologies for my naivety!!! Please also note I have had no contact and received no correspondence from Moriarty Law since the allocation.

haha! will do. thanks

Many thanks for your response. I have completed as above and will make copies and post recorded delivery in the morning. K

Hi there, I thought informing them about the dispute would help but they are unwilling to negotiate as its a bought debt. Yes I have the N180 form

Hi there. Apologies for the delay. I had emergency surgery an only just getting back on my feet. I submitted my defence as above and I received an acknowledgment then a "Notice of proposed allocation to small claims track" form which must be submitted by 12 November!!! I also received the bill from moriarty law and spoke to them about the dispute. They are unwilling to budge as the debt is bought by the company they are representing and they cannot (will not) ask talk-talk for full information/conversation of the dispute. He is only willing to give me a discount on the debt which I refused as I wish to proceed with the full defence. Can you please advice me on what to do next. Apologies again for the delay, the past few weeks has been pretty hazy to say the least. Many thanks. K

ok will do

what about this point here... as the claimant is an assignee. Can I include it? On the alternative, as the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, 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.

Thank you very much. I will submit my defence now as you have drafted it and continue to check in with progress.

Thanks you so much. I will redraft my defence in the morning and check in on here before submitting it tomorrow. k. However i would like to also add the paragraph.. "The claim is denied. I have requested information pertaining to the claimants claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request sent on 14.09.2018 and which the claimant received on the 18.09.2018. The claimant has failed to respond" As I feel that the fact they have not supplied these is an important point..

Hello there, As predicted, Moriarty Law has failed to provide the documents requested in the CPR 31.14 I have prepared my defence ready to file 1st thing tomorrow. Can you please help me look over it and add or omit any points.... I again reiterate that this was a dispute with TalkTalk and I truly do not owe any money as the services were not fully provided (As explained in #1) and was wondering if any of that should be mentioned. Many thanks in advance 1. The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The claimant's particulars of claims disclose no legal cause of action as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16.2 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. 2. The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) Failed to serve a letter of claim pre claim pursuant to PAPDC changes of the 1st October 2017. It is respectfully requested that the court take this into consideration pursuant to 7.1 PAPDC 3. The claim is denied. I have requested information pertaining to the claimants claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request sent on 14.09.2018 and which the claimant received on the 18.09.2018. The claimant has failed to respond / with these documents. (which one. They responded but not with documents as explained in #1 4. The claim is denied. The Claimant has not served a Notice of Assignment pursuant to the law of property act 1925 and the Claimant is put to strict proof to: (a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement; and (b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and © show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim; 5. Notwithstanding the above should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the entire balance of the remaining contract. OFCOM guidance states that any Early Termination Charge that is made up of the entire balance if the remaining contract is unlikely to be fair as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service. 6. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed. 7. On the alternative, as the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, 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. 8. 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.

ok thanks.. will sit on my hands and wait

Thank you guys, I still haven't received the documents requested in my CPR31 request and don't believe they will send it. Should I wait until the deadline (last minute) or should I send it now. I am really anxious and want to submit my defense asap.. can I submit it today or should I wait until last min..

Thanks Andy. No I have never seen a document like this neither did I receive one from Moriarty Law prior to the claim form.

Too early? The claim form was received on the 5th September. I filed my acknowledement with intention to defend in full on the 7th via MCOL Requested CPR13 on the 10th and received an acknowledgement that collection has been suspended and they will write to original creditor for these documents. This was on the 17th. When am I to file my defence.. I don't feel they have these documents and I am in dispute regardless if they do. Sorry for the rush. I'm just eager to get these people out my life as I believe the charge is unfair. I'm sure I did not receive a letter of claim. Will have to check all post just in case. I've never received one of these before so not sure what it looks like. if I'm not sure I received one, I will just omit that part from my defence. Many thanks again

Thank you so much for your response and the work you do. I have read through the threads and seen a few examples. The common successful defence I have seen is as follows, My Particulars of Claim 1. The claimants claim is for the balance due under an agreement with Talk Talk Limited dated 29/05/2013 2. Which was assigned to the claimant on 31/03/2015 and notice of which was given to the defendant on the 31/03/2015 and which is now all due and payable. 3. The defendant agreed to pay monthly instalments under account number xxxxxx but has failed to do so. And the claimant claims the sum of £115. The claimant also claims interest thereon pursuant to S.69 county courticon Act 1984 Limited to one year to the date hereof at the rate of 8% per annum amounting to £8.21 Defence 1. The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature. The claimant's particulars of claims disclose no legal cause of action as the claimant's statement of case is insufficiently particularised and does not comply or even attempt to comply with CPR part 16.2 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. 2. The Claimant has not complied with paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) Failed to serve a letter of claim pre claim pursuant to PAPDC changes of the 1st October 2017.It is respectfully requested that the court take this into consideration pursuant to 7.1 PAPDC (Is this line accurate) 3. The claim is denied. I have requested information pertaining to the claimants claim by way of a CPR 31.14 request sent on 14.09.2018 and which the claimant received on the 18.09.2018. The claimant has failed to respond. (Should I keep this in? They have responded stating they will contact original creditor for the documents—but have not responded with the documents as such therefore is this line valid?) 4. The claim is denied. The Claimant has not served a Notice of Assignment pursuant to the law of property act 1925 and the Claimant is put to strict proof to: (a) show how the Defendant has entered into an agreement; and (b) show how the Defendant has reached the amount claimed for; and © show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim; 5. Notwithstanding the above should the alleged amount claimed include an early termination charge(s) amounting to the entire balance of the remaining contract. OFCOM guidance states that any Early Termination Charge that is made up of the entire balance if the remaining contract is unlikely to be fair as it fails to take into account the fact that the provider no longer has to provide and pay for their service. 6. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed. 7. On the alternative, as the Claimant is an assignee of a debt, 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. 8. 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. Is there any other points to add... Many thanks in advance.

Name of the Claimant? JC International Acquisition LLC Date of issue – 4th September 2018 What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim? 1. The claimants claim is for the balance due under an agreement with Talk Talk Limited dated 29/05/2013 which was assigned to the claimant on 31/03/2015 and notice of which was given to the defendant on the 31/03/2015 and which is now all due and payable. The defendant agreed to pay monthly instalments under account number xxxxxx but has failed to do so. And the claimant claims the sum of £115. The claimant also claims interest thereon pursuant to S.69 county court Act 1984 Limited to one year to the date hereof at the rate of 8% per annum amounting to £8.21 Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? No What is the value of the claim? £200 Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? Landline & Broadband When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007? After Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Debt Purchaser Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? No Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year? No Why did you cease payments? I ceased payments because the broadband soon became disrupted and sometimes ceased to work after many years of good service. TalkTalk attempted to fix the line and sent engineers out twice but still unable to fix this. They were still investigating the line when I received my monthly bill and noticed they had billed me for two engineer visit charges for works they were still attempting to rectify. I spoke to TalkTalk who understood and agreed to remove the charge as they had not yet resolved the issue. But the customer service chap then requested that I commit to another 12 months contract with him first before he removed the charge. I declined because I felt blackmailed with pressurised sales tactics and could not guarantee the line would be fixed. I switched over to Sky and demanded TalkTalk remove all charges before I paid for my final month – of disruptive service! TalkTalk customer care called when they noticed what had happened as Sky attempted to take over the line. The chap agreed again to remove the charge but asked that I commit to another 12 months contract to prevent Sky from taking over my line. I refused and they failed to resolve my dispute. The debt has since been sold to various companies and I explained the situation to them, advising that I only owed one month’s payment. They all understood and stopped chasing me. Now Moriarty Law, a company I have never dealt with before, has issued this claim. What was the date of your last payment? Around 2014. Still attempting to verify with TalkTalk Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Yes Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan ? No I have acknowledged receipt of the claim form and stated my intention to defend in full via MCOL. I have also sent a CPR31 to Moriaty Law who responded on the 19th September that “they have contacted the original claimants for the documents requested and will notify me of their response shortly” They have also stated in their response “In the meantime, the account will remain on hold and collection activity has been suspended” Please note that I did not mention my dispute with TalkTalk in the CP31 Although they have stated the above, I need to provide my defence to the courts in time and not sure how to proceed. Any help will be appreciated. Many thanks in advance