That's a thought. The letter reads like the ones I got when a DCA (without any court proceedings) was faced with a CCA request. Not a solicitor in a court action. They can't just place the account "on hold" when there are court timetables to follow. They are supposed to ask us if they want more time so we can agree to it and inform the court. This letter seems to prove they haven't done any of this. And proves they don't have any paperwork as yet for the case they have initiated.

So we got a letter through from BC today, delivered 2nd class and dated 15/10. It says Thank you for your communication regarding this account. We have referred the matter to our client and will revert to you as soon as we are in receipt of instructions. In the mean time, we confirm that we have placed the account on hold What on earth? They can't just put the account on hold when the court process has begun and I bet they would have tried for a judgement if we hadn't put a defence in. The only communication before the 15th was the CPR31.14 which they got on the 28th when they put the hold on. To then wait two weeks before writing anything and then send it 2nd class so it gets here on the day the defence should be in? I thought they needed to agree an extension while the court process in in motion. Not just fire off this stupid letter. All a bit suss to me.

I would send off a CPR31.14 to Link to get all the paperwork they mention in their POC. They have added s69 interest, which they cannot claim on Consumer Credit agreements, so there is part of your defence. Have you got any charges included in this balance?

Wonderful. Oh for the CCTV footage...

Sorry, stray &. Sorted now and embarrassed defence in and showing on the case notes. Thank you everyone for your help. Still no call or email from BC. How normal.

Every time I input the defence into the box in MCOL it says it has invalid characters and won't let me input it. What am I doing wrong?

Do I just cut and paste it on the MCOL site? Then do I have to send a copy to BC?

No response. Can't get a straight answer when we ring and no answer to the email. Embarrassed defence in tomorrow then.

No response as yet. I've got to go out so if I haven't had anything by the time we get back....

Well I have got this. Thank you for your enquiry. We will let you have a substantive response either by email, telephone or letter within 5 to 7 working days. If your enquiry is complex or you need to enclose documentation then please write to us at - Bryan Carter Solicitors 11 De Havilland Drive Weybridge Surrey KT13 0NT If your enquiry is urgent then you may prefer to telephone us on +44 (0) 845 313 3123. Please do not respond to this email as it is an automated response. Please note that the content of this e-mail and any attachment(s) is/are strictly private and confidential and may be the subject of legal privilege. It is for the exclusive attention of the above named addressee(s) and must not be communicated to any other person. We reserve our right to take appropriate action against any person in respect of its unauthorised use. Whilst we take every effort to ensure that this message is virus free we cannot guarantee that this is the case. It is the recipients responsibility to carry out such virus checks as it deems necessary. We cannot accept any responsibility in this respect. If you are not the intended recipient or the transmission appears to be incomplete or illegible we would be grateful if you would please notify the sender by return of e-mail and destroy the original message. Thank you for your co-operation.

Due to an accident of button clicking, I've sent BC the email already. I am an idiot at times. Hopefully it's not to illiterate for them to understand. Now I wait with baited breath for a response....

M and DonkeyB, I've sent you PMs to have a quick look at if that's ok.

Thanks for that, M. ED amended.

Any ideas what to include in the email- do I mention the dreaded "abuse of process" and that I find their behaviour deliberately obstructive?

Does anyone have an email address for BC? Trying to get it out of them is like pulling teeth!

I wish we could have recorded that call! Both calls made no sense- the first said they didn't need to contact us, just the court who they said they had contacted. They haven't. The second said it had been put on hold on the 28th. But no-one contacted us at all. They are supposed to be getting back to us to clarify what is going on. I am not holding my breath. Can someone say if our defence is alright- if they haven't given us anything in writing I want to get that in asap.

I feel BC are trying to pull a fast one. They have admitted they don't have the documents and have had to refer back to Cap1, but have not contacted us or the court. Do I put the defence in quickly? If not they can go for a judgement.

The court say they have received nothing from Bryan Carter! I had heard about this sort of thing. BC say there is a "solicitors hold" on the account. ????? First person OH spoke to said they did not need to notify me, Cap1 did. XXXXXXs! They have referred back to Cap1 for documents- shouldn't they have had them to bring the claim? They then said they had notified the court- see previous XXXXXX. Second BC person spoken to had no clue- "solicitor's hold" on account and they will have to contact someone more senior to see what is going on. They have not contacted us or the court about this. I'm getting a blinking defence in unless I get something in writing.

Nothing on the court website. On to the telephone.

Right, phoned BC who say the matter has been referred back to Cap One for the documents. They SAY they have notified the court of this and the claim has been suspended- when I asked why we have not been told of this , they say the court should have notified us? No I am befuddled - to defence or not to defence. I don't trust them. Off to the court website.

But they haven't said anything about producing the documents for us. Is this a better idea than putting in an embarassed defence or should I put in the ED and request an extension from BC? What if they say they won't produce the documents anyway as they have shown no sign of doing so up to now?

BC has not replied at all to our 31.14 request- no response at all. How do I request an extension? I thought I had better just get in a defence before the deadline in 2 days?

Version 2, with some tweaking- 1. I xxxx am the Defendant in this action & I am a Litigant in Person. 2. Except where otherwise mentioned in this defence, I neither admit nor deny any allegation made in the Claimant’s Particulars of Claim and put the Claimant to strict proof thereof. 3. The Defendant is embarrassed in pleading to the Particulars of Claim as it stands at present, inter alia: - (a) The Particulars of Claim are vague and insufficient and do not disclose an adequate statement of facts relating to or preceding the alleged cause of action. No particulars are offered in relation to the nature of the written agreement referred to, the method by which the Claimant calculated any outstanding sums due, the details of any default notices issued or any other matters necessary to substantiate the Claimant's claim. b) A copy of the purported written agreement that the Claimant cites in the Particulars of Claim, and which appears to form the basis upon which these proceedings have been brought, has not been served. c) A copy of any evidence of both the scope and nature of any default, and proof of any amount outstanding on the alleged accounts, has not been served 4.On 27th September 2010 the Defendant submitted a request under CPR31.14 for a copy of the agreement and any other documents which the Claimant has used to support how the claimant has arrived at the sum claimed. 5. To date the Claimant has failed to comply with my request under the CPR and I have not received any such documentation requested. As a result it has proven difficult to compose this defence without disclosure of the information requested, especially as I am a Litigant in Person. 6. The Claimant has failed to provide an agreement, a complete statement of account, neither have they provided a method or statement as to how the sum claimed has been calculated. 7. The amount detailed in the Claimant’s claim includes penalties charges, which are unlawful at Common Law, Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Limited v New Garage and Motor Company Limited [1915], under The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. 8. The claimant seeks to claim interest pursuant to Section 69 of the County Courts acts 1984. The defendant notes that the claimant is not entitled to do so and attention is drawn to The County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 (No. 1184 (L. 12)) Section 2 (3)(a) which sets out that this is the case where a claim is in relation to a debt regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 9. The Claimant’s entitlement to payment of the sum of xxxx is denied.

Okay, this is the defence I have so far- cobbled together and not containing anything about charges. 1. I xxxxxxxxx am the Defendant in this action & I am a Litigant in Person. 2. Except where otherwise mentioned in this defence, I neither admit nor deny any allegation made in the Claimant’s Particulars of Claim and put the Claimant to strict proof thereof. 3. The Defendant is embarrassed in pleading to the Particulars of Claim as it stands at present, inter alia: - (a) The Particulars of Claim are vague and insufficient and do not disclose an adequate statement of facts relating to or preceding the alleged cause of action. No particulars are offered in relation to the nature of the written agreement referred to, the method by which the Claimant calculated any outstanding sums due, the details of any default notices issued or any other matters necessary to substantiate the Claimant's claim. b) A copy of the purported written agreement that the Claimant cites in the Particulars of Claim, and which appears to form the basis upon which these proceedings have been brought, has not been served. c) A copy of any evidence of both the scope and nature of any default, and proof of any amount outstanding on the alleged accounts, has not been served 4.On 27th September 2010 the Defendant submitted a request under CPR31.14 for a copy of the agreement and any other documents which the Claimant has used to support how the claimant has arrived at the sum claimed. 5. The Claimant has not responded to this request. 6. The Claimant has failed to provide an agreement, a complete statement of account, neither have they provided a method or statement as to how the sum claimed has been calculated 7. The claimant seeks to claim interest of £xxx and also interest pursuant to Section 69 of the County Courts acts 1984. The defendant notes that the claimant is not entitled to do so and attention is drawn to The County Courts (Interest on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 (No. 1184 (L. 12)) Section 2 (3)(a) which sets out that this is the case where a claim is in relation to a debt regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 8. The Claimant’s entitlement to payment of the sum of xxxx and to interest is denied. Statement of Truth I, xxxx, believe the above statement to be true and factual Signed: Date: What does anyone think? Please?

Do I need to put in anything about the charges, or do I just put in an embarassed defence and a note about the s69 interest? I don't want to nobble us by trying to put in too much but I'm really confused. Can someone help?