Very true, I think the potential escalation panicked me, which I'm sure was their intention. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks Andy, I'm in the fortunate position that I'm able to pay it off in a lump sum so I'm inclined to see if I can negotiate it a bit lower and clear it once and for all.

I spoke to a lady at 1st Credit legal today who was actually pretty nice and human sounding! She said they would absolutely be willing to settle, and for a lump sum would accept £2600, or for instalments under a Tomlin order, they would accept £3100 over anything up to 6 years. However the credit file entry would remain in both circumstances and either be updated to say partial settlement in the first instance, or updated monthly with the monthly payments in the second. I left it that I would think about things and come back to her tomorrow to indicate how I would like to proceed. I was wondering if there's a way I can negotiate the removal of the entry in the credit file as part of the Tomlin order?

Oh...!

Good advice, I will prepare and call them this week to test the water. Good to know the additional amount for SJ, I feared we could be talking about £1000's more in legal fees.

Thanks Andy, to be honest this has made me quite nervous now as I don't want to end up worse off. I think I need to reflect on the situation for a few days as I always intended on settling, I was just hoping to be able to negotiate the figure down. I need to weigh up whether I'd be better off paying the extra now to avoid the risk of it all escalating at the next stage if they do go for summary judgement.

Hi Andy, difficult to say, but they have the appearance of an original with logos etc and dates match up. I've looked through the statements, and I'd say the split on the original amount of c£2800 is probably about 20-30% charges from HSBC. Everything above that must be charges from 1st Credit.

Letter received today from 1st Credit advising of a change of legal representative, and enclosing a notice of change (now represented by 1st Credit legal department instead of Moon Beever). They have also enclosed a copy of the notice of assignment from both HSBC and 1st Credit (why have they left it until this point to provide it?!) The letter states: 'We have read your defence as filed and can discern no defence from the contents. We will be applying for summary judgement under Part 24 CPR (Civil Procedure Rules) on the basis that you do not have a defence. We will refrain from doing so for 14 days to allow you to make payment of the claim amount, interest and costs, failing which you may assume that our application is in preparation and will be served on you by County Court in due course.' I'm not sure what my best move would be now they've provided these documents, should I try to negotiate a settlement figure now or wait until it goes to mediation?

Ah ok, right, I understand. So we wait...

I've just received an acknowledgement of my defence now the waiting starts to see if they contact me to settle or if they want to proceed. In your experience does the court tend to prefer Claimants to attempt to resolve it outside of court in the first instance, or is it standard practice for them to indicate they want to proceed without contacting me?

I submitted my defence today, thanks again for all your help and guidance.

Great, glad I checked!

That's great thank you. This might be a daft question, but when I submit the above defense, do I include the particulars of claim section, or is that just for this forums purposes?

Hello, I've drafted my defence based on others I've been reading in the forum, and would be grateful for any feedback. I'm hoping this can be settled at mediation, ideally by way of a Consent/Tomlin Order. Am I being realistic with this do you think? So here's my proposed defence... Particulars of claim 1. The Claimant is the assignee of a HSBC Bank Plc debt in the sum of £3,072 assigned on xx/01/2015. Statutory notices of assignment were sent to the defendant. 2. The debt is for arrears on an overdraft facility first opened by the original creditor on or about xx/01/2008 under reference xxxxxx/xxxxxxxx. The defendant used the credit facilities. 3. On xx/01/2014 the account defaulted with an outstanding balance of £2,835. The claimant and its predecessors in title demanded repayment of the sum due. In breach of contract the defendant failed to repay the sums due. The Claimant claims: The sum of £3072.00 Costs Defence The Defendant contends that the particulars of the 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. It is denied that I am indebted for the alleged balance claimed. 2. Paragraph 1 is denied. I am not aware of 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. 3. Paragraph 3 is denied. To my knowledge HSBC or the Claimant have never served me a notice pursuant to 76(1) and 98(1) of the CCA1974 Any alleged amount claimed could only consist substantially of default penalties/charges levied on the account for alleged late, rejected or over limit payments. The court will be aware that these charge types and the recoverability thereof have been judicially declared to be susceptible to assessments of fairness under the Unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 The Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National PLC and others (2009). I will contend at trial that such charges are unfair in their entirety. 4. As per Civil Procedure Rule 16.5(4), it is expected that the Claimant prove the allegation that the money is owed. The claimant is also put to strict proof to:-. (a) Provide a copy agreement/overdraft facility arrangement along with the Terms and conditions at inception that 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 all excessive charging/fees and show how the Claimant has reached the amount claimed. (d) Show how the Claimant has the legal right, either under statute or equity to issue a claim. (e) Show how they have complied with sections III & IV of Practice Direction - Pre-action Conduct. 5. On receipt of this claim I requested documentation by way of a CPR 31.14 request dated XX February 2016 namely the Overdraft Agreement, Terms and Conditions relevant at the time of inception for the agreed overdraft, the Termination Demand Notice, Notices of sums in arrears, and Notices of Assignment inferred by the Claimant's Particulars of Claim. The Claimant has failed to fully comply with this request. 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.

I've not heard anything further in writing, although I'm receiving daily calls from who I believe is 1st Credit, which I'm not answering. My deadline for defence is this Friday 26th Feb, so I'm wondering how I should start drafting this? Any guidance that can be offered will be much appreciated!

Ok great, thanks

Im a bit concerned that their letter reads as if it's in my hands now, as if I'd already been provided with the information I was asking for (which I haven't been). Should I write back and say they haven't complied with my request, or just leave it and write that in my defence?

Possibly not, as there's nothing that shows the process that should have been followed or the debt being assigned?

Is this sort of response from them typical? They've just ignored almost everything I've asked for and seemingly closed the matter?

Letter received today... Dear Madam 1st Credit Finance Ltd v xxxx Please find attached documentation as requested. Our client has confirmed that they have previously sent you this information and any dispute has therefore been resolved. We look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully Moon Beever Enclosed is a thick bundle of printed pages of personal banking terms and conditions, and an electronic text version of a final demand letter with no identifying features of who it's from, but dated 14 November 2013 and likely to be from HSBC. I have not previously received information from 1st Credit as claimed in the letter from Moon Beever. None of the other documentation I had requested is enclosed. How should I respond or proceed? Many thanks

The support is really appreciated thank you!

I received a letter from Moon Beever today which reads as follows: Dear Madam 1st Credit (Finance) Limited vs xxx We refer to the above matter and your letter of 5 February 2016. We have requested copies of the documents listed in your letter from our client and will revert to you once they have been received. Yours faithfully I'm still continuing to get daily calls from 1st Credit which I'm ignoring.

Thanks, I've ignored it, and the call I had again this morning from them...!

Do you mean you wouldn't call them back? I'd prefer not to deal with them over the phone too.

So yesterday I acknowledged service and logged my intention to defend. Then today I receive a voicemail from someone at 1st Credit (haven't had a call from them before) saying I should contact them urgently. I've sent the recommended letter to their solicitors today by registered post, so I am assuming I should ignore the voicemail and wait for a response to my letter?