Allocation Questionnaire...Urgent help needed please!!!

[jadzia.dax1]

I've received a county court claim for a mortgage shortfall. The last payment made on the account was Sept 1995.

 

The house was sold by them in 1997 & with a shortfall of over £13,000.00 which they have been demanding from me ever since (they sold the house at auction for a ridiculous price).

 

The mortgage company made a lot of mistakes & then tried to cover them up after the arrears started but before the repossession, these things added a lot of extra costs onto the amount owed on the mortgage. Account had been approx 1 month in arrears before the mistakes but because of the extra costs added it made it impossible for me to catch up on the payments (because it went on for so long).

 

I sent a subject access rights request, a lot of the items that I’d requested were not included although it did include the information to prove the levels of incompetence, negligence & dishonesty from the mortgage company.

 

I got the SARN info in 2003 & noted down the things that were clearly wrong & have been writing to their solicitors asking for explanations on these things ever since. I’ve always put on the letters that I do not acknowledge the alleged debt, so far they have refused to answer my questions.

 

They reply with letters saying the are not prepared to enter into correspondence & that I’m liable for the (alleged) amounts & that they don‘t have to prove it. Or they send me letters threatening to take my new home from me.

 

Now they’ve issued county court proceedings against me. I went to see a solicitor for a 20 min appointment & he seems to think that the case is statute barred. Even if the case isn’t statute barred, I don’t agree with the amounts they are saying I owe because of the mistakes made by them.

 

I have sent in my defence form, saying that I deny the amount being claimed as mistakes were made with regard to the account and that I believe they added a large amount of costs to the account and therefore to any alleged debt. I also added, notwithstanding the above, as no payments have been made on the account since Sept 1995 I believe the alleged debt is statute barred.

 

On their particulars of claim they have put that I have paid £10.00 off the debt but this is not true. (I have denied this on defence form). The only £10.00 I sent was the fee for the subject access rights info. On the SARN request I clearly put that I did not acknowledge the debt & that the enclosed £10.00 was the payment for the SARN info.

 

I’ve now received an allocation questionnaire N150 but I haven’t got a clue how to fill it in.

 

 

It has to be back at the court on or before the 25 Sept so I‘m very short on time.

 

 

I don’t know if anyone can help with this but any help given would be very much appreciated as I don’t know what I'm doing.

 

Many thanks

[GuidoT]

This does not specifically relate to you circumstances, but it should give you some guidance.

[jadzia.dax1]

Thanks GuidoT for your speedy response, I’ve given the thread you suggested a read it was helpful but there is still some bits I need help with. Sorry to be thick!!

 

Can anyone please help with advice for filling in the following parts on the AQ n150:

 

Section - C - Pre Action protocols

You are expected to comply with the relevant pre-action protocol.

 

Have you done so? Yes/No... If No, explain why? - There were no supporting documents attached to the claim form by the claimant. Do I need to attach anything here, if so what? Or should I just tick no?

 

Section - D - Case management Information

What amount of the claim is in dispute? £ - Do I just put in there the amount they are trying to claim from me?

 

Applications

Have you made any application(s) in this claim? Yes/No - I presume this is no but I’m not sure what it is.

 

Witnesses

So far as you know at this stage, what witnesses of fact do you intend to call at the trial or final hearing including, if appropriate, yourself? - I should include my own details, but what do I put in the part of witness to which facts?

 

Track

Which track do you consider is most suitable for your claim? Small Claims Track, Fast track, Multi track. - They are trying to claim £11,833.03 (excluding costs) so which would that be?

 

If you have indicated a track which would not be the normal track for the claim, please give reasons for your choice. - I suppose this depends on above answer

 

Section E - Trial or final hearing

How long do you estimate the trial or final hearing will take? - I have no idea what to put here.

 

Section F - Proposed directions

Have you attached a list of the directions you think appropriate for the management of the claim? Yes/No - What is this? What do I need to do here?

 

Section I - Other information

Have you attached documents to this questionnaire? Yes/No - What sort of documents would usually be attached here?

 

Do you intend to make any applications in the immediate future? Yes/No

If yes what for ..... - Not sure what this bit is.

 

I would like to send a request for information under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules as I've seen on here that it should provide some useful information regarding my case.

 

Do I have to put anything about sending a CPR request on the AQ form?

 

Sorry there’s so many questions

 

Many thanks

[42man]

These may also help too...

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/131499-directions-n150-n149-allocation.html

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legal-issues/158235-help-allocation-questionaire-soon-2.html

[jadzia.dax1]

I’ve had a read of the suggested threads but none of them are for mortgage shortfall cases and because I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know which bits apply and what other bits I need to include.

 

I’ve been on here since first thing this morning until now and have read through dozens of threads but still haven’t a clue what I’m doing….time for a break I think!

[jadzia.dax1]

:?

 

I have been reading through lots of threads again this morning and it has only confused me further...My AQ has to be in by tomorrow and I haven't a clue what to do.

 

I feel like throwing in the towel

[djdave]

:?

 

I have been reading through lots of threads again this morning and it has only confused me further...My AQ has to be in by tomorrow and I haven't a clue what to do.

 

I feel like throwing in the towel

 

Whatever you do, don't give in now you've got this far. If you don't get any more advice today, at least fill in as much of the AQ as you are able and hand-deliver it to the court if necessary.

 

As an alternative are you able to get to a CAB with such short notice? They'll be able to offer some advice what to write, even if it's only the bare minumum.

 

Speak to the Court staff and explain the situation. They're not monsters, far from it, every one I've spoken to has been more than helpful. They're not allowed to give legal advice, but at least you can demonstrate that you've tried to co-operate with every stage of the process.

 

Once again I repeat: don't throw in the towel now you've got this far.

[jadzia.dax1]

Many thanks djdave

 

I just feel so out of my depth here and I don't want to write/not write something now that will ruin things later.

 

I've spent all of today looking on here and have managed to do some of the form but still could do with help with the following:

 

 

Section - D - Case management Information

What amount of the claim is in dispute? £ - Do I just put in there the amount they are trying to claim from me?

 

Track

Which track do you consider is most suitable for your claim? Small Claims Track, Fast track, Multi track. - They are trying to claim £11,833.03 (excluding costs) so which would that be?

 

If you have indicated a track which would not be the normal track for the claim, please give reasons for your choice. - I suppose this depends on above answer

 

Section E - Trial or final hearing

How long do you estimate the trial or final hearing will take? - I have no idea what to put here.

 

 

Many thanks

[surfaceagentx20]

Answers:

Section C: Ignore – there is no applicable pre-action protocol

 

Section D

What amount of the claim is in dispute? Write ‘All’

Have you made any application(s) in this claim? Write ‘No’ (unless you have made an application, in which case write ‘Yes’)

 

Witnesses

So far as you know at this stage, what witnesses of fact do you intend to call at the trial or final hearing including, if appropriate, yourself? - I should include my own details, but what do I put in the part of witness to which facts? If you will be the only witness you will be a witness to ‘All’ facts. Write ‘All’

 

Track – Write ‘Fast Track’

 

Section E: Write 'Not known’

 

Section F - Proposed directions Write ‘none proposed’ (but see what I say below*)

 

Section I – Write ‘No’

 

Do you intend to make any applications in the immediate future? Write ‘No’

 

My main concern relates to the absence of any expert evidence. As I understand your case, part of it concerns the failure of the Claimant to sell the property at a reasonable price, but rather, at a ridiculous price. This failure is key to the question of the shortfall. Of crucial interest in this case will be evidence to determine the question ‘what sum represented a reasonable selling price for this particular property in the market at the time of sale in 1997 in the condition it then was in?

 

That question can only be answered by a surveyor-valuer type having expertise in the local market back in 1997. I would have thought the court would be keen to appoint a jointly instructed expert witness. If an expert is not to be appointed you will need to think very carefully how you will persuade a court that the price at which the property was sold was patently unreasonable.

 

x20

[jadzia.dax1]

Thank you very much for your help surfaceagentx20

 

My defence mainly concentrates on the following:

 

 

I have sent in my defence form, saying that I deny the amount being claimed as mistakes were made with regard to the account and that I believe they added a large amount of costs to the account and therefore to any alleged debt. I also added, notwithstanding the above, as no payments have been made on the account since Sept 1995 I believe the alleged debt is statute barred.

 

The solicitor I saw for 2o mins said not to bother going down the underselling route.

 

He said he thought that the claim being statute barred would be the best option, and if that was not the case then the mistakes that the mortgage company made before the repossession which added a lot of costs to the account would be the way to go next.

 

I sent a SARN to the claimants solicitors in 2003 but they didn’t send a lot of the information requested, they also refused to answer questions I raised with regard to the SARN information I did receive.

 

I’m sending a request for information under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules with the hope of getting more information.

 

Do I have to put anything about sending a CPR request on the AQ form?

 

Do I need to do a draft order for directions requesting the information below to send in with the AQ?

 

1)Financial Statements showing payments made towards the debt including dates when payments were made

 

2)Copies of all documents and information which the claimant relies / seeks to rely upon in the case

 

If so, is there anything else I should ask for? Or will I get another opportunity to ask for these things further down the line?

 

Many thanks

[surfaceagentx20]

How does the creditor seek to get around the limitation defence. Do they say a fresh cause of action accrued on sale, that the supposed payment of £10.00 renewed the limitation period, what?

 

As for your questions:

Q: Do I have to put anything about sending a CPR request on the AQ form?

A: No, unless you have already sent it, in which case attach the CPR 18 Request to the AQ and seek a direction that it be answered within 21 days of its receipt. The Request need not deal with the disclosure of documents since that will be covered under CPR 31 and the standard directions order which follows receipt of the AQ. The Request should be limited to obtaining information for the purpose of clarifying issues in the case.

 

Q: Do I need to do a draft order for directions requesting the information below to send in with the AQ?

1)Financial Statements showing payments made towards the debt including dates when payments were made

2)Copies of all documents and information which the claimant relies / seeks to rely upon in the case

A: See above.

 

Q: If so, is there anything else I should ask for? Or will I get another opportunity to ask for these things further down the line?

A: No, unless you are thinking, as I am, about having a split trial, ie a preliminary trial to determine the issue whether the claim is barred by Limitation Act 1980. The advantage of a preliminary trial on this one question would be that if the claim was barred, it falls away without there having to be any determination of the other questions in the case. The preliminary trial is not a route I would recomend if you were on shaky ground on the limitation point. On the contrary however, if you were on solid ground (and hence the creditor was on the shaky) forcing the case down the preliminary trial will have the effect of causing the creditor to concentrate on this one issue, being an issue of weakness. Hence why I opened by asking for clarificaion as to the manner the creditor answers the limitation point.

 

If a preliminary trial is not to be pursued and so you understand why I have sugested there is no need to deal with special directions, the court will as a matter of course, make a set of standard fast track directions to bring the case on for trial. Those directions will follow the guidance set out under CPR PD 28. Essentially and in terms of evidence there will be directions for the disclosure of documents and the exchange of witness statements.

 

x20

[jadzia.dax1]

Many thanks for your speedy response and help x20 it's very much appreciated.

 

How does the creditor seek to get around the limitation defence. Do they say a fresh cause of action accrued on sale, that the supposed payment of £10.00 renewed the limitation period, what?

 

On their particulars of claim they have put that I have paid £10.00 off the debt but this is not true. The only £10.00 I sent was the fee for the subject access rights info. On the SARN request I clearly put that I did not acknowledge the debt & that the enclosed £10.00 was the payment for the SARN info.

There is one other thing though that I am reluctant to put on here as I am worried in case they see it and it gives them ideas…I asked the solicitor I saw about it and he says it won’t make any difference, but I am not so sure.

 

As for your questions:

Q: Do I have to put anything about sending a CPR request on the AQ form?

A: No, unless you have already sent it, in which case attach the CPR 18 Request to the AQ and seek a direction that it be answered within 21 days of its receipt. The Request need not deal with the disclosure of documents since that will be covered under CPR 31 and the standard directions order which follows receipt of the AQ. The Request should be limited to obtaining information for the purpose of clarifying issues in the case.

 

I haven’t sent the CPR 18 Request yet I was going to do that today. So should I now take off all the bits about CPR and just write on it that it a list for further information? If so what time frame for their response should I put on it?

 

Q: If so, is there anything else I should ask for? Or will I get another opportunity to ask for these things further down the line?

A: No, unless you are thinking, as I am, about having a split trial, ie a preliminary trial to determine the issue whether the claim is barred by Limitation Act 1980. The advantage of a preliminary trial on this one question would be that if the claim was barred, it falls away without there having to be any determination of the other questions in the case. The preliminary trial is not a route I would recomend if you were on shaky ground on the limitation point. On the contrary however, if you were on solid ground (and hence the creditor was on the shaky) forcing the case down the preliminary trial will have the effect of causing the creditor to concentrate on this one issue, being an issue of weakness. Hence why I opened by asking for clarificaion as to the manner the creditor answers the limitation point.

 

If a preliminary trial is not to be pursued and so you understand why I have sugested there is no need to deal with special directions, the court will as a matter of course, make a set of standard fast track directions to bring the case on for trial. Those directions will follow the guidance set out under CPR PD 28. Essentially and in terms of evidence there will be directions for the disclosure of documents and the exchange of witness statements.

 

I didn't know the above could be done.

 

x20

 

I have phoned the court this morning and they said the claimant had not returned their AQ yet.... today is the day it should be in by.

 

Many thanks.

[42man]

Ring the court tommorrow morning and check if they have sent it in...if it was ordered by the court send a letter asking them to strikeout the claim !!

[surfaceagentx20]

A CPR 18 Request should be headed as such. Follows the notes provided in CPR PD 18.

 

The court will not strike out for a short delay in the submission of an AQ. It might be sitting in an in-tray waiting to be attached to the appropriate file for example. In any event, the court will follow CPR 3 in particular CPR 3.7 (it will want the AQ fee) and it would be inappropriate to strike out one party for a failure to file where the other party himself was in breach of that same obligation. Get your AQ in.

 

If the Claimant delays a notice will be sent to the Claimant giving the claimant a final chance to comply. You will be sent a copy of that notice. You then just count the days off. If by the expiration of the time for compliance the claimant has still not complied, there will be automatic srtrike out of the claim.

 

x20

[jadzia.dax1]

I got my AQ finished and in

 

Many thanks for your help and advice.

[42man]

TY SAx20...

[jadzia.dax1]

 

The court will not strike out for a short delay in the submission of an AQ.

 

If the Claimant delays a notice will be sent to the Claimant giving the claimant a final chance to comply. You will be sent a copy of that notice. You then just count the days off. If by the expiration of the time for compliance the claimant has still not complied, there will be automatic srtrike out of the claim.

 

 

I received my AQ through the post with a return to the court date of by 25 Sept.

 

A week before the date for returning the AQ I received another AQ through the post with a return date of 6 Oct. I rang the court a few days later to see which date applied and they said they had nothing on their system saying 6 Oct, so they said it had to be back by 25 Sept.

 

I returned mine to the court on the 25. When I spoke to the court (on the 25) they said the other side hadn't returned theirs. I thought this was maybe a good sign and have been counting off the days.

 

I've just rang the court again to see if the other side has returned theirs being so it would now be a week overdue, and the court said they hadn't... but that they had until the 6 Oct to return theirs and if they hadn't by then the court would send them an order to comply which would give them a further seven days.

 

How annoying is that....I had to rush to finish mine and probably wouldn't have without the help I received on here, then I had to borrow money to get me over to Northampton to get mine in on time... by the 25, and they get at least an extra 11 days. :mad:

 

I don't know if it's a good or bad sign that theirs isn't in now!

Edited October 2, 2008 by jadzia.dax1
typo

[jadzia.dax1]

I've just rang the court again to ask if the other side has sent in their AQ yet, as the 2nd date (as explained in above post) was yesterday.

 

The court said they hadn't!

 

They said they will automatically send out an order for them to send in their AQ.

 

I'm really annoyed they've already had 12 days longer than I was allowed :-x I thought the legal system was supposed to be fair.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on what they are up to?

 

I have accused the claimant of doing some pretty dishonest & negligent things on the account in question and they know I have written proof of everything.

 

Do you think they may be having second thoughts about going to court?

[AndyOrch]

Probally, make sure you request a copy of the " Or Else Order" and sit tight.Check the dates and follow through in the event of them still not submitting their AQ.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Andy;)

Edited October 7, 2008 by Andyorch

[jadzia.dax1]

Thanks Andy

 

Unfortunatley they filed their AQ with a couple of days left on the ‘or else order’ so it looks like this ones going all the way.

 

When I sent them a copy of my AQ on 25 Sept I included a part 18 request for further information giving them ten days to supply the information (don’t know if this is supposed to be working days or not)

 

In their covering letter sent with a copy of their AQ they wrote ‘We are presently in the process of obtaining further information from our client and will provide a reply to your part 18 request for further information in due course’.

 

They've already gone way over 10 days is there anything I can do, or should be doing about this at this point?

 

With their AQ they have included proposed directions…& just to prove their levels of incompetence they've made numerous mistakes on it!

 

Where it states 'In the ********* County court' they have put completely the wrong court in there, although on the AQ they sent it has the correct court typed on it!

 

Then they've listed their proposed directions as follows:

 

1) There be disclosure of documents by 4pm on 1 December 2008

 

2) There be inspection of documents by 4pm on 15 December 2008

 

3) There be mutual exchange of witness statements of fact by 4pm on 26 January 2008

 

4) Listing Questionnaires be filed by 4pm on 9 February 2008

 

5) Matter to be listed for trial the first open date after 23 February 2008.

 

They can't even manage to get the year right...not once but three times! Should I do anything about this of should I point it out to the court further down the track?

 

Also with their point one on proposed directions does this mean they are not planning to supply me with the part 18 requested information until December?

 

I already put on my defence that they’ve continually refused to supply me with information regarding the alleged amounts.

 

Many thanks

Edited October 16, 2008 by jadzia.dax1
typo

[surfaceagentx20]

The directions proposed by the Claimant include no provision for the supply of CPR 18 Further Information. Hopefuly you sought a direction for the supply of CPR 18 Further Information in your AQ as suggested by me in post no11 above.

 

x20

[jadzia.dax1]

Thank you for your reply x20

 

On my AQ in section I - Other information I put: "This allocation questionnaire and it's attachments were sent to the claimants solicitors on 25/09/2008. Also included was a request for Information under part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules dated 25/09/2008"....Was this not the correct way to do it?

[jadzia.dax1]

 

When I sent them a copy of my AQ on 25 Sept I included a part 18 request for further information giving them ten days to supply the information (don’t know if this is supposed to be working days or not)

 

In their covering letter sent with a copy of their AQ they wrote ‘We are presently in the process of obtaining further information from our client and will provide a reply to your part 18 request for further information in due course’.

 

They've already gone way over 10 days is there anything I can do, or should be doing about this at this point?

 

With their AQ they have included proposed directions…& just to prove their levels of incompetence they've made numerous mistakes on it!

 

Where it states 'In the ********* County court' they have put completely the wrong court in there, although on the AQ they sent it has the correct court typed on it!

 

Then they've listed their proposed directions as follows:

 

1) There be disclosure of documents by 4pm on 1 December 2008

 

2) There be inspection of documents by 4pm on 15 December 2008

 

3) There be mutual exchange of witness statements of fact by 4pm on 26 January 2008

 

4) Listing Questionnaires be filed by 4pm on 9 February 2008

 

5) Matter to be listed for trial the first open date after 23 February 2008.

 

They can't even manage to get the year right...not once but three times! Should I do anything about this of should I point it out to the court further down the track?

 

Also with their point one on proposed directions does this mean they are not planning to supply me with the part 18 requested information until December?

 

I already put on my defence that they’ve continually refused to supply me with information regarding the alleged amounts.

 

 

 

Can anyone possibly help with the above please

 

Many thanks

[jadzia.dax1]

Can anyone possibly help with the above please

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

Oh...just noticed this is my 100th post 8)

[surfaceagentx20]

I should imagine the court will realise, just like pretty much everyone else realises, that where the Claimant refers to a future event in January or February 2008, they mean 2009.

 

You have told me you included a request in your AQ for a direction that the Claimant should supply Further Information. I'm afraid you will just have to be patient and await receipt of the Judge's directions order. Hopefully the order will include reference to the need for the Claimant to provide the Further Information. If however you are in doubt that the court appreciates you want a direction for the provision of Further Information or perhaps you didn't copy the Request to the court so that the court are in doubt what precise Further Information you require, there would be no harm in writing a letter to the court to clarify your wish and where necessary supplying a copy of your CPR 18 Request.

 

x20