Cash Genie ongoing Saga

[sillygirl1]

Defence is as follows (this is a particularlised one as their claim is faulty, you don't need 'legal' stuff here - they have lost four times so far this year to CAG....

 

Number each paragraph when you cut and paste it.

 

I xxx, dob xxx am the defendant in this case. The particulars of claim are vague and misleading and cite no cause for legal action. I am a litigant in person with no recourse to legal help and any costs in this case should be borne by either side.

 

History of loan

On xxx date I borrowed XXX from XXX company, this company is a payday loan company and has a very high interest rate, the amount was due to be repaid on xxx.

 

I made xxx in 'rollover' payments, these being the required amount to let the loan be repaid at a later date. (List any repayments with dates of repayment and have your backup info in order).

 

On xxx date I communicated with the company and let them know I was experiencing financial difficulties and tried to come to an arrangement with them (list the correspondence trail - very important this)

 

The company were also sent a CPR letter on xxx date - although under Section 87 of the CCA Act they do not need to send a default letter as the loan has automatically defaulted by not being repaid at the end of the initial term. They have yet to respond.

 

The interest claim of XXX for a £150 loan does not make any sense, there is no interest rate quoted and their current terms and conditions cite an interest rate of XXX. This is way beyond the recognisded 'high' threshold of 35%. It is a short term loan and the company are trying to unjustly enrich themselves by this vexatious and litigatious claim.

 

I therefore request that this case goes to mediation to discuss the interest rate issue, and the fees loaded onto the account. There is no legal basis for them to charge this XXX in interest on such a small sum, the claim amount is enough for them to instigate bankruptcy should they wish, and is prejudicial to other creditors.

 

It is difficult to do a fully particularlised claim for this as the particulars give no cause for action, no letter before action has been received and I have been trying to communicate with the company to schedule a repayment program since xxx. There is little legislation available for this type of loan, and the main method of repayment is usually the original loan sum and one months interest.

 

I therefore ask the court to put this forward for mediation, or to strike the claim out on the grounds that the particulars of claim are vague and misleading and the interest claimed is unjust given the low initial sum.

 

Should the court require the company to amend their particulars of claim I wish to be able to amend this defence accordingly.

 

The above is a statement of truth by xxxxx.

 

That should do for a defence for this lot, the courts know you can't do a 'properly particularlised claim' for this anyway and as stated Cash Genie have caved in at mediation, they also have discontinued several cases and other cases have been struck out by the courts themselves once you point out the particulars are iffy.

[sillygirl1]

Send the defence to the court, do not bother about sending it to Cash Genie, you can send it to their legal lot - who is representing them by the way? Then sit back, the court will then transfer the case to a court nearer you and then allocation questionaires will go out, you fill yours out and send it back and I bet CG won't do theirs (it costs them £80 (I think)... not worth it for a £150 loan!).

 

Don't let them get judgement by default (which ought to be scrapped IMHO).

[sillygirl1]

Yes to mediation and Yes to the small claims. You won't have to pay anywhere nnear the amount they are asking, in other cases they have given up at this stage, or caved in during mediation, you don't file a fee for the AQ, get it back today if possible, and mention to the court they claim the CPR rules don't apply, they DO apply to small claims.

 

When you send the AQ to the court send a copy of the letter they sent you stating CPR rules don't apply - the court would be interested in this document, you don't need to send the other documents (although it might help if you do - ask the court if you need to).

 

Keep us informed of the progress.

[sillygirl1]

Sorry, just realised it was the AQ form you have done - I wouldn't mind betting that they do not file theirs in time - if at all (its been known in both instances).

 

If this happens ask the court for an automatic strike out on grounds of abuse of process by the claimant.

[sillygirl1]

If they don't return the AQ form then the court can't give you a date, they need to know what the other side want as well - so they will sometimes allow extra time to get the form in, or automatically stay it - which means it can't progress - or strike it out.

 

If you turn up and they don't you can still appeal to have it struck out on the grounds mentioned, or on the grounds that is is now proven to be a vexatious and litigatious case.

[sillygirl1]

Simple.

 

Write back to the court saying you have already attempted to come to an arrangement with the company, include your correspondence on this as an attachment, and state that you have returned the allocation questionnaire.

 

State that you DO NOT want an extension or to allow expert witnessess etc as this is not necessary.

 

Copy the letter to Cash Genie and also write a separate letter offering a settlement at the rate you can afford ie the original loan and interest ONLY and copy in the court.

 

That is it.

[sillygirl1]

DO NOT leave it two weeks, ring back on Tuesday, if you leave it two weeks you might find somebody 'slips it under the counter' and you get a judgement by default. Play it safe and ring Tuesday, you could of course ring about 3pm tomorrow to see if they have received anything (wouldn't mind betting they receive it last minute).

[sillygirl1]

A court order has not yet been granted, they are waiting for Cash Genie to return the allocation questionnaire (something they try not do to cos it costs them more money.... they always hope for judgement by default and when they don't get it they like to string things out).

 

Abuse of court processes here by Cash Genie will be also reported to the OFT in due course.

[sillygirl1]

They are the ones who have missed the deadline.... the poster has sent stuff back to the court as instructed and stated that they tried negotiation before it got to court and the other side did not respond.

[sillygirl1]

I thought you meant court order as in ccj issued......

 

We've follwed the instructions and said the firm should not be given more time to fill in and file their AQ. OP tried to negotiate before court but they did not want to know. This has been stated in defence.

[sillygirl1]

Writing to the judge for direction means you can write and ask that the case be dismissed as it is without merit, there is a particular form of wording for this which I will dig out.

 

CG have been to court twice lately, one outright win due to judge not being very clued up on PDLs and the other one (heard yesterday) telling them they can only have 24% per ANNUM interest on a loan in arrears... could be VERY useful for future cases. ApparentlyCGs rep waffled on about costs so we need to put in more about costs in a defence and have a costs summary just in case.

 

I will get back as soon as I find the proper wording for a dismissal..

[sillygirl1]

I think the wording should be

 

"I am asking the court for this to go to mediation as there are charges and interest issues which need to be resolved before a final settlement figure is reached.

 

If the claimant does not return their allocation questionnaire then I request that the court dismiss this case on the grounds that the defendant cannot properly particularlise the claim as they do not have recourse to professional legal help.

 

No costs should be discussed as this is a low claim and the defendant is a litigant in person.

[sillygirl1]

Yes, CG might agree on the grounds that 'their costs' be reimbursed, but they did not need to incurr those costs.

 

I think they are starting to feel the pinch from this site, they keep changing their particulars of claim (which is okay as each case is different) but for people to start following these PDL claims as you would a bank charge claim is wrong.

 

The high interest rate and short term of the loan is the key here, technically (so I have been told) once the loan term has ended contractual interest of 8% should appply only from day of default... but it still is a grey area of the law).

 

I would ring the court and see if there has been any later developments - claimant might have been sneaky and tried to get a judgement by default. We can prove this should not be the case here so you would have grounds for a set aside of the judgement if that has happened 'by error'.

[sillygirl1]

There is no real need to discuss this with a solicitor, these are the main points against CG

 

1. This was a short term loan for an amount of x over x days

2. They already factor in the 'alleged loss' in their ultra high interest rates

3. You have already come up with a repayment plan which they find unacceptable

4. They have repeatedly flouted the OFT Guidelines in Debt Collecting

5. They have ingored mediation and are clearly using court to unjustly enrich themselves

 

No point getting a solicitor involved, it would be additional expense and many solicitors don't have the knowledge of the way payday loan companies repeatedly flout what little legislation is around to curb them.

 

Phone the court and explain your situation and ask for another hearing date, you may need to do an 'official' letter for this, which simply states the fact.

 

Stick to facts and you should be okay.

[sillygirl1]

I don't post much on this forum now but do keep an eye on cases I previously helped with.

 

Good luck, sounds like Cash Genie are hoping for a victory, it is a pity you can't draw the judges attention to the fact that they did not go for mediation.... should be cause for an immediate strike-out in my opinion.