Lowells/Bryan Carter Claim Form old Catalogue Debt - please help!

[bumblebee76]

Hi,

 

I've just received a Northampton Court Claim Form for a debt owed to Lowells/Bryan Carter.

 

This debt is about 7 years old

- in fact I'm not sure who the original credit agreement was with.

 

I set up nominal payment agreements with all my creditors about 5-6 years ago,

which I am still paying (£1 a month).

 

However lowells arent on the list, and they bought the debt off another DCA on 28.06.13.

 

I assumed that if they bought the debt, then they also bought the payment arrangement by default.

 

I have consistently thrown away all DCA correspondence unopened,

assuming my payment arrangements were in place and sufficient to avoid court proceedings.

 

Putting aside the questionable wisdom and maturity of my behaviour in dealing with this,

 

does anyone have any advice on how to proceed

I can't pay the amount owed and I'm hoping I can somehow contest this on a technicality,

and not admit to the debt.

 

Or to argue that I'm still sticking to the original payment arrangement,

and it's not my fault if they're not receiving it.

 

I've looked at the threads on here with the legalese and templates and stuff,

but I can't make head nor tail of it all!

 

If anyone has any idiot proof advice for dummies I'd be hugely grateful.

[ims21]

Hi bumblebee and welcome to CAG.

 

Please have a read of this item and post answers to the questions raised in this thread.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?419198-You-have-received-a-Claim-What-you-need-to-do.-**UPDATED-April-2014**

 

The legal guys will then be along to help as soon as they are available.

[bumblebee76]

In order for us to help you we require the following information:-*

 

Name of the Claimant:

LOWELL PORTFOLIO I LTD

RE: LOWELL FINANCIAL LTD

 

Date of issue – top right hand corner of the claim form

– this in order to establish the time line you need to adhere to.*

 

14 APRIL 2014

 

Date of issue XX + 19 days ( 5 day for service + 14 days to acknowledge) = XX + 14 days to submit defence = XX (33 days in total)

 

What is the claim for –

 

THE CLAIM IS FOR £1354 THE AMOUNT DUE UNDER AN AGREEMENT

BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR AND THE DEFENDANT TO PROVIDE FINANCE

AND/OR SERVICES AND/OR GOODS.

 

THIS DEBT WAS ASSIGNED TO/PURCHASED BY LOWELL PORTFOLIO I LTD

ON 28/06/2013 AND NOTICE SERVED PURSUANT TO THE LAW OF PROPERTY ACT 1925.

 

PARTICULARS: RE. K & CO, ............

 

AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS £1354.

 

THE CLAIMANT ALSO CLAIMS INTEREST PURSUANT TO S69 COUNTY COURT ACT 1984

FROM 28/06/2013 TO DATE AT 8% PER ANNUM AMOUNTING TO 85.15.

 

What is the value of the claim?

Has the claimant included section 69*interest(8%)within the total claim or is it shown separate within the Particulars but not added to the debt?*

 

Is the claim for a current or credit/loan account or mobile phone account?*NO. IT'S A HISTORICAL DEBT.

 

When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007?

BEFORE.

 

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?*

NOT SURE.

 

Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor?*

I THINK SO.

 

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ?*

NOT SURE - I DIDN'T OPEN THE LETTERS.

 

Why did you cease payments:-*

WAS SKINT.

 

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 adebt management*plan?*

YES.

[bumblebee76]

Please can some kind soul explain in simple terms what I need to do next? Many, many thanks.

[bumblebee76]

Oh blinking heck. I've got 9 days left. What do I doooooo????

[ims21]

Have you acknowledged service yet?

 

If not then get onto MCOL now and do so if it will let you as technically you are over the time limit for acknowledging.

 

The reference numbers etc. are on the front of the claim form you received.

 

Choose defend all.

 

If that gets done then you will have until 17th May to file your defence.

 

You also need to send off a CCA request to Lowell and a CPR 31.14 request to Carter.

[bumblebee76]

Thank you so much for replying! I'm totally confused. Usually I'm clued up on stuff like this but the legal stuff has me baffled.

 

right. I went online before 14 days and said I'd received the court papers, and said defend all, if that's what you mean?

 

If I send those letters off you mention, and the companies have x amount of time to respond, and that deadline is after the court date, does that mean I'm stuffed?

[ims21]

Phew ok so you have acknowledged service and said you are going to defend. Good.

 

Get those letters off today, first class. Part of the post I linked you to on 17 April referred to sending these letters out so ideally they should have been done then.

 

I have alerted the guys to this thread so the more legally minded should pop in later to help you.

[bumblebee76]

Thank yooouuuuu!

 

There's a link on here somewhere that lets you send letters online that they print and send magically somehow. Can I use that? If so do you know how to find it? I found it yesterday at the library but can't remember how.

[ims21]

Thank yooouuuuu!

 

There's a link on here somewhere that lets you send letters online that they print and send magically somehow. Can I use that? If so do you know how to find it? I found it yesterday at the library but can't remember how.

 

Sometimes that has a glitch in it so if I were you I would do it the traditional way, especially given that you are tight for time.

[bumblebee76]

Will do - ill pop to the library and print them off and send next day delivery.

[bumblebee76]

I should also add that I suffer severe mental illness, am registered disabled as a result, and am generally unable to deal with my own paperwork. Which is why i didnt deal with this earlier. I'm under the care of the CMHT and have a CPN and support worker who help me with it but on this occasion they thought I'd do better getting advice on here.

[bumblebee76]

Bizarrely I've just had a call from lowells, and it transpires that they've been writing to me at an address I haven't lived at since 2006. does this help my case at all?

[citizenB]

It is interesting that they have been writing to you at an address you dont live at.. and majickally found your current and correct address at which to issue the claim ?

[bumblebee76]

i know! whats that all about then??

[citizenB]

Had you let the original account owner know your new address details ? If so, then there should have been no reason why Lowells wrote to your old address. This could account for why you didnt receive notice of assignment, default notice. Although by your own admission, they might just have sent these to your current address and you simply didnt open the letters.

 

I wonder if there is any way you can find out at what point they became aware of your new address.

 

Your thread is being monitored by those who deal with the legal issues.. so please continue to update your thread with any new information

[caro]

Will do - ill pop to the library and print them off and send next day delivery.

 

Did you get these sent off bumblebee?

[SabreSheep]

Also did you inform your original lender that you were registered disabled with a mental illness?

 

Someone with more knowledge may be able to help more with this but could Section 2.2 of this OFT document with reference to Vulnerable Debtors.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/OFT664Rev.pdf

 

A lot will depend on what has happened been said etc. Wonder if osmeoen with more legal experience can utiise that for your defense in some way?

[dx100uk]

can I just point out

 

DONT send anything tto carter

send both CCA / CPR to lowells

 

carter will just send a template reply to the CPR.

 

go get your credit report too

 

see below

 

if you've paid nowt on this debt for 6yrs

I bet its statute barred

 

so will be easily defended

 

and you'll prob find carter will run.

 

dx

[Guest]

dx

re statute bar, post #1, OP is 'still paying' 1 / mth re a dmp.

 

bumble, stick to court deadlines, in the meantime wait see what they come back with (if anything) re yr cpr/cca requests. no worries if they dont reply to those before yr defence deadline, a defence can still be submitted.