Lowell/Overdales PAPLOC Now Claimform - old disputed British Gas Util Debt

[soldierx]

Hi There, 

I moved into my present property three years ago and British Gas failed to transfer my Gas account to Scottish Power.

They kept claiming the fault was with Scottish Power.

 

once the account was finally transferred (three months later), British Gas billed me for £298 for Gas usage on their standard tariff!

I refused to pay explaining it wasn't my fault.

 

Three years later, the debt is now with Overdales and they have now sent me letter advising i have 30 days to pay or they will issue a county court claim. 

 

The letter states that 'I entered into an agreement with British Gas', but I didn't enter any agreement with British Gas. 

 

What should I do in this situation?

[dx100uk]

now read the letter properly

it does not say WILL anything. 

 

until or unless you get a letter of claim with a reply pack wanting I&E etc ignore Overdales and their debt buying DCA scammer client Lowells.

 

a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF

and have

ZERO legal powers on ANY DEBT  - no matter WHAT it's type

 

dx

 

[soldierx]

Thanks for the response.

 

i should just ignore this even though it says: '

 

If you fail to make payment or respond to this letter, we will issue a county court claim' 

 

Is this correct?

 

[dx100uk]

it doesnt say that.?

 

dx

 

[soldierx]

Following the above,

i have just received a county court claim from overdales.

 

Whats the best thing to do?

 

 

should i just pay this. Also, does this mean i now have a CCJ against me?

[dx100uk]

no its a claimform 

 

please complete this:

 

did you receive a letter of claim with a reply pack wanting an I&E completed? and ignored it

dx

 

[soldierx]

Hi there, 

Thats brilliant,

 

answers as below:

 

Which Court have you received the claim from ? Northampton bulk

 

Name of the Claimant ? Lowell Portfolio Ltd,

What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim?

 

1.The claim is for the sum of £299 due by the Defendant under a British Gas account with an account reference of xxxxx (12 Digits).

 

2. The Defendant failed to maintain contractual payments required under the terms of the account agreement.

 

3.The debt was legally assigned to the claimant on 26-11-21, notice of which has been given to the Defendant.

 

4.The claim includes statutory interest under S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of assignment to the date of issue of these proceedings in the sum of £23.89. The Claimant claims the sum of £323.00

 

What is the total value of the claim? £422.52

 

Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? I'm not sure, I received a letter advising that if i didn't pay, then a county court judgement will be issued against me. 

 

Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? No

 

Is the claim for - a Bank Account (Overdraft) or credit card or loan or catalogue or mobile phone account? British Gas Util Deby

 

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

 

Do you recall how you entered into the agreement...On line /In branch/By post ? By Phone

 

Is the debt showing on your credit reference files (Experian/Equifax /Etc...) ? No

 

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. The Debt purchaser has issued the claim

 

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? NO

 

Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No

 

Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Sums in Arrears”  or " Notice of Arrears "– at least once a year ? Can't remember 

 

Why did you cease payments? I didn't cease payments. British Gas didn't transfer my Gas account to Scottish Power in the allotted time and kept charging me for Gas at the higher rate which I did not agree to. I disputed the sum as it was not my fault that they withheld the account.

 

What was the date of your last payment? Probably December 2019

 

Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Yes, British Gas were billing me for something that wasn't my fault.

 

Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? No, I disputed the debt from outset.

 

I've completed this to the best of my knowledge.

Hope its ok.

Thanks in advance for your help. 

 

Also, should I send in a CCA request?

[dx100uk]

pop up on the MCOL website detailed on the claimform.
[if mcol is not working return after the w/end or the next day if week time]
.
 register as an individual on the Gov't Gateway Site
Go to HMRC's login page.
Click the GREEN sign in button.
Click “Create sign in details”
Enter your email address where asked.
You will now be emailed a confirmation code. ...
You will now be issued with a User ID for your government gateway account.
 note down your details inc the long gateway number given, you might need it later.
 then log in to the MCOL Website
.
 select respond to a claim and select the start AOS box.
.
 then using the details required from the claimform
.
 defend all
 leave jurisdiction unticked
 you DO NOT file a defence at this time
[BUT you MUST file a defence regardless by day 33 ]
click thru to the end
confirm and exit MCOL.
...

get a CPR  31:14  request running to the solicitors [if one is not listed send to the claimant]
...
.[use our other CPR letter if the claim is for an OD or Telecom Debt]
.

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/332546-legal-cpr-3114-request-request-for-information-when-a-claim-has-been-issued/

.

on BOTH type your name ONLY
Do Not sign anything
.do not ever use or give an email
.
you DO NOT await the return of ANY paperwork 
you MUST file a defence regardless by day 33 from the date on the claimform [1 in the count]

..............

Util debts are not credit agreements

[soldierx]

Thanks so much DX100, I have posted the CPR letter today and completed the online form. 

can i now file a defence? 

[dx100uk]

you have till day 33

though you've omitted to tell us the dates from our sticky

 

plenty of util bill defences here

 

have a browse

and post it up for checking first

[soldierx]

Are you referring to the dates of the Claim form?

 

[dx100uk]

On 11/03/2023 at 22:17, dx100uk said:

no its a claimform 

 

please complete this:

 

did you receive a letter of claim with a reply pack wanting an I&E completed? and ignored it

dx

 

you were supposed to calculate dates for aos and defence filing using the above

 

dx

 

[soldierx]

Date of issue is 6 March 2023 + 19 Day days (14 + 5 days to acknowledge) + 14 days = 8th April 2023. 

So sorry for my ignorance, I have no legal knowledge whatsoever. Are the above dates correct and what you need?

 

[dx100uk]

well you need to get reading up then..

 

we are predominately a self help forum

 

there are 1000's of util claimform threads here.

 

date of issue 6th march

date for AOS (+19 days) = 24th

date to file defence by = 7th april

 

have you done AOS and sent CPR yet?

 

 

[dx100uk]

On 16/03/2023 at 20:58, soldierx said:

Thanks so much DX100, I have posted the CPR letter today and completed the online form. 

can i now file a defence? 

 

sorry i was on a small screen and couldnt scroll easy.

 

so time to get your defence together by the 7th april 

 

dont leave it till the last minute 

pop your ideas up here in good time for us to check over

 

 

dx

 

[soldierx]

Hello again, 

 

I filed a CPR on 14th March and got this reply today verbatim:

We refer to your recent letter, which we received on 20th March 2023.

As this matter is not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the original creditor is not required to retain a copy of the agreement. Subsequently, we are unable to request a copy of this document.

 

As per your request, a copy of the Notice of Assignment has been enclosed for you to review.

 

As you are aware, a county Court Claim was issued to you on 6 March 2023. 

You should now respond to the claim form, how you deem appropriate, as per the guidance on the form. 

 

Should you wish to dispute this matter, we ask that you enclose all details of your defence within the relevant sections. 

 

If you are admitting the debt in full and wish to pay by instalments, please contact one of our agents on XXXXX, as our agents are available to complete the admission form with you over the telephone. Alternatively, you can complete the form and return it by post to the address provided, or to the court. 

 

Please ensure you respond to the claim within the time frame set by the court. Failure to do so may result in a County Court Judgement (CCJ) being entered in default against you. 

 

As the account is now subject to legal proceedings, you may wish to seek independent legal advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice.

 

If you wish to speak with a member of our team, please call us between 8:30am - 7:30pm Monday to Thursday, 8:30am - 6:00pm Friday or 9:00 - 2pm on Saturday, on the number provided. 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

[dx100uk]

in other words we are going to discontinue soon but we thought we'd try and scare you 1st.

 

std letter lowells send on every claim if you go read a few lowell claimform threads

 

dx

 

[soldierx]

OK, I have just entered a defence. 

[dx100uk]

what defence did you file?

 

 

[soldierx]

using the court claim form N9. Is there something specific i should include in the defence? i've searched on C|AG but couldn't find anything.

[dx100uk]

Why are you not filing on mcol?? Online?

 

As everyone else does?

 

Post up your defence here for checking here 1st!!

 

util claimform.

 

Use our enhanced Google search box 

 

Dx

 

 

 

 

 

[soldierx]

I tried posting on mcol but for some reason it wouldn't recognize the password from the claim form.

anyway, this is what I intend to write although i haven't sent it through yet:

 

' I dispute this claim because British Gas made a mistake and did not transfer my gas account to Scottish Power.

British Gas admitted this in a phone call but still continued to pursue the claim which was not my responsibility. 

 

Also, I did not enter into an agreement with British Gas, they were the default energy provider in the house which i purchased and I had to register with them first before i was allowed to transfer my account to a new provider.

 

I had already taken out an account with scottish power and British Gas were holding up the transfer of my Gas account.

 

British Gas provided no valid reason for holding onto my account and held onto it until they had a accumulated a bill of around £300.

 

Why should I be liable for something that I had not agreed to and which is clearly not my fault.' 

 

Please let me have your thoughts on this. 

[dx100uk]

you should not be filing that

its not CPR Compliant and gives away all your cards

the DCA then has months to try and fake documents 

 

thats why you file our util/holding defence 

 

not due till/by 4pm friday.

 

please post it up here for checking 

 

dx

 

 

[dx100uk]

On 13/03/2023 at 19:07, soldierx said:

I'm not sure, I received a letter advising that if i didn't pay, then a county court judgement will be issued against me. 

can we see the 1st page of this letter

and did it come with a reply pack want I&E etc?

 

dx

 

[dx100uk]

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