Yesterday I received a court claim from the above mentioned, which came as a surprise as I hadn't heard anything from them beforehand. As I am aware that they should follow certain procedures before issuing a claim I have prepared the following letters to send off and would just like confirmation that I am doing this correctly.
The debt is from an Asda store card and I do not dispute what I owe, I am just not willing to pay their charges and costs. I have acknowledged the claim online today so have 28 days in which to prepare my defense.
So to clarify, I received their claim yesterday (22nd) and notice of assignment today (23rd) I have not received a Default notice which they state in their PoC's nor any other correspondance from them.
The debt is from an Asda store card and I do not dispute what I owe, I am just not willing to pay their charges and costs. I have acknowledged the claim online today so have 28 days in which to prepare my defense.
Dear Sir or Madam,
RE: FORMAL COMPLAINT UNDER THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 2006.
I note that you brought a legal action against me, only 2 days after you were allegedly assigned the relevant agreement. You did so without contacting me, or making any effort to determine the cause or nature of any dispute or attempting to obtain any out of court settlement
I further note that I received a notice of your intention to bring this claim a day AFTER I received your claim. As a consumer credit license holder, you are obliged to abide by all statutory and regulatory provisions.
I now draw your attention to the Civil procedure Rules. I note the following sections of the Pre-Action Protocol:
2.3 If, in the opinion of the court, non-compliance has led to the commencement of proceedings which might otherwise not have needed to be commenced, or has led to costs being incurred in the proceedings that might otherwise not have been incurred, the orders the court may make include:
(1)
an order that the party at fault pay the costs of the proceedings, or part of those costs, of the other party or parties;
(2)
an order that the party at fault pay those costs on an indemnity basis;
(3)
if the party at fault is a claimant in whose favour an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made, an order depriving that party of interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified, and/or awarding interest at a lower rate than that at which interest would otherwise have been awarded;
(4)
if the party at fault is a defendant and an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made in favour of the claimant, an order awarding interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified at a higher rate, not exceeding 10% above base rate (cf. CPR rule 36.21(2), than the rate at which interest would otherwise have been awarded.
3.1 A claimant may be found to have failed to comply with a protocol by, for example:
(a)
not having provided sufficient information to the defendant, or
I note that at no point have you provided me with any information to show what terms and conditions I have allegedly breached, or provided me with any opportunity to investigate the matter.
Your obligations under the pre-action protocols were:
Parties to a potential dispute should follow a reasonable procedure, suitable to their particular circumstances, which is intended to avoid litigation. The procedure should not be regarded as a prelude to inevitable litigation. It should normally include –
(a)
the claimant writing to give details of the claim;
I note that the only information about this claim, or indication that you had launched a claim, came after you had issued it!
For your future reference, the Civil Procedure Rules require that the following information be provided with the letter:
4.3 The claimant's letter should –(a)give sufficient concise details to enable the recipient to understand and investigate the claim without extensive further information;(b)enclose copies of the essential documents which the claimant relies on;(c)ask for a prompt acknowledgement of the letter, followed by a full written response within a reasonable stated period;(For many claims, a normal reasonable period for a full response may be one month.)(d)state whether court proceedings will be issued if the full response is not received within the stated period;(e)identify and ask for copies of any essential documents, not in his possession, which the claimant wishes to see;(f)state (if this is so) that the claimant wishes to enter into mediation or another alternative method of dispute resolution; and(g)draw attention to the court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with this practice direction and, if the recipient is likely to be unrepresented, enclose a copy of this practice direction.
I note that you did not provide me with any of this information, and that you did not attempt to notify me or negotiate with me before any claim started.
Please be aware that I intend to produce a copy of this letter in court, for the purpose of disputing any costs that should arise in your claim, and that I intend to refer this matter to both industry and legal regulatory authorities.
Please regard this as a formal complaint under your complaints procedure, established under the Consumer Credit Act 2006. Please note I require you to acknowledge this complaint in a reasonable time frame, and to send me a copy of your complaints procedure.
Yours Sincerely,
RE: FORMAL COMPLAINT UNDER THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 2006.
I note that you brought a legal action against me, only 2 days after you were allegedly assigned the relevant agreement. You did so without contacting me, or making any effort to determine the cause or nature of any dispute or attempting to obtain any out of court settlement
I further note that I received a notice of your intention to bring this claim a day AFTER I received your claim. As a consumer credit license holder, you are obliged to abide by all statutory and regulatory provisions.
I now draw your attention to the Civil procedure Rules. I note the following sections of the Pre-Action Protocol:
2.3 If, in the opinion of the court, non-compliance has led to the commencement of proceedings which might otherwise not have needed to be commenced, or has led to costs being incurred in the proceedings that might otherwise not have been incurred, the orders the court may make include:
(1)
an order that the party at fault pay the costs of the proceedings, or part of those costs, of the other party or parties;
(2)
an order that the party at fault pay those costs on an indemnity basis;
(3)
if the party at fault is a claimant in whose favour an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made, an order depriving that party of interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified, and/or awarding interest at a lower rate than that at which interest would otherwise have been awarded;
(4)
if the party at fault is a defendant and an order for the payment of damages or some specified sum is subsequently made in favour of the claimant, an order awarding interest on such sum and in respect of such period as may be specified at a higher rate, not exceeding 10% above base rate (cf. CPR rule 36.21(2), than the rate at which interest would otherwise have been awarded.
3.1 A claimant may be found to have failed to comply with a protocol by, for example:
(a)
not having provided sufficient information to the defendant, or
I note that at no point have you provided me with any information to show what terms and conditions I have allegedly breached, or provided me with any opportunity to investigate the matter.
Your obligations under the pre-action protocols were:
4.2
Parties to a potential dispute should follow a reasonable procedure, suitable to their particular circumstances, which is intended to avoid litigation. The procedure should not be regarded as a prelude to inevitable litigation. It should normally include –
(a)
the claimant writing to give details of the claim;
I note that the only information about this claim, or indication that you had launched a claim, came after you had issued it!
For your future reference, the Civil Procedure Rules require that the following information be provided with the letter:
4.3 The claimant's letter should –(a)give sufficient concise details to enable the recipient to understand and investigate the claim without extensive further information;(b)enclose copies of the essential documents which the claimant relies on;(c)ask for a prompt acknowledgement of the letter, followed by a full written response within a reasonable stated period;(For many claims, a normal reasonable period for a full response may be one month.)(d)state whether court proceedings will be issued if the full response is not received within the stated period;(e)identify and ask for copies of any essential documents, not in his possession, which the claimant wishes to see;(f)state (if this is so) that the claimant wishes to enter into mediation or another alternative method of dispute resolution; and(g)draw attention to the court's powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with this practice direction and, if the recipient is likely to be unrepresented, enclose a copy of this practice direction.
I note that you did not provide me with any of this information, and that you did not attempt to notify me or negotiate with me before any claim started.
Please be aware that I intend to produce a copy of this letter in court, for the purpose of disputing any costs that should arise in your claim, and that I intend to refer this matter to both industry and legal regulatory authorities.
Please regard this as a formal complaint under your complaints procedure, established under the Consumer Credit Act 2006. Please note I require you to acknowledge this complaint in a reasonable time frame, and to send me a copy of your complaints procedure.
Yours Sincerely,
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
I have received the Court claim filed by your Company. To enable me to file a defence and counter-claim, I require specific information regarding the account to be provided forthwith. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below. The information must be furnished by the 4th February 2008. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.
IN RESPECT OF THE ALLEGED DEBT CLAIMED, I REQUIRE:
1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of any default and at the time the account was opened. 2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:a. A transcript of all transactions, including charges, fees, interest, repayments and payments made to the account. b. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditorc. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account.d. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.g. A genuine copy of any deed of assignment, or proof that you have a legal right to this money.h. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998i. A list of third party agencies to who you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.k. A copy of all account statements for the duration of the agreement.3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court.4. A copy of your complaints procedure, as required by the Consumer Credit Act 2006.5. Clarification of the date you acquired the debt, what organisation you acquired it from, their registered office, their company number (if any) and what legal title they had to this debt, and what credit license number they had at the time that the debt was purchased or entered into.I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.
Yours Sincerely,
RE: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
I have received the Court claim filed by your Company. To enable me to file a defence and counter-claim, I require specific information regarding the account to be provided forthwith. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below. The information must be furnished by the 4th February 2008. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.
IN RESPECT OF THE ALLEGED DEBT CLAIMED, I REQUIRE:
1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of any default and at the time the account was opened. 2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:a. A transcript of all transactions, including charges, fees, interest, repayments and payments made to the account. b. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditorc. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account.d. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.g. A genuine copy of any deed of assignment, or proof that you have a legal right to this money.h. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998i. A list of third party agencies to who you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.k. A copy of all account statements for the duration of the agreement.3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court.4. A copy of your complaints procedure, as required by the Consumer Credit Act 2006.5. Clarification of the date you acquired the debt, what organisation you acquired it from, their registered office, their company number (if any) and what legal title they had to this debt, and what credit license number they had at the time that the debt was purchased or entered into.I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.
Yours Sincerely,
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