Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

[dickayc90]

Good evening,

Thank you all in advance for taking the time to read my post and for any assistance you may be able to provide.

I have today received a Letter of Claim from Bryan Carter Solicitors LLP regarding a debt with Orange, as follows:-

"We have been instructed by Fredrickson International Limited on behalf of our client, Lowell Financial Limited regarding your Orange account, to commence Legal Action and issue a Claim against you in the County Court in respect of this debt.

Should you fail to respond to this letter within 14 days, a Claim will be issued against you without any further notice. If Court action is taken, additional costs and interest will be added to the debt which you will be responsible for as below:

Current Debt Due: £726.66
Estimated Court Fee: £60.00
Estimated Solicitor Costs: £70.00
Estimated Total: £856.22

Please note that an amount for interest will also be added to the balance claimed and details will appear on the claim form.

Non-payment of the debt following claim may result in a CCJ....."

I've stopped there as I'm sure you've all seen this letter template many a time and get the gist of Bryan Carter's intent here.

I've had a look through the forum this evening and read many cases similar(ish) to mine, however the majority of others on the receiving end of the claim don't seem to know what the claim actually related to. I know exactly what my claim relates to in this instance and acknowledge (to myself and not to Bryan Carter!) that I do have a debt to Orange, just not to the tune that they are claiming.

To provide you with a backstory, I set up a 24-month phone contract with Orange back in 2012 - they gave me a new handset and I were to pay circa £35 a month for 24 months in line rental etc.. I very soon found myself in financial difficulty and missed my first payment due to Orange. Circa 14 days following this, Orange then barred my sim card and thus I no longer had any use of the mobile phone. I initially received letters from Orange requesting that I pay the full 24-month amount of line rental, which I regrettably got rather worried about and naively chose to ignore. I have received little to no correspondence in the interim until the letter received today and, if I'm honest, wouldn't be opposed to repaying the cost of the handset in addition to the one month of line rental that I incurred, however I can imagine that it is all a little too late to go down this route?

This is the first letter of this kind that I have ever received and I am rather taken aback by it all. In essence, I am not looking to completely wipe the debt as I acknowledge that I am at fault here, I'd just like to come to a fair resolution. If any of you guys are able to kindly advise steps that it's best I take in a circumstance like this, that would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

dickayc90

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

As you will have seen, Mr Carter is very quick on the button and he does issue claims like confetti, however, his clients aren't nearly as quick with the documents and, when challenged to produce them, they can never come up with anything. :mmph: A letter of claim is a requirement under the Civil Procedure Rules to be sent before a claim is issued, a lot of people ignore them until the claim actually arrives. You need to respond to it as below. In many cases, challenging the lovely Mr Carter to produce the documents he'd be relying on when he issues the claim may well get his little fingers away from the keyboard and stop him from issuing a claim. ray:

Send it recorded delivery so you can track it. :typing:

Your reference: xxxxxxx

Dear Sirs

Re: Account number xxxxxxx

Thank you for your letter dated 4th of August 2015, the contents of which have been noted. As you have headed it Letter of Claim, I would like to refer you to paragraph 3 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, which states: “before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to (a) understand each other’s position; (b) make decisions about how to proceed;”

Paragraph 6 of the PD states “the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives“ and Paragraph 6(c) refers to “the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.” My request refers to the documents I require to obtain the necessary information to assess my position in this case.
I require copies of the following:

1. The original Orange contract;
2. The Default Notice;
3. The Notice of Assignment to your clients;
4. Statements of account;

These documents would be expected to be supplied if proceedings were issued and would likely be in your possession if you were issuing a claim. If you consider that there is difficulty in providing a copy of a document, please identify that document and the reason.

In accordance with the PD, I shall being able to provide you with a full response to your letter within 14 days of receipt of the documents listed above and also reserve the right to refer to the contents of this letter if proceedings are issued without first providing copy documents to me.

Yours faithfully,

[dickayc90]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Hi FlamingParrot,

Thank you very much for taking the time to get back to me - much appreciated!

I shall certainly be sending the letter you kindly attach today via recorded delivery. You suggest that this may potentially stop Mr Carter from issuing a claim - I guess that this may just postpone issuance until he can get his hands on the requested documents as opposed to closing the case as such?

Kind regards,

dickayc90

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good morning Dickay,
I suspect that the debt has risen to the current level due to charges added to the account, especially a very large early termination/cancellation fee probably the amount you would have paid for the rest of the contract period.

You are correct in thinking it's too late for the level payment you suggest. Lowell has bought the debt and is pursuing the full outstanding balance.

nem

[dickayc90]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good morning to you too Nem,

Thank you for your input and I feared that may be the case!

I have sent the letter already and shall post any updates as and when I receive them...

Kind regards,

dickayc90

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good morning to you too Nem,

Thank you for your input and I feared that may be the case!

I have sent the letter already and shall post any updates as and when I receive them...

Kind regards,

dickayc90

OK, yes please keep us posted on developments!

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Hi FlamingParrot,

Thank you very much for taking the time to get back to me - much appreciated!

I shall certainly be sending the letter you kindly attach today via recorded delivery. You suggest that this may potentially stop Mr Carter from issuing a claim - I guess that this may just postpone issuance until he can get his hands on the requested documents as opposed to closing the case as such?

Mr Carter and his illustrious clients handle thousands of accounts, as you will see from a lot of threads on this site (which represent just a small fraction of the total claims issued), most people never challenge the accounts or ask for documents until a claim is issued. The claims are issued speculatively in the hope of obtaining default judgment when people fail to respond to the claim, and over 75% of money claims go to default judgment.

Challenging the account at this early stage may well make him leave your account in the back burner and move on to what he considers easier prey, i.e. those who ignore his letters of claim. ray: ray: ray:

[dickayc90]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good afternoon all,

Further to the letter sent to Mr Carter on 4th August, I have now received a response as follows:-

"Thank you for your letter dated 4 August 2015.

We confirm no legal proceedings have been issued in this matter however if our client were to instruct us to issue a Claim the matter would be dealt with in the Small Claims Track where pre action disclosure is not required. We understand you would have been provided with the Agreement at the point of contract and invoices at regular intervals from Orange. Notice of Assignment was sent to you on behalf of our client and is no longer under its control.

It is our client's position that the outstanding balance is lawfully due.

We should be grateful if you would contact us by 20 August 2015 with your payment proposals otherwise collection activity may resume."

I guess this can be seen as a positive response given that Mr Carter doesn't seem to have any of the requested documentation on file? In you guys' opinions, what would my next best step be here? Would attempting to negotiate the outstanding balance value be something that could count against me in this case?

Thank you very much for your further thoughts in advance.

Kind regards,

dickayc90

[nemesis45]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good afternoon all,

Further to the letter sent to Mr Carter on 4th August, I have now received a response as follows:-

"Thank you for your letter dated 4 August 2015.

We confirm no legal proceedings have been issued in this matter however if our client were to instruct us to issue a Claim the matter would be dealt with in the Small Claims Track where pre action disclosure is not required. We understand you would have been provided with the Agreement at the point of contract and invoices at regular intervals from Orange. Notice of Assignment was sent to you on behalf of our client and is no longer under its control.

It is our client's position that the outstanding balance is lawfully due.

We should be grateful if you would contact us by 20 August 2015 with your payment proposals otherwise collection activity may resume."

I guess this can be seen as a positive response given that Mr Carter doesn't seem to have any of the requested documentation on file? In you guys' opinions, what would my next best step be here? Would attempting to negotiate the outstanding balance value be something that could count against me in this case?

Thank you very much for your further thoughts in advance.

Kind regards,

dickayc90

Good morning Dickay,

Carters templates are as usual " guff and bluster" mentioning an agreement, which he will later most likely claim that as this was a phone service contract there is no obligation to supply it.

Also " what Carter understands (which often seems to be very little) is of no consequence and he should be told so and also be told to produce the documents requested as the claim is not yet allocated to a track.

Just keep the above in mind if Carter is instructed to issue a claim.

nem

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Good afternoon all,

Further to the letter sent to Mr Carter on 4th August, I have now received a response as follows:-

"Thank you for your letter dated 4 August 2015.

We confirm no legal proceedings have been issued in this matter however if our client were to instruct us to issue a Claim the matter would be dealt with in the Small Claims Track where pre action disclosure is not required. We understand you would have been provided with the Agreement at the point of contract and invoices at regular intervals from Orange. Notice of Assignment was sent to you on behalf of our client and is no longer under its control.

Good morning

Looks like Mr Carter's clients have bought a number of mobile contracts and he's just created a new template as other people I know have received an identical letter.

His arguments about small claims track have no place at this stage in the process since no claim has been issued and even when issued, a claim doesn't get allocated to any track until after a defence has been submitted.

More importantly, there's nothing in the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct that mentions small claims track, or any track for that matter. The rules regarding pre-action conduct are clear in saying that the parties should exchange correspondence, information and documents: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...action_conduct

Steps before issuing a claim at court

6. Where there is a relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should comply with that protocol before commencing proceedings. Where there is no relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives in paragraph 3, bearing in mind that compliance should be proportionate. The steps will usually include—
(a) the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
(b) the defendant responding within a reasonable time - 14 days in a straight forward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one. The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed and whether the defendant is making a counterclaim as well as providing details of any counterclaim; and
(c) the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.

You have complied by responding to his letter of claim, he has not by refusing to disclose 'key documents'.

The PD is also clear with regards to what the court would expect if proceedings were issued:

Compliance with this Practice Direction and the Protocols

13. If a dispute proceeds to litigation, the court will expect the parties to have complied with a relevant pre-action protocol or this Practice Direction. The court will take into account non-compliance when giving directions for the management of proceedings (see CPR 3.1(4) to (6)) and when making orders for costs (see CPR 44.3(5)(a)). The court will consider whether all parties have complied in substance with the terms of the relevant pre-action protocol or this Practice Direction and is not likely to be concerned with minor or technical infringements, especially when the matter is urgent (for example an application for an injunction).
14. The court may decide that there has been a failure of compliance when a party has—
(a) not provided sufficient information to enable the objectives in paragraph 3 to be met;
(b) not acted within a time limit set out in a relevant protocol, or within a reasonable period; or
(c) unreasonably refused to use a form of ADR, or failed to respond at all to an invitation to do so.

It is our client's position that the outstanding balance is lawfully due.

We should be grateful if you would contact us by 20 August 2015 with your payment proposals otherwise collection activity may resume."

I guess this can be seen as a positive response given that Mr Carter doesn't seem to have any of the requested documentation on file?

He never ever has any documents and he issues claims speculatively in the hope of obtaining default judgment. :mad2:

In you guys' opinions, what would my next best step be here? Would attempting to negotiate the outstanding balance value be something that could count against me in this case?

Bear in mind any repayment offer would constitute acknowledgment of the debt for the purpose of limitation and would reset the clock. :scared:

[dickayc90]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Nemesis, FlamingParrot,

Thank you both very much for your efficient responses to my query and apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

I have read through your responses and the information you provide is greatly appreciated. Granted that it is not in my best interests to try to negotiate a repayment offer as this would go in their favour, however are you able to kindly advise what you might deem best for me to do from here?

Is there anything I can really do at this stage aside from waiting for Mr Carter to formally issue a claim?

Kind regards,

dickayc90

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Lowell Financial / Bryan Carter - Letter of Claim

Nemesis, FlamingParrot,

Thank you both very much for your efficient responses to my query and apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

No need to apologise, just assumed no news = good news. :grin:

I have read through your responses and the information you provide is greatly appreciated. Granted that it is not in my best interests to try to negotiate a repayment offer as this would go in their favour,

It would mean resetting the clock and losing all these years you've not paid.

however are you able to kindly advise what you might deem best for me to do from here?

Is there anything I can really do at this stage aside from waiting for Mr Carter to formally issue a claim?

No, there isn't really anything else you could do, :ranger: you have complied with the pre-action conduct by responding to his letter of claim and you've also alerted them to the fact that you know what you're talking about (or know some beagles who do :beagle, unlike many others who would just roll over and pay. :ohwell:

Mr Carter's claims are issued speculatively in the hope of obtaining default judgment (which is how over 75% of money claims end ) and in most cases, his clients are unable to obtain any paperwork to back up their claims. In this case he already knows you'd be asking for it (in fact, you already have) so that may well make him think twice before hitting the 'submit' button on the MCOL site! ray: ray: ray: