HFC Bank taking me to court :(

I-Promise-To-Try

Hello Everyone,

This site has been such a help to me over the last few months. I'm self-employed with a low income and lots of debt. I started to get into trouble with some of my creditors in July, being simply unable to pay, and have consequently defaulted on 3 accounts, the largest of which is with HFC Bank (credit card). One of my other creditiors has accepted my offer of payment, one other hasn't, and HFC have gone from sending the nice 'we're very sorry to hear of your financial difficulties and shall do all we can to help you at this difficult time' letters, to sending me a court summons today.

The amount they are claiming (over £13k) includes over £1800 in 'collection charge' that has been added by Restons solicitors, and there are also some overlimit fees & late payment fees added on. All of these 'extra' fees I dispute - I will pay what I owe, but not a penny more.

What do I do now? Do I fill in the admission form and the defence form? I have offered then £20.00 per month on several occasions, which is more than I can afford, but they would not accept it, despite me sending them an income and expenditure sheet. I can't offer any more money.

Will it be a problem to the courts that I have kept up to date (but usually late) payments with most of my other creditiors?

Please give me some advice, as I can't bear living with this constant pressure - I can't sleep at night, and worry about things 24 hours a day, making me snappy with my kids and everyone else, they must wonder what's happening to me

Have to go now I'm crying again - what a mess

bonnie_2

Don't worry about it the courts will only take of you what you can afford to pay and normally freeze the interest and charges anyway, you are far better of to go to court.
What you need to do is to work out your incomings and outgoings, make sure your getting all the benifits your entitled to and post your soa on here.
you will need to do one for the courts anyway.

rog2

If the court summons is for the fast track court (usually Northampton) you can contact the court and request that the case be moved to your local county court. You can get advice on how best to do this by going into your local court - they are usually most helpfull.
In your defence, you should explain that you have been trying to come to an agreement, with HFC and that they have not agreed.
Remember - the law is there just as much for your protection, and a judge will not usually order you to pay more than you can afford.
Good luck
Rog2

I-Promise-To-Try

rog2 wrote:

If the court summons is for the fast track court (usually Northampton) you can contact the court and request that the case be moved to your local county court. You can get advice on how best to do this by going into your local court - they are usually most helpfull.
In your defence, you should explain that you have been trying to come to an agreement, with HFC and that they have not agreed.
Remember - the law is there just as much for your protection, and a judge will not usually order you to pay more than you can afford.
Good luck
Rog2

Hi Rog2,

Thank you for replying The summons has come from Northampton (moneyclaim). I think I would rather appear in court and put my case across myself, so I shall contact them. I have sent all of my letters to HFC via recorded delivery, so have proof that I have at least tried.

Thanks again

rog2

I-Promise-To-Try wrote:

Hi Rog2,

Thank you for replying The summons has come from Northampton (moneyclaim). I think I would rather appear in court and put my case across myself, so I shall contact them. I have sent all of my letters to HFC via recorded delivery, so have proof that I have at least tried.

Thanks again

Good on you. If you get any problem, with Northampton, go to your local court and/or CAB. :beer:

lynzpower

OP
have you looked into claiming your overlimit/ failed DDs SO / bounced cheque charges back? You can sue your bank to get them back, through the small claims- they are unlawful

Have a loook at the new bank charges forum on here - will tell all you need to know

Lynz
x

I-Promise-To-Try

lynzpower wrote:

OP
have you looked into claiming your overlimit/ failed DDs SO / bounced cheque charges back? You can sue your bank to get them back, through the small claims- they are unlawful

Have a loook at the new bank charges forum on here - will tell all you need to know

Lynz
x

Hi Lynz,

I would like to claim back the unlawful charges - there aren't many of them (I don't think I'd made even 1 late payment or gone over my limit until June just gone - not bad for 4 years of their custom!). I'd also like to contest the 'collection charge' that they have added on. I'm not sure how to go about it at this stage though - do I contact HFC themselves or make a defence/counterclaim against them through the courts?

Thank you for replying

rog2

I-Promise-To-Try wrote:

I'd also like to contest the 'collection charge' that they have added on. I'm not sure how to go about it at this stage though - do I contact HFC themselves or make a defence/counterclaim against them through the courts?

Thank you for replying

I would suggest both.

SunderlandBlackCat

Something to consider with regard to the additional charges is to ask the Judge to order standard disclosure. This means that they have to provide a breakdown of how they arrived at the sums charged.

As Banks are unwilling to do this (because it will prove the charges are not fair & reasonable in order to recover costs) they will have to withdraw the claims for those charges. Standard disclosure is at the Judges discretion though so you have to ask when filling in your allocation questionnaire.

I-Promise-To-Try

SunderlandBlackCat wrote:

Something to consider with regard to the additional charges is to ask the Judge to order standard disclosure. This means that they have to provide a breakdown of how they arrived at the sums charged.

As Banks are unwilling to do this (because it will prove the charges are not fair & reasonable in order to recover costs) they will have to withdraw the claims for those charges. Standard disclosure is at the Judges discretion though so you have to ask when filling in your allocation questionnaire.

Thank you They have stated the collection charge on the claim form, and are also adding interest at over £5 per day :rolleyes: