bryancarter

owen2014

Hi All,

We are on our way to trying to become debt free - I was hoping if anyone can give us some advice.

I had a debt with Lowell for approx £1100.00

I contacted Bryan Carter and agreed a £5.00 arrangement, A payment was due 01/07 but I was still awaiting details from them to make a payment.

I have had a letter today stating court action is starting to proceed.
The letter states.

Principal Balance: £1125.20
Interest: £93.71
Court Fees: £80.00
Solictor Fees: £70.00
Total: £1368.91

What I want to know is..if I was to call them and get them to agree to a settlement lets say £900-£1000.00 would I then be able to let the court know its been paid and to avoid a CCJ being registered?

Thanks

HappyMJ

"is" or "may"...it's a big difference. They cannot claim the solicitor fees. They can only claim the court costs if it gets that far. The interest claim they may or may not be able to claim. If they really had started a court claim then you would have had a letter from the court. It only takes 5 minutes to start court action. They wouldn't bother writing another letter saying we are starting it now. They would just start it. You should have also had a "letter before action".

Lowell is also a debt collection agency (purchaser of old debts) so who was the original debt with? The original creditor can launch a court claim against you. I'd be sending a prove it letter to Bryan Carter who would then have to go back to Lowell who then has to go back to the original creditor who by now probably has no proof of the debt.

It's probably just another threatening letter. If you could copy it blacking out any personal details then scan the copy into the computer and upload it and link to it on here that would be helpful.

owen2014

The original debt was Shop Direct.

They have started court proceedings they say

"We have now issued litigation proceedings in the county court. You will receive the claim form in the next 48 hours direct from the court"

I want to do everything I can to avoid a CCJ, I dont dispute the debt but just really dont want to pay £200 odd fees.

My boyfriend has said he will pay it for me but he can only pay £900-£1000

Is it even worth calling them asking if they would agree a reduced settlement?

Thanks

forgotmyname

I had loads of them and they never did.

As above read it properly and it will probably say we might or we may.

Unless you receive actual court documents then its just threats.

I presume your credit file is trashed anyway? If you can make then a one time only offer, A full and final settlement.
Family member will lend you ££ if it clears all your debts.. 33% of the total sounds fair?

I settled mine for way less than that. It was take this pittance or get not a penny when i go bankrupt.

HappyMJ

owen2014 wrote: »

The original debt was Shop Direct.

They have started court proceedings they say

"We have now issued litigation proceedings in the county court. You will receive the claim form in the next 48 hours direct from the court"

I want to do everything I can to avoid a CCJ, I dont dispute the debt but just really dont want to pay £200 odd fees.

My boyfriend has said he will pay it for me but he can only pay £900-£1000

Is it even worth calling them asking if they would agree a reduced settlement?

Thanks

Well if they've already started then wait for the letter from the court. I really doubt shop direct has started court proceedings.

I would still be asking for proof of the debt despite you agreeing to the debt. They do make mistakes on the credit agreement which could make the credit agreement unenforceable at court. Then all they can do is just ask you nicely for the money which you can refuse to pay and they can't do anything.

At this stage as per the previous response I'd be offering 25% as a full and final offer "without prejudice" meaning your offer can't be used in court against you. You would be really surprised at what is accepted at this very late stage.

The last offer I had from mobile phone provider 3's debt collector was a 75% discount. I didn't pay it and allowed it to go statute barred which meant it was effectively written off. I always disputed it.

owen2014

I cant upload the letter as it says I'm a new user or something.It 100% says court action has been started which is why they have added soo many fees.This company is a horrible company - I agreed an arrangement with them but they never sent me a standing order form to make payment. For the record 1 payment of £1.00 was paid via debit card on 09/06.

owen2014

HappyMJ wrote: »

Well if they've already started then wait for the letter from the court. I really doubt shop direct has started court proceedings.

I would still be asking for proof of the debt despite you agreeing to the debt. They do make mistakes on the credit agreement which could make the credit agreement unenforceable at court. Then all they can do is just ask you nicely for the money which you can refuse to pay and they can't do anything.

At this stage as per the previous response I'd be offering 25% as a full and final offer "without prejudice" meaning your offer can't be used in court against you. You would be really surprised at what is accepted at this very late stage.

The last offer I had from mobile phone provider 3's debt collector was a 75% discount. I didn't pay it and allowed it to go statute barred which meant it was effectively written off. I always disputed it.

So If was to give them a call now and offer lets say 50% as full and final - obviously request a letter or email to confirm this? then on the court papers I could let the court know its actually been paid??

Thanks

harveybobbles

Scan the letter in or take photo and upload it on somewhere like tinypic.. BUT MAKE SURE YOU HIDE ALL REF NUMBERS, PERSONAL DETAILS, BARCODES ETC.

Then copy/paste the link on here

owen2014

I have uploaded to tinypic but this board says im a new user so cannot post links?

Midslad27

I have debts with shop direct. Ive dealt with bryan carter but they kept passing it around. Now i deal with bw legal. I have a ccj now with them im paying £1 a month

HappyMJ

owen2014 wrote: »

I have uploaded to tinypic but this board says im a new user so cannot post links?

You need to put some spaces in the link. It won't be a link but we can remove the spaces.