Court papers received from Howard Cohen

worried2bits

Hi All,

I have recently received court papers issued by Howard Cohen in respect of an old credit card debt with Barclaycard.

I have spent the last 8 years trying to clear debt etc and am finally getting a decent credit rating.

I made a request for a CCA over 6 years ago which Barclaycard could not supply.

I have not made any payments towards this debt for more than 6 years but I'm not sure if a request for CCA constitutes an acknowledgment.

The debt also became statute barred in January 2016. I have received letters from Robinson Way and Howard Cohen threatening court so I again made a CCA request in January just before it fell off my file. Again, they wrote back saying they could not supply this and they were aware that until they could, the debt was unenforceable in a court of law.

Fast forward to ten days ago and I receive court papers. The original debt was £3707 but they are claiming nearly £6,000 with interest and their costs applied.

I acknowledged the form online stating I would defend this. So have about ten days to do so.

What do I do now. Do I defend on the grounds of it being statute barred or unenforceable due to lack of CCA. How do I defend, do I fill in more papers, do I include the letter from Barclaycard dated January. Do I post these?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

fatbelly

worried2bits wrote: »

Do I defend on the grounds of it being statute barred or unenforceable due to lack of CCA.

How do I defend, do I fill in more papers, do I include the letter from Barclaycard dated January.

You defend on both grounds. Maybe more

You have a little longer than you think. The claim is deemed as served 5 days after issue date. As you have acknowledged service you have 28 days from date of service to submit your defence

Plenty of time to do a cpr request to Howard Cohen. You should not need to do another cca., which does not count as acknowledgement of the debt, though I've not seen this tested in court if HC want to try that angle.

The best guidance on procedure is from the guys at legalbeagles. Well done for posting there

worried2bits

Many thanks for the response.


Stupid question - what is a CPR request. I thought this was to see the documentation they are relying on. My papers don't state any paperwork they are relying on - just the fact that its a claim under an agreement number under which I have failed to make contractual payments.

fatbelly

It's all well explained on that site

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?47790-Basic-first-Steps-to-take-on-receipt-of-a-Consumer-Credit-Court-Claim

There's usually mention of an agreement, default notice and notice of assignment

worried2bits

I've tried to find relevant wording for both statute barred and failure to comply with a CCA request as a defence. I am submitting my defence on line.


Can anybody suggest suitable wording?


Many thanks
Sue