Received a claim form

supermiff

I was hoping for some advice regarding a claim form received yesterday for a credit card debt of £700 that defaulted in 2014.
The claim comes from Lowell Solicitors on behalf of Lowell who purchased the debt from Vanquis.
When I received a letter showing their intent to claim I sent a tracked letter back asking for documentaion to ensure that the debt is correct and lawfull. All documents were supplied except for the deed of assignment which they said I was not permitted to see.
I have asked family and friends for advice and have received conflicting informtation and was hoping that someone with more understanding could help.
Some say that I should take their word on the matter and try to arrange a payment plan with Lowell, therefore avoiding court and the CCJ on my report. Whether or not this would be agreed I'm unsure but I have heard that Lowell or very co-operative once you start showing them your money. The downside to this is that the claim form shows that the debt has increased by £200 (£160 court fees and £40 from Lowell) and I do not know whether these will be waived even if they did agree.
Others have told me that their refusal so show me the DOA gives me basis for a defence and that it is very likely that they will not show me this document becuase they do not have it, or it is not as it should be, and that the courts would be unable to issue a issue a CCJ without a correctly formatted DOA. If they do have the DOA their refusal to show it when requested before action may go against them if the case is ever heard.
I have been ill for the last 3 years and unable to work so I cannot afford to pay the debt without a payment plan unless I borrow from relatives/friends but my primary concern is avoiding a CCJ as my credit report was finally starting to improve after a rocky time in my 18-20's.
I do have people willing to assist me with a defence, or any other route I decide to take, but due to conflicting information I know not what to do.
Any help is apprecitated.

BorisThomson

You seem to be acknowledging that you do owe this money, is that correct? If so, making an arrangement to pay, even at a low rate, is going to be the least damaging option. The courts don't take kindly to people avoiding their debts.

If you could borrow the money, they may accept a reduced offer in full and final settlement.

supermiff

I did have a Vanquis card but was unaware of a debt. I am not familair with Lowell and have never heard of them so whether I owe them money is another story.
My attempts to receive verfication that this is a lawfull collection have failed even though I have told them that once the debt is proved with the correct documentation that I would be willing to pay.
I have written to Vanquis too to ask if a debt was passed on but they failed to reply.
All I ask for is the evidence that I owe money to a company I have never heard of which I believe that I am entitled too.
My willingness to make a payment is done so purely out of fear of a CCJ.

Arleen

So you've asked and received your documents, as you say in your OP. What else would you like to see specifically?

Then you also say:
"The claim comes from Lowell Solicitors on behalf of Lowell who purchased the debt from Vanquis."

And yet you say you don't know who Lowell is in your next post, and admit that you had Vanquis card.

You owe the money, you know you do, they've even shown you the documents that you've asked for. Stop looking for a cheap way out, there isn't one - simply pay what you owe. If you will continue on the way you are now you will wind up with a CCJ on your file, or have to pay what you owe + further costs within 30 days of CCJ being issued.

But if you will offer them a payment plan now, well, maybe, just maybe they will not get a CCJ against you (unlikely but possible).

supermiff

Arleen wrote: »

So you've asked and received your documents, as you say in your OP. What else would you like to see specifically?

Then you also say:
"The claim comes from Lowell Solicitors on behalf of Lowell who purchased the debt from Vanquis."

And yet you say you don't know who Lowell is in your next post, and admit that you had Vanquis card.

You owe the money, you know you do, they've even shown you the documents that you've asked for. Stop looking for a cheap way out, there isn't one - simply pay what you owe. If you will continue on the way you are now you will wind up with a CCJ on your file, or have to pay what you owe + further costs within 30 days of CCJ being issued.

The first I heard of Lowell was a letter 6 weeks ago from Lowell solicitors telling me that they were acting on behalf of Lowell and that the original creditor was Vanquis. This was probably due to voting and adding myself to the electoral register recently.
I am not saying that I do not owe any money what I am asking for is documentation that this debt is in fact from Vanquis and that any ammounts are correct and lawfull. The documetation they have provided shows only that I owe an ammount to Vanquis for a much lesser ammount and there is no documentation showing that it was passed on to this company or any expanation as to the debts inlfation which is why I requested information. My requests were brick walled by a court claim.
Implying that I am looking for a cheap way out is incredibly insulting when all I ask is for advice on esnuring that this debt is correctly owed to this company.

Arleen

supermiff wrote: »

The first I heard of Lowell was a letter from Lowell solicitors telling me that they were acting on behalf of Lowell and that the original creditor was Vanquis.
I am not saying that I do not owe any money what I am asking for is documentation that this debt in in fact from Vanquis and that any ammounts are correct and lawfull. The documetation they have provided shows only that I owe an ammount to Vanquis for a much lesser ammount and their is no documentation showing that it was passed on to this company.
Implying that I am looking for a cheap way out is incredibly insulting when all I ask is for advice on esnuring that this debt is correctly owed to this company.

It's not as insulting as doing it apparently, as your OP breaks down to: they didn't provide me with DOA, can I, based on that, (text removed by MSE Forum Team)out of a CCJ. The answer to that is: no, no you can't, because all they have to provide you is a copy of your credit agreement and a statement under CCA request, which is likely what they've sent over.

But you may be able to get out of it by playing nice.

System

Your credit file is worth more than £700 if you ever want a cheap mortgage

supermiff

Rather than actually asking me what documentation they have actually sent me you seem to be more interested in adding even more pressure with some sort of anger towards vulnerable people who are asking only for support to confirm a debt when the actuall creditor will not confirm.

PixelPound

You say you aren't looking for a cheap way out, but they provided you with documentation when you requested, just not the DOA. So you are not willing to pay until they can provide every piece of documentation you need. If you mount a defence, they may then show it at that stage. Part of the subtext I read is you are objecting to the costs & fees they've added, well if the total amount of your defence is you need to see a DOA first then they will be added to in your final bill once the judgement against you has been entered.

You are probably getting little consolation on here because it seems to be your debt that you are trying to avoid because you don't want to pay rather than it not been your debt.

supermiff

nic_c wrote: »

You say you aren't looking for a cheap way out, but they provided you with documentation when you requested, just not the DOA. So you are not willing to pay until they can provide every piece of documentation you need. If you mount a defence, they may then show it at that stage. Part of the subtext I read is you are objecting to the costs & fees they've added, well if the total amount of your defence is you need to see a DOA first then they will be added to in your final bill once the judgement against you has been entered.

You are probably getting little consolation on here because it seems to be your debt that you are trying to avoid because you don't want to pay rather than it not been your debt.

Yes very dissaponted. The documetation they sent me shows only that there is a lesser debt with Vanquis. My concern was that there was no documentation showing that vanquis ever handed this debt over to this company which was not supplied when asked. As mentioned in my first post I was going off the advice of others and never said that I did not intend to pay, only that I was looking for advice since the advice I had received was conflicitng. If taking Lowell's word for it and trying to set up a payment with them inclding the extra charges is the groups advice then I appreciate it however, I feel no need for personal insults and claiming that I am intentionally attempting to "weasel" out of a debt. I dont think I have ever been so incredibly insulted.

Geoff1963

I received a letter showing their intent to claim

the claim form shows that the debt has increased by £200 (£160 court fees and £40 from Lowell)

A court Claim should be preceded by a "Letter Before Claim" ( at least 28 days prior ), so that sounds like what you've received. If so, the £160 ( at least ) is only a forecast of what would happen if they made a Claim. Lowell can't add on court fees, until they've spent them.

my primary concern is avoiding a CCJ

Sounds like you already know the certain way of doing that.