County Court Claim with no CCA

Robbie69

Hi there,

I have just been sent a Claim Form from Northampton County Court and wanted to know how to proceed.

I have a debt with Arrow Global (previous MBNA I think from a Virgin Credit Card). They had Moorcroft acting on their behalf and all communication was through them. In June I asked for a CCA and Moorcroft replied that they have asked Arrow but it hadn't been received and they would pass it on to me when they receive it. To date it hasn't been sent.

Arrow then took it back off Moorcroft and assigned the debt to Drydensfairfax on their behalf. I ignored their letters, which in hindsight I probably shouldn't have. One was to commence court proceedings and now the Court Claim form.

I had assumed they couldn't make a court claim if they were in default of my CCA request.

Obviously I need to respond to the court form and potentially contact Drydensfairfax.

Where do I go next with this? And how do I respond and to whom?

Thanks,
Robbie

Robbie69

I should add that I was previously on a DMP with Payplan and that I decided to self manage earlier this year and have successfully got rid of most debts. Therefore, I was paying this particular debt with Payplan before stopping payments when I self managed.

WhenIam64

Where do I go next with this? And how do I respond and to whom?

The instructions are on the paperwork. Stages are

1. Within 14 days from the date in the top right you have to Acknowledge you have received the claim.
2. You can either tick box 1 (I intend to defend all of this claim) or box 2 (I intend to defend part of this claim).
3. Alternatively if you want to pay it, then contact Drydens, pay the amount, and ask them to discontinue.
4. If you want to defend, then you have to put in a defence within 28 days of the date in the top right.

If you intend to defend all of the claim, then your defence would be one of you do not believe the amounts being ask for can be proven, and you seek to have the claimant prove their claim in total.
(This is called a bare defence, and runs the risk of being struck out and the amount awarded to the claimant.

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part03/pd_part03a)

If the defence is accepted, then there will be a hearing in 5 months time when they will either produce the CCA or they will drop the case.

Ambulance chasers like Drydens, Lowell and others simply use the court as a means of strong-arming people who have no knowledge or who fear the system.

Clearly you will have to make the choice of whether you want push them back, or partially settle or fully settle. But don't lose track of the dates

Robbie69

Hey, many thanks for taking the time to reply so comprehensively, it's really appreciated!

You mention a 'bare defence'. Does this imply that me asking for a CCA and not receiving one is not a strong enough case for choosing to defend all of the claim? I have a letter from Moorcroft saying that the CCA has been requested from Arrow and has not been received. Does the fact that I used to pay a monthly amount through Payplan count as proof of me accepting the debt?

I thought they were not allowed to pursue this through the courts and the debt unenforceable until they provided the CCA. I'm confused as to how they've ignored that.

I have worked hard to clear most of my debts and now have a really good credit score and starting to build some equity. I will be looking to remortgage in a few years to get another discount rate so I'm a little paranoid that contesting this will put a CCJ on my record and prevent me doing this.

I can pay the amount in full but having previously had discounts of 50% or 60% from them to settle, I'm hesitant to just stomach what is a large amount of money if as you say they are 'strong-arming people'. So, as I 'could' pay the amount quickly in full if they rule against me, would that guarantee I'd get no adverse credit rating? Is it worth the punt or would there be issues with contesting it?

Thanks!

sourcrates

Lack of a compliant CCA does not stop them starting court action, but it may stop them obtaining judgement, indeed they rely on the debtor not defending the claim, then they automatically get judgement in default.

When defending cases such as this, the better your defence is, the more chance you have of having it accepted, it boils down to the judge on the day, they may not feel your defence is adequate.

I would go with the advice given above, it’s very likely Drydens will drop it, if you choose to defend, even if you lose you can apply for an instalment order, so you might as well make them work for their money.

WhenIam64

You mention a 'bare defence'. Does this imply that me asking for a CCA and not receiving one is not a strong enough case for choosing to defend all of the claim?

You may be confusing tactics with facts.

From what you say, it appears you owe [some] money and you would find it difficult to pay it all in one go plus their costs.

Their side is that you owe [all the] money plus their costs but they are not interested in proving how the amount was calculated by the original lender. It would also appear that they can't evidence how the original amount was calculated by the original lender as they do not have the paperwork.

So at court, Drydens on behalf of Arrow are required to prove the case which tactically and factually will be difficult for them. A defendant doesn't have to prove anything and can offer a bare defence. The burden of proof is on the Claimant. However courts prefer something a bit more detailed than "I don't owe it" so can strike out a defence that looks like time-wasting.

It does no harm to defend (bare or otherwise). As SC says if you lose or if it is struck out, you ask for a Redetermination within 14 days and apply to pay by installments.

Robbie69

Thanks for both of your answers and for clearing that up. I will likely contest this now.

I had various offers from Arrow over the years to settle but couldn't afford to. I 'can' afford to pay it all now but would rather not be forced into it through panic if I can avoid it.

The absolutely essential thing for me is to not have anything registered on my credit file.

Am I right that if I contest this and lose, that as long as I pay the full amount within 28 days then a CCJ won't be registered on my file?

sourcrates

Yes that’s correct.