Letter Of Claim from Kearns Solicitors

sourcrates

Because they are lazy and incompetent that`s why, they are supposed to write and inform you of the purchase, but this does not always happen.

Its quite common for these companies to engage a 3rd party to collect these debts, sometimes a collection company, sometimes a solicitor, as in this instance. their approach to due diligence can be laughable at times, as I said above, never underestimate how stupid they can be.

ZoeB23

Update! 

I requested a copy of the CCA from Kearns on 25th of March, they replied with the copy as I mentioned above dated 29th April. I since found out that a creditor must provide a copy of the agreement on request within 12 working days, or he becomes unable to enforce the agreement.

They obviously took longer so I responded telling them this and also stated that the statement showed the last payment was in 2015 making it statute barred. 

Today I've received a letter from HM courts and tribunals with a response pack. I need to know whether I can dispute this on my own or if the courts will still pursue regardless and I'm wasting my time. Any help and guidance would be much appreciated. 

sourcrates

The 12 working days response time quoted in sec 77, stems from 1978, and are just guidelines, not actual rules.

The unenforceability only lasts until the lender does send you what you requested.

You need to follow the court process now, if I remember rightly we assumed they were unaware of payments made since 2015, so you should defend the claim on the basis the debt is statute barred, and see where it leads you.

ZoeB23

Thank you for your response.
Do you have much knowledge of this process? If I defend myself and I'm unsuccessful will I the have to attend court and end up owing more? 

sourcrates

You don`t normally attend court, this is a fast track system, if everyone defending a debt claim attended court in person, it would collapse the system within weeks.

No, its all done by post and online, you complete the defence form and submit it to the address provided in the response pack, your defence should be simple and to the point:

 "time has run out for the creditor to collect on this debt as I believe it to be statute barred under section 5, limitation act 1980".

That all you need to put, let them either agree that`s the case or provide evidence to the court to the contrary.

Best outcome, you win, don`t have to pay anything, you walk away with head held high.

Worst case scenario, you lose, they prove their case, you repay what is owed at an affordable monthly amount agreed with the court.

Pretty simple and straightforward, no real downside to it, you would have a CCJ on file, but you won`t be much worse off than you are currently.

fatbelly

The resources you need are at

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues/received-a-court-claim

ZoeB23

sourcrates said:

You don`t normally attend court, this is a fast track system, if everyone defending a debt claim attended court in person, it would collapse the system within weeks.

No, its all done by post and online, you complete the defence form and submit it to the address provided in the response pack, your defence should be simple and to the point:

 "time has run out for the creditor to collect on this debt as I believe it to be statute barred under section 5, limitation act 1980".

That all you need to put, let them either agree that`s the case or provide evidence to the court to the contrary.

Best outcome, you win, don`t have to pay anything, you walk away with head held high.

Worst case scenario, you lose, they prove their case, you repay what is owed at an affordable monthly amount agreed with the court.

Pretty simple and straightforward, no real downside to it, you would have a CCJ on file, but you won`t be much worse off than you are currently.

Thank you for explaining.
If I do lose and I repay what is owed, I still receive a CCJ? 

sourcrates

Yes if you lose, you will get a CCJ, but all that means is you get a court approved payment plan, that`s all a CCJ is.

Yes its bad for your credit worthiness, and it may affect some jobs if you work in finance for example, but in the vast majority of cases its nothing to fret about.

But think positively, you can win this.

ManyWays

If you lose and you can repay the CCJ in full within one month the CCJ on your record will be deleted. This lets people defend a court claim, secure in the knowledge that if they lose they can still clear it.

ZoeB23

ManyWays said:

If you lose and you can repay the CCJ in full within one month the CCJ on your record will be deleted. This lets people defend a court claim, secure in the knowledge that if they lose they can still clear it.

Oh really, thank you for letting me know. I've had a look online and seen different things. I would be in a position to pay it if I do lose, but I've not come across anything yet that says you have a month to pay it and the ccj would be removed. I can't risk it staying on my credit file that's why I need to be 100% sure to defend.