Link Financial Outsourcing dispute

Lz?Kithra wrote: »

Thanks fatbelly, if they want to take it to court I'll definitely ask for a "stay". And, as the debt is only just over £1,200 it might be too expensive for them to go the court for such a smallish sum.

I'm still not exactly sure what a reconstituted copy is, especially as this goes all the way back to 2004 under the 1974 act which, I believe, has since been changed for debts after a certain date.

A reconstituted copy (not the original but one that contains all the prescribed terms of the original) complies with the s77-79 requirements but as yours is pre-2007 you still have s 127(3) to rely on:

The court shall not make an enforcement order under section 65(1) if section 61(1)(a) (signing of agreements) was not complied with unless a document (whether or not in the prescribed form and complying with regulations under section 60(1)) itself containing all the prescribed terms of the agreement was signed by the debtor or hirer (whether or not in the prescribed manner).

As there appears to no evidence you signed anything, you are in a relatively strong position.

Lz?Kithra wrote: »

if they want to take it to court I'll definitely ask for a "stay". And, as the debt is only just over £1,200 it might be too expensive for them to go the court for such a smallish sum.

It seems you are a long way off them taking you to court, and there are things which you can do now to build a case against them in case they do decide to issue.

The court fee for making an online claim for a debt between £1k and £1.5k is only £70 so it's not much of a deterrent, plus the fact that in the Small Claims Court the loser doesn't pay the winner's legal costs so they wouldn't be taking a risk on increasing the debt if their claim was unsuccessful.

Debt purchasers tend to gamble on the fact that 90% of claims go straight to a Default Judgment (CCJ) because the Defendant fails to meet the court deadlines.

However they would be investing their time and resources if you defended any claim meaning the case would trundle on through the court system for months which may make them hesitate (or Discontinue the claim once they realise they can't win) but don't count on it.

At the moment they have not complied with your s 77-78 CCA Request which helps Did you keep a copy of the Request you sent and their responses?

If this was a Capital One credit card then they may have a problem with proving a Default Notice was issued/served (a common headache for the debt purchaser). Sometimes Link issue their own DN which is no remedy since an account must be defaulted (preceded by a S87(1) Default Notice) before it is terminated and assigned to the next entity.

If they were to take you to court you may be better off seeking a 'strike-out' of their claim rather than a 'stay' which may give them time to remedy the problem (reconstitute a convincing credit agreement).

Anyway it's too early to talk about a claim since they've not even sent you a Letter Before Claim which gives you 30 days to reply which is the time to challenge them.

See what they say/do next, and whatever you do don't be confrontational.

Di

Lz?Kithra wrote: »

[FONT=&quot] And, one other question: Is there a legal requirement to send them an income and expenditure form whenever they ask me to complete one?[/FONT]

The straight answer to your question is No there is no legal requirement for you to send them an Income & Expenditure Form.

Only a Judge can make an Order that you must do that

Di