If the Original Creditor lent money, make and IRRESPONSIBLE LENDING COMPLAINT
Follow the CPR-18 PROCESS which firsts ASKS for the Deed of Assignment and then gets the COURT to ORDER them to provide it when they REFUSE!
If you challenge a debt buyer at the earliest opportunity, you can establish legally that no money is owed. They are required by the Law of Property Act 1925 to have a DEED of Assignment (not a notice). They skip this legal step because they buy debts in bulk without ANY of the paperwork required to make it legal. They can't go back and get the paperwork later.
Prior to court proceedings, Debt buyers like: Lowell, Cabot Financial, BWLegal, Arrow Global, etc. are best dealt with by way of the 3 Letter process, which disputes the debt and asks them to provide the Contract and Deed of Assignment. The DO NOT have the Deed of Assignment, however much they say they have.
This is a good opportunity to put them on the spot to provide the Original Contract and Deed of Assignment. Seize the opportunity and send them the Pre-Action Letter requesting the documents:
If you have a County Court Judgement already, you need to have it SET ASIDE - The form for doing this is an N244. You can get help with the cost by filling in an EX160. Your local County Court can help you with doing this. It can be done online if it was taken out that way. One good reason to have it set aside is if you didn't receive the original paperwork. It currently costs £130 to make an application to set aside if you didn't receive the original paperwork, £275 if you received the claim for but did not act.
You have a right to a FAIR TRIAL under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Follow the instructions on the Summons to ACKNOWLEDGE SERVICE and DISPUTE the claim. YOU SHOULD FILE A DEFENCE stating that the CLAIM is DISPUTED in FULL as you have no CONTRACT with them. What you need to look at are THE PARTICULARS OF CLAIM. These should be numbered and to file a defence you have to go through one at a time and dispute each element of the claim. If you do not dispute it, you are effectively agreeing it. The Particulars of claim are quite often on the County Court Summons, but they can be on a separate piece of paper and it could be forgotten or arrive in a different letter. You should file a defence and then send the letters that lower down on this page. The CPR 18 request for information and a Formal Request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a copy of the contract.
IN THE CIVIL NATIONAL BUSINESS CENTRE
CLAIM NO: [Insert Claim Number]
BETWEEN:
[Claimant's Name]
(Claimant)
AND
[Defendant's Name]
(Defendant)
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DEFENCE OF [Defendant's Name]
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I, [Defendant's Name] of [Defendant's Name], WILL SAY AS FOLLOWS:
Disputed Agreement
a) The Defendant disputes entering into any agreement with Vodafone (hereinafter referred to as the "Alleged Assignor") under account reference 7030493249 (hereinafter referred to as the "Alleged Agreement").
b) The Claimant is put to strict proof to provide a copy of the contract upon which they rely to establish the existence of such an agreement.
Disputed Termination
a) The Defendant disputes that the Alleged Agreement was terminated due to a failure to maintain required payments.
b) The Claimant is required to provide a full breakdown of the amount claimed, including proof of termination and the date on which such termination occurred.
c) The Claimant is put to strict proof to provide copies of all statements and invoices related to this account.
Disputed Assignment
a) The Defendant disputes that the benefit of the Alleged Agreement was legally assigned to the Claimant on 30/08/2018. The Claimant must provide evidence of compliance with:
Section 44 of the Companies Act 2006;
Section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925;
Section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925.
b) The Claimant is put to strict proof to provide the Deed of Assignment required for absolute assignment of the alleged debt.
c) The Defendant is entitled to inspect the Deed of Assignment relied upon. The Defendant is willing to accept redacted copies of any documents containing commercially sensitive information, provided that the evidence relevant to the Defendant remains apparent.
Case Law Supporting Disclosure of Assignment:
Van Lynn Developments v Pelias Construction Co Ltd [1968] 3 All ER 824: Lord Denning MR ruled that a debtor is entitled to view the sale agreement to ensure the assignee can provide a valid discharge.
Hancock v Promontoria (Chestnut) Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 907: Henderson LJ emphasized that the entire document should be disclosed, and any redactions must be fully explained and justified.
Jones v Link Financial Ltd [2013] 1 WLR 693: For a valid legal assignment, the assignment must be absolute, in writing, and notice of assignment must be given to the debtor.
d) The Claimant must provide proof that any Notice of Assignment was served on the Defendant in compliance with Section 196 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The Defendant disputes the validity of any Notice of Assignment until sufficient evidence of its service and accuracy is provided.
Supporting Case Law on Notice of Assignment:
Harrison v Burke [1956] 1 WLR 419: A notice of assignment containing an incorrect date is invalid, as it references a non-existent document.
e) The Defendant formally requests:
- A copy of the Alleged Notice of Assignment and proof of its service (e.g., a delivery receipt or a witness statement confirming service).
- The Deed of Assignment to verify the alleged date of assignment and confirm legal compliance.
4. Disputed Sum and Charges
a) The Defendant disputes the sum of £742.88 and requires a detailed breakdown of how this figure has been calculated, including supporting evidence.
b) The Claimant must provide calculations of VAT included in the sum claimed.
c) Interest claimed under Section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 is disputed, including: - The daily rate of £0.163. - The sum of £51.45. - The Defendant denies any indebtedness to the Claimant and disputes entitlement to statutory interest. - The Claimant, as a debt purchaser, has suffered no direct loss and must disclose the amount paid for the alleged debt to justify any claim for interest.
d) The Defendant disputes the Claimant's costs and invites the court to award costs against the Claimant.
5. Failure to Comply with Civil Procedure Rules
a) The Claimant is in breach of Rule 16.4(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 due to the failure to provide a clear and concise statement of facts.
b) The Particulars of Claim fail to identify:
The date the Defendant allegedly entered into an agreement with Vodafone;
Any associated phone number for the Alleged Agreement;
The nature of the agreement;
The date(s) of the alleged missed payments;
The date the Alleged Assignor allegedly terminated the agreement;
Whether the Claimant relies on an equitable or legal assignment.
c) The Defendant invites the court to strike out the claim due to non-compliance with Practice Direction 16 and Civil Procedure Rule 16.4.
6. Requirement to Produce Original Documents
a) Under Civil Procedure Rule Part 39 PD 39A (3.3), the Defendant reminds the Claimant that they must bring original copies of any documents upon which they intend to rely at any subsequent hearing for examination.
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I believe that the facts stated in this Defence are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a Statement of Truth without an honest belief in its truth.
Signed: _________________________
Printed: [DEFENDANT'S NAME]
Dated: [DATE]
Address: [DEFENDANT'S ADDRESS]
Email: [DEFENDANT'S EMAIL]
Telephone: [DEFENDANT'S PHONE NUMBER]
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It is worth noting that you have 2 angles to dispute, the debt was purchased so The Debt Buyer will not be aware if the original contract was breached by the Company they bought the debt off. So the original contract with the original company can be challenged and the validity of the Contract being transferred to the Debt Buyer. What they need for a successful transfer of the debt is a "Deed of Assignment". Without this all they can produce is a bit of paper with a different company name on it. Because of a change in the law, it is unlikely that they will have a correctly formatted Deed of Assignment, so questioning the validity of that document is important.
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Requests for documents should be made citing Civil Procedure Rules for the best result in either the Debt Buyer dropping the case or the court dismissing it.
Once you've filed a Defence (deadline 33 days after the claim Issue Date) the court will send it to the Claimant advising them that they have 28 days to inform the court if they intend to continue with the proceedings.
If the Claimant doesn't inform the court of their intention then the claim automatically becomes stayed (a pause button on the proceedings).
If the Claimant informs the court that they wish to continue with the proceedings you will be sent a Directions Questionnaire
(Form N180) by the court to complete. The form (form N180) is sent to both Claimant and Defendant:
You must complete this by the date given, and send it back to Northampton, with a copy to the other side (or their solicitors if they've nominated one as the address for service). The recommended answers to the questions are as follows:
Put your name on the first box and tick DEFENDANT
A - MEDIATION the option to decline mediation has been removed.
B - CONTACT DETAILS - Put your details for Court to contact you.
C - TRACK - Tick YES for Small Claims Track.
D - HEARING - tick NO to determination without hearing and put:
"The Defendant respectfully submits that this matter is unsuitable to be determined on paper alone due to the Claimant’s reliance on hearsay evidence. An in-person hearing is required to allow the Defendant to cross-examine the Claimant’s witness and challenge the authenticity and accuracy of the evidence provided."
E - MEDIATION - Put your contact information for MEDIATION.
F - HEARING
F1 - Put your local County Court - If the Claimant asks for a REMOTE HEARING in their N180, object to this, put:
"The Defendant objects to a remote hearing. The Claimant’s evidence relies heavily on hearsay and requires in-person cross-examination. A remote hearing would place the Defendant at a procedural disadvantage."
F2 - NO to Expert Evidence
F3 - ONE Witness unless you wish to call more
F4 - YES if you have holidays booked
F5 - NO for interpreter unless you need one!
F6 - NO unless you or a witness is Vulnerable (and the Court can assist with wheelchair access etc)
G1 - YES you can give evidence in Welsh or English
G2 - ENGLISH (unless you speak Welsh)
G3 - ENGLISH (unless you are Welsh)
SIGN IT and tick DEFENDANT
Note: Some companies are including a 'request for special directions' asking the Court to hear the case on the papers only, without an oral hearing. You should oppose this, and include the following text in D1: “The Defendant opposes the Claimant’s request for special directions, and requests that the case be listed for an oral hearing at the defendant’s home court, pursuant to CPR 26.2A(3)”.
The case file will then be transferred to your local County Court, and you will eventually receive a Notice of Allocation, giving you a date and time for the hearing. It will also specify a deadline for you to submit a Witness Statement, and any other documents you intend to rely on, usually 14 days before the hearing but sometimes earlier than that. Your Witness Statement can expand upon the points made in your original Defence, and must start with the following "I, Joe Bloggs, of 23 Acacia Avenue, Anytown, AN1 2BC, am the Defendant in this matter, and will say as follows". You should attach to your Witness Statement any evidence to support your assertions, eg photos of signage, etc. Optionally, you may also want to include a Skeleton Argument to flesh out the legal points, or you could include those as part of your Witness Statement.
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If the Debt Buyer keeps pushing the matter to court, you ideally want to catch them out for breaching Civil Procedure Rules and apply for the case to be dismissed. If it gets to court it will boil down to a) Do they have a contract with you, which is no, though the original contract may be offered as "the contract". The document they need then is a "Deed of Assignment" which in many cases they will say is a "privileged document" and they will not show it to you. This is because they do not have the document in the correct format if at all. So they may play a game of "cat and mouse", where you are requesting documents and they cannot or will not provide them to you, but they must provide them to the court if so ordered. So if you get to that stage, get the court to order the claimant to produce the documents.
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Don't stop the process until they are ORDERED by the Financial Ombudsman to refund ALL interest and charges:
If a claim Is under £10k, send a CPR 18 Request for Further Information to the claimants solicitor or if they're not using one the Claimant themselves. The whole point to making a CPR18 request is to use it to apply for an Unless Order -
This is a VITAL part of defending yourself against this claim, because if they decide to continue with the claim once you've submitted your defence you can potentially use this request to get your claim struck out
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If the claim is above 10k, and not going to be allocated to the small claims track, you should send a CPR 31.14 request for information.
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This should be sent when a debt is regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Any debt where credit is extended like credit cards, bank loans etc. Quite often the debt buyer is unable to provide a copy of the original contract with the original lender. If they can't provide the original contract, they will find it very difficult to prove that even the original debt existed as well as being unable to prove that the "assignment" of the debt is legal.
The FINAL and probably most important part of defending a Claim.
If the Claimant sends you a Witness Statement they are preparing to argue the case in court and you should file a response.
Often Zombie Debt Buyers will DISCONTINUE their claim BEFORE providing a Witness Statement, so if you receive theirs you should expect them to go all the way to COURT, so you should RESPOND,
Ideally you will have BEAT them BEFORE this stage with CPR-18 and Irresponsible Lending Complaints.
Sometimes the Court will order them to provide theirs first, but sometimes they will order an exchange at the same time!
If this happens, file a Witness Statement as ORDERED by the Court to comply with the instructions.
A Witness Statement for the Defence is normally a point by point DISPUTE of everything in the Claimant's Witness Statement:
If you have compiled filed you Acknowledgement of Service and Allocation Questionnaire and complied with Court instructions and timetable, you should eventually find yourself attending a court hearing. Here are the arguments:
So the legal argument is:
They say ' you owe me money'
You say 'prove it'
They say ' here's the Notice of Assignment from your Original Creditor' (all wet because they've just printed it off)
You say - 'I have the right to see the Deed of Assignment'
They say - 'no you don't, it's commercially sensitive etc etc.'
You say - OK take me to Court and we'll get a Judge to Order the Disclosure as I've a right to see it
They say - shit what do we do now - we don't have it not in the format it should be in - we'll just keep on with the 'you don't have the right to see it' and hope you'll give in
it's a game of bluff and double bluff
Acknowledge claim - extends time to get docs and consider defence to 33 days from date of issue
Once a defence is filed the claimant has 28 days to respond.
Receive a directions questionnaire from the court, which you complete and return. This tells the court where to send the claim (ie your local court).
Probably have a mediation appointment by telephone - good point to settle out of court if needed. (if you ticket for mediation)
Your local court contact you in a few weeks after they get the files and give directions as to the next steps - normally to swap witness statements and evidence, and then give you a hearing date ( normally ends up being 5/6 months from issue of the claim ).
Have the hearing.
Then you have 28 days to pay in full if you don't want the CCJ registered for 6 years. ( so if you want to defend fully it's worth saving up over next few months to ensure you can pay it off in one go if it all goes wrong )