Hi All, Im new here so apologise if this question is in the wrong place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I have recently received a claim form from the county court which would indicate that a debt collector is due to commence proceedings against me for a debt I allegedly owe.I have made constant effort to try and resolve this with the creditor and with the help of a debt counsellor have requested on numerous occasions the loan agreement and details that would prove I owe the amount they claim. I am currently disputing over 9k that they claim I owe. The creditors have admitted they cannot provide the original loan agreement. This was sold to them some time ago- and I assume without the agreement details. Whilst I agree I do owe them some (not sure the exact amount as the original loan was for 3k) I was advised that the loan was unenforceable and until they can provide the details of how much i owed, i was not obliged to make any payment. They now claim i owe over 11k, with interest fees etc added on top. They say in the court claim form they have complied with sections III and IV and annex B of pre action conduct- but I would dispute this. I have asked them numerous times to provide details before I make payment but they have failed to do so. There was a time when I was inundated with up to 4 or 5 phone calls a day starting at 8am and up to 9pm at night. This was on top of 4 or 5 letters a month. as a result it caused me endless stress and I ultimately buckled and made an offer under stress, with the condition they would provide details in due course. They agreed, accepted a reduced payment but never provided the proof. I then contacted a debt counsellor who ultimately advised me to stop payments until they could provide the requested info. Sadly my counsellor who was acting independantly, passed away last year. I am currently trying to obtain my files from his family. The whole reason I failed to make payments in the first place was because I was forced to give up work to take custody of my two young daughters as a lone parent. What dad would refuse? Ultimately it had a huge impact on my finances. i had a very well paid professional career and then ended up on state benefits. All my records on the debt were lost in house moves. I am not trying to wish my debt away, but in all this have disputed the amount. Had the creditors provided the information as I requested I would have gladly made an offer of resolving this. they failed to do so. I have been told by people that because I agreed to make payment in the past I have accepted liability, but I have also in the past by my debt counsellor, been advised that because this was under duress and conditional on the fact they would later provide the documents this would not matter. What baffles me, is how can they prove in court how much they claim I owe, if they cant provide the original documents? I am thinking they could still be calling my bluff, because some people would panic and reply to the courts thus admitting liability in this situation, but if I continue to stand my ground and insist they prove the amount they claim then they may eventually realise in actual fact they cant. The bottom line is they cant. Im just worried how this will look in the eyes of the courts. I did write to them reminding them that under the consumer credit Act of 1974 sections 77-78 it states that they have a duty to provide the original signed credit agreement within a reasonable time and if this information is NOT provided within 12 working days they cannot take further action until the agreement is provided. Again this was done under advice and again they failed to provide which in my opinion breaches sections III and IV on the court papers which they claim to have adhered to. Had they provided this I could have resolved this in an amicable manner. I have 14 days in which to respond to the courts.
I have recently received a claim form from the county court which would indicate that a debt collector is due to commence proceedings against me for a debt I allegedly owe.I have made constant effort to try and resolve this with the creditor and with the help of a debt counsellor have requested on numerous occasions the loan agreement and details that would prove I owe the amount they claim. I am currently disputing over 9k that they claim I owe. The creditors have admitted they cannot provide the original loan agreement. This was sold to them some time ago- and I assume without the agreement details. Whilst I agree I do owe them some (not sure the exact amount as the original loan was for 3k) I was advised that the loan was unenforceable and until they can provide the details of how much i owed, i was not obliged to make any payment. They now claim i owe over 11k, with interest fees etc added on top. They say in the court claim form they have complied with sections III and IV and annex B of pre action conduct- but I would dispute this. I have asked them numerous times to provide details before I make payment but they have failed to do so. There was a time when I was inundated with up to 4 or 5 phone calls a day starting at 8am and up to 9pm at night. This was on top of 4 or 5 letters a month. as a result it caused me endless stress and I ultimately buckled and made an offer under stress, with the condition they would provide details in due course. They agreed, accepted a reduced payment but never provided the proof. I then contacted a debt counsellor who ultimately advised me to stop payments until they could provide the requested info. Sadly my counsellor who was acting independantly, passed away last year. I am currently trying to obtain my files from his family. The whole reason I failed to make payments in the first place was because I was forced to give up work to take custody of my two young daughters as a lone parent. What dad would refuse? Ultimately it had a huge impact on my finances. i had a very well paid professional career and then ended up on state benefits. All my records on the debt were lost in house moves. I am not trying to wish my debt away, but in all this have disputed the amount. Had the creditors provided the information as I requested I would have gladly made an offer of resolving this. they failed to do so. I have been told by people that because I agreed to make payment in the past I have accepted liability, but I have also in the past by my debt counsellor, been advised that because this was under duress and conditional on the fact they would later provide the documents this would not matter. What baffles me, is how can they prove in court how much they claim I owe, if they cant provide the original documents? I am thinking they could still be calling my bluff, because some people would panic and reply to the courts thus admitting liability in this situation, but if I continue to stand my ground and insist they prove the amount they claim then they may eventually realise in actual fact they cant. The bottom line is they cant. Im just worried how this will look in the eyes of the courts. I did write to them reminding them that under the consumer credit Act of 1974 sections 77-78 it states that they have a duty to provide the original signed credit agreement within a reasonable time and if this information is NOT provided within 12 working days they cannot take further action until the agreement is provided. Again this was done under advice and again they failed to provide which in my opinion breaches sections III and IV on the court papers which they claim to have adhered to. Had they provided this I could have resolved this in an amicable manner. I have 14 days in which to respond to the courts.