Caesar UE Diary

[Caesar]

Hi guys, thank you all for your help and support. Last week I had the trial and as expected, I lost. I try to make a resume of what happened, maybe it would be helpful for someone.
Because of covid, it was a telephone hearing. The trial started 10 min late and all was very fast. First of all, the judge said he didn't have time to read the witness statements. For me, the outcome was obvious from the beginning, the judge asked to me if I agree with Uncle Buck debt, why I'm not paying it. And I told him because the Claimant didn't prove he owns the debt. But it was unimportant for him, the only thing that matters is the contract with Uncle Buck. He said said he doesn't know the laws regarding this, so it's on me to prove there is something wrong with it. And I should provide using examples from commercial law.
They had some mistakes in their paper, some reconstituted documents, with wrong date, or different format from the original one, but it was fine for the judge. I complained about UB sold the account without termination of contract or ND, and when I wanted to argue about the chain of assignments, the judge rushed me and he said there is no time and he has to make a decision.
The Claimant's solicitor didn't have too much clue about the debt, most of the times he said he is not aware of this, or doesn't know about what I asked but still in the end they won. I think a good solicitor will win easy against these bunch of amateurs.
The judge accepted all their request, and they added £200 on top of the claim which was less than £500. I requested 28 days to pay, but the judge said: ,,you don't need 28 days, 14 it's fine.'' My opinion was he treated me bad from the beginning until the end. Maybe he has his own reasons. I have to agree I lost because of me, I don't have the knowledge to win this, but his attitude disappointed me and he didn't give any chance.

He said to contact Perch Capital to make the payment asap. What should I do next? Contact Perch and tell them what? How should I make the payment and how to prove to the court this? Can someone please advice me what steps to take in order not get a ccj on my file?

[Warwick65]

I would send hard copies to both as well, just to be sure

[Caesar]

I almost have ready my Witness Statement. Can someone advice how it is the procedure to send? Email to the court and to the Claimant and electronic signed is it ok? I have to send it latest on Thursday.

One more thing. On their witness statement, my name is spelled wrong. One letter is not correct. Should I mention something about this?

[Caesar]

Checking the documents regarding this claim I've discovered something interesting on TM Legal reply to my defence:

,,As you are not a party to the agreement with the original creditor DJS (UK) Limited, we cannot share a copy of the document or any details contained therein due to it being subject to confidentiality and the fact that it contains commercially sensitive information.''

DJS (UK) Limited is owner of Piggy Bank and the original creditor for the claim is Uncle Buck. Can this help me if I add on the Witness Statement?

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Just because you have been sent a notice, it is does not mean the notice is compliant.

I couldn't agree with you more

Di

[Colin G Quinn]

Yes, I have received it.

[Caesar]

Hi Colin, thank you again for help.

I've sent you the email.

[Colin G Quinn]

Hi Caesar,

There is no need to apologise.

If you want me to take a look at the default notice you have received feel free to email me a copy. My email is in the legal disclaimer below. Just because you have been sent a notice, it is does not mean the notice is compliant.

[Caesar]

Hi Colin,

Thank you so much for reply. It helps a lot. Sorry if I have silly questions but it's my first time in this situation.

A claimant not being authorised is a point of law and should be considered by the trial judge on that basis, regardless of whether or not you have pleaded it in your defence. The difficulty is that the 'unauthorised argument' is a complex one and it is not just a case of alleging the claimant is unauthorised, as there are exemptions to this which can be argued by the claimant.

So if I add this on witness of statement I should also prove that and to show that there is no exceptions in their case. I've checked on FCA website but I couldn't find anywhere a list with the 'unauthorised' companies. Maybe Perch Capital reply on the thing that TM Legal that work on their behalf are FCA authorised.

If there have been a number of assignments the claimant must prove the chain of title to the alleged debt.

They didn't want to show the papers when I requested.
I have a feeling that their paperwork is weak but I am a novice to this and have no knowledge to defend. So they rely on my weakness, not on their papers.

What do you mean when you say you have been sent a 'dodgy Notice of Default'?

The Notice of Default was sent by the company dealing on the owner of the account behalf. Original creditor sold the account without sending me a ND.
First they've sent a Notice of Default via email without their or my address on it or the date, but a week later they send another ND by post with all this on the letter.
But it wasn't sent by the creditor and no mention about any special clause that I broke. It was something general. I will post it here without name and numbers.

,,NOTICE OF DEFAULT TMLS
Customer Reference: xxxxx
Original Creditor: uncle buck finance llp
Total Balance Outstanding: £x
IMPORTANT - YOU SHOULD READ THIS CAREFULLY Dear Mr x x, Your fixed-Sum credit Agreement with uncle buck finance llp (now Perch Capital) dated xx/xx/xxxx, and numbered xxxx (the "agreement") which is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the "CCA"). This is a default notice served on you under Section 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 because you have failed to keep to the terms of the agreement. This notice is being issued by TM Legal Services (TMLS) on behalf of Asset Collections and Investigations (ACI) in its capacity as the Master Servicer of your account, acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt. Under the terms of your agreement, you were required to make regular payments under the agreement on set dates until the full amount borrowed had been repaid, plus any applicable interest (typically within six months of the agreement date) but you have failed to do so. You must remedy your breach of the agreement by paying us £x by xx/xx/xxxx. You can make payment by calling us on 01253 531 250 or by making a bank transfer. If you have an arrangement in place with uncle buck finance llp this has now been cancelled and will need to be re-set up with TMLS now that we have acquired your account. If you are paying by direct debit, please remember to cancel your existing payment.''

[Colin G Quinn]

Hi Caesar,

A claimant not being authorised is a point of law and should be considered by the trial judge on that basis, regardless of whether or not you have pleaded it in your defence. The difficulty is that the 'unauthorised argument' is a complex one and it is not just a case of alleging the claimant is unauthorised, as there are exemptions to this which can be argued by the claimant.

If there have been a number of assignments the claimant must prove the chain of title to the alleged debt.

What do you mean when you say you have been sent a 'dodgy Notice of Default'?

A witness statement is your opportunity to set out your position and expand upon your defence. However, a statement should be confined to matters which are relevant and within your knowledge. For example, it should not contain opinion, bald assertions or unfounded accusations. The witness statement should only contain statements of facts which, if questioned in court, you would realistically be able to attest to.

You can find out how to draft a witness statement by visiting https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...ess-statements. Your statement of truth should be in the following form, '‘I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement 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.’'

[Caesar]

11. Uncle Buck payday loan

• Type of account (payday loan)
• Date commenced (2016)
• Approx balance £500
• Date last paid (2016)
• Arrangement: not paying
• Status (default)
• Account owner (new owner Perch Capital)

June 2018 Email from Uncle Buck that they have assigned my account to Asset Collections and Investigations.
I had a payment plan with Uncle Buck which I stopped it when I complained to FOS. My complaint was rejected but I haven't restarted the payment?
Sept 2018 Letter of Assignment from Asset sent again
Sept 2018 Letter of Claim from TM Legal Services regarding this debt
Oct 2018 CCA request to Asset Collections
Oct 2018 GDPR (SAR) request to original creditor Uncle Buck
Oct 2018 Received email from TM Legal Services my requested credit agreement
Oct 2018 GDPR (SAR) received from Uncle Buck but no Default Notice or Assignment Letter on it.
Oct 2018 replied to Letter of Claim and denied the debts. I have requested the Default Notice
Oct 2018. Email from TM Legal :,,Thank you for your response to our letter of claim. Unfortunately we are not supplied information regarding how and when the Default Notice is served. You can request this information directly from Uncle Buck''
March 2019 a new Letter of Claim from TM Legal Services
March 2019. Replied to LoC and requested one more time Notice of Default. Email from TM Legal :,,Thank you for your response to our letter of claim. Unfortunately we are not supplied information regarding how and when the Default Notice is served. You can request this information directly from Uncle Buck''
Sept 2019. Email from TM Legal Services: Asset Collections sold my account to Perch Capital Limited. Perch Capital appointed ACI and ACI have instructed TM Legal to continue to manage my account.
January 2020 Default notice (served by email) issued by TMLS on behalf of ACI who is acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt.
March 2020 County Court Claim issued by Perch Capital
March 2020 I submitted the defense and made s77 and cpr34.14 request
May 2020 I filled in the Directions Questionnaire. I said yes for mediation, but Perch Capital refused it and wanted to proceed with the claim.

I have only 3 weeks until the hearing of County Court Claim with Perch Capital and I have some questions to fill in the witness statement:

1. Perch Capital are not FCA Authorised. Can someone confirm this? If they are not FCA Authorised can I use this on my Witness statement despite this wasn't added on my defence?

2. My account was sold from Uncle Buck to Asset Collection and from Asset Collection to Perch Capital without serving a default notice. Right before the court claim TM Legal issued a dodgy Notice of Default on behalf of Asset Collection who is acting for Perch Capital. I know all this 3 companies are actually the same people. How can I use this on Witness statement?

3. This is their reply after my s77 and cpr34.14 request:
,,We acknowledge that a proof of sale of this debt has been requested. We can confirm that this debt was assigned pursuant to the Law of Property Act 1925. As you are not a party to the agreement with the original creditor DJS (UK) Limited, we cannot share a copy of the document or any details contained therein due to it being subject to confidentiality and the fact that it contains commercially sensitive information.
It is noted that you deny being issued with a Notice of Sums In Arrears, Default Notice and Notice of Assignment. For the avoidance of doubt, we have attached copies of the requested documents that were notably issued to the same email address that you served us a copy of your defence from.
The Claimant wishes to highlight that within your defence you do not deny taking out the loan. You do not deny knowledge that defaulted payments to Uncle Buck Payday Loans LLP incur additional costs. You not even deny that the amount claimed by the Claimant is not correct. Your defence outlines documents that you believe you have not received, however, we have now provided you with sufficient evidence to assert the issuing of those documents. The Claimant has provided evidence that they have complied with these rules and protocols in order to claim the value of the debt.''

I highlighted in red that the amount requested by them didn't match with the amount of the original account but I haven't used this on my defence.

It's first time for me in this situation and have no idea about how to build a Witness statement and what kind of words to use this information. Can someone please help me with this?

[Caesar]

Does the letter say it will be a telephone hearing or maybe a virtual one?

The hearing is taking place remotely and the parties should not come to the court. One more question here to avoid any confusion because I am not familiar with the terms. The hearing means the trial, right? The date for the trial is on the paper and the name of the County Court.

You will need to send your Witness Statement on or before the 7 day deadline. I think you would have every right to say in your witness statement that you had asked for evidence of the assignment chain and this had been refused. I also think you would be able to say that no S87 Default Notice was received from Uncle Buck. Be careful with your wording as a) you don't want to lie but also you wouldn't want the judge to think you were using word play to try and appear clever- it might annoy them.

I would say that you agreed to mediation but Perch refused

This is one thing that I am worried, what words to use because the terms are not very familiar to me. Can I find somewhere a model of Witness Statement to see how it should look like?
On the letter it says I have to send the Witness Statement no later than 7 days before the hearing.

I imagine they have been told to pay the court fee before the date, it is usually 14 days. They may or mayn't do that. Also just to further confuse you they may or mayn't send someone to court and usually they will be a local lawyer . If you do not attend then they will almost certainly win by default

Maybe others can add to what I have said.

They have one month to pay the trial fee or to settle this with me.
I am planning to attend the trial, no matter if I have a good or bad defense.

[scottygees]

Hi, can someone please help me regarding this trial? I have no idea what to do. Just received a letter from the court regarding the trial date but nothing about the hearing time. ,,No later than 7 days before the hearing the parties must send to each other and the court copies of all documents upon which they will rely.''
On my defense I pointed out the missing of the Default Notice. Uncle Buck sent the account to Asset Collection without providing me a DN, Asset Collection sold the account to Perch Capital the same without DN. Right before de court claim, it was a Default notice issued by TMLS on behalf of ACI who is acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt. Were they acting right?
Another thing, I requested a proof of sale, but they didn't want to show and said the documents are confidential.
The amount they requested on court claim is different that the amount that was in my Uncle Buck account by a few pounds. Is that an issue for them?
I have no idea about what to expect so any help is more than welcome.

Hi Caesar

i know exactly what you are going through. I myself have just thrown the towel in as I haven’t got a clue what to expect or how to argue my case at trial. I have a dodgy default notice on a Piggybank account but if I got asked further questions would probably just crumble as to not knowing the full legal requirements. Again I wouldn’t know how to draft a witness statement that is compliant. As with yourself I was hoping mediation would happen but though the claimant agreed to it they didn’t provide the mediation service any contact details so the claim was just tracked to the small claims which seemed wrong to me. In the end I have agreed a £20 a month payment with a view to offering a F&F in about 6 months to clear the debt. Good luck with your claim, fingers crossed you are successful in your defence.

[Warwick65]

Hi, can someone please help me regarding this trial? I have no idea what to do. Just received a letter from the court regarding the trial date but nothing about the hearing time. ,,No later than 7 days before the hearing the parties must send to each other and the court copies of all documents upon which they will rely.''
On my defense I pointed out the missing of the Default Notice. Uncle Buck sent the account to Asset Collection without providing me a DN, Asset Collection sold the account to Perch Capital the same without DN. Right before de court claim, it was a Default notice issued by TMLS on behalf of ACI who is acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt. Were they acting right?
Another thing, I requested a proof of sale, but they didn't want to show and said the documents are confidential.
The amount they requested on court claim is different that the amount that was in my Uncle Buck account by a few pounds. Is that an issue for them?

I have no idea about what to expect so any help is more than welcome.

Does the letter say it will be a telephone hearing or maybe a virtual one?

You will need to send your Witness Statement on or before the 7 day deadline. I think you would have every right to say in your witness statement that you had asked for evidence of the assignment chain and this had been refused. I also think you would be able to say that no S87 Default Notice was received from Uncle Buck. Be careful with your wording as a) you don't want to lie but also you wouldn't want the judge to think you were using word play to try and appear clever- it might annoy them.

I would say that you agreed to mediation but Perch refused

I imagine they have been told to pay the court fee before the date, it is usually 14 days. They may or mayn't do that. Also just to further confuse you they may or mayn't send someone to court and usually they will be a local lawyer . If you do not attend then they will almost certainly win by default

Maybe others can add to what I have said.

[Caesar]

11. Uncle Buck payday loan

• Type of account (payday loan)
• Date commenced (2016)
• Approx balance £500
• Date last paid (2016)
• Arrangement: not paying
• Status (default)
• Account owner (new owner Perch Capital)

June 2018 Email from Uncle Buck that they have assigned my account to Asset Collections and Investigations.
I had a payment plan with Uncle Buck which I stopped it when I complained to FOS. My complaint was rejected but I haven't restarted the payment?
Sept 2018 Letter of Assignment from Asset sent again
Sept 2018 Letter of Claim from TM Legal Services regarding this debt
Oct 2018 CCA request to Asset Collections
Oct 2018 GDPR (SAR) request to original creditor Uncle Buck
Oct 2018 Received email from TM Legal Services my requested credit agreement
Oct 2018 GDPR (SAR) received from Uncle Buck but no Default Notice or Assignment Letter on it.
Oct 2018 replied to Letter of Claim and denied the debts. I have requested the Default Notice
Oct 2018. Email from TM Legal :,,Thank you for your response to our letter of claim. Unfortunately we are not supplied information regarding how and when the Default Notice is served. You can request this information directly from Uncle Buck''
March 2019 a new Letter of Claim from TM Legal Services
March 2019. Replied to LoC and requested one more time Notice of Default. Email from TM Legal :,,Thank you for your response to our letter of claim. Unfortunately we are not supplied information regarding how and when the Default Notice is served. You can request this information directly from Uncle Buck''
Sept 2019. Email from TM Legal Services: Asset Collections sold my account to Perch Capital Limited. Perch Capital appointed ACI and ACI have instructed TM Legal to continue to manage my account.
January 2020 Default notice (served by email) issued by TMLS on behalf of ACI who is acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt.
March 2020 County Court Claim issued by Perch Capital
March 2020 I submitted the defense and made s77 and cpr34.14 request
May 2020 I filled in the Directions Questionnaire. I said yes for mediation, but Perch Capital refused it and wanted to proceed with the claim.

Hi, can someone please help me regarding this trial? I have no idea what to do. Just received a letter from the court regarding the trial date but nothing about the hearing time. ,,No later than 7 days before the hearing the parties must send to each other and the court copies of all documents upon which they will rely.''
On my defense I pointed out the missing of the Default Notice. Uncle Buck sent the account to Asset Collection without providing me a DN, Asset Collection sold the account to Perch Capital the same without DN. Right before de court claim, it was a Default notice issued by TMLS on behalf of ACI who is acting for Perch Capital, the legal owner of the debt. Were they acting right?
Another thing, I requested a proof of sale, but they didn't want to show and said the documents are confidential.
The amount they requested on court claim is different that the amount that was in my Uncle Buck account by a few pounds. Is that an issue for them?

I have no idea about what to expect so any help is more than welcome.