Q&A With Niddy & Joanna Connolly

[Never-In-Doubt]

The answer would be???

Does a bear shit in the woods.....

[The Tech Clerk]

Does a bear shit in the woods.....

Thats two 1/3rds of the way!

[Joanna Connolly]

Yes - they are in the Channel Islands and have to serve on the Defendant in England/Wales or Scotland out of jurisdiction. It complicates the process . If you are going to challenge jurisdiction if they haven't followed the correct procedure you need to do so before acknowledging service. On the Acknowledgment of Service form they have a box to tick which says you are contesting jurisdiction.

[charitynjw]

Thanks for that.
If service has been ack'd, but the defence has not yet been filed, can one correct this unfortunate oversight of not correctly contesting jurisdiction?

[charitynjw]

Does a bear shit in the woods.....

Lol!
Possibly......somewhere near that tree that falls when no-one is around.
On that vein, if a man is in the middle of a forest........again, no-one else around.....& he says something.........

.....is he still wrong?

[charitynjw]

Brooks v AH Brooks & Co (a firm) [2010] EWHC 2720 (Ch) (04 November 2010)

(HHJ David Cooke at 19)

The position therefore is that Kennedys were entitled to, and did, acknowledge service on behalf of both Mr Morris and Mrs Morris, and in my judgment both of them are bound by that acknowlegement, which waives any defect in service.

[charitynjw]

Another question, if I may.
When can you invoke CPR?
At threat of litigation?
Only when a claim is issued?
At any time when litigation is contemplated?

[Roger]

Another question, if I may.
When can you invoke CPR?
At threat of litigation?
Only when a claim is issued?
At any time when litigation is contemplated?

Seems to me that is missing the point of AAD and indeed Niddy's open offer here! AAD as you realise through the Diary format provides a historical starting record of key events and communications and responses so that suggestions over guidance and advice can be given to Debtors who are perhaps traumatised already.
So delving into CPR, Threat of Litigation, Claim issued is really hypothetical and frankly not helpful. By this stage I would be seeking Professional advice!

We already have an excellent material now vis Default Notices, really useful for looking at individual Diaries.

I have an experience however that I don't quite understand vis Default's and Credit Reporting. This is a couple of Cases where the Accounts were expressly closed BUT continued on its seems partial terms. Later Default Notices were issue (accounts already closed). Can this be done and shouldn't the Credit Reporting have been at the time the Account was closed?

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Seems to me that is missing the point of AAD and indeed Niddy's open offer here! AAD as you realise through the Diary format provides a historical starting record of key events and communications and responses so that suggestions over guidance and advice can be given to Debtors who are perhaps traumatised already.
So delving into CPR, Threat of Litigation, Claim issued is really hypothetical and frankly not helpful.

Perhaps one purpose of this thread is to ask hypothetical questions covering all sorts of debt issues including legal questions for Joanna Connolly to answer.

I'll make her aware there have been some new questions over the weekend.

Di

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

When can you invoke CPR?
At threat of litigation?
Only when a claim is issued?
At any time when litigation is contemplated?

Civil Procedure Rules apply once a claim has been issued, not before.


This is a basic explanation of how CPRs work written in Plain English >


Civil litigation and Civil Procedure Rules


Civil litigation is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which came into effect in 1998. The CPR represent a single code of rules setting out how a case is to be conducted in the civil courts in England and Wales.

The CPR comprise rules, regulations and guidelines in relation to civil court procedure and have been updated numerous times over the years. They must be complied with by all parties to civil proceedings (though there are separate Criminal Procedure Rules related to criminal proceedings).

When applying the CPR, the courts must have regard to the parties’ rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, for instance, the Article 6 right to a fair trial. The courts must also comply with all other Convention rules unless a declaration of incompatibility is made. This is a declaration stating that legislation is incompatible with someone’s human rights. CPR in Parts


The CPR are divided into 74 Parts, each with several Rules. There are also Practice Directions which relate to each Part. Practice Directions are divided into paragraphs and their purpose is to assist in clarification and better understanding of the main rules. The most important Parts of the CPR are: Part 1 Rule 1


Rule 1 states that it is the overriding objective of the court to deal with cases justly. Dealing with cases justly means preserving equality of the parties to the dispute; saving expenses; dealing with cases proportionately bearing in mind the complexity and nature of the case; and ensuring that cases are dealt with fairly and expeditiously.

The court must also allot an appropriate share of resources to each case. This overriding objective has to be considered at all stages in proceedings, and when interpreting other Rules within the CPR. The Rules also impose an obligation on the parties and the state to help the court to further preserve overriding objective. Part 3


This sets out the court’s case management powers and service of court documents. It also includes recent amendments relating to cost budgeting rules, and collection and refunds of hearing fees. CPR Part 6 and Part 7


This sets out the rules on how to start proceedings and explains what a claim form is and what it must contain. It includes detailed rules on the service of documents on another party. Parts 10, 14, 15, 16


These set out how to start proceedings. Proceedings are started when a claim form is issued by the court on the request of the claimant, and served on the defendant. The claim form must contain a Particulars of Claim together with the remedy which is sought, and whether the claim is for money. The claim form (usually N1) must be filled in by the claimant, and sufficient copies for the defendant and the court must be attached. There is a fee which must be paid when the documentation is filed at court.

The claim form must be served on the defendant within 4 months of its issue (6 months if the service is to a foreign jurisdiction). A claim form is not complete without Particulars of Claim. This can be included within the claim form itself, or within a separate document and served together with the claim form. Particulars of Claim must be served within 14 days of the service of the claim form. Rules on service still apply under Rule 6. The Particulars of Claim must be verified and contain statement of truth (Part 22). The defendant must then respond to the claim form. Parts 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16


The defendant must file an acknowledgement of service, or file or serve an admission (Part 14) or file a defence (Parts 15, 16). A defence must be filed 14 days after service of the Particulars of Claim. If the defendant files an acknowledgement of service the defence should follow 28 days after service of Particulars of Claim.

The defendant must state in the defence which allegations it does or does not admit, and which allegations it denies. The defence must also be verified by a statement of truth. The defendant can file a counterclaim against the Claimant (Part 20). CPR Parts 26, 27, 28, 29


Once the defence is filed, the court starts active management of the case. Each party must file an allocation questionnaires and the court will then allocate the case to one of three ‘tracks’ as appropriate. These are the small claims track, fast track and multi-track. Other Parts


Other Parts of the CPR regulate more specific procedures including disclosure and inspection of documents (Part 31), rules on evidence (Part 32), rules on expert evidence (Part 35) together with Experts’ Protocol, offers to settle (Part 36), and rules about costs (Part 44)

[Timewilltell]

At what point can I consider applying for a mortgage if I have outstanding debts that have fallen off my credit file but are not yet SB?

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

At what point can I consider applying for a mortgage if I have outstanding debts that have fallen off my credit file but are not yet SB?

In my personal experience lenders will ask for a full list of all your liabilities in order to assess affordability of a mortgage application. In some cases they may make paying off other liabilities a condition of any loan.

If these debts are not showing on your CRA file that may help at the DIP (Decision in Principle) stage which is a based on credit scoring, but you couldn't honestly deny their existence if asked to sign a declaration.

However there are lenders who will lend to borrowers with 'impaired' credit history, but the interest rates can be high.

A good broker who can source whole of market products is probably the best way forward.

Di

[Timewilltell]

Thanks Di, Would it make any difference if the debts were either SB or ‘won’ in court?

[Joanna Connolly]

Yes if the debt is statute barred and you have informed that creditor that it is statute barred and you will not be making any further payments. If the claim has been dismissed then that is also an end of the matter.

[julian]

It is not a good idea to bank where you have debts as there is a possibility of offset/claw back.

Is there a time limit to the possibility of offset?

EG
Have a current account for 50 years, have a credit card.
Have overdraft and defaulted credit cards.

Bank pays credit card bills from current account.

Eventually complain as fail to pay DDs for necessary bills viz mortgage, CT, etc. Plus charging for bouncing DDs which charge for failure to pay. Double whammy.

Bank stops paying CC and gradually reduces overdraft limit, so no spare.

Find another bank, pay down and cancel overdraft but keep account. CC remains defaulted and unpaid 8 years >SB (?)

Old account keeps a single ingress and DD.

Old bank has not taken any further "unauthorised" payments. CC not sold on, chased for a few years but silent for years.

Can they offset against an SB debt? Till when?

I assume when the Bank's name is on the CC the Bank owns the debt.

[stuckinarut]

Joanna Connolly


Hi Joanna. Hope all is well. I have a wee question if i may. My current account overdraught was on an arrangement to pay. for a while (bank of scotland)
Then it was Defaulted and sold the same day. To cabot Financial uk Ltd. i received the alleged Default and assignment notice in the same envelope from cabot. (its as plain as day that the same printer was used) its now ended up with Debt Managers ltd who are claiming on behalf of cabot credit management group Europe.
Also have credit card accounts that were sold and fully assigned to cabot Financial uk ltd. Just wondering if they would have assignment issues if things ended up in court? Thanks in advance Joanna your time is valuable and much appreciated.

Never-In-Doubt
Joanna Connolly
Diana Mayhew
Hi Niddy - Jo -Diana
Looks like my post has not been seen. No worries with that tho. Everyone is busy busy. Can i also ask. regarding bank overdraughts. i have used the sites wonderfull 2 o/d letters. However now that the overdraughts seem to get covered by the cca. would that be another weapon further down the line?. Thanks in advance. your time is much appreciated