Pre Action Protcol for Debt Claims

by **daveiron** Mon Oct 02, 2017 3:41 pm

Pre Action Protocol for Debt Claims came into force 1st October

Download the PDF it should help with a lot of questions you may have.

by joedalton Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:01 am

Thanks daveiron,

On the face of it, it sounds like great news for debtors. I found some links that make interesting reading.

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/protocols/pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims.pdf

https://www.hilldickinson.com/insights/articles/new-pre-action-protocol-debt-claims

http://www.farrer.co.uk/news/briefings/new-pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims/

http://www.lpc-law.co.uk/news/latest-news/2017/april/pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims/

There are loads more articles on the subject but it does raise some new questions, mainly regarding the reply form.

Is filling in the reply form a mandatory requirement? Will not filling it in go against you in court?

As debtors will be given 30 days to reply, will debtors be obliged to give the "creditors" the same 30 day time frame to produce the correct documentation?

The possible options are:

1) Don't fill in the reply form and instead start the 3 letter process asap? If so, will the letters will have to be revised with new/different wording and also to take into consideration the timings set out in this new protocol?

2) Fill in the reply form (section 4) and still use the 3 letter process? Again, will the 3 letters have to be revised?

I am sure this new protocol topic will raise many more questions, all help and advice will be most appreciated.

by **daveiron** Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:14 am

Hi joe,

I will take a look through it today.

sec 5 gives the creditor within 30 days . So the 3 letters each 10 days apart will fit nicely in that timeframe.

by **daveiron** Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:23 pm

Hi joe,

I have looked at it & your links .Creditors do not like this do they?

Re the form ,as the debt is disputed you only need to tick 2 boxes & provide a request.
I cannot see anything that will work against us, others input would be welcome.

Re the 3 letters ,carry on as before with them, should any amendments become necessary they will be made
as they were never meant to be set in stone ,but to evolve with time.

by joedalton Tue Oct 03, 2017 2:43 pm

Yes I agree with you daveiron, creditors do not like this at all, in fact appears that they fought hard against it. I have copied & pasted below two paragraphs from one of the links in the above post:

""As mentioned above, the previous iteration of the Protocol required the Claimant to send various documentation, notably a copy of the original agreement, with the Letter of Claim. This was removed as being disproportionate; however, the hangovers remain. If documents are requested in the Reply Form they must be provided within 30 days, or an explanation given as to why they are unavailable.
This will no doubt become a point of contention between Creditors, especially those assignees of debts who must go back to the original lender, and Debtors who see that the Creditor’s failure to provide documentation as tantamount to an admission that the debt is not owed.""

The important point above is the fact that creditors fought hard and won the fact that they don't have to provide a copy of the original agreement, which indicates that this is a big problem for them and a great bonus for us.

Ticking Box 4 in section 1 means that one has to answer the question:
""I dispute the debt because ...............
Explain on a separate piece of paper why you dispute the debt. Give as much detail as possible and provide copies of any supporting documents.""

Any suggestions as to what to write here, especially from the more experienced members, would be very useful and gratefully received.

This then takes us to Section 4, Box 1:
""I need more documents or information.
Tick this box if you need more information, such as copies of documents you don’t currently have.
I need a copy of .......""

Again any suggestions as to what docs to ask for would be very useful.

by **daveiron** Tue Oct 03, 2017 3:28 pm

Hi joe,

Box 4 sec 1. If you have completed the 3 letters with the OC ,debt collector ,& debt purchaser ( this would be usual because this Pre Action Protocol is only used before they take the court route)

I would answer along the lines of " I have requested 9 times a valid proof of claim so i may settle any lawful obligation i may have regarding this alleged debt ,and as
at no time has such proof of claim been supplied .I therefor submit that no debt exists."

sec 4 box 1. I would list all of the documentation that i have previously requested

by joedalton Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:56 pm

Thanks daveiron, much appreciated.

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