Help - Possible CCJ that we know nothing about

margf

Hi - Can anyone please help.

A family member today received a letter from a debt collecting agency claiming they owed £1500 plus court costs as a CCJ had been issued against them in Northampton County Court.
I have no experience of dealing with these matters and have found very helpful posts regarding asking for a true copy of the alleged agreement, I will be doing this for him.
Can anyone help regards finding the details of the CCJ if it exists or do I ask the debt collecting agency for a copy ?

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Marg

shinyhead

Hi Marg,
Who is the agency and does the letter say when the CCJ was issued such as recently?

First I'd get the family member to check their credit file with the credit reference agencies Equifax and Experian. If you need any help in doing this post back here. If the CCJ is recent then it may not yet be uploaded onto the files.

Are you sure no summons has been received by the FM? Does the FM admit to having any outstanding debt, ie a reason why a CCJ should be issued against them?

If this is completely out of the blue then it might be the FM is a victim of identity theft.

Some tips on dealing with any debt collecting agency:

1: NEVER phone them-the operators are trained in psychological tactics and can be very manipulative and bullying. If they don't already have it DONT give them your phone number. No matter what they say you have the right not to tell them.

2: NEVER sign anything when you write to a DCA. It has been known for them to copy this onto documents such as credit agreements that in reality you've never signed. Just print your name at the bottom. If you take a look at the letter sent to you from this agency you might notice they've probably done the same.

I also suggest that you don't reply to the DCA until you've looked at the credit files. If ID theft has taken place then there may be more evidence on them.

margf

Hi thanks for your reply, the letter is from Bryan Carter Solicitors and the company Phoenix Recoveries and they say judgement was entered in May 2008, for £157 but the amount due is stated as £1500.79

The person concerned has other debts that he is dealing with and making payments on so I believe him when he says he never received a summons.

To cut a long story short he got into trouble when his wife took ill and died shortly after, leaving him with a young child to look after, so he did move house(moved in with relatives as he needed support).

He is unable to get a credit report online as he does not have a credit or debit card.

Mrg

**Amy**

Hi Mrg

There is a bit on this site that tells you how to get your credit reports via post:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score#check

It is defintely the best way to get your FM to see if he has had a CCJ registered. From there he will be able to call teh Court and get some more details.

Also, if the amount of the CCJ is £157, and he doesnt dispute the amount, then he should only pay that amount. DO NOT let the debt collectors try and add charges, as legally they are not able to do it. The CCJ is a court order and has to be followed, so the FM only pays what the court says.


I hope this helps.

x

margf

Hi - I have sent for a credit report for my relative and he is awaiting this.
In the mean time after sending a request for a CCA Bryan Carters have returned the postal order without a CCA and the following comments on the letter.
''As you are aware, you defaulted on this account and we have issued proceedings and obtained judgement against you and we are entitled to enforce the Judgement. We look forward to hearing from you with payment proposals failing which enforcement action may follow without further notice''

He has no knowledge of this debt, all other debts are being dealt with. does anyone know where I go from here and if there is a draft letter I can send to Bryan Carter's.

He lives with family at present and they are very worried and frightened that someone may turn up.

Please can anyone help?

shinyhead

Hi Margf,
The FM may want to ask bryan carter who the original creditor for this supposed debt was, and also get more details of the CCJ. It could then jog his memory or confirm the debt is not his.

Before the bailiffs can come round they have to go back to the court. He'll then get notification from the court that he has 7 days notice to pay or they'll come round. I'd suggest getting the nCCJ details ASAP and then getting in touch with the court. There are things that can be done.

RAS

Nicked off pamril - lost the last post.

Think the family situation might need to be mentioned as a reason for not informing all creditors of move, assuming the debt is even his.

If the debt is yours and you settle it, it will still remain on your file for 6 years however it will be marked settled. If you agree you owe the money you can pay it off in instalments you can afford you will need a form N245 and will usually have to pay a fee of £35 for this
If you do not owe this money you are better off applying to have the court set the judgement aside there is a fee of £75 for this but if on low income or certain benefits you may not have to pay.
If the judgement is set aside it will mean that the proceedings go back to claim stage and any enforcement action cancelled, you then have a chance to put in your defence.
Also see
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/en...e_county_court

margf

Hi thank you for your response, it will be a great relief to them to know that the baliff cannot come to their home without notification.

They have stated the company as Phoenix Recoveries UK, not a Company he has ever dealt with and all other debts regular payments have been made on.

What I cannot understand is if they have got a CCJ, why have they not sent hima copy of this and a copy of the CCA.

If it was his debt he would be willing to make a proposal to the company, but is adamant that we are dealing with all the debts he had.

Marg

shinyhead

Phoenix Recoveries are a debt collection agency. They have bought this debt from another creditor-it's this creditor that you should get the details of. If he's then sure that the debt is not his he can then take the advice RAS has posted. As it seems the solicitors aren't going to satisfy a CCA request then once the details of the original creditor are known then you could CCA them. The solicitors probably don't have a copy of the cca anyway and probably aren't interested as they have the CCJ -or so they say.

If he's moved recently as you've mentioned and he still doesn't recognise the debt it may be possible that he's been a victim of ID theft-once he gets his credit report this could become clearer as more 'new' accounts might exist. I'm not sure about this but if the CCJ exists on the report then the reference number should be there as well. With this I suggest phoning Northampton CC explaining the situation and asking for a copy of the judgement and any other paperwork such as the claim forms from BC sols.

margf

Hi - thank you very much for the advise, do I still need to send a default letter to Carter's for him as they have not supplied the CCA to him?

Marg

shinyhead

I don't think anything will be gained fromthat. You need to wait and see what the credit report says as it should also show the CCJ. You can then take it from there.