Advice Please re County Court Judgement

Sukey

This morning I've received a Judgement for Claimant letter in response to a County Court Claim against me. This is for a credit card that I am unable to pay. I've been paying a token amount for the last two years without fail and now this judgement is requiring me to pay £259.86 per month until the debt is cleared. There is no way I can pay this as I would be unable to live. The letter says that I can object to the rate of payment, but obviously there is no-one available until Monday. Does anyone have any advice that can put my mind at rest as I'm panicking that they will make me bankrupt if I don't pay.

Thanks

Sukey

shinyhead

Don't panic, you have about 14 days to reply if you want to challenge it.

Was the judgement made in Northampton County Court? Did you simply admit the debt?

If you can reply with the answers to these I'll then try to help you out.

Sukey

Yes, it was Northampton County Court (how did you know that?!) and yes I did admit to the original claim.

Thanks!

Suke

shinyhead

Good guess eh??

Northampton CC is in fact a production line for County court claiming. If you admit to this court then it can be the office junior who passes judgement-that's why you've got such an excessive demand for payments. What I suggest is you ring this court on Monday and find out who judged you. If it wasn't a judge then you can appeal for free. If it was ajudge then you have to fill in a N245 form and it costs money. I believe it to be £35 but you should get this confirmed if you need to. If you appeal I'm not sure what happens next but I think it reverts back as if you were defending the claim. I'm going to go off for a bit to find out more then I'll post back.

Sukey

Thanks so much for your help. I'm really appreciating it.

Suke

shinyhead

Sorry I can't find what I was looking for so I suggest you not only ring the court but contact National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. Might take a while for you to get through but of course it is an 0800 number so wo'nt cost.

Meanwhile take a look at their info:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=20_replying_to_a_county_court_claim_form

Hope this helps.

After you've spoken to both then post the results back here.

If I can help again after that I'll be glad to.

Sukey

Thanks again for your help and kind advice. I'll make the calls on monday and post back then.

Kind regards

Suke

Sukey

I've spoken with the court and with National Debtline this morning. Apparently I have now got 21 days from the date of judgement (1st Oct) to write asking for Reconsideration and submitting all relevant info/docs.

Suke

shinyhead

How helpful were Nat Debtline? Did they give you enough advice on what to write?

fatbelly

Sukey wrote: »

I've spoken with the court and with National Debtline this morning. Apparently I have now got 21 days from the date of judgement (1st Oct) to write asking for Reconsideration and submitting all relevant info/docs.

I've always seen this given as 14 days from receipt of the order. Is that the same thing here?

How much is the debt?

How much are you offering?

Post your soa if you want us to check it.

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Sukey

The letter does actually say 16 days from date of posting, however on the phone the lady at the court advised that it was actually 21 days. I think I will stick to the 16 day deadline just to be on the safe side and I will send it recorded delivery.

National Debtline weren't very helpful re the contents of the letter and the lady at the court was much better. However, I might have just been unlucky with who I spoke to at National Debtline and will give them another call to see if somebody else says something different.

Suke