Allocation Questionnaire

Blankie

Hi everyone.

1) We've made offers of up to 40% to settle our loan (75% counter-offered by company which we haven't got)
2) then had court papers
3) written a defence based on the default notice being faulty
4) and got to the stage where the court hearing appears to be looming.

We've just received form N150s (a pale orange colour) and we're not sure what to do next. They are from the court and seem to be designed to help both sides to settle before the hearing.

On the first page they ask:
Do you want to try to settle?
If Yes, do you want a one month stay?
If No, why do you consider settling inappropriate?
Would you like the court to arrange a mediation appointment?

(The form is 6 pages long.)

Would it be a good idea to go to mediation? What would that involve? I fear we'd be outmaneuvered somehow by their experts.

Does anyone have any advice for us?

Thanks very much...it's squeaky bum time!

Blankie

Are we the first people to have one of these forms? I've not heard them mentioned on here before.

Blankie

Shameless bump.
Not sure if it has worked but changed the title to Allocation Questionnaire in the hope that someone else has had one.
Thanks
Blankie

fatbelly

There's some stuff here from the consumeractiongroup - you may have to register before you can see it.

Blankie

Thanks fatbelly. We did look at that, but sometimes it's best to get a personal perspective.

So we're still open to advice!

Useless_with_wonga

Hi,
Been there:rolleyes: Don't know what your thoughts are but the form N150 is an attempt by the Court to get the parties to agree a settlement before the hearing.
Court Protocols require both parties to make every effort at resolution prior to a hearing.
In light of this I ticked "Yes" to everything in a bid to present myself as being as reasonable as I possibly could be in order to resolve the matter.
I was genuinely prepared to explore every avenue rather than appear before the court and felt that I had been reasonable from the outset of my problems.
The claimant ticked "No" to everything which I felt just strengthened my arguments regarding their unreasonable behaviour toward my situation.
There are obviously no guarantees each case is different and it seems to me that cases are often decided on the direction of the wind as much as anything else. However in my particular case I won and I always thought that the form N150 might have had some influence in that result.

Blankie

Thanks Mr Wonga

One thing we can't work out is what fee we're supposed to send with the form. Can anyone remember how much they sent?

Useless_with_wonga

There is no fee Blankie. What made you think there was?

Blankie

There is a question asking "have you enclosed the fee", but after further reading today I believe its the claimant that pays this.

Am I right in thinking that even after a months 'stay' it could be several months before we actually end up in court (under the fast-track or multi-track routes)?
Thanks
Blankie

Useless_with_wonga

Thats right the fee it refers to is for the claimant to pay not you. just send your completed form back in.
Up to you if you want the "Stay" or not in my case I felt that strongly that i was in the right and having tried negotiating without success for months prior to litigation I was happy to go straight to the Judge so I therefore waived the "stay" in order to get it over and done with ASAP. Nothing worse than sitting on tenterhooks awaiting a court date:o
However your circumstances may be different so you may feel it advisable to ask for the "stay" and try and settle the matter out of court.
As for the time to court. It depends on which court and how busy they are as to when you will get a hearing date. Not much help I know and it does seem to take forever to get to that point but whatever the outcome on the day at least you can then move forward knowing what the situation is rather than second guessing what might happen.
Try not to fret too much as what will be will be.