Has a CCJ been issued?

MyopicMoo

Hi,
I am looking for some advice about a possible CCJ. Any help would be very gratefully received.

We received a letter from a company we owe money to who claim that a CCJ has been issued. It isn't showing up on our credit report (although we have only looked at experian) and we have received no paperwork at all about it.

I wrote to the company and explained that we had not received any paperwork, and that if we had we would have entered a defence that we had made offer of payment and had priority debt arrears but had been ignored, and asked for full details of the CCJ, including summons and judgement. I also queried the fact that their letter offered the option of paying in full 'by the end of January' but was dated 5th February.

Today I received a reply that says:
"We have supplied the following documents as requested with full details on the issue of our claim.

Please could you contact us on XXXX to set up a payment arrangement...By doing this will stop any further action with the court."

With this (rather badly worded) letter is a very poor photocopy of a claim form. There is a claim number and amounts but no date is visable. Our address is also wrong (right road, wrong house number).

Although I am not an expert on these things, something does not seem quite right. Does this mean that a CCJ has been issued, or are the company being deliberately misleading?

Obviously, we intend to pay the amount but if it is a CCJ it will need to be paid as a priority, if not it will be treated as the rest of our secondary debts.

Thanks

MrsTinks

What court does it say it was issued from or applied to for? Contact them directly and ask...

DVardysShadow

MyopicMoo wrote: »

Hi,
I am looking for some advice about a possible CCJ. Any help would be very gratefully received.

We received a letter from a company we owe money to who claim that a CCJ has been issued. It isn't showing up on our credit report (although we have only looked at experian) and we have received no paperwork at all about it.

I wrote to the company and explained that we had not received any paperwork, and that if we had we would have entered a defence that we had made offer of payment and had priority debt arrears but had been ignored, and asked for full details of the CCJ, including summons and judgement. I also queried the fact that their letter offered the option of paying in full 'by the end of January' but was dated 5th February.

Today I received a reply that says:
"We have supplied the following documents as requested with full details on the issue of our claim.

Please could you contact us on XXXX to set up a payment arrangement...By doing this will stop any further action with the court."

With this (rather badly worded) letter is a very poor photocopy of a claim form. There is a claim number and amounts but no date is visable. Our address is also wrong (right road, wrong house number).

Although I am not an expert on these things, something does not seem quite right. Does this mean that a CCJ has been issued, or are the company being deliberately misleading?

Obviously, we intend to pay the amount but if it is a CCJ it will need to be paid as a priority, if not it will be treated as the rest of our secondary debts.

Thanks

It looks to me like they are trying to mislead and all that has happened is that they have issued a claim. Or not. Another tactic is to fill in a court claim form and send it to you. However, if it does not bear the court stamp, it has not been through the court process.

MyopicMoo

It says Northampton on it but I can't see a stamp - there might be one but the copy is so poor I can't see it if it is there.

MrsTinks

In which case you will need to contact the bulk processing centre that is Northampton I fear... it may or may not have gone through CCJ... for peace of mind I'd be contacting the court direct... once you know then come back here

MyopicMoo

A quick update. OH called the court and no CCJ has been issued. The company has sent a second letter and called OH referring to the (non-existant) CCJ. They say court costs have been added to the account and that they will send it to court bailiffs - I'm pretty certain this is not possible as no CCJ has been issued.

My question - can I make a complaint about the lies this company have told, and if so, who can I complain to?

DarkConvict

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

False representation of authority and/or legal position
2.3 Those contacting debtors must not be deceitful by misrepresenting their authority
and/or the correct legal position.
2.4 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:
a. falsely implying or claiming authority, for example, claiming to work on
instructions from the courts, claiming to be bailiffs or, in Scotland,
sheriff officers or messenger-at-arms
b. falsely implying or stating that action can or will be taken when it legally
cannot, for example, referring to bankruptcy or sequestration proceedings
when the balance is too low to qualify for such proceedings or claiming a
right of entry when no court order to this effect has been granted
c. misrepresenting status or backing, such as
• using a logo which falsely implies government backing
• using a business name which implies public body status, or
• falsely claiming trade body membership
d. falsely implying or stating that action has been taken when it has not, for
example, that civil action has been taken or that a court judgment has
already been obtained
e. falsely implying or stating that failure to pay a debt is a criminal
offence or that criminal proceedings will be brought
f. pursuing third parties for payment when they are not liable
g. taking or threatening to take court action in the wrong jurisdiction, for
example, taking action against a Scottish debtor in an English court unless
legally justified.

They can't claim to use bailiffs or try to enforce a CCJ if one has not been issued, its a false representation of their legal position.

MyopicMoo

Thanks for that - I will write a letter of complaint. How dare they!