Help! being taken to court for storecard debt

mrsyorkie

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post or not, so sorry if i'm in the wrong place.

i received a letter today stating i am being taken to court for a store card debt that is £1124. It says i have to list my outgoings for a payment plan to be made, which is fair enough. but do i list my OH as well? the store card is in my maiden name. also, do i list child maintenance, even though it's verbal and not through the CSA? also, do i list petrol costs etc for me getting to work?

Please can someone help me? i don't know what to do.i can only afford to pay £20 a month, but i'm scared that they won't accept this much and will want more..

i studpidly tried to ignore the problem and have not contacted the company or anything so i'm not suprosed they are taking me to court, but i'm really really scared now of what they are going do and i'm scared of being made bankrupt. has anyone been through this before who can help me please???

msmicawber

In your position, I would post only your details, but not include the child maintenance, since it's verbal, so your ex could default and you'd have little that you could do about it.

Good luck.

skylight

List EVERYTHING - all family income and expenditure. You need to show them that the £20 a month offer is genuine as that is all you "should" have left.

They will NOT make you bankrupt. It costs them money and they get nothing back at all. So please do not worry about this. It is purely hot air - they want you to pay as much as possible so they are not left with a debt - and that is all they can do, ask you to pay. Everyhting else, all the threats, are just that - empty threats.

Even "if" it did go to court, the courts would be more compassionate than the debt collectors anyway, so please do not worry about that (easier said than done, I know!)

The National Debtline has draft letter (link above) to be able to send to your creditors and an income/expenditure form, plus guidlines on how to complete it. Check it out!! Fill the detials, print and post. Then just wait. DO NOT get into telephone conversatons with anyone over this matter. If they call you, ask them to put it in writing and hang up.

Chill! Things will be fine.

skylight

And agree - dont list the Maintanence - thats not regular income, just a geasture of payment.

Mike_St_Helens

Hi there... The courts are very good. You will only have to pay what you realistically can afford, and then that may even be reduced.

Please dont worry.

Dont include the CSA, thats informal and for your upbringing of your children, not for the credit vultures who are taking you to court.

make sure you list ALL your outgoings for ALL of you, everything from opticians, prescriptions, hair cuts, school trips/uniforms... EVERYTHING.

Mike

mrsyorkie

ooh, sorry - the maintence is what MrY pays to his ex, so it's an outgoing. i wasn't sure whether to put my earnings and half all the bills etc and do both of our earnings. I'll have a look at the link, i don't feel as scared now, thank you!

rog2

Have you actually received the summons?
You have a certain amount of time to submit your offer proposal, also, if the hearing is not local, and you wish to attend, you may request that the case be transferred to your local court.
If you have not yet received the summons, only a letter from DCA, then you can make the offer, without disclosing income.

mrsyorkie

thank you mike. i thought by outgoings was they just wanted you to write down how much you earn, how much your bills are. can i put down the cost of MrY having 1 pint after work a week???

mrsyorkie

i've receieved the summons, but haven't sene it yet. MrY read it out to me on the phone cos i'm at work and he doesn't start until later. It's at Northampton Court, and i'm in Lancashire. i wasn't sure whether i had to go or not. it asks to list the incomings and outgoings and says i have a few days to respond (i think MrY said 3 days, but i can't remember).

Sarahjovi

I went to the Citizens Advise Beaureu when I was faced with a similar situation. They gave me some excellent advice which was to only give the information that they asked for and not volunteer anything else.

I would highly recommend getting some advice from someone like the CAB as it can put your mind at rest. (I thought we were going to loose our house, (it was a big debt), but it is in my husbands name only and he wasn't liable for my debt!)

Because I admitted the debt and dutifully filled in the financial form every six months, I didn't have an income at the time, except for child benefit, I didn't get taken to court, and eventually settled the debt with an agreed much smaller amount!

Sarah

rog2

mrsyorkie wrote:

i've receieved the summons, but haven't sene it yet. MrY read it out to me on the phone cos i'm at work and he doesn't start until later. It's at Northampton Court, and i'm in Lancashire. i wasn't sure whether i had to go or not. it asks to list the incomings and outgoings and says i have a few days to respond (i think MrY said 3 days, but i can't remember).

This is a 'bulk' handling court - it is unlikely that your case will be seen by a judge, just a 'court official'.
You certainly have more than 3 days, and you will be allowed to submit a defence or make an offer. I would think it very unlikely that a court, even the bulk handling court will ignore your offer, and, judging from other threads, most courts tend to sympathise more with a defendant who is making an offer, than a claimant who appears to be totally inflexible.
Also, if possible, take the summons along with all relevant paperwork, to CAB, before admitting any part of the claim, in case there is a defence.