Robinson Way - charging order on property

Under_Pressure_2

i recently was taken to court by Robinson Way who acquired a Capitol One debt which i was struggling to repay.

i was ordered by the court to repay £50 a month which i have been doing, but i have today received another court date in which Horwich Farrelly (owned by RW i believe) are seeking a charging order to secure the debt against my house.

I currently owe more than the house is worth due to the recession and negative equity.

As they have sent a copy to my wife, i presume they have also sent a copy to my mortgage lender too.

1, what will happen now? Will my mortgage lender try to prevent this?
2, how worried should i be about this? will RW try to make me sell the house to get their money quicker??
and 3, how do i fight this in court?

Any and all advise would be most appreciated, the case in in a months time so i have to act quickly.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Under_Pressure wrote: »

[...] As they have sent a copy to my wife [...]

This sounds like a breach of the Data Protection Act, unless she is jointly liable in some way. Comments anyone?

Mrs_Arcanum

Under_Pressure wrote: »

i recently was taken to court by Robinson Way who acquired a Capitol One debt which i was struggling to repay.

i was ordered by the court to repay £50 a month which i have been doing, but i have today received another court date in which Horwich Farrelly (owned by RW i believe) are seeking a charging order to secure the debt against my house.

I currently owe more than the house is worth due to the recession and negative equity.

As they have sent a copy to my wife, i presume they have also sent a copy to my mortgage lender too.

1, what will happen now? Will my mortgage lender try to prevent this?
2, how worried should i be about this? will RW try to make me sell the house to get their money quicker??
and 3, how do i fight this in court?

Any and all advise would be most appreciated, the case in in a months time so i have to act quickly.

If you have a joint mortgage or the house is in joint names with your wife they must send the paperwork to her as she has an interest in the property. There is no reason why the paperwork should also be sent to the Mortgage Provider as far as I can see (wouldn't swear to this though).

I think they have to ask the court for permission to apply for a charging order especially if you are up to date with your payments. If your payments mean it could be over 10 years before the debt is paid off this could be why they are going down this route.

Try the National Debtline for help with this as there is a defence route you should follow and judges should take into consideration the age of your children (if you have any still at home) and the fact you are in negative equity.

My hearing regarding a charging order is on Wednesday. Will post back with the outcome.

PNPSUKNET

one thing though, at your expense shows that debt collection companys are starting to take credit card debt to court instead of bluffing

Tixy

I would suggest you read this factsheet about possible defences you can use against the charging order - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=15_charging_orders_in_the_county_court

and also this thread about the difference between charging orders and restrictions (when a property is jointly owned) - Charging Order? The myth

Mrs_Arcanum

Well after the disaster of court today, the IS A CHARGING ORDER on my share of the property plus even more wretched costs. :mad:

Unfortunately my defence was too late, as the previous judge had given Shoosmiths leave to apply for the charging order back in November (the point at which my defence would have made sense).

Only consolation is provided I keep up with the payments the court are highly unlikely to give the claimants permission to sell the house to get their money.

Under_Pressure_2

Sorry to hear about your court appearance, certainly makes you feel like the worst kind of criminal doesn't it?

Can i ask what kind of extra costs are involved? RW have already stiffed almost £2000 extra on my initial amount, the thought of further costs makes my blood boil.

What does worry me is that when i had an hour with a solicitor he warned me that they may apply on a regular basis to increase the amount i have to repay monthly and if that isn't bad enough, they may very well pursue attempting to force me to sell the house to get their money quicker.

i wouldn't mind but they buy the debt for a paltry fraction of the amount owed.

GGrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

PNPSUKNET

as they say dont bury head in the sand or try to avoid debts, then it doesnt happen.
We will see this happening more often soon, as people are trying to avoid in everyway possible

Mrs_Arcanum

Under_Pressure wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your court appearance, certainly makes you feel like the worst kind of criminal doesn't it?

Can i ask what kind of extra costs are involved? RW have already stiffed almost £2000 extra on my initial amount, the thought of further costs makes my blood boil.

What does worry me is that when i had an hour with a solicitor he warned me that they may apply on a regular basis to increase the amount i have to repay monthly and if that isn't bad enough, they may very well pursue attempting to force me to sell the house to get their money quicker.

i wouldn't mind but they buy the debt for a paltry fraction of the amount owed.

GGrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

£270 costs. Actually it was the further costs I minded the most. I have no real issue with them putting a charging order against my share of the property. Just the extra costs every time.

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

as they say dont bury head in the sand or try to avoid debts, then it doesnt happen.
We will see this happening more often soon, as people are trying to avoid in everyway possible

Most annoying part was I started down the DMP route as soon as things started to become out of control some 16 months ago. Of all my creditors it has only been Nationwide/Shoosmiths who have been unhelpful and added costs. People on DMP ARE paying back what we owe. We are not trying to wriggle out of it.

Under_Pressure_2

both my wife an i have today received a letter from the Land Registry informing us that the court has made a charging order against our property and we have to return a signed copy before the 14th if we wish to object.

oddly enough we are not meant to be in court until the 26th so why are they saying the charging order is already made?

Secondly, as the debt is mine should my wife object?

Mrs_Arcanum

Under_Pressure wrote: »

both my wife an i have today received a letter from the Land Registry informing us that the court has made a charging order against our property and we have to return a signed copy before the 14th if we wish to object.

oddly enough we are not meant to be in court until the 26th so why are they saying the charging order is already made?

Secondly, as the debt is mine should my wife object?

Don't really think it matters that much as courts seem to be doing these hybrid orders now. Where as long as you keep up payments the courts will not allow forced sales but will allow the charging order as a type of insurance.

Are you paying the £50 as part of a redetermination hearing?