Optima CCJ and charging order

Pugface_2

Well....went to court and it didn't go very well.

The judge wasn't interested in actually listening to a thing I had to say.

He wasn't interested in my monthly repayment offer as it was too low, even though that was all I could afford.

Made the order final, and then decided to add "the standard" 8% interest charge on there as well!

I was so gobsmacked that I don't entirely remember what I actually said at that point. I think I tried to say about not being able to add interest on there, but he wasn't listening at that point and rushed everything else on as he wanted to talk to the Optima solicitor and he was running late.

Feel like a total failure as I don't think I represented myself very well.

thechippy

This is all very strange.

Sounds like the numpty judge has added statutory interest - which he can't!

They can only go for contractural interest, and that must be in the poc's of the ccj claim.

Not only that, they can't pick and choose which set of terms they are going to use. They should PROVE they are going by the terms in force at the time the agreement was signed.

Also, they should not have applied, let alone be given a charging order before you had chance to agree a payment plan with them. There is case law that states a charging order should not be given providing a payment plan is in force and being adhered to.

Pugface_2

That's what I was trying to tell him before practically being pushed out of the room. Feel as though I've failed and really messed up as I let myself get pushed around.

Now that the judge has granted the final charging order what can I do about it? The interest charges like that will kill me and I'm having problems enough as it is.

Thanks for all the help and advice you're all giving me - I really do appreciate it.

Mrs_Arcanum

Does seem very muddled and in some ways the judge has made it easier for Optima to ensure you cannot make the payments & then apply for an enforcement of the Charging Order.

Don't know is it would be a possibility but there is something called a Time Order which might be worth investigating.

Pugface_2

Someone did mention a time order before, which I will look at again.

I just don't think that they were actually right to add on the interest charges in the first place so would like to get them removed somehow if I can. The original terms that were on the reverse of my agreement state that:

"We will charge interest on a daily basis before any judgement"

And yet a leaflet of charges they included that were supposed to be the terms in force say:

"We will charge interest on a daily basis both before and after any judgement"

They can't both be right, and I'm more inclined to believe the ones on the back of the agreement I signed as at least they're dated.

Had a look at the current terms that they also supplied and I can't even see either statement mentioned there.

There's nothing on the default notice I received either saying that they were going to charge any interest.

thechippy

if a debt is covered by the cca, then no further interest can be added after the ccj - a co just does not change this.
STATUTORY interest can only be added if the debt is over 5k and NOT covered by the cca.

What were in the poc on the ccj?? as it should only be the judgement amount on the ccj that your co is for.

It's not uncommon for judge's to not be clued up on this.

thechippy

Pugface wrote: »

Someone did mention a time order before, which I will look at again.

I just don't think that they were actually right to add on the interest charges in the first place so would like to get them removed somehow if I can. The original terms that were on the reverse of my agreement state that:

"We will charge interest on a daily basis before any judgement"

And yet a leaflet of charges they included that were supposed to be the terms in force say:

"We will charge interest on a daily basis both before and after any judgement"

They can't both be right, and I'm more inclined to believe the ones on the back of the agreement I signed as at least they're dated.

Had a look at the current terms that they also supplied and I can't even see either statement mentioned there.

There's nothing on the default notice I received either saying that they were going to charge any interest.

They can only go by the terms in place at the time you signed...:cool:

thechippy

Forgot to mention.

If they get away with charging the contractural interest (which they shouldn't), it accrues independantly of the judgement, basically outside of it.

This means they would need to initiate a seperate claim for this, so any payments you make should be just physically clearing down the fixed balance of the judgement c/o and it can be cleared on that basis.

The problem here, is that according to the original terms, they cannot claim interest, but they have. Offhand, I don't know how to go about getting that removed from the judgement figure.

.....Anyone??

Pugface_2

I'll have a check about the poc, but I'm pretty sure that the only figure mentioned there is the amount that was outstanding.

Thanks for the info about the separate claim they'd need for the interest.

What I don't like is that they have included a set of terms that don't match up with the ones I signed for but claimed that they were the same and correct. Devious and very underhanded, but I suppose that you've got to expect that.

They've been horrible all along and quite threatening. When I put in my request for everything that they were going to use against me they actually sent me the complete case file for someone else as well, so they're doing well on sticking to data protection.

Who would I complain to about their mistake with that? They've made my life a nightmare at times with all the phone calls, so maybe I can give a little back. Petty, I know, but just feel that I should do something about it.

thechippy

Put the complaint in to the ICO.

Def have a look at the poc. If you can, scan them remove personal data and post them up.

This is all very fishy and needs sorting. Will be a lot of help to others as well...;)