County Court Debt request & personal details

nix99

I have received a county court request on behalf of Severn Trent who claimed I owe them money.

(The bill has been paid in full and in fact Severn trent didnt update my house move information and are claiming money in error.)

Anyway, in order to resolve this quickly as it has already been paid, I need to complete and return the 'Admission form' enclosed with the letter to confirm I 'agree' the full amount.

However the form requests some really personal stuff such as the state of my bank account, income/outgoings, even how many children i have. I'm not really comfortable sharing this info with either the county court or Severn Trent who they represent.

The letter states I can action the claim via the Moneyclaim.gov.uk website and that states if i have paid in full already, then i can basically ignore the letter but I think i would rather respond (even though I cant find a way to do this online and have to use the form.)

Does anyone know why they might need this personal information and if I am obliged to complete it?

fatbelly

Go online and DEFEND the claim on the grounds that you have already paid it.

You could acknowledge service and buy an extra 2 weeks to prepare your defence but what's the point?

Why would you admit it when you say you owe nothing? If you admit it or ignore it you will automatically get a ccj!!

martinjohn

seek advice, debtline possibly or even a lawyer, you should probably be defending it as usually a response is always required to the court else you will lose by default.

"The bill has been paid in full and in fact Severn trent didnt update my house move information and are claiming money in error." would be your defense, didnt the water company listen to this reason?

RAS

You need to defend this case if you have already paid the bill. That really is all you need to tell them.

fatbelly

RAS wrote: »

You need to defend this case if you have already paid the bill. That really is all you need to tell them.

Yes, there's a tick box.

Are you defending the claim because you have already paid it?

Answer - YES

nix99

Sorry, I dont think I have explained myself very well. The debt is mine and is now paid but they didnt allocate the money correctly due to a house move (ie allocated it to my old account and not the new one), and this debt sits against the new house. ST Water just need to move the money which they say they have now done!

RAS

In which case, you need to defend the case, or you will get a CCJ and have to pay the money again.

fatbelly

RAS wrote: »

In which case, you need to defend the case, or you will get a CCJ and have to pay the money again.

Exactly ... and use the tick box that says you have already paid it.

The court will then ask Severn Trent to respond and they are expected to be truthful!

If you admit the debt (or ignore it) you just get a ccj with no further questions asked.

Just had a thought. Go online and check their terms and conditions. There should be a paragraph that says 'if we start a court claim against you in error we will pay compensation of £50.

fatbelly

fatbelly wrote: »

Just had a thought. Go online and check their terms and conditions. There should be a paragraph that says 'if we start a court claim against you in error we will pay compensation of £50.

Can't find the equivalent for Severn Trent but South West Water has this paragraph:

If we make an error or omission which causes a Court Claim to be issued against you incorrectly for non-payment of charges, we will pay you £100 and withdraw associated fees and costs.

Ask them to match it!

chanz4

money out of seven trent water, thats a joke right? They cant even get bills right a lot of the time and issue claims for unowed money