CCJ judgement

badtiming

Hi all, sorry if this is in the wrong place, I was unsure where to put it.

Having recently moved out of rented accommodation, I was unable to pay my last 3 months rent in full. I paid quarterly and the balance was due in June, with my tenancy agreement ending mid July. Since June I have been paying odd amounts to the LL whenever I can, ie. £150 one week, then £100 a few weeks later. The total amount was around £1300 and the balance is now £383.

My LL has decided to proceed with court action, and I have received the claim forms. I have until Monday to make a decision on what to put on it. I am unable to pay the amount owed until around eight weeks time. Obviously you will suggest admitting fault and accepting the CCJ, but its not quite so black and white.

The LL took a deposit before I moved in of £200. I asked if this could be offset against what I owe and clear the remaining £183 asap but this has not been allowed. LL has advised me that there is no option now. Should I dispute the claim and mention that the LL still has my deposit and therefore I do not owe all £383?

Basically I need a little more time before I can pay the balance, as I do not want a CCJ. No matter what I do, will a CCJ show on my credit file from Monday?

Any help would be great,

thanks

bottleofred

Hi badtiming and welcome to the forum,

If you have documented proof of the £200 then I'd certainly mention it, but is there a dispute as to why the Landlord hasn't returned the deposit or taken it off the balance? If there isn't and it's just a case of them being unreasonable, then I'd definitely mention it. Is there any family member you could borrow the money off though, as the last thing you want is a ccj.

Good luck

Red

welly_59

take all supporting documents with you and prepare your case to the judge. If a judgement is set against you, whatever happens you will have 28 days to pay it before it shows on your credit report. pay it within this time and it wont be on record

fatbelly

Your tenancy deposit may not be held by the landlord. Do you know what happened to it?

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/deposit_protection_schemes

So if that is your only defence, it may not work.

However, why not acknowledge service, and get another 14 days. You can then either put in a defence or make an offer to pay by instalments. When the ccj comes through (which will take several weeks), if you can pay it within 28 days, it does not get recorded on your credit file.

This is unlikely to get to a hearing. The courts will do everything they can to sort this out without one.

chanz4

dont offer to pay by installments as you will get a ccj, dispute the claim on the grounds the debt amount does not include the deposit which should of been returned and dispute the figures. This will also buy you time to get the extra cash and clear in full

badtiming

Thanks for the advice.

The thought of 14 days time is something I think would help. In this time can I offer to pay by fixed installments to the LL and ask them to remove my deposit from the balance?

My options according to the form are;

1) Admit amount claimed - complete admission form
2) Admit part of amount - admission and defence form
3) Dispute whole claim - defence form
4) 28 days total - acknowledgment of service

Because I agree I owe the money but not the full amount, which part do I do (2 or 4)?

Also the mention above of the courts not wanting to deal with this, why is that? Is it because the amount is a small sum?

Hope this makes sense and thanks again.

dancingfairy

You also need to answer the questions about the deposit as this could be important.
Why not do what Fatbelly suggested - get another 14 days and then decide whether to defend part/all or admit and ask for installments?
By the way Fatbelly I believe works in this field (debt counselling) and I would consider him one of the experts on here.
df

badtiming

Hi again,

I forgot to mention the deposit. I asked the LL about him deducting this from the balance owed, but got told because it is in a protected scheme, he does not have access to it and therefore cannot accept it.

It has now been around 5 weeks since moving out, surely they should have received it back now?

Thanks again.

badtiming

Just looking online to fill out the acknowledgment of service part now, and it is asking if I intent to defend all or part of the claim.

Obviously I am willing to admit I owe the money but if I only dispute part of the claim will it still go ahead? Basically, I will be looking to clear the balance or sort alternate arrangements before the next 14 days are over, which box do I select?

fatbelly

If you can sort this out in 14 days, it doesn't really matter. You could tick 'defend all' on the acknowledgement of service and then when you submit your defence tick the box that says you've already paid it.

See my earlier link to the Shelter site. Either you or the landlord must apply for return of the deposit.

Just to clarify the timings. If this came from Northampton Court, the claim is deemed to have been served five days after the issue date. You have 14 days from the date of service to respond. But if you acknowledge service, this period is extended to 28. If you are responding online, you can take it to the max, as your response is recorded immediately.