Restons solicitors help please!

shocktactics69

Hi,
I recieved paperwork today saying Restons are applying for a ccj against me. I have a debt of 9k with MBNA and then lost my job so I have been making reduced payments.
Restons want a charge on my house...they were not interested when I discussed payments they told me they will apply to take charge of my house from the first conversation.
I have read they are pretty determined and want some guidance on the court forms to return. I cant afford to repay the debt and I am concerned about my house. I also have other debtors are they all going to want my house?
Any help on what to do next would really help.:o

telboy99

Restons are a nasty bunch.They took me to court 3 years ago and thats all they wanted was a charge on my house.They got the charging order but they then got less than i was paying them before as the judge could clearly see that i could not pay them any more.They have now passed the debt on to someone else and i just keep paying the new creditor.Dont worry about the charging order as the judge will not allow them to sell your house unless you default on the ccj.

fatbelly

First you get the ccj - if you have responded to the claim and offered to pay by instalments and the court feels those are reasonable then you are ordered to make those payments and no CO can be applied for while you keep to that.

However, if you cannot pay by instalments (and you say you cannot) then the court gives a forthwith order (pay the whole lot immediately) knowing that you will default and the creditor can enforce by some method, one of which is a CO.

Now in 99.99% of cases the debt just sits there until the owner sells, moves or dies. Then it is paid off. There is in theory the possibilityof a forced sale (an order of sale) but in practice these are not granted.

If this is a sole debt on a jointly owned property things get more complex.

So stop talking to Restons on the phone. If you are still in the time limit to respond to the claim form make some sort of offer and give them something to chew on. Otherwise you will get a 'forthwith order in default'

shocktactics69

Hi, Thank you for your responses.
So I should send the paperwork back saying I accept the claim and fill in the paperwork and return that to the court.
Also I have spoken to a family member and they may be able to lend me about 3-4k to get rid of them, do you think they would take a full and final settlement? if so now I have had a court letter if they agree will this stop the CCJ or will they still take me to court for that.
I only recieved the paperwork yesterday.
I doubt they will accept 3-4k on a 9k debt though.

fatbelly

I can't see any advantage in ignoring the claim so, yes, you should complete the form, making some sort of offer.

I slightly misread your original post - when you said that you could not afford to repay the debt, you meant 'in full' and I took it to mean 'by instalments'. I now see that you have been paying at a 'reduced rate' so offer that and make sure the amount is justified by your figures.

F&F deals are not unheard of in these situations but a 33% deal? I agree with you - 'I doubt they will accept 3-4k on a 9k debt though'

Do you actually live in your house - the one they are trying to put a charge on?

shocktactics69

Hi, yes I make payments of £25 pm at present which Restons agreed to but missed one payment last month.
I dont live in the house I own I rent it out to cover the mortgage as I couldnt afford to pay myself when rates went up, I live with my partner now in his home but mortage for mine is in my name only.
I want to keep my home as a safety net as I was a single mum for many years so if anything goes wrong I want a home for me and my little girl.

fatbelly

Hi - actually I just read an earlier thread so sussesd that out. It does mean my earlier assurance about an order for sale is a little less solid. I still think it would be disproportionate action for a 9k debt but we can't use the 'keeping a roof over your head for you and your daughter' argument when this is an investment property. And the fact that it is solely owned means that it will be a full legal charge if they get a charging order.

If £25 is what you can afford then that is what goes on the form as an offer. I have known Northampton Court make instalment orders at that level but local courts would tend to frown on a 30-year plan.

Unfortunately this debt is now a higher priority than your others. Could you offer more to Restons if you offered less to the others?

Have you run the whole situation past someone like CCCS or NationalDebtline or a CAB debt specialist?

Talking of which - got to go now but will check again this evening.

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Sparklyfairy

Hiya - I agree with everything Fatbelly says. I just want to add that when you fill in the CCJ forms - BE SURE to add any money you get for child benefit or tax credit...the reason I say this is because the clerks take this info account when deciding how much your repayments will be set at..it may seem odd but I was told this first hand by a clerk who decides these rates & when I got my CCJ from Restons for a MBNA debt, I was one of the only people it seems that had an affordable monthly repayment (£1) & taking all my other bills, etc into consideration - I was VERY relieved! It is very normal for ccj repayments to be set at an unrealistic rate - so do your best from the start to get it at a rate you can afford & when you go to your charging order hearing, get the judge to keep your repayments set at that amount to avoid an order of sale...take along your detailed budget showing that's all you can pay at the hearing, too. Hth, SF x

shocktactics69

Thank you guys and girls lol.
I just spoke to Restons and suggested 4k !!!!!! surprise surprise they said no lol.
I also asked if they had bought my debt but they said no they were just instructed to carry out legal proceedings.
Does this mean I could go back to MBNA and make the offer to them to see if they accept??
Also should I get a SAR as I am sure they dont have a signed agreement from me...will it slow the charging order down?
Sorry for all the questions.

shinyhead

Hi,

On the claim form is there a password for you to be able to respond to this claim online? If so access the case and tick the acknowledgement of service box. This will give you 28 days rather than the 14 on the claim form so gives you more breathing space.

When did you originally take the card out?

shocktactics69

Hi, according to my claim form I took the card out "on or about 27/09/2005".

Ok now I am confused, if I just do the acknowledgement and get 28 days I have 3 options to tick...1, I intend to defend all of the claim? 2, I intend to defend part of the claim and 3, I intend to contest juristiction of the claim?
Am I defending the claim? I think I want to fill in the expenditure and try to get a reduced payment on a ccj but will keep them up so they cant put a charge on. But then I need to complete that within 14 days dont I?

God its sooo confusing, I am peed off as they got me into this mess in the first place by increasing credit limits constantly and payments at the time were managable, then they hiked the interest and upped the payments when I was out of work so I was in a no win situation.