Argh! Possible CCJ pending - help please! UPDATE

ruintooeasy

Last summer I owed my childcare provider £400 (fees payable in advance), I offered £200 one week and the remaining £200 the week after. They decided this wasn't acceptable and told me ON THE DAY they would not be collecting my son. They then passed the debt (with added fees) onto a collections agency (Daniels Silverman).

I contacted the agency several times and offered a payment plan. I didn't hear anything back until yesterday I received court documents in the post!! I phoned the agency and they told me that the provider had declined my offer. I asked why no one had informed me (so I could make a new offer) and they told me that the client had instructed them to close the case and it isn't their policy to tell me the offer had been rejected. unbelievable!

I have worked really hard to sort my credit out and for the first time in my life it is now good. I am not trying to avoid paying this, I am happy to pay it and come to some agreement. I really dont want / need a CCJ. Is there anything I can do to avoid it? PLEASE HELP

UPDATE: I called the national debtline and they have advised against defending as i am not disputing the amount owed. they sasid that if i defend and lose i could have to pay their court costs. They have suggested asking a stay of proceedings.

I'm more confused than ever now; any further advice would be great.

pauletruth

so have i got this streight. the fee was for a service that they did not provide. you said that the fees were in advance. they rejected your offer and refused to pick your son up. were then have they got a case to go to court you owe them nothing. tell the debt collector to send the paperwork and you will defend the case.

ALIBOBSY

Definately defend in court. Judges look very unfavorable upon companies who refuse reasonable offers. If you go in calm and reasonable, explain what happened and confirm your intent always was and is to pay for the service you used.
At this stage ensure you get your court reply off (online or in writing whichever method they used) to confirm you will be defending.

Remember you can write to them and offer just the amount for the service you used-this makes you look even more reasonable if it goes as far as being heard in front of a judge.

The worse that happens is you end up doing some paperwork, things drag on until a final court hearing in around 3 months (sometimes longer) and even if the judge awarded the CCJ as long as you pay it within 28 days it is removed from your records.

So defend and see what the judge says and in the meanwhile ensure you put the full amount away just in case the worse case senario happens.

Ali x

BTW for details of what happens in court etc I find the CAG forum to be more geared up to court action

ruintooeasy

hi. kind of! fees for each term were payable in advance. it was about 4 weeks into a 6 week term when they (without warning) phoned me that day to tell me unless i paid the full amount that day they would not be picking my son up. i signed a contract to say i agree to fees being paid in advance so i am at fault there because i fell behind on my weekly payments. however on the day they called to say they cannot collect my son i offered half that day and the remainder the following week but they said no.

Also, the debt collectors aren;t dealing with it anymore - they have closed the file on it.

ruintooeasy

thanks for your replies. The court is Northampton which is nowhere near where I live - is that where it will be or is that just where the paperwork comes from?

ALIBOBSY

BTW it is normal and expected by judges that litigents ie. the childcare compnay in this case send a letter before action prior to actually issuing court papers (this is not a letter with vague threats of action like debt collectors send, it would need to say if you do not pay x within x number of days (14 is usually seen as reasonable) we will issue court papers .
Again if they didn't do this it is another mark against them in the judges eyes.

Remember even if the get the ccj you can have it wiped from your credit file as long as its cleared within 28 days, so put the money away and you are covered either way.

nb this sounds like it will be small claims so it would be unusual for a judge to award any costs.

Good luck
Ali x

ALIBOBSY

ruintooeasy wrote: »

thanks for your replies. The court is Northampton which is nowhere near where I live - is that where it will be or is that just where the paperwork comes from?

No northampton is where bulk claims come from, this usually means the claim is online and you can defend online.
During the court process you can ask for the court to be moved to the nearest one to you.

Ali x

ruintooeasy

Thank you do much, you've been really helpful. I'm in less of a panic about it now.

vax2002

Firstly check online with the log in that this is a genuine claim, if so select to defend the claim.
The case will be allocated to your nearest court:

Here is some legal help for the defence:

I defend this case upon the following principles and facts:
That the Plaintiff is attempting to claim for what they have refused on several occasions, that all offers of payment have been rebuffed and refused by the plaintiff (proof attached)
That not withstanding offers of payment to the plaintiff the plaintiff is seeking redress and payment for services which were not provided to myself as following refusal of payment the Plaintiff withdrew services they are claiming payment for immediately.
That the attempt to demand monies from the court is not a pre-estimation of losses of the plaintiff but an attempt to install a contractual penalty contrary to Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. v New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd. [1915].
That not withstanding this had the plaintiff accepted the payment they so rejected on numerous occasions any monies the plaintiff believes themselves to be owed would have been paid in full well in advance of any issue of proceedings.
I therefore request that the court does not grant in favour of the plaintiff on the grounds that they have refused payment of alleged debt and that in not providing the services the plaintiff has suffered no loss and seeks to impose penalty upon myself the defendant.
I also request that the plaintiff be ordered to pay the expenses and out of pocket earnings lost by defending this case of myself.
signed this day. ...................
NAME IN BLOCK CAPITALS.

Documents enclosed: Proof of refusal of payment:

ruintooeasy

*so much (my phone autocorrected!)

ruintooeasy

Thanks vax2002, that helps a lot.

One concern I do have is that the first offer (£200 one week £200 the following week - to the actual provider) was made over the telephone. I only have proof (emails) of offers made to the collections agency. Does the fact that I fell behind on my weekly payments to the childcare provider not go against me?