4 year old CCJ!

ali2007

My partner and I have just applied for a re-mortgage. It has been denied because he has a CCJ on his file that he had no idea about. He discovered that it was from a water company who issued it back in 2008. He phoned the water company and the operator (young kid) said 'oh, someone has not updated the system - this bill was paid in 2011' (when he moved in with me) To his knowledge, he was simply wrapping the account up and paying an outstanding balance.

He then did everything in writing. He wrote back to the water company and respectfully demanded that this CCJ be removed on the grounds that he knew nothing about it. He received no letters, emails or calls whatsoever.

They wrote back saying that two letters were sent plus a default notice. My partner honestly has no record of these. The letter also said that £70.00 was obtained by a collections agency. He can't remember paying this either. But, the original bill was for around £300 - so why was only £70.00 requested? Also, this £70.00 payment has not been deducted from the original amount. Does this make the Court Order null and void? The amount would have been inaccurate?

Also, they said a default notice was also issued to him. Surely this has to be served to him in person?

They said that because they had not received any 'undelivered' letters from Royal Mail, a court order was entered. A thousand and one things could have happened to the letters. Surely they can't justify issuing a court order on these grounds. What if Royal Mail lost them?!!

Finally, the response letter refers to his previous address twice. Both times it is referred to as 'Avenue', my partners previous address was 'Grove'. It may just be a human error on the letter, but does this give me grounds to argue that other letters may have gone astray too? I can request copies of them but even if they have the correct address on them could he still argue this point?

I am at a loss as what to do. How on earth can someone have a CCJ on their file and not even know about it? Surely he should have signed something? He wasn't given the chance to rectify any problem at the time or appeal afterwards.

What to do..... any advice appreciated

Dave_Ham

You can fight this in a variety of ways, although I suggest it will just get more frustrating and unlikely of any success.

I would respectfully suggest you OH may not be telling you the full truth based upon embarrassment that you have been declined the mortgage down to something that happenned years ago.

Ensure the CCJ is satisfied and recorded as such on Experian and Equifax and spend your energy looking for a better solution for the home you are looking at, bid on or had your offer accepted.

What deposit and purchase price are you looking at?
What are your individual earnings - can you support mortgage in just your name?
Can a parent go on the mortgage until the CCJ comes off the file (6 years from issue)

Depending on deposit size, you may be able to get a mortgage from a Building Society or adverse mortgage specialist lender.

gazfocus

ali2007 wrote: »

Also, they said a default notice was also issued to him. Surely this has to be served to him in person?

Default letters don't need to be issued in person I'm afraid. As long as the company have proof it was issued, there's nothing you can do.

Were the court papers supposidly sent to your partners old address while he was living at that address or after he moved?

The problem you've got is that it's incredibly unlikely that Royal Mail would've failed to deliver 4 seperate letters sent on different occassions (including the court papers). Your only chance of disputing would be if they had addressed the letters to 'avenue' instead of 'grove',

What I would do is write back to the water company and ask for copies of the original letters, default notice and court papers that were issued. When you get them, check the address (don't tell them before hand that you want to check the address or they could change it).

If they have been issued to an incorrect address you will have grounds for the removal.