Advice on old CCJ just found out about it!

FannyF

I don't know if anyone can advise me.

Me and my husband are selling our shared ownership flat and moving into rented as it is too small. We have found a property and they recently did a credit check and came back and said that my husband has a CCJ for 4.5K that he knew nothing about! It was registered in July 2007 and we suspect that it is to do with his ex and her defaulting on rent on a property they both had a lease on. He was paying her loads of maintenance and CSA at the time but only through his bank account. Anyway we remember the letting agents sending us a letter about this debt around that time and my husband rang them up and they agreed that it wasn't his debt and remember that he had infact told them that he had moved out and the landlord knew about it all and they said not to worry. Anyway now we are trying to rent somewhere else and the new letting agent wants as much info as possible to give to the new landlord.

I can cover most of the rent on my salary alone according to the calculations and so the letting agent is going to put a case to the new landlord about me being on the lease on my own and maybe if we pay 3 months rent up front he might still let us have it.

Anyway my question is what to do about the CCJ, we initially thought that we would just try to contest it and if not set up a payment for our half as he was on the lease, but when I look into more closely if they can't find her they can call him up on all the debt!!!! She ran away to Manchester in July 2007 and we didn't hear from her for over 2 years and my husband didn't get to see his son for all that time and so we didn't know where she was and neither did the debt collectors so I suspect they have registered the debt in his name? Should we just leave it and hope it goes away next July at the 6 year point? My husband recently put himself on the electrol register in order to improve his credit and got a credit card for the same reason. Do you think the debt people might find us now?


Please help???? it is not our debt, she should have paid it but I understand he may be liable for it and we still don't know her address and so we can't pass on her details and we can't afford to pay it all?

happy_bunny_2

Sorry, no idea. Maybe ring CAB for advice?

antonic

FannyF wrote: »

I don't know if anyone can advise me.

Me and my husband are selling our shared ownership flat and moving into rented as it is too small. We have found a property and they recently did a credit check and came back and said that my husband has a CCJ for 4.5K that he knew nothing about! It was registered in July 2007 and we suspect that it is to do with his ex and her defaulting on rent on a property they both had a lease on. He was paying her loads of maintenance and CSA at the time but only through his bank account. Anyway we remember the letting agents sending us a letter about this debt around that time and my husband rang them up and they agreed that it wasn't his debt and remember that he had infact told them that he had moved out and the landlord knew about it all and they said not to worry. Anyway now we are trying to rent somewhere else and the new letting agent wants as much info as possible to give to the new landlord.

I can cover most of the rent on my salary alone according to the calculations and so the letting agent is going to put a case to the new landlord about me being on the lease on my own and maybe if we pay 3 months rent up front he might still let us have it.

Anyway my question is what to do about the CCJ, we initially thought that we would just try to contest it and if not set up a payment for our half as he was on the lease, but when I look into more closely if they can't find her they can call him up on all the debt!!!! She ran away to Manchester in July 2007 and we didn't hear from her for over 2 years and my husband didn't get to see his son for all that time and so we didn't know where she was and neither did the debt collectors so I suspect they have registered the debt in his name? Should we just leave it and hope it goes away next July at the 6 year point? My husband recently put himself on the electrol register in order to improve his credit and got a credit card for the same reason. Do you think the debt people might find us now?


Please help???? it is not our debt, she should have paid it but I understand he may be liable for it and we still don't know her address and so we can't pass on her details and we can't afford to pay it all?

If the tenancy was a joint tenancy between your husband and his former partner then I am afraid it IS his debt.

If as you say his former partner vanished and he was the only one they could trace then they would pursue him.

The granting of a CCJ against him wouldnt have happened overnight as he would have been sent a claim form and given the opportunity to defend himself in court.

The CCJ finishes after 6 years, so it will fall over his credit record next year, so the question is do you want to fight it - thats a decsion he will have to make.

fatbelly

Well this may not be too helpful but the choices are:

1. Pay it

2. Ignore it

3. Contest it

Option 3 would require 'a defence with a reasonable prospect of success'

If you can survive for 12 months with this affecting his credit rating, then I would go for option 2. If anyone approaches you during this time requesting payment, then cross that bridge when you come to it.