CCJ Out of the Blue

MarmK

Hi, first time posting and need some advice please.

A few years ago I got into a lot of debt problems with credit cards when my business (as a sole trader) went belly up. I acquired one CCJ through First Direct and came to an agreement over monthly payments with MBNA and Citibank. Total owing was approx £25k.
I got a job and started paying the debts off and in December I cleared the debt with the attached CCJ and am going to finish the Citibank one off in October, all good and I really thought I was through the worst of it.
Normally I don't open any unsolicited mail and just bin it, but one took my eye this evening and it is a CCJ from a company called IDEM and it references MBNA, I can only guess that they sold the debt on? Its now about £5,500.
My monthly payments to MBNA were always taken out by DD and because of my previous money problems I never go online to check statements, if the ATM balance is approximately what I was expecting I happily go on my way.

I'm going to call them on Friday when I have the office at work to myself, but I'd like to pick your collective brains about the options available to me, clearly I will pay the debt (I was before they changed the arrangement), but can't afford to in one go and I'm also extremely peeved at what has happened, and want to get this point across.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

SnowTiger

MarmK wrote: »

...I'm also extremely peeved at what has happened, and want to get this point across.

If you don't look at your bank statements or read your post, you don't know what's happened.

If I were you I'd be checking my bank statements and also establishing that the CCJ is for the debt I think it is.

Vikipollard

Wouldnt you have received papers from Court if someone had applied for a CCJ? I thought that was where it came from, not an individual company ~ and surely you would have been given the opportunity to state your case?

Or am I being dense and it's a threat of CCJ letter, not the CCJ itself?

MarmK

Thanks for the replies.

You aren't being dense Vikipollard, its my poor choice of words, the letter is from the court, for a granted ccj.

SnowTiger you are right, I'd best do some investigating tomorrow.

happy_bunny_2

Surely if they have your address you would have got the court papers to fill out? Or do you think you filed them as junk mail?

MarmK

happy_bunny wrote: »

Surely if they have your address you would have got the court papers to fill out? Or do you think you filed them as junk mail?

Quite possibly it got thrown out as junk mail.

downnotout

Unfortunately, if you didn't open the court papers, and simply threw them out as junk mail, then I don't see what grounds you have for being peeved? or am I missing something? Im my experience (and I have two, from a failed business) you will get very little joy, and regardless the CCJ will stand.

fatbelly

So you've had a copy of the judgement from the court (should say judgement in default in the top left hand) and it orders you to 'pay forthwith'.

You don't disagree with the amount ordered but wish to pay in instalments.

This factsheet explains the process for changing the order and/or suspending bailiff action..

Factsheet | Reducing payments or suspending a bailiff's warrant on a county court judgment

MarmK

I've just got off of the phone to Arden whom MBNA sold the debt to, and have been told that they can't set any arrangement up at present because if the court action and that I should wait for further correspondence from the court before doing anything. Obviously I'll be opening all the mail that arrives...
I'm not going to be 'inviting' a visit from a bailiff by waiting for this am I?
The court number is manned from 10am will call them then.

To clarify what I am peeved about is that I was making the agreed payments and the arrangements were changed by them without effective communication to me, a signed for letter would have been far quicker than dragging this out with subsequent court action.

fatbelly

What further correspondence? There is no reason to delay - if you've had the judgement through then there will not be any further correspondence from the court unless the creditor is looking to enforce it in some way (if that's by the court bailiff then the previous link still applies).

If what you've had is NOT the judgement but just a claim form then you should reply to it within the 14 days.

MarmK

fatbelly wrote: »

What further correspondence? There is no reason to delay - if you've had the judgement through then there will not be any further correspondence from the court unless the creditor is looking to enforce it in some way (if that's by the court bailiff then the previous link still applies).

If what you've had is NOT the judgement but just a claim form then you should reply to it within the 14 days.

I phoned the court and asked them to send me the forms so that I can come to an arrangement with the creditor, and have them my email address to speed this up. The email never arrived. Useless, so I'm going to need to call them on an expensive 0845 number again. Now I know about the problem I'm not going to wait around.