CCJ summons

boobley

Hello

I've just received a County Court Summons and not sure what to do.

I got into a pickle with my unsecured borrowing in 2006. I owned a house with a mortgage. My Girlfriend left and I was out of work and couldn't afford to live there, negative equity and no work around due to the credit crunch. I rented out my house and moved in with my parents. I explained to my creditors and was paying minimum payments for about a year. Then I had problems with my tenant not paying and ended up loosing my property as it was repossessed.

Then I decided to go and live in Europe for a few years and just left all my bad debts behind.

Fast forward to now and I have been back in the UK now for about 6 months. I am just starting my own business which seems to be going ok so far but I am still living with my parents as money is tight.

I still have all my debts on my credit file and receive the occasional letter from them but generally I just bin these. My parents opened a letter addressed to me because it looked official. It is a County Court summons.

As I have no money or assets I am tempted to just bin this too but thought I better check. The last communications I have had with these companies was 4 or 5 years ago. I thought after 6 years they cant not pursue me any more. Obviously if I respond to this summons then this is communication and so my 6 years will start over - so what should I do?

DS4215

Are you in England or Scotland (both have different time limits)?
When was your last payment on these accounts?

You will need to respond to the summons otherwise they will get a judgement on you that you *might* have grounds to dismiss as statute barred before they get it.

National_Debtline

Hi boobley and welcome to the forum.

As the creditor has now issued a claim against you for its money, they have effectively stopped the "clock", and so responding to the summons is essential whatever the debt's age.

Simply put, as things stand, the creditor will be able to seek a county court judgment (CCJ) whether you acknowledge the summons or not.

If, however, the debt was already statute barred by the time the claim was issued, then you can challenge it, but there is a specific process for doing so - you cannot simply let it lie.

If 6 years or more had elapsed between the "cause of action" (i.e. your initial failure to repay) and the issue of the claim, the debt may well be statute barred under the Limitations Act, assuming that:

(a) you did not make any further payments in respect of the debt during those 6 years, and

(b) you did not acknowledge the debt in writing during that same period.

Your summons paperwork should include an "Acknowledgement of Service" form. I suggest that to begin with, you complete and return this for now as it will give you an additional fortnight to establish the full facts and then enter a defence against the claim if appropriate.

Recommended reading for now in the form of our Limitations Act fact sheet:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/25%20EW%20Time%20limits%20for%20recovering%20debts/Default.aspx

EDIT: ref DS's post above, OP if you are now resident in Scotland then please let us know. I have assumed you are in England/Wales.

Regards

Dennis
@natdebtline

boobley

I am in England

I would guess its been about 4 years since any communication or payments or acknowledgement of the debt.

National_Debtline

boobley wrote: »

I am in England

I would guess its been about 4 years since any communication or payments or acknowledgement of the debt.

OK. In that case any arguments re: limitations would be irrelevant I'm afraid and the summons would appear to be perfectly legitimate. You will need to complete and return the "admission" section of the summons paperwork if you want to make a payment offer and have your financial circumstances taken into account by the creditor and court. Failing to do so may result in you being asked to pay the judgment debt in full "forthwith" (immediately) with the accompanying risk of enforcement action such as bailiffs or salary deductions.

We have a guide to replying to county court summonses which you may find useful:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/20%20EW%20County%20court%20-%20replying%20to%20a%20claim%20form/Default.aspx

Regards

Dennis
@natdebtline

boobley

Ok thanks.

The paperwork from the court says I owed almost 10 thousand but they are claiming roughly 13 thousand, so 3 thousand extra.

happy_bunny_2

Is bankruptcy an option?

What's the debt for?

You could try the CCA unenforceabilty route for cards or loans pre 2007. Not sure how to go about that after court papers issued.

boobley

happy_bunny wrote: »

Is bankruptcy an option?

What's the debt for?

You could try the CCA unenforceabilty route for cards or loans pre 2007. Not sure how to go about that after court papers issued.

It's from an egg credit card and the particulars say it was entered into in 2008.

When I wrote to all my creiditors originally they all froze interest and charges. Now they're adding nearly 3000 in interest.

If they do have a case and are successful and get a judgement against me what's the worse that will happen?

If bankruptcy is an option then how do I go about it?

happy_bunny_2

Why not give national debtline a call to see what they advise? They are way more qualified to help than me

tallyhoh

depending on the type of your business bankruptcy may not be an option. You should take advice as suggested above

National_Debtline

boobley wrote: »

It's from an egg credit card and the particulars say it was entered into in 2008.

When I wrote to all my creiditors originally they all froze interest and charges. Now they're adding nearly 3000 in interest.

If they do have a case and are successful and get a judgement against me what's the worse that will happen?

If bankruptcy is an option then how do I go about it?

Hi again

If - as appears likely on the face of it - Egg obtain a judgment against you - it will be entered on your credit file for 6 years from the date of the judgment. Further action such as use of bailiffs or salary deductions will only be possible if:

- you do not submit an offer of payment in response to the claim and the court then orders you to pay "forthwith", that is, immediately and in full, or

- the court orders you to pay by instalments but you then fail to keep up with these payments.

I am assuming that you do not currently own outright or have mortgages on any properties - please let me know if you do.

Re: bankruptcy, have a read of this guide for starters:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/01%20EW%20Bankruptcy/Default.aspx

but please also seek advice from one of the free services before you commit to such an option.

You are very welcome to call us for advice. There is no need to give personal details and you may find you can get all of your questions answered in a single conversation.

Regards

Dennis
@natdebtline