Default and CCJ

Ryan10

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on my credit situation.

I had a student overdraft around 2005. It was at £1000 OD and I dropped out of uni to pursue full time employment. The bank informed me that I couldn't keep the student overdraft and would have to set up repayments. I set these at £100 a month and forgot about it. I stayed with my parent and eventually bought their house from them and this was the only credit I had. In 2011 I applied for a credit card and was declined. I investigated this and it turns out that the bank had registered a default against me for £1200 in 2008. Apparently the £100 pounds a month standing order failed and they never thought to inform me. Now admittedly I should have noticed this but didn't , lesson learned.

Upon learning of this I looked into the mortgage being accreted and apparently it was to do with the low ltv. I have never really used credit and looking online the advice (probably terrible advice given what's happened.) was that the default would drop off my account in 6 years so basically 8 or 9 months after I found out about it. The default dropped off in February of 2012. I got a credit card and started repairing my credit file. In June of 2012 a solicitor contacted me stating that they had assumed the debt and were requiring payment. I explained the situation to them and also that I was wiling to pay the debt up as per before. In July of 2012 they registered a ccj against me which has decimated my credit file. Incidentally I didn't receive notice if this until after the all important (as I know now) 28 day period.

I cleared the debt in full at the beginning of last year (2013) but it feels unfair that my credit file has been ruined since 2006 and will be until 2018 because for the same debt. Which I have now paid. I appreciate my naïvet! has contributed here however it's mainly due to ignorance of what was on my credit file as I don't really use credit.

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks in advance for any help.

CKhalvashi

When was the last payment made, or did the account go over limit, or did you accept the debt if more than 6 years after the first two? (It will be the last of these three, assuming a current account)

If statute barred (more than 6 years and one day from last acknowledgement) then it will remain so, and you can apply to have the CCJ removed.

If not, then it will need to be paid if granted already.

DO NOT write to them to confirm this if you don't have, post back here, and someone (my knowledge of CCA is not good enough for this) will be able to advise.

CK

Ryan10

CKhalvashi wrote: »

When was the last payment made, or did the account go over limit, or did you accept the debt if more than 6 years after the first two? (It will be the last of these three, assuming a current account)

If statute barred (more than 6 years and one day from last acknowledgement) then it will remain so, and you can apply to have the CCJ removed.

If not, then it will need to be paid if granted already.

DO NOT write to them to confirm this if you don't have, post back here, and someone (my knowledge of CCA is not good enough for this) will be able to advise.

CK

Thank you for the reply.

I stopped using the account sometime in 2006 ( My memory lets me down for an exact date ). In June 2012 I had contact from the solicitor ( Who were acting on behalf of a debt agency) and I agreed a payment plan, then subsequently cleared the account in early 2013.

I didn't know anything about the CCJ until I had an alert on my experian report. Which was outside of the 28 days you have to clear before the CCJ is properly registered.

Who would I apply to? I feel like i've been living with this ( albeit unknowingly for the first few years) for the last 8 years and have another 4 to go!

CKhalvashi

It may (this is a big may) be statute barred. Were you near the OD limit when you stopped using the account?

This is well outside my depths of knowledge, so someone will need to answer this for me.

The only other question I can ask is whether you have proof of payment (receipt, bank payment, etc) to prove it was cleared.

safestored4

So, after agreeing to repay the debt at £100 per month in 2006 you never realised that no payments had never been made until some 5 years later. Really? In 2011 you became aware of the situation but took no steps to contect the lender to rectify the position. When the lender came after you in 2012 you again initially offered to repay the debt at £100 per month but after the CCJ managed to repay the debt in full a few months later. There is nothing unfair here. You made tne decision to run away from the debt, live with the consequences.

Ryan10

safestored4 wrote: »

So, after agreeing to repay the debt at £100 per month in 2006 you never realised that no payments had never been made until some 5 years later. Really? In 2011 you became aware of the situation but took no steps to contect the lender to rectify the position. When the lender came after you in 2012 you again initially offered to repay the debt at £100 per month but after the CCJ managed to repay the debt in full a few months later. There is nothing unfair here. You made tne decision to run away from the debt, live with the consequences.

I was a young guy living with my parent and not studying my bank account. Hands up I know that sounds stupid but they had set up a recurring payment using my bank details I had no reason to think they wouldn't have taken the payments.

I wasn't aware that they didn't until 2011 when upon ordering my credit file I seen that a default had been registered in 2008. In this time I had not contact from HBOS about the payments or the defaults. I read online that the defaults "fell off" of your credit file after 6 years and I was 9 months at most away from this falling off. Like i say i didn't know if they had taken the payments which would have been on my statements from 5 years earlier. Since the issue with my credit file was 9 months from going away I decided to wait. To date I have heard nothing from the bank about the payments or the default and it dropped off once the 6 years were up.

The first contact I had about this debt was in June 2012 when a Solicitor contacted me on behalf of 1st credit LTD. They advised that they wanted paid and at this time I didnt have the £1500 the debt had become thanks to their fees. I Agreed to pay £100 a month and in January paid the remaining £800 to clear the account.



Thanks for your input though....

jamesd

Was it really an actual solicitor who really sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt? I'm asking because an actual solicitor would know that a CCJ cannot properly be obtained for a statute barred debt. For an actual solicitor to seek a CCJ in such circumstances does not seem to me like appropriately professional conduct for a solicitor and a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority may be in order.

It seems to me that the solicitor, if it really was one, has breached a number of the Principles:

1. They do not appear to have upheld the rule of law and proper administration of justice by seeking a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
2. They appear not to have acted with integrity when they sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
6. They appear to have harmed public trust in the profession for the same reason.

In addition, it appears that they breached the OFT's guidance on unfair debt collection by threatening and then taking legal action when they were not entitled to do so.

For the reasons above I suggest that you first complain to the firm and ask them to refund to you all payments that you made following the CCJ, seek to have the CCJ removed and also that they inform the SRA of their actions so that the SRA can act as appropriate in enforcing its standards with regard to the firm's conduct both towards you and to others it interacted with.

Ryan10

jamesd wrote: »

Was it really an actual solicitor who really sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt? I'm asking because an actual solicitor would know that a CCJ cannot properly be obtained for a statute barred debt. For an actual solicitor to seek a CCJ in such circumstances does not seem to me like appropriately professional conduct for a solicitor and a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority may be in order.

It seems to me that the solicitor, if it really was one, has breached a number of

1. They do not appear to have upheld the rule of law and proper administration of justice by seeking a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
2. They appear not to have acted with integrity when they sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
6. They appear to have harmed public trust in the profession for the same reason.

In addition, it appears that they breached the OFT's guidance on unfair debt collection by threatening and then taking legal action when they were not entitled to do so.

For the reasons above I suggest that you first complain to the firm and ask them to refund to you all payments that you made following the CCJ, seek to have the CCJ removed and also that they inform the SRA of their actions so that the SRA can act as appropriate in enforcing its standards with regard to the firm's conduct both towards you and to others it interacted with.

It was an actual Solicitor.

They claim to be debt recovery specialist and carried out the legal work on behalf of "1st credit Ltd"

Thrugelmir

jamesd wrote: »

Was it really an actual solicitor who really sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt? I'm asking because an actual solicitor would know that a CCJ cannot properly be obtained for a statute barred debt. For an actual solicitor to seek a CCJ in such circumstances does not seem to me like appropriately professional conduct for a solicitor and a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority may be in order.

It seems to me that the solicitor, if it really was one, has breached a number of the Principles:

1. They do not appear to have upheld the rule of law and proper administration of justice by seeking a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
2. They appear not to have acted with integrity when they sought a CCJ for a statute barred debt.
6. They appear to have harmed public trust in the profession for the same reason.

In addition, it appears that they breached the OFT's guidance on unfair debt collection by threatening and then taking legal action when they were not entitled to do so.

For the reasons above I suggest that you first complain to the firm and ask them to refund to you all payments that you made following the CCJ, seek to have the CCJ removed and also that they inform the SRA of their actions so that the SRA can act as appropriate in enforcing its standards with regard to the firm's conduct both towards you and to others it interacted with.

Wasn't the answer to defend the claim in the first place?

Horse bolted springs to mind. Totally the wrong way to approach the issue.

Ryan10

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Wasn't the answer to defend the claim in the first place?

Horse bolted springs to mind. Totally the wrong way to approach the issue.

In actual fact this is mostly where my research is pointing.

In short it shouldn't be left to my credit file to alert me to the fact that a CCJ had been registered against me.

Aside from the time lapsed I didn't have an opportunity to oppose. I was naive in my dealings at the time. The fact that I didn't receive paperwork before or after is something that I will take up with them.

Appreciate all the comments to far. Thanks to all for your help.

Thrugelmir

Ryan10 wrote: »

In short it shouldn't be left to my credit file to alert me to the fact that a CCJ had been registered against me.

At the very least you would have received a claim notice from the court prior to the hearing. The solicitors were in contact so there's no issue with your address. Your response should have been to file a defence. Irrespective of the right and wrongs. If the judge was satisfied that the correct procedures had been followed by the claimant in an attempt to recover the debt, and with no response from yourself. Then by default the CCJ would be lodged against you.