Help needed regarding a ccj claim for a defaulted debt in Jan 09

angel198081

Last paid any money in Dec 07

angel198081

Nothing paid in since before Dec 07

exoteric

This is a complicated matter. I would strongly suggest putting in the Acknowledgement of Service to give you the maximum 28 days to get your Defence in, and then try to make an appointment at a local Citizens' Advice Bureau or Law Centre to have an adviser take you through what you need to do. Take all relevant documents with you in order to enable them to give you the most accurate advice as to whether or not this claim is time-barred.

Whilst it may be worth writing a letter to the Claimant/DCA/solicitors setting out the strength of your case in order to persuade them to drop it, there is absolutely no point in heading it "Without Prejudice" as the letter would only truly be "Without Prejudice" (and therefore not capable of being used as evidence against you) if you were making a genuine offer to settle the proceedings. The best thing you can do at this stage is to get to a CAB or Law Centre and hopefully find an adviser to assist you. Good luck.

Lensman_2

That's a good call Exoteric about getting direct (rather than forum) advice. National Debtline also give good advice on dealing with court claims.

I was being a bit cheeky with my advice about the letter and it is probably not good advice for the OP.

exoteric

Lensman wrote: »

That's a good call Exoteric about getting direct (rather than forum) advice. National Debtline also give good advice on dealing with court claims.

I was being a bit cheeky with my advice about the letter and it is probably not good advice for the OP.

Always good to try the direct approach of writing to the other side and trying to get them to drop it based on the strength of the case, but chances are that as they've already issued a claim they will just press on.

I know of Law Centres and CABs in London where solicitors from City firms volunteer pro bono to assist clients with more challenging cases, so that would be ideal for the OP. If s/he takes all documents and details, a solicitor could knock out a strong Defence in an hour and that may be the end of the matter.