County Court Claim on old debt

LLM

So, the solicitors have responded saying a payment was made in 2010 so it's not statute barred. What do we do next??

rizla_king

LLM wrote: »

So, the solicitors have responded saying a payment was made in 2010 so it's not statute barred. What do we do next??

Was it? Debt collectors and their solicitors often make these up hoping you will go all weak kneed and give in without a fight. Go on legalbeagles ask for help and defend if appropriate. Youve been told that several times already. If you WANT a CCJ ignore that advice. You WILL get one.

LLM

We have completed the acknowledgment of service online and gone back to the solicitor asking for proof of the alleged payment. Have had a look on legal beagles already. According to step change, my husband will already have a CCJ from the moment the forms were filed?

rizla_king

LLM wrote: »

According to step change, my husband will already have a CCJ from the moment the forms were filed?

Whoever you spoke to at stepchange is a clueless moron then. :eek:

You only have a CCJ against you when the court enters judgment. At the moment its just a claim that can be admitted or defended. The actual CCJ or judgment only happens once the process for either of those has gone right to its end. If defended then that is after a hearing in front of a judge.

You need to start getting to proper knowledgeable help. Until I can see youve done that I'm signing off from this thread. Sorry.

LLM

rizla_king wrote: »

You need to start getting to proper knowledgeable help. Until I can see youve done that I'm signing off from this thread. Sorry.

I appreciate your advice but find this comment a little harsh TBH! I've taken on board what you've said and followed your advice, I shouldn't need to prove that.

fatbelly

I should have put on my last post 'they'll just invent a payment'. That's normal practice - they lie to you but do not fabricate evidence for the court (in my experience).

On the claim timescale you have 14 days from service to submit the acknowledgement. If the claim was issued on 30 Oct then it is deemed served five days later (if it's MCOL, 3 days otherwise) so still plenty of time but don't take it to the wire.

Stepchange haven't advised you well so far but no damage done.

In post#1 you said that you believe the debt to be SB, i.e a period of more than 6 years elapsed when the debt was not acknowledged by payment or in writing. That is still your defence unless your records show a payment in that period, which I'm assuming is Oct 2008 - Oct 2014. I hope the 'solicitors' were a bit more precise than 'in 2010.' If your records don't show anything then proceed as you first intended. They will have to evidence their position to the court.

Of course if the period of no acknowledgement started in say 2003 then their made-up date is irrelevant.

fermi

fatbelly wrote: »

I should have put on my last post 'they'll just invent a payment'. That's normal practice - they lie to you but do not fabricate evidence for the court (in my experience).

Worth reading this thread then. By coincidence on LB.

LLM

Will read through the thread on LB shortly, thanks fermi.

Thanks Fatbelly, they gave us a date in November 2010 when they allege we made a payment but I can't see how we'd have done it as I had just lost my job and had a baby, we were skint!! But, then again, if my husband was put under pressure on the phone, he may well have made a payment.

I have acknowledged the claim online and said that we intend to fully defend the claim and have gone back to the solicitors asking for evidence of the payment as we do not have the same bank account that we had in 2010.

I have also been taking advice from people on legal beagles and have letters to post out the the claimant and their solicitors asking for the relevant paperwork in order to help us defend the claim.

Thanks again for your advice and support.

LLM

That poor guy on LB, seems he is being totally shafted by the 'phantom' payments

fatbelly

Hmm. That one's not going too well is it? Sounds like they are on the receiving end of some creative bookwork by the claimant and an unsympathetic judge.

LLM - that is not necessarily the way yours will go.

It sounds like you are doing the right things. Stick with it.