Bryan Carter please please help

alshaz1982

basically ive had a ccj letter last week about a debt i had with Orange a couple of years back.... i had taken a phone out for my daughter.. i tried to sign up for online services but it just told me constantly there was an error so i rang orange to be told theyd get their tech guys to look into it... couple of weeks went by and i still couldnt sign up for online bills etc... so of course i was being charged for paper bills!!! i rang them several times over a few weeks to be told theyd look into it but never heard back from them so tbh i just stopped paying the bill because why should i pay when i cant actually use the full service of being able to check my usage etc online???
anyway now a few years later and Lowell have sent my debt of £715 to Bryan carter who have sent me a CCJ form.... i STUPIDLY rang them today to try and sort a payment arrangement because i was scared what would mean to have ccj etc....
what do i do now? on phone they said £120 a month but i just cant afford that at all... i realise ive basically admitted the debt by ringing them....
what do i do???? really panicking now. i feel so lost. dreading baliffs or something turning up.

sourcrates

Hi,

No, you can't admit anything verbally, it has to be in writing.
You are no where near the bailif stage yet either, so stop panicking !!

When you say they've sent you a CCJ form, what do you mean ?

Only a court issues a CCJ, is it a threat of court action ?

Please explain a little more.

National_Debtline

Hi alshaz


Just to be clear - have you received a claim form from the court, or is it just a letter from Bryan Carter telling you that this is about to happen?


If it is a genuine claim form, then I would start by reading this guide to how you respond:


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


You do have a minimum of a fortnight to respond, so don't rush or panic, and get some proper advice first. There is no question of bailiffs etc. at this stage, and such action is very unlikely to happen at all if you engage with the court process.


As for ringing them and "admitting" the debt, I would not worry about that, it won't have changed anything meaningful about the situation. If they have indeed sued you, you will need to ensure you complete and return the appropriate court forms rather than contacting Bryan Carter directly.


We're offline shortly but I will check back in tomorrow and there will very likely be other regular posters on here in the meantime.


EDIT - cross-posted with sourcrates.


Dennis
@natdebtline

fatbelly

You haven't cause any harm by phoning them. But you have 14 days from the date of service to do something, or you get a ccj in default.

I suggest you acknowledge service (you can do this online, tick 'defend in full') and ask for help on

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/forumdisplay.php?105-Received-a-Court-Claim

There's even a dedicated Bryan Carter forum.

It's not at all certain that they can prove you owe them £700+. Make them work for it.

Even if ultimately the court decides you do owe that sum, the court can order an instalment arrangement of £20 per month, which is better that the £120 the joker at B.Carter was suggesting.

alshaz1982

ok its a county court claim form it says at the top... i went online and did the Ack of service earlier... thats all ive done so far... i did put defend in full too....

fatbelly

alshaz1982 wrote: »

ok its a county court claim form it says at the top... i went online and did the Ack of service earlier... thats all ive done so far... i did put defend in full too....

Brilliant...already proud of you.

alshaz1982

really appreciate the help guys... i really am hopeless when it comes to this... do i need to send them anything now??? i havent filled in the section online where it says to put comments for your defence.... wasnt sure what i put at all. claim letter is dated 6th October so think i need to hurry with what ive gotta do

rizla_king

Do this ----

fatbelly wrote: »

ask for help on

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/forumdisplay.php?105-received-a-court-claim

sourcrates

Have you had previous warning of this matter ? Or did this come outa the blue ?

alshaz1982

to be honest i had kinda brushed it under the carpet i suppose hoping it would go away as had various hospital issues for myself so that took priority. bad i know but...

sourcrates

alshaz1982 wrote: »

to be honest i had kinda brushed it under the carpet i suppose hoping it would go away as had various hospital issues for myself so that took priority. bad i know but...

Ok,

You should take Fatbellys advice and ask on Legal beagles !!!

They are more geared up to deal with matters of a legal nature.