Ccj, credit rating and court hearing

Andymaymsg

Hi

My husband recieved a letter a month or so ago, from a solicitors firm regarding a CCJ from 2013 which we had no prior knowledge of. All paperwork was sent to a previous address years after we moved. We didn't give our forwarding details to the company who believe he owes money to as we were not aware of any outstanding debt. A court hearing has been booked to have the CCJ set aside but despite a phone call to the courts we are very unclear on the procedure or what will be expected of us. The amount owing is only around £200. I am wondering if the solicitors will even show up- in which case can I assume the judgement will be set aside? The outcome I am hoping for is to have the CCJ removed from his credit file entirely, even if we are still required to pay the debt, which we can do so immediately (my understanding is that if we pay within a month of a CCJ being filed it will be removed from his credit report) ...as appose to us paying now and it showing as settled.

Any tips or advice on what to expect at the hearing would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Ben8282

On what specific grounds do you intend to apply to have the judgement set aside?

boo_star

Unless you can show that either the money isn't owed (or the debt is/was statute barred) or the previous paperwork was sent to the wrong address you have no chance of getting it set aside.

Andymaymsg

On the grounds that all correspondence was sent to an old address. I know it's not a given that this is reason enough, but we had no reasonable way of knowing about any of this. His credit report was clean also up until we recieved the letter a few weeks back.

[Deleted User]

You'd have to prove you'd given them an updated address.

Andymaymsg

Thanks zx81. As I said, I did not provide a forwarding address as we were not informed any monies were owed, therefore I did not deem it necessary. My interpretation is that although my situation is by no means considered absolute grounds to have the CCJ set aside, it will be considered. Regardless, my query is more around what to expect at the court hearing in terms of set up, and prep required. I am also interested in whether the solicitors failure to attend may have an impact on the case. It's for a small amount, from 3 years ago, and I am wondering if anyone will show to counter our appeal...

Thanks again.

MEM62

In order to be granted a set-aside you also need to demonstrate that you have a good chance of defending the case when it is re-heard. As you have all but admitted that you will pay the debt you will not be granted a set-aside.

A set-aside will not be granted just so that the case can be heard again and you then admit liability and try to avoid a judgement on your record by setlling within the month.

National_Debtline

Andymaymsg wrote: »

Regardless, my query is more around what to expect at the court hearing in terms of set up, and prep required. I am also interested in whether the solicitors failure to attend may have an impact on the case. It's for a small amount, from 3 years ago, and I am wondering if anyone will show to counter our appeal...

You really should try and get some legal advice about what evidence you need to take to your hearing and whether it is worth proceeding with the set aside application based on the circumstances. If your application fails this debt can increase through legal costs of the other side (and the CCJ will still be on his credit file).


Hearings are generally held in the judge's chambers and will resemble a private meeting more than a court hearing. If the other side doesn't attend then it can be argued that you may be more likely to be successful but it is always at the discretion of the judge on the day. (Unfortunately, there is no way to predict what the other side will do in terms of attendance). Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline