MCOL process

frivolous_fay

Hi all,
Not a loan question as such, but I'm hoping this is the closest to the right place to ask. The MCOL info online hasn't helped me very much.

Someone has owed me £238 since February (long story short - they badgered me for payment and I hurriedly, mistakenly, put an online payment through to them a second time)
No, the bank can't help.
I have used MCOL and a judgement has been issued against them. (They have not responded.)

Do they now have a CCJ or is that not relevant here?
I have the option to request a 'warrant' but I'm not sure what that would achieve, or what it means, tbh. It is a further £77 on top of the £25 already spent.
Is it of any use that I know their bank details? (I know I can't do anything with them on a personal level) It is a personal account. The company they traded under has apparently ceased trading.

I filed the claim on principle really, so that at least I hadn't let the money go without a bit of a fight. There is a limit to how much cash I want to throw at it though, especially as for all I know they haven't even seen the original claim (the address I have for him is a rented flat)

Any know-how or suggestions gladly taken on board.

sourcrates

Hi,

Yes they now have a CCJ recorded against them.

If it was a payment to a company, and they have ceased trading, then you just become another of there creditors, and it's unlikely you will get anything.
On the other hand if it was a personal payment, you have other options available, it depends how much money you really want to throw at a two hundred quid debt.

[Deleted User]

How long has it been? - took about 4 weeks after the last day to respond when I took a business through one day the cheque just appeared one day, against all the odds when I thought they would just ignore there was no advance correspondence although I was very much the same just filled on principle. There was no way really I'd have instructed someone to go into a loan company for £90 to collect, later on it's sister company asked for the money back anyway in the roundabout that is karma.

Maybe more then here I also found consumer action group knowledgeable on next steps for Mcol - afraid in my only other instance there was solicitor involvement so that claim got dealt with slightly differently as a defendant's right. (And this company were thought to be the hardest to track down) so there is some hope. x

frivolous_fay

Judgement was on the 4th Nov and I started the claim process on 5th Oct.
It was a personal bank account, but he was operating under company details. Not sure if that makes it a grey area.

fwor

If the bank account details that you have are the ones for the account that you paid the bank transfer into, it may be worth looking at applying to the court for a Garnishee Order.

Obviously it will cost you (when I last did this it cost around £100 IIRC) and you will be gambling that there is £238 or more in the account at the time the order is applied.

I did this in a similar situation to yours, knowing that there would likely be no money in the account (in my case there was not), but also aware that the perpetrator's bank would charge them £60 for every Garnishee Order they had to process. In effect I was paying £100 to buy them £60 worth of debt - and I seriously considered doing it several times to deprive them of the money they had cheated me out of - but I eventually came to my senses and left it after just the one!

frivolous_fay

Thanks. The CCJ is some satisfaction and who knows, it might bother him enough to do something about it. His wife has been on FB selling equipment likely from the business, but I imagine they're taking cash. I don't have much hope for getting paid but at least I won't look back and regret not trying the claim.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Is the CCJ in the name of the person or the company?

sourcrates

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Thanks. The CCJ is some satisfaction and who knows, it might bother him enough to do something about it. His wife has been on FB selling equipment likely from the business, but I imagine they're taking cash. I don't have much hope for getting paid but at least I won't look back and regret not trying the claim.

I suspect it might not be the only bad debt he has on his file though.

Its a pity he didn't owe you £600 or more, then you could of instructed High Court Enforcement Officers to attend his property.

With it being around the £200 mark, and you unlikely to be the only creditor, i doubt he will pay you much attention to be honest.

frivolous_fay

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Is the CCJ in the name of the person or the company?

I filed it against his name, but during processing the company name was also added - not by me.

Aquamania

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Hi all,
Not a loan question as such, but I'm hoping this is the closest to the right place to ask. The MCOL info online hasn't helped me very much.

Someone has owed me £238 since February (long story short - they badgered me for payment and I hurriedly, mistakenly, put an online payment through to them a second time)
No, the bank can't help.
I have used MCOL and a judgement has been issued against them. (They have not responded.)

Do they now have a CCJ or is that not relevant here?
I have the option to request a 'warrant' but I'm not sure what that would achieve, or what it means, tbh. It is a further £77 on top of the £25 already spent.
Is it of any use that I know their bank details? (I know I can't do anything with them on a personal level) It is a personal account. The company they traded under has apparently ceased trading.

I filed the claim on principle really, so that at least I hadn't let the money go without a bit of a fight. There is a limit to how much cash I want to throw at it though, especially as for all I know they haven't even seen the original claim (the address I have for him is a rented flat)

Any know-how or suggestions gladly taken on board.

You have what is known as a default judgement. That is you obtained judgement because of the failure of the defendant to respond to thge claim.

Yes, that is still a CCJ. But I should warn you that it is quirte easy for the defendant to have the judgement set aside (effectively, cancelled) at a later date if they so desire. (It'll coit them a few quid to do - about £70 iirc) Then the matter will go to a hearing as normal, where you may or may not win again.
I warn about this because you may spend a small fortune in court costs, not only what you have alrerady spend, but in enforement actions, only for the defendant to then start the process to set asde the judgement. In that event, it will depend on the specific circumstances (and the court's decision) as to what costs you may recover.

In regards the current judgement, the defendant would have been given a timeframe to pay (28days?)
Until that time passes, you will not find the CCJ recorded anywhere like on the register of CCJ's or the defendant's credit file. If the defendant pays the judgement in full and on time, you will never find any record of the judgement (save obviously for the paperwork you have)

It is only if the defendant does not pay in time, or applies (and is granted) permission to pay in installments that a formal record is made.

A warrant is essentially a request for enforcement of the judgement. There is no point making this application until the originally stated timeframe has expired (and assuming still no action by defendant i.e. no payment, no application to set aside, no application to pay by installments, etc)

There are various types of enforcement action that you can consider if/when the time is appropriate.
Probably most common is the appointment of a court bailiff (essentially a debt collector) who will attempt to get what you are owed.
The ones you see on the TV are usually High Court Bailiffs, but county court ones exist too. Unlike what you see on the TV, the bailiffs will first contact the debtor, usually in writing, and advise them they are on their case (A "pay up now before we come a-knocking" if you like).
Even if they do visit, recovery is their prime aim, so will attempt to get the money owed, or sometimes as you see on TV, will set up a payment arrangement.
Siezing goods (to sell) is a last resort, and is usually hampered by the fact the bailiff usually has no rights of entry to the property.

But there are alternative methods of enforcement, such as a deduction at source from defendant's income, perhaps freezing (and subsequent siezure) of bank account, or a charging order placed on a defendant's asset (such as a house they may own)

However, you can ask about those options should the need arise.

At the moment, probably best to see what develops. If you are still on speaking terms, perhaps make the defendant aware of the CCJ that now exists against them (would have been best to let them know the claim was made in the first place, especially if you were not sure they received it)

Aquamania

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Judgement was on the 4th Nov and I started the claim process on 5th Oct.
It was a personal bank account, but he was operating under company details. Not sure if that makes it a grey area.

Who was the claim, and so now the judgement, made against? The individual, or a limited company? An individual is a seperate legal entity compared to a limited company, and the judgement is against the legal entity the claim would have been made against.

With the admission by you that the defendant may of not even seen the claim in the first place, and with a possibility that you claimed against the wrong legal entity, this only adds more to the possibility of the judgement later being set aside (on application by the defendant named)