Ccj help/advice

MNM2903

Hi,

First of all thanks in advance for looking.

My situation is I'm debt free but I still have some scars on my credit file. The main one is a CCj issues in 2013.

This was for a debt which defaulted in 2006.

The CCJ was issued on 12th February 2014 and serviced on 19th February 2014.

The original agreement with Three Mobile commenced on 4th January 2006, and the last payment was made on 1st June 2006. The default was issued on 25th January 2007.

They sent me a copy of their last letter which quoted this "We have now reviewed the information contained in your credit file and, based on the way you are conducting your other finances, we believe that you may be in a position to start repaying this account."

This was because I was going through my credit file and clearing all my debts, I would have paid this one also if I realised it existed but given how long ago it was It never even crossed my mind, I was also living at a different address so never received any communications from them and they weren't on my credit reports.

I do realise that I should have paid the debt off a long time ago and I also realise it's down to me to give my details to creditors however I was young and stupid. I have paid the CCJ off however it's still going to be on my file until 2020, it was paid off 6 weeks after it was issued, I only found out when I applied for a job and got rejected as I had a ccj, unknown to me.

I guess my question is, are they legally allowed to apply this ccj? Should this not have been statue barred and fall under the limitations act 1980?

Thanks

Ben8282

The all important question here is when did you last acknowledge or communicate with anybody about this debt prior to the application for the ccj?
If you are absolutely sure that you have not acknowledged or communicated with anybody about this debt for a period in excess of 6 years prior to that then it is indeed statute barred and you can apply for the ccj to be set aside on that basis.
If you have acknowledged or communicated with anybody about this debt in the 6 years prior to them obtaining the ccj then unfortunately the 6 years would have started again as of that date in which case there is very little you can do and the ccj will remain on your credit files for a period of 6 years.
I am also confused about your statement that 'they' sent you a copy of their last letter as you go on to say that they did not have your current address and that you had not received any communications from them.
It was indeed fortunate that you just happened to apply for a new job and find out about the ccj after being rejected for the job when you did, so as to be able to pay off the ccj within 6 weeks of it being issued. It's just a shame that you could not have found out a couple of weeks earlier so as to have satisfied the ccj within 28 days so that it could have been removed from your credit files.

MNM2903

Ben8282 wrote: »

The all important question here is when did you last acknowledge or communicate with anybody about this debt prior to the application for the ccj?
If you are absolutely sure that you have not acknowledged or communicated with anybody about this debt for a period in excess of 6 years prior to that then it is indeed statute barred and you can apply for the ccj to be set aside on that basis.
If you have acknowledged or communicated with anybody about this debt in the 6 years prior to them obtaining the ccj then unfortunately the 6 years would have started again as of that date in which case there is very little you can do and the ccj will remain on your credit files for a period of 6 years.
I am also confused about your statement that 'they' sent you a copy of their last letter as you go on to say that they did not have your current address and that you had not received any communications from them.
It was indeed fortunate that you just happened to apply for a new job and find out about the ccj after being rejected for the job when you did, so as to be able to pay off the ccj within 6 weeks of it being issued. It's just a shame that you could not have found out a couple of weeks earlier so as to have satisfied the ccj within 28 days so that it could have been removed from your credit files.

I have contacted them over the weekend and asked them if they can send over all communications from account opening to now, I've also asked if they can confirm the last time they had any communication from myself since the default notice.

I had previously asked them if they could send evidence that they gave me notification that they were taking me to court which they provided recently by e-mail which showed my old address on the header.

I knew about the 28 day rule which is the most frustrating part, had I known I wouldn't be having this problem, on the other hand I'm the one who originally ignored the debt. It's fully satisfied now though and I do feel that a debt of less than £500 still haunts me 10 years later.

Arleen

If you have not paid the CCJ, it would've been a simple matter of applying for set-aside. You can then still make good on the money you owe, which you should do, but at the same time no ccj on your file.

But as you've paid that changes things, as you've admitted the debt. And unless part of your claim denies the debt, it's unlikely to be successful (although not impossible). This also shuts the door to simple negotiation with the debtor, something on grounds "you agree to set aside, I pay it in full".

You can still apply for set-aside of course, and the decision whether it's worth the 255 quid for a chance to have it removed is up to you.

MNM2903

Arleen wrote: »

If you have not paid the CCJ, it would've been a simple matter of applying for set-aside. You can then still make good on the money you owe, which you should do, but at the same time no ccj on your file.

But as you've paid that changes things, as you've admitted the debt. And unless part of your claim denies the debt, it's unlikely to be successful (although not impossible). This also shuts the door to simple negotiation with the debtor, something on grounds "you agree to set aside, I pay it in full".

You can still apply for set-aside of course, and the decision whether it's worth the 255 quid for a chance to have it removed is up to you.

I see what you mean, i never knew any different, i was just in a position to clear of all my debt and once i started thats when i found out about this cci, I paid it off because this looks better on my credit file i believe. However after finding posts on here and reading various articles if i never admitted liability and it was over 6 years i would imagine id still have a case?

I am liable for the debt thats not my issue but for this to still be affecting my credit seems crazy, especially for such a low amountammount

Arleen

As I said you could chance it and apply for set aside, but it's not a given and you may likely wind up not getting the set-aside and be 255 shorter your next vacation. It's up to you if it's worth it, but there sure are some grounds to have it granted, so it's not lost hope.

Heck, if you can spare 100-200 on top of the 255, it will be very worth to seek the advice of a solicitor and get him to prepare the application for you to increase your chances.

MNM2903

Arleen wrote: »

As I said you could chance it and apply for set aside, but it's not a given and you may likely wind up not getting the set-aside and be 255 shorter your next vacation. It's up to you if it's worth it, but there sure are some grounds to have it granted, so it's not lost hope.

Heck, if you can spare 100-200 on top of the 255, it will be very worth to seek the advice of a solicitor and get him to prepare the application for you to increase your chances.

I think first of all I will get the creditor to send over all documentation and communication records, if I don't see that I've admitted liability for the debt or made a payment towards it and all the dates exceed 6 years I'll go for it. Watch this space.

National_Debtline

Hi

I agree with Arleen that you should seek legal advice if considering a set aside application. As well as the points Arleen makes about admitting liability by paying the debt, the court also needs to consider whether the debtor acted promptly in making a set aside application. As it’s been a few years since you knew about the CCJ it might make a set aside even less likely.

You can check whether you can access free legal advice through the following organisations:

www.lawworks.org.uk

www.lawcentres.org.uk

James
@natdebtline

MNM2903

It's fine, I'll have to wait it out as I got a reply showing that I paid £1.01p in 2010 which stops me going down this route.

Can't argue with it, just thought I might have been able to find a loophole, no getting away from it though and at the end of the day I can only blame myself, roll on 2020

Thanks for all your replies.

Arleen

The silver lining here is that in 2020 your credit file will be pristine, and you can use this time to, with help of builder credit cards and utilities, make an amazing foundation for when the CCJ drop offs. A worthy reward for the wait, when you will go from being a high risk to highly desirable.

MNM2903

It certainly is Arleen, I've learnt the hard way but it's a lesson that I can pass on to my kids when I have them. I honestly think schools should have this in their curriculum to teach kids about finances etc, I know I would have benefited from that more than I did R.E