EON CCJ - Offer to settle out of court

TheCoz

Hi all,


My Girlfriend received a letter a few months ago from a solicitors firm acting on behalf of EON. They said they had gained a CCJ in default against her for a gas debt from around 4.5 years ago for a property she fled due to domestic issues. This was the first she had heard about it.


She had attempted to clear all debts with a bank loan after moving out, as she had wracked up a fair few payday lenders etc. These were all cleared.


We had to get this set aside and the hearing is coming up. In the set aside defence we obviously stated she had no opportunity to defend herself, all documents were sent to the address she fled and eon were made aware she had moved out of the property. We also showed evidence of debts that have since come to light that we have paid. We also stated that she probably did owe the money (nearly impossible to prove you didn't) and would pay anything she owes. We need this set aside as we are looking to purchase a house and a ccj on the credit file is usually an instant no.


We reason that if EON had contacted her before applying for a ccj the debt would of been cleared, it was only 2 months after the ccj had been gained did they bother to look for her (and found her easily).


EON have sent her a letter stating they will win the set aside case, it is pointless to continue and offered to settle out of court. They have not mentioned a figure they actually want, we only know the balance with fee's + interest added. They have also said they are just trying to help as they will then pursue her for costs as well.


My question is, are they correct? Can we not possibly win due to admitting we probably owe the debt and are willing to pay?


If we agree to settle direct, can they get the ccj removed?


Any help would be really appreciated!

[Deleted User]

If you had settled it in full within a month, it would have been be removed. But offering to pay at some point in the future won't have the same effect.

The address argument is valid only if she gave them her new address.

Settling out of court seems an exceptionally good idea.

molerat

Their argument will be that she did not inform them of her new contact details and they sent the documents to her last known address which is all they have to do in law. Her only real defence could be if she did inform them of her new address details and they failed to act on that information. https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/ccj/set-aside-ccj.aspx

They only have to make "reasonable effort" to locate someone, their view is why should they spend any money on it when there is no way they can actually enforce the debt. Once they have got the court judgement they will spend a bit more money as there are more options open to them to recover the debt.

TheCoz

They did not even send details of the ccj to her new address until 2 months after the ccj had been gained. Giving no opportunity to clear.


As she had fled due to an abusive relationship, she did not give them a new address, would this ever be taken into an account? She made every effort to contact her creditors and we have evidence of this, not sure if EON were even on that list.


If we settle out of court, could they remove the ccj?

molerat

I don't believe there is any mechanism to remove a CCJ from your file outside of the 3 usual methods - pay within 28 days, set aside or wait 6 years.

TheCoz

molerat wrote: »

Their argument will be that she did not inform them of her new contact details and they sent the documents to her last known address which is all they have to do in law. Her only real defence could be if she did inform them of her new address details and they failed to act on that information.

They only have to make "reasonable effort" to locate someone, their view is why should they spend any money on it when there is no way they can actually enforce the debt. Once they have got the court judgement they will spend a bit more money as there are more options open to them to recover the debt.

The information you give and the website you linked have contradicting information.


Are there any other reasons to apply to set aside a CCJ?

You may be able to get a CCJ set aside if the original judgment was made without your response being taken into account. This could happen if:

• The claim form was sent to an old address

molerat

TheCoz wrote: »

The information you give and the website you linked have contradicting information.


Are there any other reasons to apply to set aside a CCJ?

You may be able to get a CCJ set aside if the original judgment was made without your response being taken into account. This could happen if:

• The claim form was sent to an old address

Which really only applies if she did inform them of the new address and will involve applying for a set aside with the appropriate fee. If E.On decide to play hard ball and use the "did make reasonable efforts to trace" they may win so it is a gamble.

TheCoz

molerat wrote: »

Which will involve you applying for a set aside with the appropriate fee. If E.On decide to play hard ball they may win so it is a gamble.

I think I might have convoluted some of the information in my post, sorry about that.


We have applied for a set aside, paid for it and are due in court for the hearing in the next 2 weeks. This has been a long time as we originally applied around april time and was waiting for a date. We have now been granted that date for the hearing.


EON have recently sent us a letter offering to settle out of court as they feel we cannot win the set aside.

IAmWales

TheCoz wrote: »

The information you give and the website you linked have contradicting information.


Are there any other reasons to apply to set aside a CCJ?

You may be able to get a CCJ set aside if the original judgment was made without your response being taken into account. This could happen if:

• The claim form was sent to an old address

That would only apply if the supplier could have reasonably known of her new address.

TheCoz wrote: »

EON have recently sent us a letter offering to settle out of court as they feel we cannot win the set aside.

Surely that is what you want, for them to agree to the set aside and you pay the debt?

Or do you mean they've have offered a settlement amount, the CCJ stays in place but can be satisfied by paying a lower amount?

TheCoz

IAmWales wrote: »

That would only apply if the supplier could have reasonably known of her new address.



Surely that is what you want, for them to agree to the set aside and you pay the debt?

Or do you mean they've have offered a settlement amount, the CCJ stays in place but can be satisfied by paying a lower amount?

That's the thing, they don't actually say an amount they want or anything about the CCJ standing.


The letter basically says "You cant win against us, call and pay a settlement or else we will add further costs"


Doesn't mention an amount they want or if the ccj will still stand. I don't believe a company can remove a ccj, or can they do the set aside themselves?

molerat

There seem to be 3 possibilities.

You pay the out of court reduced amount and discontinue the set aside leaving the CCJ in place

You continue with the set aside and they will defend.

Or are they saying that if you pay them they will not defend the set aside and you will win by default - which would be the best option.

You need to clarify this with them.