Statute barred and going to court...

fatbelly

The phrase is 'fie and serve'

file = send to the court
serve = send to you

You have defended the claim on the ground that it is statute barred. They need to prove that you acknowledged the debt in the 6 years before the claim. Or that the 'cause of action' was less than 6 years before the claim

LostMeWay

So all they have to provide to legally enforce the debt is evidence that in the last 6 years I've acknowledged the debt in writing or made a payment? Nothing else.

fatbelly

6 Oct - ' I've disputed the debt on the grounds that it's statute barred.'

So they need to convince a judge that it isn't

LostMeWay

Morning.

My case is listed for the 8th of January 2018.

Think it was fatbelly that said any evidence has to be produced to the court and myself 14 days before the hearing.

So I emailed the court asking what the last date evidence could be produced taking the Christmas break into consideration.

This was the reply I got-

Good Morning

As this case has been listed for a dispute at court any evidence can be used on the morning of court. If there is any additional evidence sent to the court before the hearing this should be sent to yourself as well


Is this correct that they have right up until the hearing to produce any evidence and I wouldn't have any prior warning? I'm in Northern Ireland so I don't know if that makes any difference or not.

Thanks in advance.

LostMeWay

Bump...Bump

StopIt

LostMeWay wrote: »

Morning.

My case is listed for the 8th of January 2018.

Think it was fatbelly that said any evidence has to be produced to the court and myself 14 days before the hearing.

So I emailed the court asking what the last date evidence could be produced taking the Christmas break into consideration.

This was the reply I got-

Good Morning

As this case has been listed for a dispute at court any evidence can be used on the morning of court. If there is any additional evidence sent to the court before the hearing this should be sent to yourself as well


Is this correct that they have right up until the hearing to produce any evidence and I wouldn't have any prior warning? I'm in Northern Ireland so I don't know if that makes any difference or not.

Thanks in advance.

I think the reply was a little confused.


I think the refer to the current evidence as the court filing that the judge will review, and you've been sent as part of the court filing and serving procedure.


Further evidence, would be the response to your defence and they would need to send that to you 14 days before the court date. I think with Xmas in the way you can potentially add 2 days for the bank holidays, but don't quote me.

LostMeWay

Evening. So it seems that the debt is legally enforceable as I've received paperwork showing/proving I've made a payment about 5.5 years ago.

So any help and advice on how I now approach the situation and what to say with regards to hopefully getting this settled outside court is very much appreciated.

If it did go to court, how and when is the actual CCJ served? Is it only served if I failed to pay what I agreed with the court I would pay or is it served once it has been proved to the court it's legally enforceable regardless what I pay or don't pay?

They are claiming for £2047.65 (original debt amount) £517.44 in interest and £110.00 court fee. So a grand total of £2675.09

So is £2675.09 the number I'm trying to bargain and negotiate from or is the interest and court fee they added just the DCA trying their luck?

Thank you in advance.

Karonher

And yes, if they produce evidence that the debt isn't statute barred, you'll be given the right to reply. By that point it's likely that they'll push a CCJ through and you'll have 30 days to pay to avoid it going on your credit files for 6 years.[/QUOTE]

This is a previous comment from fatbelly regarding paying and whether or not you will get a CCJ

fatbelly

Karonher wrote: »

And yes, if they produce evidence that the debt isn't statute barred, you'll be given the right to reply. By that point it's likely that they'll push a CCJ through and you'll have 30 days to pay to avoid it going on your credit files for 6 years.

This is a previous comment from fatbelly regarding paying and whether or not you will get a CCJ

Doesn't sound like me. I wouldn't normally talk about 'pushing a ccj through'

OP - the first thing is do you accept that you made that payment? Creditors have been known to invent payments, and to pass off internal transactions as a payment by you.

If you do, and the statute barred angle was your only defence, then you should probably engage now to reach agreement on paying this off with a lump sum, or by instalments.

If you want an instalment arrangement, but also want to avoid a ccj, then a Tomlin Order may be the way forward. The creditor may agree to provide the paperwork for this or I have seen help given with Tomlin Orders over on

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

8% statutory interest and legitimate costs are allowable.

I'm sorry it has worked out like this.

Edit: the quote was StopIt's from post#20. Me and StopIt are actually two different people, despite the rumours.

LostMeWay

Guess I'm in a predicament.

I'll battle all day with the solicitors. However I would be wary of perhaps burning any bridges with them. If they ended up with the upper hand after I've exhausted every avenue with them, I imagine they wouldn't do me too many favours after this so would damage my chances of a lower settlement.

Is there any merit asking for more information and trying to use more legal arguments or should I try now and negotiate and get a low settlement figure as soon as I can?

Best case scenario for them is I pay in full as soon as possible?
Worse case for them would be a judge saying I'll pay it back at £30 a month? If this generates a CCJ to a certain degree it's irrelevant to them. I'm assuming they just want money and fast and by what ever means.

Best case scenario for me is, I'm able to use a legal avenue to quash it or they take a very low settlement figure.
Worse case for me is a CCJ.

So ummmm......just need to find the middle ground, eh?