Emigrated now CCJ Received - What Next?

catlover3

Thanks for having me and for all your support guys! Apologies in advance if this is the incorrect forum. I have searched around to find the appropriate place to post this and hope this is correct.

I'm generally pretty good at money management but this one has stumped me a little so I am reaching out for suggestions.

About 18 months ago, we emigrated to the US. We always leased a car from VW, but had to return this three months before we left. So, we found a mid-term leasing company to hire a car for 12 weeks or so. About 4 weeks into the lease, the company messaged us to say they needed the car back. Obviously, we were pretty annoyed, but moreover, we were overseas at the time (finalising our emigration) and asked them if they could wait till we returned. They refused, so we contacted a neighbour, asked them to make the keys available and the company came to collect the car. The company is based in York and we live in Manchester.

Fast forward a couple of months and we received a demand for £255, 'vehicle recovery fee'. This is a per-mile charge for them to collect the car. The fee could have been waived had we driven the car to York ourselves, but of course, this option was unavailable as the company refused to wait for us to come home. I complained and there was a good deal of back and forth via telephone and that was the last I heard of it.

Until now. I have received today an email (text below) saying a CCJ has been filed against me and if I do not pay in 7 days, the CCJ will go on my record. Now, I know how CCJs work. My questions are:
1. Who should I contact first? The court or the debt collector? I have had no notice of any of the threats etc as I have emigrated and all documents must have gone to the old UK address where I haven't lived for a year.
2. I live in the US now. Can I apply to have this set aside for free since I didn't receive any of the documentation?
3. If I have to pay the £255 set aside fee, given that the amount requested is £270, would it not be worth me just paying this and wiping my hands of it (although I am still annoyed)?
4. Isn't the term for payment normally 28 days?
5. The threat letter talks of goods recovery. I do not live in the UK so how should I approach this? I would not like whoever moved into my old UK address to have to deal with some threatening bailiffs. I still own a house in the UK too so I don't want a CCJ.

I am tempted to just pay this and be done with it, but since the original demand was so indefensible, I also am loathe to have this company get away with it.

Ideas an suggestions are welcome! Thank you!:D

Text of the letter below.

Dear Sir / Madam,
Titan Business Centre Titan House Central Arcade Cleckheaton BD19 5DN
p: 01274 866820 f: 01274 341234
Date
31 May 2018
Our Reference

Our Clients Reference

Our Client
Autohorn Fleet Services Ltd
Call now on
01274 866820
Court Judgment Total
£270.25
We have now obtained a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you on this matter, a copy of which is attached.
Payment of the Judgment Total is now required within the next 7 days. Failure to pay the Judgment Total means the CCJ will stay on the Register of Judgments, Orders & Fines for 6 years. Banks and loan companies use this information to decide whether to give you credit or loans.
Furthermore we are also instructing a County Court Bailiff to attend your premises to remove goods to pay the Judgment Total plus additional enforcement costs.
The additional enforcement costs that will be added to the outstanding amount are as follows:
1. Enforcement Compliance Fee: £90.00
2. Enforcement Stage 1 Fixed Charge: £282.00
The total amount owed after the addition of the initial enforcement costs will be £642.25 and further substantial costs will continue to be added at the subsequent enforcement stages.
If you wish to avoid the removal of goods and the addition of the enforcement costs as detailed above you will need to make payment of the Judgment Total of £270.25.
Payment can be made by BACS / Internet Banking to our account: Sort Code: 40-27-15, Account Number: 75122295, Account Name: Expert Collections Ltd or by cheque to our address. Alternatively call us today on 01274 866820 to make payment by debit or credit card (a surcharge of 5% will apply for any card payment taken) or pay by cheque to the address above.
** PAYMENT OF COURT JUDGMENT REQUIRED - GOODS DUE TO BE REMOVED**
Yours faithfully,
Legal and Insolvency Department

unforeseen

Since you've emigrated why bother doing anything?

I assume you have no property in the UK that they can seize and you don't intend to come back to live for the next 6 years.

beanielou

I would pay it & be done with it.

fatbelly

catlover3 wrote: »

Until now. I have received today an email (text below) saying a CCJ has been filed against me and if I do not pay in 7 days, the CCJ will go on my record. Now, I know how CCJs work. My questions are:
1. Who should I contact first? The court or the debt collector? I have had no notice of any of the threats etc as I have emigrated and all documents must have gone to the old UK address where I haven't lived for a year.
2. I live in the US now. Can I apply to have this set aside for free since I didn't receive any of the documentation?
3. If I have to pay the £255 set aside fee, given that the amount requested is £270, would it not be worth me just paying this and wiping my hands of it (although I am still annoyed)?
4. Isn't the term for payment normally 28 days?
5. The threat letter talks of goods recovery. I do not live in the UK so how should I approach this? I would not like whoever moved into my old UK address to have to deal with some threatening bailiffs. I still own a house in the UK too so I don't want a CCJ.

I am tempted to just pay this and be done with it, but since the original demand was so indefensible, I also am loathe to have this company get away with it.

1. I would contact the court to check if this is genuine, and what are the sums and dates involved here.

2. You can apply for set aside if you have a reason why you did not defend the claim, a defence with a real prospect of success, and you act promptly. You may well have all 3 components, but it costs £255

4. Yes, if paid within 28 days (think it might be one month) the ccj does not appear on the register or your credit file.

5. If you have no goods in the UK then their threat is an empty one. It is a bit garbled as they have mentioned the County Court bailiff but quoted the wrong fees.