CCJ Lowell Portofolio

Padraig123

Hi Everyone,

I have a unsatisfied record - CCJ on my credit file. It is 20 odd year old debt from Orange that I don't even remember that was bought by Lowell Portfolio. I want it set aside - I was advised by a solicitor to contact them direct and see if they will consider this for full or partial payment of the debt -. Can anyone give me advice. My worry is that Lowells are unscrupulous and will mess me around - does anyone have any advice for me or past experience with Lowell.

fatbelly

Some dates would be useful here.

When did you last make a payment to this?

When did they get the ccj?

Are Lowell writing to you about this or did you just discover it on your credit report?

Padraig123

Thanks for responding. I found the CCJ by running a credit report on the 23rd January 2019. I was unaware of it . The CCJ is dated 15th December 2016 - I was living overseas at the time and had no prior warning or knowledge of this. I have made no payments and had no contact with Lowell as yet.

[Deleted User]

If the debt was 20 years old it should have long been gone from your credit file. How do these debt collection companies get away with bringing age old debts back from the dead?

garth549

^^ It's a recent CCJ for, rather than the original debt that's appeared on the OP's credit file. These can appear any time, for anything if someone issues one against you and you're not around to defend it.

I'm not sure why your solicitor has advised you to pay the CCJ or come to an arrangement over it. This will still leave the CCJ on your credit file, but simply marked as 'settled'. It'll still leave your credit report trashed.

It sounds like you have reasonable grounds to have it "set aside" if you can prove that you weren't living in the country at the time of the claim. This will essentially remove the CCJ and restart the claim process from the start. I'm afraid this costs around £250 or more though, so it's not cheap. You need to contact the court to start this process and may need to attend a hearing to explain why you're requesting it.

Padraig123

Thanks for your response. I probably did not make it clear, the advice I got from the soliciter was to contact the creditor and try to get them to agree to Set Aside the CCJ if I pay some/all of the debt which is £920, but I get the feeling that Lowells are unscrupulous operators and thus not sure what the best course of action is. Your suggestion makes sense, can you elaborate a little on the process etc. Please.

sourcrates

Debt was statute barred when the judgement was granted.

You can set aside on that basis.


Cost is £255.00 though, unless you qualify for remission on the fee.

Your defence would be under sec 5 limitations act, an action founded on tort should not be brought after the expiration of 6 years.

Padraig123

Thanks for your response. Can I do this on my own or do I need a solicitor?

sourcrates

Padraig123 wrote: »

Thanks for your response. Can I do this on my own or do I need a solicitor?

Just use Google, it’s court form N-244 you are looking for.

Fill it in and return to the court, along with the fee, or remission form if applicable, no solicitor required.

Just_Di

Padraig123 wrote: »

the advice I got from the soliciter was to contact the creditor and try to get them to agree to Set Aside the CCJ if I pay some/all of the debt which is £920

The solicitor may have been advising you that the Judgment Creditor (i.e. the Claimant) and the Defendant can sign a Consent Order to set aside the CCJ (Default Judgment) and 'respectfully' ask the court to dismiss the claim at the same time.

This tends to happen if the Claimant knows they're likely to lose in court if your Application went ahead and they would have to pay your legal costs.

Filing a Consent Order costs £100 whereas making an Application can costs £255 (unless you're entitled to fee remission) plus the potential legal costs of the other side at the Hearing if you lose.

A Consent Order has to be signed-off by a DJ who may not like the idea of you 'buying' the set-aside by part paying the debt.

Personally I don't see why the Judgment Creditor would be motivated to co-operate since they already have their CCJ at the 'full price' and can seek enforcement such as bailiffs of Attachment of Earnings.

Why not ask that same solicitor (was his advice free?) to clarify things for you before you make the Application which doesn't guarantee you'll win.

Di