CCJ - Set Aside Help Needed

Lindiloo22

Abridged version ... I can give more information but don't want to bore anyone.

Partner has recieved Notice Of Enforcement re CCJ he knew nothing about. Just been issued to a company called Azzurro. (Never heard of them). Rang court for information and CCJ granted Dec 2018 by default. Advised to contact Shoosmiths.
Shoosmith provided invoice from Eon covering May 2012 to Oct 2012 in my name and partners name.
Previously ran business but all business debts were in my name and I declared bankruptcy in Dec 2013. In the 12 months between their alleged final invoice and my bankruptcy Eon made no contact stating I owed anything and were not included in my bankruptcy petition.
All paperwork has been sent to previous address even though we moved out in Jan 2013 and I have been on electoral roll at my address since then. So surely I would have received some correspondence in relation to the debt prior to my bankruptcy.
Eon claim to have supplied energy from 1st Jun 2012 to 31st Oct 2012 with no payments EVER, but never chased debt (over £3000).
Sold debt to Azzurro 5th Nov 2018, claim entered 7th Nov 2018.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

sourcrates

Hi,

Bankruptcy is an all encompassing thing, it doesn’t matter if you knew about the debt or not, any debts prior to your going bankrupt will of been included in it, that includes this one.

You can write to shoesmiths and advise them of this, see how they take it, the CCJ cannot be enforced as technically the debt no longer exists.

If they want to play hardball then you could apply for a set aside application (this will incur a cost of £255.00 though) on the basis this debt was included in your bankruptcy.

Have you referred this to your old OR yet ?

Lindiloo22

Thanks Sourcrates. I probably strayed from the point, but the ccj is against my partner. Eon allegedly issued bills in both names so even though I declared bankruptcy the debt has been sold and they have made the claim against him.
I was just explaining that they never made any contact with me prior to my bankruptcy which was more than 12 months after their final invoice.
Also, all of our business utilities were in my name yet this one is supposedly in both.
Could he apply for the ccj to be set aside based on age of the debt.
Or could h dispute that his name should not have been on the bills and request proof.
Seems strange that Eon never chased the debt and simply waited 6 years then sold it.
Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

sourcrates

Sorry, mis-read your post.

From the dates you give it’s possible a statute barred defence may work here, to get it set aside.

There is also the issue of back billing, basically if an energy company don’t send a bill for over a year, then that debt becomes unenforceable (can’t remember exact terms, Google “back billing” for gospel) but you’d have to get it set aside first.

Lindiloo22

Thank you. I’ll do some ‘googling’.
Do you think there’s any use trying to get original contract documents to see how he ended up on this bill when he wasn’t included on any other utility bills, or would that just be a waste of time ? Just thinking maybe if they have absolutely nothing with his signature on how can it be his debt ?

sourcrates

The more holes you can make in their argument the better.

D_M_E

Did you get a detailed breakdown of how the bill was ngenerated - periods, units used, all charges?

As Sourcrates says, IF the account was in your sole name then your bankruptcy covers it - contact your BR practitioner and advise them of it and they should deal with it.

HOWEVER you say that the bill was in both your names so either or both of you can be chased for payment.

JCS1

D_M_E wrote: »

Did you get a detailed breakdown of how the bill was ngenerated - periods, units used, all charges?

As Sourcrates says, IF the account was in your sole name then your bankruptcy covers it - contact your BR practitioner and advise them of it and they should deal with it.

HOWEVER you say that the bill was in both your names so either or both of you can be chased for payment.

The OP cannot be chased as the debt would fall into their bankruptcy. It would then be the partner who would be chased for the full amount.

Lindiloo22

We have been asked by Shoosmiths to confirm on what grounds my partner will be making his application to set aside, and details of proposed defence. They also state that they are 'still willing to discuss an amicable arrangement to conclude the matter', whilst also pointing out that additional costs may be incurred if the matter should return to court. I'm guessing that's because they don't really want it to go back to court.
He hasn't acknowledged the debt and was not aware that there was ever an account with Eon in his name.
Shoosmiths have so far been unable to provide any documents other than the 'final invoice'.
All previous paperwork was sent to wrong address (old address and with wrong postcode), yet once ccj acquired enforcement letter came to current address.
Eon have no documentation regarding who signed any contracts as this was all apparently done by email and they no longer have the emails.
Eon have provided an 'excel' style version of a statement which has the word SUPRESSED next to each invoice, which apparently means that the invoices were never posted out, but may have been available online.

Eon have sent a copy of the standard agreement which states 'You'll be paying in full when we send you a bill each month'. This agreement is dated 8 October 2012 but is back dated to 1st June 2012.

The first bill should therefore have been due for payment in the first week of July 2012. Surely the cause of action should have arisen shortly after that payment was missed, and most definitely once no payment was received the following month.

It makes no sense to me at all.

Any ideas how we should word the defence ?

D_M_E

In order to get info out of EON send them an SAR in his name and also in your name.

As for defence my stance, given what you have written, would be to tell them and the court that the "debt" has not been proved because there is nothing to show how it was incurred and, even if there was, there is no detail of what it's for, such as usage etc.

ShakeItOff

If they are willing to consider talking, you might be able to obtain a set aside with consent, which I think costs around £100. However, there is no guarantee that a judge will rubber stamp it. You could go for a set aside without consent, and check whether you're eligible for help with the fee (the fee is £255 if you're not eligible).

Importantly, with the set aside application, you need to be able to demonstrate to a judge that you (your partner) has moved quickly, and not delayed.

In respect of moving address, the claimant is obliged to make reasonable attempts to find you - are you "there to be found"? E.g. are you on the electoral role, where does your credit file have you living? This would be grounds for getting a judgment set aside too, as well as the potential for statute barred claim.

If your partner hasn't done so already, it would be worth submitting a subject access request to all companies involved to find out who has/had what information. A link to a template SAR is here: https://legalbeagles.info/library/guides_and_letters/court/subject-access-request/.

I know it isn't directly related, but if you go for the set aside without consent, it might be worth heading to the Parking Forum and searching "6 point set aside order" - there are some good pointers there to get you going and stop any enforcement action in the meantime.

Good luck!