CCJ Set aside by consent

JPSUK

Hello,

I hope somebody can offer some clarity & advise on my current situation. I took out several Shop Direct catalogue accounts shortly after turning 18 and quickly found myself in debt. They kept lending, I kept spending, and I quickly found myself in dire straights. It all became too much and I buried my head in the sand, stopped paying and ended up with several defaults.

I thought I had set up plans to pay them all off, but I have recently discovered that I have 2 CCJs registered against myself from July & December 2016. I am only picking up on this now due to mortgage applications. As far as I can remember, I did not receive any letters from the court, but I appreciate everybody probably has that same defense!

I plan to ask the companies involved to consent to set aside the CCJ in return for full payment. But will the age of the CCJ have any impact when it comes to a judge reviewing the case? Is it correct that a consented set aside should be quite straight forward, regardless of the age of the CCJ?

Any response would be greatly appreciated

sourcrates

Are these debts been chased ?

You could wait two years until they drop off your file, further enforcement action would require court permission.

JPSUK

Well, in the past week I have received a letter from one of the companies stating that they would accept a reduced sum to settle the account. My response to them is full repayment in return for their consent to set aside.

I could wait the 2/3 years, but I would really like to combat them now in order to buy a house.

WhenIam64

With consent is the way to go if they agree but it is not their decision. That will be for the judge to decide. He/she will use the standard 2 tests

1. Did you get the paperwork and
2. Do you owe the money

You appear to fail #2 so the judge may decide he/she is not playing the "credit washing" game. It's the judge's decision.

By all means have a go, but be prepared to be disappointed.

Just_Di

JPSUK wrote: »

several Shop Direct catalogue accounts shortly after turning 18 and quickly found myself in debt. They kept lending, I kept spending, . . .

I thought I had set up plans to pay them all off, but I have recently discovered that I have 2 CCJs registered against myself from July & December 2016. I am only picking up on this now due to mortgage applications.

I plan to ask the companies involved to consent to set aside the CCJ in return for full payment. But will the age of the CCJ have any impact when it comes to a judge reviewing the case? Is it correct that a consented set aside should be quite straight forward, regardless of the age of the CCJ?

In theory a Set Aside should be made promptly, but that means as soon as you discover the CCJ not when the CCJ was granted.

I've dealt with Applications up to 12 years later, but there has to be a convincing evidence to support the reason for the delay (the Defendant was out of the country and blissfully unaware).

A Set Aside will only put you back in the position you were in before the CCJ, this means you would have a Claim to Defend. What you need is a Consent Order to Set Aside and Dismiss the Claim. A Judge might find that more favourable.

Shop Direct catalogue debts are often unenforceable because they aren't compliant with the Consumer Credit Act, which is why they are frequently assigned to Debt Purchasers. Sadly your opportunity to run that legal argument appears to have been missed.

Who is the Judgment Creditor - is it Lowells?

The Judgment Creditor will expect you to pay the £100 filing fee for the Order (for each CCJ) if it is agreed.

Di

JPSUK

Hi,

One creditor is Lowell’s, the other Dryden Fairfax. I have asked both for a Consent Order - they have passed this over to their litigation teams for consideration. I have told both companies that I would pay for the court fees, so for now I will wait and see!

Interesting that you say Shop Direct accounts are not enforceable. I have no less than 10 defaulted shopping accounts that I pay back a small amount for monthly. It seems silly to me now, but at the time I was young and suffering from untreated bipolar. I just couldn’t stop myself from spending. I earned less than £100 a week at the time and by the time I was 19 had over £9,000 of catalogue debt.

Obviously I blame myself for the debt, nobody made me spend it, but I do feel that the lending was irresponsible. What recourse do I have? Could I, in theory, recover costs from Shop Direct and others and have the debt that is left over written off?

Just_Di

JPSUK wrote: »

One creditor is Lowell’s, the other Dryden Fairfax. I have asked both for a Consent Order - they have passed this over to their litigation teams for consideration. I have told both companies that I would pay for the court fees, so for now I will wait and see!

DrydensFairfax is a law firm, so who is their client (i.e. the creditor or debt purchaser)?

Di

Just_Di

JPSUK wrote: »

Interesting that you say Shop Direct accounts are not enforceable. I have no less than 10 defaulted shopping accounts that I pay back a small amount for monthly.

. . . . but I do feel that the lending was irresponsible. What recourse do I have? Could I, in theory, recover costs from Shop Direct and others and have the debt that is left over written off?

If these accounts have all been defaulted then why not send each debt owner a s77-79 CCA Request to see if they can comply. If they can't/don't comply within the statutory time-frame then the debts become 'unenforceable' in law until or unless they do comply.

It's a legal argument not a moral argument

That would be your starting point.

Di

JPSUK

Sorry, I believe their client is Cabot.

So, even though I am making payments, I can still make ways to prove that the debts are unenforceable? Should I just stop all payments if they fail to comply within 12 days?