CCJ raised after statute barred - now threatening me with baillifs 2yrs later

LJP29

I have been refused a mortgage due to a CCJ being entered in 2018, 2yrs after the debt became statute barred. The debt company, Lucas Credit Services have said a payment was made on the account in 2013, which is a lie. I asked for evidence and they have said they will not send me evidence unless a a solicitor asks for it on my behalf. They are threatening me with bailiffs if the full amount isn’t paid by 9th December 2020. Can someone please help I am worried sick I don’t know what to do. If I pay the CCJ I am worried that the evidence will be destroyed and I will not be able to prove that the CCJ was applied for when the debt was statute barred. Any advice would be very much appreciated. This is stopping me from buying my dream home. I only became aware of the CCJ when my mortgage in principle was refused on Monday. The debt company sent letters apparently  to an address I no longer lived at in 2018. I’ve spoke to a solicitor today and they’ve said to send a subject access report request in writing, and I did on Monday but they have 30 days to respond and I only have 2 weeks to pay the balance and then the CCJ will remain on my file for another 4 years and I need it setting aside. Can someone please help I’m being sent all over the place, no one is helping me. 

[Deleted User]

Paying the CCJ doesn't destroy any evidence. Although if it did, obviously that would be in your favour.

You can apply for a set aside, although I wouldn't think your chances are good after this long. Depending on where you are with your house purchase and the lender criteria, consider whether you should settle it.

adamp87

Because you didn’t defend it the first time, I think you might have to pay the set aside fee for a judge to look at it? I’m not clued up so someone will be along soon

MattMattMattUK

Ask for a copy of the judgement, you can do this via the court, you will need the reference number from your credit report. You can then challenge it if it is incorrect, sent to the wrong address etc. They can not refuse to send you evidence of the debt unless asked by a solicitor, that is just a bullying tactic to get you to bend over. Do you know what the debt is for? Lucas Credit Services collect on behalf of a wide range of companies, including HMRC and an HMRC debt can not be statue barred.

They can threaten you with bailiffs, but at the moment that is just a bloke with a clip board, the only people with real power are High Court Enforcement Officers and they will have to go to court again, they also would not get that without the court having direct correspondence with you. 

I would recommend you obtain a copy of the court judgement, plus any relevant information and speak to Citizens Advice or a debt charity, you are going to need specific advise and to challenge this in a way that it would be very difficult for people do to via a forum.

You may want/need to challenge this in court, which will take time, but may well result in the debt being wiped out if it is genuinely statute barred and the CCJ was issued in error/fraudulently. If it will hugely impact your house buying process you may want to pay it to make it go away, I would certainly recommend you speak to your broker and get some additional mortgage options. You may also have to accept that the house will go and you will have to find another.

sourcrates

What type of debt was it ?

If it was consumer credit act related, then the creditor can only use county court bailiffs, and they are not entering premises right now, and can be thwarted by a locked door anyway, plus HCEO`s are adhering to the same policy, they can only be employed to collect non CCA debts over £600.

So "sending bailiffs" is a bit of a non threat in these strange times.

Lucas are actually correct, once a CCJ has been granted, it removes any obligation to provide further evidence of the debt, as a court has decided that you owe it.

I`m afraid you have to learn to help yourself in these situations, you need to decide if its worth you spending £255 on a set aside application, or not.

Remission is available on the fee, if you are on a low income, stepchange cover the process here, they also link to court form N-244 (to apply for a setaside) and EX-160 (to claim remission on the fee) both should be sent together should you decide to pursue this further -

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/ccj/set-aside-ccj.aspx

MalMonroe

I see that sourcrates has already mentioned contacting StepChange, which is what I would also recommend. Their services are free and so is the phone call. Even if you have to wait on the line to speak to someone, it's worth it. I can't tell you how much they helped me, or rather saved me I should say.

It's worth a look at their page, even if you don't want to contact them.  

I hope you manage to work this out, it really is awful when things like this are hanging over you. 

LJP29

I say destroy evidence but I mean the debt companies are doing everything they can not to give me the transaction history on the account (Lucas say they don’t have it, Lowell have it, Lowell say they don’t have it, Argos have it - I have been going round in circles for 3 days now) and I’m worried that if I pay the outstanding balance, this will then close the file and then I definitely won’t get any info ie evidence out of them and then I won’t be able to get it set aside (I am more than willing to pay the £255 to do this as it is stopping us from buying our first home). I will pay the CCJ, I want to, I want it cleared, but I want and need it setting aside as this was entered in 2018, the debt was from 2010, and therefore became statute barred in 2016 (no contact, no payments etc - although they are saying a payment was made in 2013, which is untrue, and why I think they will not send me evidence of this), and they were apparently trying to contact me at an old address. The CCJ is for £365. The debt is from an unpaid Argos card. Thank you all so much for your helpful response it really does mean so much thank you. I will contact step change and I have already got the case ID from the court etc, thank you. Any further advice very much welcomed. 

sourcrates

Ok, consumer credit act debt then, I’ve already said they are under no obligation to provide any further assistance to you once judgement has been granted.
I think you have a very good case for obtaining a set aside, you didn’t receive the court paperwork, and you have a statute barred defence.
I would just go ahead and apply for it, you do not have to prove it was statute barred, they have to prove it wasn’t.
The issue over the time it’s taken to apply for set aside can be explained by the fact you’ve only just become aware of the judgement.
The forms can be found on the link provided previously.
The other option is set aside with consent, this costs £100, basically you get the creditor to agree to a set aside if you pay the debt off, ask stepchange or National Debtline about this option.

nic_c

No, they are not sending you if because it is untrue, it is not all some conspiracy theory. Once the CCJ has been granted the debt becomes liable under the CCJ, whether there is evidence or not is a moot point. They are under no obligation to provide it to you, and refusal does not mean they do or do not have it, it has, as far as they are concerned, moved passed that point and it is now a debt liable under a CCJ.

The CCJ isn't necessarily stopping you buying your dream home. If it's paid promptly and it's your only black mark, mortgages will be available (sounds like you need a new broker if they say not), you may require a higher deposit and rate not the most competitive, but as a mortgage will be a lot longer than 4 years you can remortgage once it's dropped off.

That said, if you think you have a good chance to set aside, the £255 may be a lot cheaper than an expensive mortgage. However do consider the time it will take. Courts are on a reduced service due to the pandemic, so it could take several months before it gets as far as a hearing.

MEM62

LJP29 said:

I say destroy evidence but I mean the debt companies are doing everything they can not to give me the transaction history on the account (Lucas say they don’t have it, Lowell have it, Lowell say they don’t have it, Argos have it - I have been going round in circles for 3 days now) and I’m worried that if I pay the outstanding balance, this will then close the file and then I definitely won’t get any info ie evidence out of them and then I won’t be able to get it set aside (I am more than willing to pay the £255 to do this as it is stopping us from buying our first home). I will pay the CCJ, I want to, I want it cleared, but I want and need it setting aside as this was entered in 2018, the debt was from 2010, and therefore became statute barred in 2016 (no contact, no payments etc - although they are saying a payment was made in 2013, which is untrue, and why I think they will not send me evidence of this), and they were apparently trying to contact me at an old address. The CCJ is for £365. The debt is from an unpaid Argos card. Thank you all so much for your helpful response it really does mean so much thank you. I will contact step change and I have already got the case ID from the court etc, thank you. Any further advice very much welcomed. 

Well they must have had some evidence to bring before the court.  Did you defend the case in court or have you allowed them to gain an unchallenged judgement by not engaging?  

sourcrates

MEM62 said:

Well they must have had some evidence to bring before the court.  Did you defend the case in court or have you allowed them to gain an unchallenged judgement by not engaging?  

Evidence is only required if the defendant asks to see it.

As things stand, you can make up any old lie about someone owing you money, put down an old address deliberatly, and if the defendant does not defend the claim, you win by default, and could potentially send in bailiffs to collect that debt, the court says you owe, even if it never existed.

That`s why so many CCJ`s are granted by default because they go undefended, either because they are ignored, or because paperwork is sent to an old address, or occasionally to an address not associated with the defendant at all.