CCJ enquiry for a friend going through a tough time

BikerMooFromMars

Hi all,
My first post here, and it's on the behalf of a friend who has recently found out she has a CCJ. So I don't know anything about them but that they're v bad for your credit file and that they stay on there for 6 years. My friend is on tax credits, has a mortgage & 2 children and is struggling to make ends meet due to losing her second cash in hand bar job, - although she has taken on another day at our workplace to help, she is still down £600 a month and now is having to pay £100 a month towards paying off this debt. Also her partner and her split up recently and her dad is dying in a hospice and not only does she have that to deal with, but she thinks she will have to somehow pay for his funeral too but doesn't know how.

...So she explained to me that she moved house a couple of years ago, and the first thing she knew of this small debt was when 2 bailiffs knocked on her door 2 weeks ago when she was at work; her daughter answered the door. She got a phone call at work saying they would have come in and seized some of her valuables but they couldn't as her daughter was home alone. My pal was very upset and angry and wanted to know what the debt was for, and why they hadn't been in contact about it previously and how they have only just found/informed her of it now (she is on the electoral register). So apparently she owed £200 for an after-school club for her son, but she told me they used to pay at the start of the month; if they didn't then children weren't allowed to go to this club - so she isn't even sure how she was meant to have incurred that debt in the first place. Apparently debt collection letters have been going to her previous address, then she was meant to have been in court last August etc - and they told her this isn't their problem and that she should have informed the club that she was moving house - but she wasn't using it anymore then, so she didn't have a reason to. At the time of this debt collection issue had sold her previous house and was living with a friend until her family could move into the new house she bought, so she had plenty of money in the bank at the time so could easily have paid that £200 debt off if she knew about it then.

So now she owes something like £2400, and she has agreed to pay it back at the minimum monthly repayment of £100 which she is struggling to afford.

If anyone has any advice I'd like to help her out as she is so overwhelmed and upset - this is all tough enough without there being a pandemic to deal with too! If I need any more information I can always ask her. Many thanks in advance x

[Deleted User]

If she's struggling to make the payment, she should negotiate a lower amount.

Other than that, she just needs to keep on going.

If she has no money for her father's funeral, she should let the local authority make the arrangements and take care of it.

jpsartre

How does a £200 debt turn into a £2400 debt in a couple of years?

BikerMooFromMars

jpsartre said:

How does a £200 debt turn into a £2400 debt in a couple of years?

I believe due to all the court fees, maybe debt collection fees etc, not sure?

MalMonroe

I think your friend, as a single parent with two children, should definitely be entitled to more benefits now she has split up with her partner.  I don't think that she should be paying anything else until she knows what she is paying for because it sounds as if she doesn't understand what's going on but has somehow agreed to pay out anyway.

I would advise her to contact Citizens Advice for some free help. And/or one of the free debt help agencies such as StepChange. They helped me so much when I was in financial trouble and their link is here https://www.stepchange.org/

Citizens Advice link here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

I don't agree that she 'just needs to keep on going' because she needs to speak to someone who can at least point her in the right direction for advice. 

I do agree that the local council will be able to help with funeral costs but your poor friend will have lost her dad. So sad.

Because her partner has left, your friend could contact DWP in the first instance to see what benefits single parents with two children can claim. If her children are also her ex-partner's children, I hope they are making some financial contribution. But in any case, this poor woman definitely needs help. Citizens Advice, I hope, will be able to help, although they may be very busy right now but please don't let her give up!

BikerMooFromMars

MalMonroe said:

I think your friend, as a single parent with two children, should definitely be entitled to more benefits now she has split up with her partner.  I don't think that she should be paying anything else until she knows what she is paying for because it sounds as if she doesn't understand what's going on but has somehow agreed to pay out anyway.

Thank you SO much for your kind reply - really appreciate it!! I'll definitely pass this on - I've had some great help from Citizen's Advice in the past, and I'm sure they're a perfect place to start.
Her partner didn't contribute to her children and they lived separately, but they were very close for a long time - and with her dad now being moved to a hospice given only days to live, and now this horrible financial issue I just can't let her give up on this or deal with it all alone.
Thanks again, you're a star  xx

sleepyjones

There's a couple of websites where you can check which benefits you might be entitled to, check them out here : https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Also, with the "£100 minimum repayment on the CCJ", there is no minimum amount unless you tell them that is what you are comfortable paying.  I would get in touch with whoever that money is going to and renegotiate it to a smaller amount,  they can't make you pay what you can't afford to pay, don't give in to the bullies.

Also also with the "Bailiffs" suggesting they will remove goods from the house, they cannot have randomly done this, they would need to provide you with a "7-day enforcement notice" giving you 7 days notice of their intentions.  Saying this was likely just a ruse to try and get you to pay/beg/borrow/steal on the day.  They can, however, remove property from outside the home, so if your friend has a car that isn't on finance, they could have probably taken that if it was parked outside ... Normally you might want to suggest she parks it a few streets away (and not directly outside her home) but since she's now making payments towards the CCJ the enforcement action will have been halted, so that shouldn't be an issue now.

As mentioned above, the Citizens Advice will be able to help with all of this though but something to think about in the meantime.

sourcrates

She can ask the court to reduce the payments to a more manageable level.
To do this she needs court form N-245 (available to download online) fill it in, and return to the court concerned.

Bailiffs can be stopped by keeping the door locked, they cannot enter private property for a debt such as this, unless the door is unlocked and they can access it freely.

Definitely encourage her to check on benefit entitlement as well.

macman

She does not have to pay anything towards the funeral: the LA will if necessary provide a basic service and burial out of public funds if there is no money in his estate and no one else able to pay for it.
The CCJ is very unfortunate, as it will blight her ability to get credit for the next 6 years. The creditor has done nothing wrong, as they don't need to track her down at a new address-all they need is to prove service at the last known address, which is what they seem to have done.

BikerMooFromMars

These are all a massive help - thank you al l so much, I have forwarded al onto my pal  . Really appreciate all replies, it will all help so much  xxx

maxsteam

Your friend should, in my opinion, use form N244 to apply to have the CCJ set aside. She can also ask the court for help with the £255 fee for this option. She should tell the bailiff in writing that she is doing this, that she is willing to pay the debt but not the court and other charges and that, as we live in a democracy, she has the right to know about and contest any application for a court judgement against her. She should state clearly that a simple letter and not a court hearing or bailiff visits was all that was necessary to resolve the matter.
The bailiff will try to get a regular income from this as long as there is an unsettled CCJ.
It's definitely worth getting further advice from Citizens Advice, StepChange, etc..