Outstanding court costs help

OllyBongo

Hello I could not find anywhere else to post this so think it's the most relevant forum section.
I claim PIP and ESA at the moment as have learning difficulties and Asperger's, anyway onto the post.

I got a letter from Trowers & Hamlins (lawyers) on the 29th July 2021

Dear Sirs

Orbit Housing Association Limited v yourselves
Claim number:

We are instructed by your Landlord who has been Orbit Housing Association Limited with effect from 31st March 2021.

We have assisted our client to make a successful application to the court to have the name of its predecessors:

1 Heart of England Housing Association Limited; and

2 Orbit South Housing Association Limited

replaced with that of Orbit Housing Association Limited in the proceedings which have been issued against you by either of its predecessors.

In accordance with paragraph 3 of the Order we enclose, by way of service, a copy of the Order made by the Courts for your information and safekeeping. Please note the Order only changes the name of either of our client's predecessors to that of Orbit Housing Association Limited.

We draw your attention to paragraph 2 and 3 of the Order as they require our client to provide you with a copy of the application, evidence in support of the application and a copy of the Schedule of cases which accompanies the Order upon receiving written from you asking for a copy for the same.

Should you have any concerns arising from the contents of this letter please telephone our client on 0800 6781 221 or independent legal advice from a solicitor, the Citizens Advice Bureau or a law centre.

Yours faithfully
Trowers & Hamlins LLP

That was the letter from the solicitors, here is the attached order from the court thing (came with letter from solicitors).

Orbit Housing Association Limited - applicant

and

Various - respondents

Order

Before his honour judge Mithani QC sitting at the County Court at Coventry

Upon the court considering the application of Orbit Housing Association Limited dated 20 May 2021

And upon reading the Witness Statement of Yetunde Dania dated 20 May 2021 and the evidence in support

And upon the Applicant confirming it is acting in person in all of the matters listed in the attached schedule

And futherupon determining this application without a hearing and without notice to the Respondents

It is ordered that:

1. Orbit Housing Association Limited of Garden Court, Harry Weston Road, Binley Business Park, Binley, Coventry CV3 2SU be substituted as the Claimant in the claims (the claims) proceeding in County Court Hearing Centres as identified in the Schedule to this Order.

2. Service of the application is dispensed with. The Applicant is to provide any Respondent with a copy and the evidence in support immediately upon receiving a written request for the same.

3. The Applicant is to serve a copy of this Order on the Respondent and any other parties to the claims, and file a copy with all the County Court Hearing Centres in which those claims are proceeding, as soon as practicable. This order shall not take effect in the individual claim unless and until it is served on the relevant Respondent and filed with the relevant court office. For the avoidance of doubt, the Applicant need not serve a copy of the attached Schedule upon the Respondents. However, the Applicant is to provide any Respondent with a copy of the attached Schedule immediately upon receiving a written request for the same.

4. No amendment of statements of cases or other documents filed or served in the claims to the date of this order is required to reflect the substitution of as Orbit Housing Association Limited as the claimant in the claims, unless an order is made to that effect by the County Court in an individual claim. Statements of case and documents filed from the date of this order are to show Orbit Housing Association Limited as the claimant  "in substitution for Heart of England housing Association limited or Orbit South Housing Association Limited.

5. No order to costs in the application.

6. Permission to apply.

7. This order has been made without service of the application. Any person affected by it may apply to have this order varied or set aside by making an application to this Court within seven days of the service of this order upon them.

That is the end of the letter I got. Don't really understand what its all abut. Fast forward to today.

I get a letter from Orbit (I rent a flat from them as they are a housing association).

03 Sep 2021

Dear Mr.

Outstanding court costs of £114.26

The above court costs remain outstanding. Please pay the balance within seven calendar days of the date of this letter.

If you can't pay the balance in full, please call us to make an affordable payment plan.

If you clear the debt, or maintain your payment plan, no further action will be taken.

Our advice Service team offer free and confidential money advice and support on the above telephone number. You can also get debt advice through Citizens Advice with a service for Orbit customers. Please call us or visit www.betterdays.orbit.org.uk for more details.

Yours sincerely,

Income Collection and Recovery
Account Handler

So that's what's been happening up until now, I need some help with this.
As far as I see it, Orbit went to court on 20th May 2021 for whatever reason I don't understand it all, then I get a letter from solicitors on 29th July 2021 (letter is above).
This is the 1st that I heard about it when I get the solicitor letter, thought nothing of it at the time ( good job I kept all the letters).

Today Orbits better cane thru the post asking me to pay the "outstanding court costs".
Do I have to pay these court costs? I didn't go to court and haven't broke any laws or my tenancy agreement so why am I being told to pay? pay for what, I cant afford that as I'm on benefits stupid housing association.

Minkym00

You need to speak to your landlord asap. Do you have any rent arrears? What writing was at the top of the court order? It should state what section of what legislation the order was being sought. That will give you a clue what this is all about.

Minkym00

And get yourself to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

sourcrates

OllyBongo said:

Should you have any concerns arising from the contents of this letter please telephone our client on 0800 6781 221 or independent legal advice from a solicitor, the Citizens Advice Bureau or a law centre.

Yours faithfully
Trowers & Hamlins LLP

This is what you should do, ring their client and ask them what its all about.

From what you have posted, it appears to me your housing association has changed names, legally, through the courts.


Now (for some inexplicable reason) they are expecting there tenants to foot the legal bill.


There must have been correspondence prior to this, detailing what was going to happen, these things don`t normally just arise out of the blue, seems very strange to me, but only your landlord can explain this adequately, so I would ring them.

MalMonroe

Hi, yes, as sourcrates says the Housing Company have changed their name. Hardly surprising as they appear to have many complaints against them, if you look online. 

I agree with sourcrates that you should contact your landlord on the number given in that solicitors letter, 0800 6781 221 as soon as you can because you need them to tell you exactly why that sum of money is owed. They also have an email address which is - info@orbit.org.uk - and you can open an Orbit account too, according to their online page.

https://www.orbitcustomerhub.org.uk/contact-us/

which also has the option of 'online chat' - but that's for when they're open, I guess.

Here is a link to Citizens Advice too. You don't have to go there and I wouldn't without an appointment anyway, still being cautious about coronavirus.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

The web address the solicitors have given for Orbit in their letter does not work today. 

Resolver (which is associated with this forum) has a page dedicated to complaints about Orbit Housing, see this link -

https://www.resolver.co.uk/companies/orbit-south-housing-association-limited-complaints/contact-details

So a lot of people must have complained about this awful Housing Association. I'm really sorry that they are treating you so badly.

Do you have a carer, helper, social worker or family member who can help with this? 

MalMonroe

Minkym00 said:

You need to speak to your landlord asap. Do you have any rent arrears? What writing was at the top of the court order? It should state what section of what legislation the order was being sought. That will give you a clue what this is all about.

There wasn't a court order, OP said "I didn't go to court and haven't broke any laws or my tenancy agreement so why am I being told to pay? pay for what, I cant afford that as I'm on benefits". This is why the OP is so puzzled. There's no concrete information.

JCS1

MalMonroe said:

Minkym00 said:

You need to speak to your landlord asap. Do you have any rent arrears? What writing was at the top of the court order? It should state what section of what legislation the order was being sought. That will give you a clue what this is all about.

There wasn't a court order, OP said "I didn't go to court and haven't broke any laws or my tenancy agreement so why am I being told to pay? pay for what, I cant afford that as I'm on benefits". This is why the OP is so puzzled. There's no concrete information.

The information the OP posted in the first post was a court order.

sourcrates

JCS1 said:

MalMonroe said:

Minkym00 said:

You need to speak to your landlord asap. Do you have any rent arrears? What writing was at the top of the court order? It should state what section of what legislation the order was being sought. That will give you a clue what this is all about.

There wasn't a court order, OP said "I didn't go to court and haven't broke any laws or my tenancy agreement so why am I being told to pay? pay for what, I cant afford that as I'm on benefits". This is why the OP is so puzzled. There's no concrete information.

The information the OP posted in the first post was a court order.

It was a court order to change the company name, I suspect the company was the claimant, and the OP, and most likely other tenants, were the defendant's in the case.

I would maybe check and see if others have received similar letters to this one.

JCS1

sourcrates said:

JCS1 said:

MalMonroe said:

Minkym00 said:

You need to speak to your landlord asap. Do you have any rent arrears? What writing was at the top of the court order? It should state what section of what legislation the order was being sought. That will give you a clue what this is all about.

There wasn't a court order, OP said "I didn't go to court and haven't broke any laws or my tenancy agreement so why am I being told to pay? pay for what, I cant afford that as I'm on benefits". This is why the OP is so puzzled. There's no concrete information.

The information the OP posted in the first post was a court order.

It was a court order to change the company name, I suspect the company was the claimant, and the OP, and most likely other tenants, were the defendant's in the case.

I would maybe check and see if others have received similar letters to this one.

 I was trying to correct another poster who said there was no court order.

OllyBongo

Hello thanks for all the help everyone. I don't have any rent arrears or anything owed to the landlord as my housing benefit covers that and goes direct. I have one of those assured (non-shorthold) tenancy.

The court order thing above was dated 20 May 2021 and the solicitor letter dated 2 months later 29th July 2021, I only found out about all of this when that solicitor letter came 29th July.

Also as I havent done anything wrong why should I have to pay for their court costs?

It's Sunday so I will try and ontact orbit and find out what they are trying to pull tomorrow.

If I don't have any luck will try that Resolver company, used them before to complain about TalkTalk, worked great.

OllyBongo

Just a quick update, I followed the advice and contacted Obit. There was an automated message explaining that court order I posted above. They did update their name and that there is no need to contact them about it, ok.

Once I spoke to someone I found out the court costs they sent me was from 2015, I had some rent arrears wich I made arrangements to pay off back then. They said the charges where to cover court costs of £250 so I have to contribute towards this cost totaling £114.26.

As the rent arrears where my fault it's only fair that I pay almost half of it and that be the end of the matter.

Thanks for the advice I probably wouldn't have contacted them otherwise, no good with dealing with this sort of thing.