Can a CCJ be issued twice?

cluelessnurse

Hello there.  Here again for some more support if possible, please?  My long road to being debt-free continues - with your invaluable help. So most of my old /defaulted debts are paid off and my credit rating is good to very good.  Hurrah!  One thorn in my side is a loan I took out in 2008 with Welcome Finance.  This is now managed by Coast Solutions.  I have been paying them what I can afford (£25 a month) since the transfer in 2017.  Not missed one payment. The interest has been frozen for years. However, they are not happy because they say that it is not enough and it will take too long to pay off the remaining balance which is around £3000.  They have sent another (self-reported) income and expenditure form which I have yet to complete. In the meantime I keep getting all these letters, (they don't have my phone number thank goodness - all communication is via letter). The last few letters have said that they will take 'recovery action'.  Now, here is the thing.  I had a CCJ for this loan back in 2008.  It was on my file for 6 years then dropped off.  When the account was transferred to Coast they added a fresh default to my file.  I complained and they apologised and said it would not happen again and took it off.  I have now made another complaint to them stating they can't take any more action as there was already a CCJ issued and to please just be happy with my payment plan.  They have declined stating, "we can confirm that your account has been moved to the recoveries team and previously defaulting the account has no bearing on our ability to take further action....we are looking to take recovery action which includes letters, calls, messages and Field Agent visits, in order to discuss your circumstances and set an affordable arrangement".  No mention of legal action, presumably as they know they can't?   This feels like harassment to me - threatening to turn up at my door?!  What are they going to do when they get here? They are not bailiffs.  I can just fill in another income and expenditure form if that will stop the harassment to increase the payments but I doubt it will for long.  What are my rights here?  Should I complain to the FCO about their behaviour?  NB.  I did ask if they would take a 10% settlement as at this point I would borrow that amount from family to get them off my back.  They did not answer this question at all. looking forward to your words of wisdom and thank you in advance!

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

I'd personally raise a complaint with the company and then follow that through to the FCO. 

RAS

How much were you required to pay monthly, according to the court? They need to go back to court to change anything.

cluelessnurse

Thank you both.  I have just found the court papers and I was instructed to pay Welcome £7,390 in instalments of £30 a month. I have managed to get this down to just over £3000 and have been paying £25 a month.  Shall I offer to increase back to the £30? I could just about manage this. Thanks again!

sourcrates

Its just usual DCA bluster, all hot air and no trousers.

The threat of "further action" always makes me chuckle actually, as all it means in your case is "we will write to you, send letters, and pay our people to stand outside your house and be ignored" pretty scary stuff huh !!

Field agents are just self employed folk who happen to collect debts for a living, they have no more power than the ice cream man or woman, so if they turn up, you can choose to deal with them in any way you see fit.

Increasing the payments to what the court ordered, along with a letter containing a copy of the order, will put the matter to rest once and for all, and put coast solutions firmly back in there place.

cluelessnurse

Sourcrates, thank you so much for your reply. I know I can rely on you to say it how it is and so glad you are still on here!  Honestly I don't think I would have got this far without you and your colleagues on here. Your advice has been invaluable over the time I have been trying to sort my debts on my own. You deserve a medal, honestly. I will send the documentation asap.  Just checking that it still stands, given that the the account has been transferred to Coast, rather than Welcome?  Is it worth a FCO complaint?  I just feel for people who don't have the support and advice that I have as they are going to be frightened by these kind of letters and probably end up paying more than they can afford. Thank you!

y3sitsm3

cluelessnurse said:

Sourcrates, thank you so much for your reply. I know I can rely on you to say it how it is and so glad you are still on here!  Honestly I don't think I would have got this far without you and your colleagues on here. Your advice has been invaluable over the time I have been trying to sort my debts on my own. You deserve a medal, honestly. I will send the documentation asap.  Just checking that it still stands, given that the the account has been transferred to Coast, rather than Welcome?  Is it worth a FCO complaint?  I just feel for people who don't have the support and advice that I have as they are going to be frightened by these kind of letters and probably end up paying more than they can afford. Thank you!

Probably not. They were shut down in September 2020 and replaced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, but they probably won't be interested either.

sourcrates

cluelessnurse said:

Is it worth a FCO complaint?  I just feel for people who don't have the support and advice that I have as they are going to be frightened by these kind of letters and probably end up paying more than they can afford. Thank you!

I`m presuming you mean the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).

You can`t make individual complaints to the FCA, its the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) that is the complaints resolution service for most types of financial woes, but there is a process to follow, as with most things, and you must exhaust the debt collectors (company concerned) complaints procedure first, before you can escalate the matter to the FOS.

To be fair, they are only stating facts, what they are able to do in relation to recovery of this debt, albeit in a sloppy and unprofessional manner, however, if you are unhappy with the way they have treated you, and feel you have cause for complaint, then by all means go ahead, its best done in writing, and of course is one of your statutory rights.

Feel free to exercise it.