Help with setting aside a CCJ

gadz7

Hey! So I have a CCJ on my credit history due to a debt from an energy bill. The energy supplier had been horrific to deal with prior to this, I had fled a DV relationship with a young child, contacted them in December 2018 to ask for time to get back on my feet due to having to move and become single parent - they were due to call me in Jan 2019 (they had mobile and home numbers) and I never had a missed call, the home line was my parents number and there is no way they would have allowed me to ignore it. I contacted them via their ‘contact us’ on 6th Feb 2019 to ask to set up a payment plan and never heard from them. Then on the 7th February 2019 the CCJ was issued. Following a SAR to the energy provider, the letter they issued on 7th February 2019 went to my old address (they had my new address) so at this point I was unaware. I finally managed to set up a payment plan with The provider in March 2019 and at this point I was unaware of the CCJ (due to letters going to the incorrect address). I eventually found out about the CCJ due to checking my credit file and tried to reason with the energy provider to have the judgment set aside to which they did not want to do. 

I obviously did not attend the court date as I was unaware of it so I just wondered if anyone has any advice on what my chances would be to get this set aside? 

The problem I see, is that the debt is real - I do not dispute owing the money and I am happy to continue to pay the money owed - so a court may just look at that and decline the case. My issue is with the CCJ as I feel it is totally unfair to have this against me when I did not have the chance to dispute this. Any advice welcome or if you’re able to share any good solicitors to contact, that would be great! Thanks in advance 

tacpot12

If you knew that the solicitors would charge you £400 to get the CCJ removed would this represent good value  for you? 

gadz7

Yes, I would be happy to have a chat with them and if they thought my case is valid, i would be open to the idea of paying £400

tacpot12

There are a number of 'specialists' who advertise on the internet, but I would be inclined to call a couple of local solicitors to see if they have any experience with this.

My understanding is that the  court will only set aside a judgement is you had a reasonable defence that you weren't able to put to the court. A good solicitor will be able to discuss what your defence might have been without you having to commit to paying them £400. Most solicitors will give you upto 30 minutes of their time for free. In that time, you can describe the situation and see if they hold out any hope that a court would be persuaded to set-aside the  judgement, and also what the  solicitor would charge to shepherd you through the process of getting the judgement set aside and submitting a good defence. It's quite possible that the court might make their decison without a hearing. But if there is to be a hearing, and you want the solicitor to attend to represent you, you can expect to pay around £400. 

sourcrates

A set aside costs £255,00 plus whatever your solicitor will charge you.

I am by no means a legal expert, but you do need to satisfy two criteria in order for a set aside to be successful.

(1) a good reason why you did not respond to the original court papers.

(2) a defence to the claim.

You may satisfy point (1) but you appear to accept the debt is yours, so won`t satisfy point (2).

However, there may be an argument for set aside after looking at your case.

Try and get free legal advice before you engage any solicitor, maybe try Legal Beagles website, they seem to know what`s what in the legal world on there.

gadz7

Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I will reach out to some local solicitors and see what they say. Thanks again!

gadz7

sourcrates said:

A set aside costs £255,00 plus whatever your solicitor will charge you.

I am by no means a legal expert, but you do need to satisfy two criteria in order for a set aside to be successful.

(1) a good reason why you did not respond to the original court papers.

(2) a defence to the claim.

You may satisfy point (1) but you appear to accept the debt is yours, so won`t satisfy point (2).

However, there may be an argument for set aside after looking at your case.

Try and get free legal advice before you engage any solicitor, maybe try Legal Beagles website, they seem to know what`s what in the legal world on there.

Thank you for your comment. Yes I agree with your point surrounding number 2. Unfortunately I do agree to the money being owed. I was unaware of the debt until I left my ex-partner and then went through a process of finding out what he had put in my name/jointly (I was only 16 at the time it all started so a lot went over my head). I will have a look at Legal Beagles now, thanks again! 

macman

If you were only 16 when you took on the credit agreement, then this may be unenforceable.
Your ex-partner could not have opened any joint accounts without your signature. Did he therefore forge your signature? If so, and you can prove it, the debt cannot be enforced against you.

longjohnjohnson

macman said:

If you were only 16 when you took on the credit agreement, then this may be unenforceable.
Your ex-partner could not have opened any joint accounts without your signature. Did he therefore forge your signature? If so, and you can prove it, the debt cannot be enforced against you.

If the OP is now 18 and has been for some time, then it won't be.  Under 18's can essentially void a contract at any point (and for a short period once they turn 18) but from the sounds of it, the OP wasn't 18 at the time of the hearing.  There is also the argument of whether this would be a "Contract for necessaries."  A few places seem to mention rent being considered a necessary for this purpose so I see no reason why a basic utility would not be considered the same.  If it was, then the contract will be enforceable on a minor.

Your ex-partner could not have opened any joint accounts without your signature. Did he therefore forge your signature?

I'm not sure where you're getting that idea from?  There doesn't appear to be any indication there was a physical signature, nor a lack of agreement from the OP as to what was being done (their name being added as an account holder.)  I agree that the OP appeared to be unaware at the time of the implications of this but as I said earlier, the ship for voiding the contract appears to have long since sailed, they'd be deemed to understand (or should understand) what was going on within a few months of turning 18.  I suspect this was done online with a simple checkbox being marked to agree, there is unlikely to be any physical proof.

macman

If the contract was null and void at the date it was made (due to the OP being a minor), then her turning 18 in due course does not then make it valid. 
OP obviously needs to clarify the precise circumstances, which are not clear.
Who was the supplier? Most energy suppliers will do a credit check, which the OP could not have passed at 16.

longjohnjohnson

macman said:

If the contract was null and void at the date it was made (due to the OP being a minor), then her turning 18 in due course does not then make it valid. 
OP obviously needs to clarify the precise circumstances, which are not clear.
Who was the supplier? Most energy suppliers will do a credit check, which the OP could not have passed at 16.

No.  That's not the case.

Under 18s can make contracts (if they couldn't they could never buy anything) but they are free to void contracts other than those of necessities or certain work/education/apprenticeship contracts.

Those who do make voidable contracts can void them by, uh, voiding them, but the window for doing so is when they're under 18 (with a few months grace after they turn 18) not years later.