CCJ in wrong name 30 June 2022 at 1:11PM in Credit file & ratings 11 replies 318 views

Susieee

I'm in the process of applying for a mortgage and signed up to https://www.checkmyfile.com/ to download my report to send to my broker. There is a CCJ on there which obviousy shouldn't be on there.

Can anyone advise on how to get this completely removed?

Details...

My mother owns a rental property which had been previously been let out for around 8 years. The tenant left but gave a false reading to Scottish Power or they got the wrong reading from the person changing the meter. My mum disputed the bill after it was put in her name but they insisted that we needed to provide a photo of the meter on the date when the bill went into her name. The bill was clearly wrong as they billed her for £1532 for a 4 month period even though the property was empty and there was no electricity in the property at all (there was a fire and the fire brigade isolated the supply from the road).

We finally found a photo (from the insurance company) and proved the reading was incorrect. The bill was amended from £1532 to around £100 and was paid off in full. Everyone happy.

Timeline...

15.06.2022 received letter saying a CCJ would be lodged against my mum
15.06.2022 bill paid in full around £100.
Today 30.06.2022 found CCJ on credit report for £1532. It says CCJ issued on 10.03.2021 - this date is obviously wrong.

Also wrong is the CCJ is in my name and not in my mothers name. The electricity bill is in her name. The only thing I can think of is that I used to live there a very long time ago.

What's the best approach please to sort this out quickly? It's quite a mess.

Thank you in advance everyone.

Susieee

Can anyone help or does anyone know where else I can post online or any other help I can get? Thanks.

sourcrates

You need to make an application to the court to set aside the judgement on the basis that you were not the correct defendant, that you have had no dealings with Scottish power and have never had any indebtedness to them.

You also need to apply (or ask at the hearing) for an order that Scottish power immediately instruct the credit reference agencies to delete all reference to this county court judgement from the record.

I would also ask the court to award expenses and costs against Scottish power because this has come about because of their sheer incompetence.

A set aside application cost`s in the region of £255.00, (remission is available for low earners) court form N-244 can be found here -

Make an application to a court ('application notice'): Form N244 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There is a link to "help with court costs" on the above page.

Susieee

sourcrates said:

You need to make an application to the court to set aside the judgement on the basis that you were not the correct defendant, that you have had no dealings with Scottish power and have never had any indebtedness to them.

You also need to apply (or ask at the hearing) for an order that Scottish power immediately instruct the credit reference agencies to delete all reference to this county court judgement from the record.

I would also ask the court to award expenses and costs against Scottish power because this has come about because of their sheer incompetence.

A set aside application cost`s in the region of £255.00, (remission is available for low earners) court form N-244 can be found here -

Make an application to a court ('application notice'): Form N244 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

There is a link to "help with court costs" on the above page.

Thank you, that's very kind of you to respond so quickly.

I tried to call them today but hung up after about an hour waiting. I then tried live chat and was talking to someone for around an hour and 14 mins. They admitted that it looks like the CCJ has been lodged against the wrong person. They've escalated the issue into a complaint and a manager will call me on the 13th July . That's not really helpful as I have a mortgage to apply for - that's how I found the CCJ on my file - and it seems like the process will slow down and I will most likely lose the house.

Regarding costs and expenses, what could I reasonably claim for? I won't be able to access any remission for low earners.

Thanks again.

sourcrates

Claim back the set aside fee, and a reasonable amount for your trouble, obviously that is your decision.

You will have to go though with the set aside process, there is no other way to remove it, but if your talking to Scottish power about this, they may (and should) agree to what is known as a "set aside by consent", which has a lower fee, and the court should agree to it.

Unfortunatly, these things take time, it could be a month or more before the court hears your case, then further time to get the CCJ removed from your file, it won`t happen overnight I`m sorry to say.

Susieee

You'll probably have to pay a fee for your case to be looked at again.

How can this have been looked at in the first place? The account holder name does not match the name the CCJ was lodged to. This has obviously not been looked at by anyone. Also, is this quite a common thing? To get the name wrong on a CCJ and also for the date to be recorded more than a year before it happened? It seems crazy. This is hugely stressful. 

By the way, is there any guidance on how to fill in the N244 form is it pretty straighforward? I don't want to get anything wrong.

sourcrates

Susieee said:

You'll probably have to pay a fee for your case to be looked at again.

How can this have been looked at in the first place? The account holder name does not match the name the CCJ was lodged to. This has obviously not been looked at by anyone. Also, is this quite a common thing? To get the name wrong on a CCJ and also for the date to be recorded more than a year before it happened? It seems crazy. This is hugely stressful. 

By the way, is there any guidance on how to fill in the N244 form is it pretty straighforward? I don't want to get anything wrong.

Mistakes do happen yes, the system is far from perfect, however, currently we are stuck with it.

The .Gov page I linked too above also contains guidance notes to filling in the N-244 correctly.

Susieee

sourcrates said:

Claim back the set aside fee, and a reasonable amount for your trouble, obviously that is your decision.

You will have to go though with the set aside process, there is no other way to remove it, but if your talking to Scottish power about this, they may (and should) agree to what is known as a "set aside by consent", which has a lower fee, and the court should agree to it.

Unfortunatly, these things take time, it could be a month or more before the court hears your case, then further time to get the CCJ removed from your file, it won`t happen overnight I`m sorry to say.

Do you know approximately how long it would take for the CCJ to get removed once a judgement has been made? I will have to let the seller know what is going on. They are going through a divorce and they have already arranged accomodation and have waited a fair amount of time for me to sort out a mortgage (they knew they had to wait) but now this comes along. I feel really bad for them.

sourcrates

Its down to how fast your case is heard, I can`t comment on how quickly that will be, sorry.

Susieee

Thank you, you are very kind. 

Susieee

Just filling out the form. Do I need to call the court with the case number and request 'particulars of claim'? There's a lot of details that I don't have. Thanks in advance.