Lowell CCJ Advice - Help please!

soursocrates

Hi all,

I'll try to keep this brief, I used checkmyfile recently to see my total credit profile across each bureau and it appears as though I have a CCJ which was issued against me in mid 2021. I was not aware of this CCJ until now as I only check my experian and equifax credit profile regularly, and this CCJ does not appear on either of those, it only appears on Transunion.

Also, the name on the CCJ is incorrect, with the first name being totally different (think John Madison vs Stuart Madison) but the last name is correct, as well as address. I moved out of this address a number of months  (3 i think) before the CCJ was issued so I had no idea about any court proceedings in order to challenge them. Additionally the first name that they have on the CCJ is not present anywhere on any official documentation for me, such as passport or driving license. 

Firstly I attempted to challenge the CCJ as a mistrace through Transunion, but they have said i must have confirmation from the courts in order to have this done. 
I then contacted the northampton Business centre and they gave me the debt info, which is from Lowell, who bough the debt from Overdales I believe. The debts are from two different accounts which has consolidated into one judgement for around £1000. 

For full disclosure, I do believe the debts are mine, and originate from a Talk Talk internet bill and Paypal. Both from around 7 years ago when I was much less responsible. 

My question is, due to the first name being totally wrong, and/or because of me not residing at the address court proceedings where sent to at the time (although I know this address point isn't the best defence) do I have grounds to have this CCJ set aside either with or without consent?

I am willing to pay this debt off if need be, provided i can get the ccj set aside, though i have heard that satisfying the debt without having the CCJ set aside will do little to improve my credit standing.

Also, do you think will this have a big impact on my ability to get a mortgage in future if it is not removed? I haven't had issues in the past getting credit in recent months such as american express or new bank accounts/utility bills. Possibly due to the name not matching my own, or because of the CCJ only appearing on Transunion and not the rest. But i appreciate a mortgage application can be a lot more intensive than those potentially. 

Thank you so much in advance

sourcrates

Had to look twice at your user name as I thought I was going mad lol.

Lowell will be the creditor, Overdales are their legal arm.

For a set aside application to be successful, you must satisfy two points of law.

Firstly, you must have a good reason why you did not respond to the original court papers, being sent to an old address may satisfy this point.

Secondly, you must have a defence to the claim, which would have a reasonable chance of success, you admit the debts are yours so you don`t have a defence to this unfortunately.

An incorrect first name may not be classed as a defence, perhaps you should run this past Legal Beagles, they may be able to advise differently.

soursocrates

sourcrates said:

Had to look twice at your user name as I thought I was going mad lol.

Lowell will be the creditor, Overdales are their legal arm.

For a set aside application to be successful, you must satisfy two points of law.

Firstly, you must have a good reason why you did not respond to the original court papers, being sent to an old address may satisfy this point.

Secondly, you must have a defence to the claim, which would have a reasonable chance of success, you admit the debts are yours so you don`t have a defence to this unfortunately.

An incorrect first name may not be classed as a defence, perhaps you should run this past Legal Beagles, they may be able to advise differently.

Wow, that is a little uncanny how similar our names are. I had to double take as well :') 

Thank you for your response Sourcrates. I was unaware of that forum and I have just created an account and posted my question there also, so thanks for that tip.

I appreciate your points, one question i have though, is will Overdales not be incentivised to set aside this debt with consent due to the case being on somewhat shaky ground due to the inaccurate name & my inability to challenge as I moved house? If I then offer them terms to pay some, if not all of the debt provided they set this aside, will that not be a win in their eyes more so than if it was left as it is? Just thought i'd throw it out there! 

BadDebtor

From what I remember the Court fee to set aside is several hundred pound and as Sourcrates has said you need a reasonable chance of chance of success, unlike most cases where you get your day in Court to impress a Judge, it seems that you have to pass that test before you can get your day in Court, probably because there are so many. If you contact Lowells or Overdales you will just perk their interest, which would make them think why do you care, when so many wait CCJ's out, especially if they are a few year out. In my experience all Debt Collectors and Enforcement agents want leverage, engaging with them makes them look for it and tells them you have something to lose. However, you said the magic word, "mortgage" which means you do care. Ironically, if you had been in Court then you might well have had the case tossed as it was sent to the wrong person and at the wrong address, also mail would not have been redirected. I would not be at all surprised if this was deliberate as a way to get a "backdoor" CCJ. It seems to me that you have two choices; either you deny the debt saying that you are not the John Madison but Stuart Madison, as if it was an entirely different person, maybe even a relative. I am not suggesting you lie, but if it were the truth then you would write to the credit ref company and ask that it is not associated with you because you are not John Madison but Stuart Madison as you might if it was your brother or cousin or whatever. It was likely assigned to you as you have a credit record from the old address, so it is not just the judgement they relied upon to attach it to your record. Lying is very risky considering you used the M word. The better alternative might be you get their consent to set it aside on the basis that it is not you but a relative and you are prepared to settle the matter on their behalf, if the plaintiff consents it will be easier. One other angle is that the debt with TT was disputed and had you got your day in Court you would have challenged the claim for legitimate reasons. For example you had a legally valid reason to exit mid contract. Obviously it will impact your ability to obtain a mortgage if it is left on there or even satisfied, for a time at least. A CCJ that is satisfied looks better than one that is not,

fatbelly

It's an option just to leave it alone if they are not actually pursuing this.

With Experian and Equifax being clear, most credit applications should be OK

If it becomes a problem, you could ask Transunion to remove it from your file as it's not in your name.

If Overdales do write, your first response would be a prove-it

soursocrates

Ran this by leaglebeagles. They think i have a case to have this set aside, currently finishing up my letter which i am going to send to the creditor. Will post an update when I have a reply from them. 

soursocrates

*Legal Beagles. Wow that was bad spelling