Debt help-CCJ

emmielou1234

Hi, I’m trying my hardest to clear my debts. Most have now dropped off my credit file- I’m assuming that I can now forget about these? I’ve paid off others that were not due to drop off the file and waiting for them to be updated. But, I have a CCJ that was granted Dec 21. I had no communication regarding this as was added after I had fled DV. I accept that I owe the money. I have a different address & name, have had a letter addressed to my old name but current address just stating that the debt is with Lowell but nothing since. 

I have been saving to pay off this CCJ and curious whether it’s possible to negotiate a settlement figure with them to clear it? Or should I carry on keeping my head down till I have the full amount? (£1966) I don’t want to be hounded as MH had always been a struggle but I do want to clear it. Thanks

sammyjammy

The debts have just dropped off your credit record due to the default, the debts are still payable as they were before and not statute barred.  If you discontinue payments you have been making then they are free to chase you for it and register a CCJ if they chose.

fatbelly

There are two issues here.

1. Can i ignore debts that have dropped off my credit file? Possibly. They have dropped off because it is six years since they were defaulted. If you have not made a payment or acknowledged the debt in writing since that date, then they would be statute barred. If anyone sends you a letter, particularly a letter before action LBA, then you can respond and tell them. if they were stupid enough to start a court claim you would defend it on that basis. No-one can just issue a ccj, there is a process to go through. If you have made payments then you re-set the clock and would have to re-calculate the statute barred date and deal with any LBA you received

2. What to do about the ccj? That was an example where you did not respond to the court process and got a ccj in default. Presumably it was Lowell who took out the claim and so they are aware of this. The letters you have been receiving should make this clear. A ccj makes it less likely that a creditor would accept a settlement deal, but it is not impossible. Try a 50% offer using the standard letter, and see what comes back

emmielou1234

Thank you. The CCJ I was not aware of until I downloaded my credit file. All correspondence had been going to my old address as I could not redirect mail retrospectively. I had to leave very quickly with help and had a lot to deal with at the time. I have only had 1 letter to my new address about 6 months ago in regards to this. It was an annual statement of the account with Lowell. I have had no communication from any other debts or phone calls. 

emmielou1234

Also, I haven’t made any payments or acknowledged the debts for a number of years. I have been contacting them as and when I have the funds to clear the account and have it closed 

ManyWays

(I hate asking this because it sounds as though I dont believe you, but I do.)

Do you have any evidence of the DV? If you are contacted by Lowell, say you fled DV, produce the evidence and ask them to write off the debt. This is well worth trying. 

RAS

You've made a number of debt collectors very happy. They bought a debt for 10%, maybe less, of the face value. They don't know where you are and you appear and pay back.

Going forward, you need to know

1. The date when the default was issued? If it's not on your credit record, that's almost certainly more than 6 years ago.

2. When you last paid or acknowledged the debt? A single payment in the last 6 years resets the clock, as does almost any letter. There is a prove it letter in the stickies here that is safe, but don't use it unless a creditor writes demanding payment.

If you've not paid or acknowledged a debt in the last 6 years and it's more than 6 years since the default was issued, the debt is statute barred. In England and Wales, it still exists but if the creditor try to enforce it you defend on those grounds (different sections cover ODs and cards). If they continue, make a formal complaint.

Lowell have form for issuing Letters Before Action close to the 6 year limit and since you didn't defend, they got the CCJ by default. They then have 6 years to enforce the CCJ. 

Exactly how you handle this I'm not sure. The CCJ makes it less likely they will accept an offer. They'd probably be happy with a payment plan. But since this comes out of a DV situation it might be worth speaking to someone like Women's Aid. A letter from a relevant DV charity might just find some small empathic corner of their structure?

fatbelly

Tbh if Lowell are just sending an annual statement, I'd ignore that one too. It doesn't sound like they are going to enforce it and in 2027 it will disappear from your file and also they will be out of time to enforce.

DankVielen

emmielou1234 said:

Hi, I’m trying my hardest to clear my debts. Most have now dropped off my credit file- I’m assuming that I can now forget about these? I’ve paid off others that were not due to drop off the file and waiting for them to be updated. But, I have a CCJ that was granted Dec 21. I had no communication regarding this as was added after I had fled DV. I accept that I owe the money. I have a different address & name, have had a letter addressed to my old name but current address just stating that the debt is with Lowell but nothing since.

I have been saving to pay off this CCJ and curious whether it’s possible to negotiate a settlement figure with them to clear it? Or should I carry on keeping my head down till I have the full amount? (£1966) I don’t want to be hounded as MH had always been a struggle but I do want to clear it. Thanks

emmielou1234 It seems that some people are making false assertions they had no way of knowing because you did not provide enough information for them to make those conclusions
.
You seem to understand that you should not make a payment or acknowledge a payment for 6 years and that once that 6 years is up, if they did not apply to the Court for a CCJ then the debt IS Statute Barred.

I had a CCJ that a creditor got at an very old address from Companies House before I was even living in the area where I took out the card. By the time I found out I figured I might as well wait it out. They had plenty of time to enforce the original debt but they did not, I had some activity on the CCJ from two firms of Debt Solicitors. Nobody came, they did not obtain a penny.

Now whilst a debt may still be owed, that does not mean that you are obliged to pay it. The Financial Conduct Authority says that enforcement of a debt after 6 years is not allowed, there are also rules against lenders trying to pretend it IS enforceable.

For the CCJ it is slightly different, there is no Statute Bar for that one but the Limitation Act has a limit of 6 years from the date of the Order. Whilst it is possible for a lender to ask the Court for more time it is extremely unlikely, I searched this forum and other forums and could not find a single instance. I think the reason they do not ask is that a charity may get behind the the debtor and seek a decision from an even higher Court than current decisions are made on or lobby MP's to bring in legislation that limits them further. For example if you look at the Limitation Act it says that some claims are Statute Barred at 3 years, so people might petition that consumer debt should have a limit of 3 years.

What I do not understand is why you are trying your hardest to clear my debts, well I do as we are all conditioned into believing we should, but I would have thought having gone into this process you have figured out the system.

They offer you credit, they lend you more than you can afford to repay and offer you zero percent interest, so all seems happy, just their 3.5% transfer fee. They rinse n repeat this until you have more cards at zero percent and can barely make the payments. Then they have you, trapped in their web, at that point they say "sorry, your credit score means you are no longer eligible for a zero percent card, so you revert to between 24.9% and 39.9%.

What they do not tell you is where the money comes from, no not the Bank of England, not the bank of Mum & Dad, not the savings of the Board of Directors. Where is comes from is nowhere, they literally create it by pressing the Enter key on their computer after putting in your application.

There are safeguards to stop them lending so much that they cause a run on the banks, first is a fee to the Central Bank at 3%, second is a review of their debt to equity ratio and the number of bad debts they have. Except they have very few bad debts because once to default the agreement is terminated, the debt is sold for between 3p and 12p in the pound, you are off their books and they can lend the same amount to the next one born every minute.

Of course your credit record is trashed when you default but it was well on the way to be trashed anyway and this is where I do not understand you desire to pay them. The money never existed, it was simply a record in their computer that enabled them to charge you interest at a certain level. The people they sold it to paid say 5% and yet they ask for 100% of the value of the debt when sold. You have no relationship with them, they did not lend you the money, they are just a bunch of leeches that prey on nice decent people who fall for their letters and text and emails, all of which can be ignored except one that says they are taking you to Court (extremely rare).

Save your money by all means, keep it for emergencies but wait out the debt and you will get offers of up to 60% off, wait a bit longer until close to 6 years statute bar and they will likely offer you 95% off. Some Debt Consolidators might go for a CCJ if they see you on social media throwing money around or if they see your bank renewing your overdraft. However, if they see nothing they are taking a big risk of throwing good money after bad and for most people a CCJ just means several more years of ignoring them.

Your credit record will not magically become golden if you pay off debts that are unenforceable, they fall off your credit record because they are 6 years old and cannot be enforced. They do NOT fall off your credit record because of the default, they fall off when they expire 6 years after, you do NOT need to pay them. You have said that you do not acknowledge the debt and do not pay anything to them until you have the total amount. So keep on ignoring them but DO NOT PAY THEM because if you pay them before the 6 year Statute Bar you reset the date of the Statute bar to 6 years from the date of the acknowledgement or payment.

The Debt Consolidator buys the debt and appoints a Debt Manager who in turn appoints a series of Debt Collection Companies to chase the debt, each with their own delightful set of letters designed to intimidate you.

I reported Lowell to the FCA and FOS, I showed how their practice of breaching CONC rules is widespread and suddenly I get a letter from Lowell telling me that my account has been closed and balance is zero. They put some nonsense paragraph that said something along the lines of

"If we are reporting this account to the Credit Reference Agencies the default will continue to be reported as open with the last outstanding balance. The default will remain visible on your credit file for 6 years from the date it was first reported".

Obviously they closed the account because the debt was unenforceable due to it already being well over 6 years since first reported, so they won't be reporting anything at all, it is just a final attempt to make you think the unenforceable debt matters. It doesn't, nothing appears on my credit record.

They go after CCJ's at an old address because they know Three things.

1. That you are showing evidence of borrowing or spending

2. That it costs you £350 to have the CCJ set aside (if the debt was not owed)

3. That you have shown evidence of paying statute barred debt or very old debts.

So stop paying off debts that you do not have to.

They won't negotiate a CCJ, any activity to show you care or even know about the CCJ will encourage them to seek payment.

I understand the MH impact, their letters are designed to trigger this, but in your position I would just ignore them, keep them at bay, do not engage with them, file their letters and wait out the CCJ for 6 years from date of Judgement.

You do NOT need to mention DV to anyone, it is none of anyone's business and it will just give them a lever to pull against you. These are not nice or reasonable people, they are leeches on commission.

You have moved on from your DV, it would be foolish to divulge your new name if it has changed or your new address. The fact that they only have that address is your MH protection barrier. They clearly do not know who you are or where you are. One of my creditors got a writ of control, another faked a writ of control, neither got a single penny.

Listen to RAS and Fatbelly they are providing helpful advice to so many people on this forum.