can anyone advise re: allocation questionnaire

mojo-jojo_2

Hi,

haven't been here much recently due to lots of personal stuff including bereavement, illness and re-emergence of depression. So if I haven't thanked everone who has helped and advised me so far please accept my apologies .

My hubby had a CCJ claim form for a debt of £8849 from Reston's/HFC and because we believed their added £1500 collection charge was excessive we entered a part admission.

Have now received an 'allocation questionnaire' and am completely stumped. I'm not even sure what it's asking? I'm freaking out a bit as we have until 25th to reply, hubby worse than useless (no offence xx), CCCS told me they couldn't help as they didn't advise us to defend in the first place (thanks then!), I have tried the court number and it's constantly engaged, looking up on the net only seems to bring up advice for the claimant, not the defendant!

I really am at my wit's end. Every time I feel we are on top of this awful mess, something else sends me back to the black pit!! I know it's only a court form but I am completely freaked and panicking!

Does anyone have any advice, or know where I can find some info?

The more people I speak to recently, the more they suggest bankruptcy because our situation has got worse, and our DMP looks set to last 44 odd years......I will be 85 when it gets paid off!!!!!!!! I am terrified of even thinking about it! We never wanted to consider this because we wanted to pay back every penny of what we owe, but realistically can a DMP continue so long term? I can't really see our financial situation improving much unless I can get a job (but mental health issues kind of prevent this happening at the moment). .......self-pitying rant over................

If anyone can advise me on even what the allocation questionnaires are for I would be eternally grateful, it will be a relief to get that sent back and forgotten about for a few days/weeks.

thanx

mjjj x

kizzykizzywizzy

Hi there, I'm sorry I have no idea, have you tried CAB ? or perhaps see if you can get a free 30 mins with a solicitor, they may be able to advise you which path to take.
As for 44 years on DMP!! circumstances do change, you never know what's around the corner, hopefully you will feel well enough soon to go back to work.
I'm sure there is someone out there that will able to help
Take care & try not to worry too much, you'll get it sorted

tyllwyd

(with the usual disclaimer about not being legally qualified, so this may or may not be right ...) The allocation questionnaire - I had a look on google, and as far as I can see it is about what 'track' your claim should be heard on. (Basically, the court needs to have an idea of how complicated your case is, and how much money is involved, so they can decide whether it can be dealt with quickly or if it will need more time & resources).

If you are disputing £1500, I guess it would be the small claims track - but if it is for the full amount, I suppose it could be the fast track
http://www.justclaim.co.uk/index.php?page=cp2_2


Does the form look like either of these
http://www.justclaim.co.uk/index.php?page=n150

tyllwyd

BTW why did CCCS advise you not to defend the claim? If you lose, is there a danger of costs being awarded against you?

tigerfeet2006

These guys may be able to help you with this to

http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/

tyllwyd

I found this here http://www.lawpack.co.uk/small_claims_faq.asp

" What happens if the defendant denies owing me money?
From Small Claims Kit
The defendant may disagree with all of your claim, or you may not be willing to accept the defendant�s admission to partial liability. The defendant will state on Form N9B (defence) why your claim is denied. If the defendant only denies part of your claim (partial admission), the defendant must complete and return to the court both Form N9A (admission) and Form N9B (defence). You will be sent both forms by the court together with Form N225A.
The defendant�s defence may be that your claim has already been fully paid and that you are therefore owed nothing. If this defence stated as: �the amount claimed has been paid� is raised, you will receive from the court a copy of the defendant�s Form N9B and Form N236. You must fill in Form N236 and say whether your claim has been fully paid or whether you deny payment and want the case to proceed. Then return the completed Form N236 to the court.
Once a defence is received by the court an Allocation Questionnaire Form N149 is sent to you and the defendant, which must be completed and returned by both parties within 14 days. As the claimant, you must pay a fee when returning the questionnaire, currently £100. If your claim is a money-only claim below £1,500, the fee isn't payable."

Is this the Allocation Questionnaire Form you've received?

I can't find anything about the next step, but I can only assume it will go back to court.

mojo-jojo_2

thanks, kww, I certainly hope our situation changes, but that's not likely for a LONG while!

mjjj x

mojo-jojo_2

hi tyllwyd,

thanks, yes the form is one of those it's the n150.

CCCS said they cannot advise one way or the other, however, one counsellor I spoke to a few weeks ago said I could defend against the charges (this was the first time I had ever heard that you could do that), and that many people do so successfully. Other counsellors have said they don't advise it, including the one I spoke to this morning!! I heard conflicting things and am now worrying we have made a mistake by defending!

mjjj

mojo-jojo_2

thanks tigerfeet I'll take a good look at that site

mjjj

tyllwyd

Hi mjjj

If you don't want to defend the claim, you could always take the option to request a stay while you try to negotiate a settlement.

Why not try to fill in the form as best you can, using the notes on the back, and that will focus your mind on the points you really don't understand how to answer. A lot of the questions about experts, witnesses, etc you can just answer no (unless of course you are going to call any, but I doubt it!)

mojo-jojo_2

hi tyllwyd, we want to defend the claim (against the excessive 'collection' charge), but I feel that now we have decided this we are in no man's land with no guidance!
Also I doubt a settlement can be reached in another month as the claimants have had all our income/expenditure evidence and have refused our offers of payment (admittedly only £5 per month, but it is obvious from our I/E that even £5 is pushing it!). We continue to pay £5 per creditor through our DMP so they are still getting this payment anyway.
I just find the questionnaire confusing...i.e how long do I expect the final hearing/trial to last??.......what????.......how would I know?? 10 minutes? I don't have a clue!

thanks for trying

mjjj