Urgent : Being taken to Court

jasonbloomberg

Having not been around I find a Court Claim Form with just three days left to respond Admission or Defence, so any help appreciated. Local CAB appears to be shut this week ! Sorry, urgency means I haven't had time to trawl the FAQ and other posts in any depth.

Long story short, ran up an HSBC Credit Card debt, £7,500. They accepted £1pm repayment and froze interest in Oct 2006. In Oct 2007 they sold the debt.

That company who bought the debt is now taking me to County Court to claim the debt plus interest ( back-dated a year before they bought the debt ) with the stated intention of then seeking a Charging Order on my property.

1) They've offered no evidence they have been assigned the debt ( actually the situation there is far more confusing than I can go into briefly ) - If I admit any debt I'm giving them a free ride, but can I / should I defend the entire debt on the grounds of lack of proof of assignment ?

2) Can they back date interest to before they bought the debt ? I don't have the original agreement with HSBC.

3) If I defend the entire debt am I shooting myself in the foot ?

4) Is it better to just return Acknowledgement of Service which gives another 28 days for Defence and then an Admission if that's what advice suggests is best, even though an Admission should be sent back within the next few days ?

I'm in no position to buy legal advice; where's the best place to get legal help ? ... in the next three days ??

Any help or suggestions desperately welcomed.

ticklepenny_2

1) If they are pursuing a CCJ they own the debt.

2) No they shouldnt however they can add their own charges and fees to the debt.

3) defending a debt if you know its not yours or they have added unfair charges etc this is fine but it is best to provide lots of evidence if you are defending their claim.

4) The admissions form is easy to fill in, its just that most people freak out when they see one!
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n9a_0406.pdf

Filling in aCCJ Admissions section

How much of the claim do you admit? Do you admit the full amount? Or only part? If you only admit part you will have to fill in the defense section and provide evidence.

Section 1 - provide your personal Information
Section 2 - Basic information about any dependants
Section 3 - Details on employment. If you stop paying a CCJ they may look to apply for an attachment of earnings. As long as you pay a CCJ payment on time every month this shouldn't be a problem.
Section 4 - Bank account and Savings, let them know how much is in your account but put a note next to it saying "balance before living costs".
Section 5 - Details of Residency. Again if you stop paying a CCJ they may look to apply for a charging order - securing the debt against your property.
Section 6 - Income
Section 7 - Expenditure
Section 8 - Priority debts - arrears on rent and utilities etc
Section 9 - Do you have any other CCJ's?
Section 10 - List any other debts you have and their payments or the payments you are making.
Section 11 - Tick the second box - I can pay by instalments of and offer them a manageable monthly amount.

You can attach a letter explaining your circumstances but make sure it is stapled to the form.

On the front of the Court forms there is an address for the claimant. Under this section is an address for sending paperwork and payments if different. This is where you send the Admissions form - send it 1st class recorded delivery so that you know that they have it.


If they come back with a judgement that you cant afford there is always an N244 - free within 14 days of judgement or an N245 after then which costs £35 to review the judgement.

If you have any problems I know the CCCS have a helpline 8am -8pm Mon - Fri 0800 138 1111.


Hope I have covered everything:rolleyes:

jasonbloomberg

Thanks for the reply, at least having someone else's perspective lowers my fretting.

The best thing would seem to be to admit the £7K5, and dispute the interest ( near £1K ) being back-dated. In that case according to the form both admission and defence go to the court.

It's not really the paperwork which scares me, just the very short period I have to avoid a default judgement against me.

I'm currently unemployed, I don't dispute I got into debt, I just don't want to end up losing my home or being hassled with evil bailiffs.

stapeley

You can apply for the case to be move to a local court . You should attend . Have they supplied a copy of the CC AGREEMENT ? No copy of a CC Agreement , no enforceable debt ! That is an absolute defence against enforcement . In many cases a DCA buy account that have no correct paperwork . In many cases a DCA withdraw from cases when this defence is submitted . good luck ps you have left this abit late , the CAB website HAVE GREAT LEGAL PEOPLE . Well worth looking there .

jasonbloomberg

They haven't supplied a CC Agreement ( I haven't asked for it ), which is why I said I'd be giving them a free-ride if I admit the debt. They may not have an enforceable debt and my admission would make it enforceable if if it weren't.

AFAIK it's up to them to prove they have the debt, not me to accept they have, but I don't know how the court would treat that if that's my defence against the full amount. Especially if they then turn up at court with a CCA.

stapeley

You have nothing to lose by putting non supply of a CCA as a defence , and everything to gain. Many DCA purchase an account at a fraction of the total owed . The one I am dealing with have admitted they do not have one ! Why would the OC sell a debt on at a fraction of the total ? If you show a court you can only afford £2 a month , thats all a court will award . So what you got to lose ???

stapeley

This advice is not only for you but other that may read this thread . goodluck

RAS

Can you get the case moved locally? It would be to your advantage.

jasonbloomberg

I'll be contacting the court to see if I can get it moved locally.

The crux of what to do now seems to be ...

Defend everything on grounds of non-supply of CCA / no evidence of legal right to make the claim, but that precludes any admission, right ? Thus only a defence should be filed ?

jasonbloomberg

A small update : Finally managed to get through to the Court (HMCS), who informed me that if the claim is defended it would be automatically transferred to my local Court. We'll see how that goes.

stapeley

Well done , should give a little more time to . Theres very good advice on the CAG WEBSITE . A thread there called Basic Introduction to Consumer Credit litigation . Posted by tomterm8 31st JULY 2007 21:42. Well worth reading !!!