Challenging a debt that I didn't know about

Hi,

I was hoping someone could help as I'm considering challenging a debt I have unaware of.

This year I received an attachment of earnings order for £6400 that I challenged and has been under investigation until now as I made a complaint stating I don't know anything about it.

The end of the investigation concluded that I was issued a CCJ in 2007 which I apparently accepted and offered to pay £200 per month, as no payment has been made Mortimer Clarke Solicitors submitted documents to Doncaster County Court to start off the AOE order. I didn't know about this CCJ and it has apparently been on and dropped off my credit file.

I've been told the debt was for a credit card with the Yorkshire Bank so requested a copy of the CCA through Cabot Financial, they have provided this and worryingly it is my details on the form however certainly not my signature so I am working on the assumption this must be identity theft, the problem being this is so old I can't prove my whereabouts 10 years ago.
For them to have my details I am now suspicious this may have been an ex partner that may have registered them in my name however this is a total guess and I have no idea of their whereabouts nowadays to get in touch with them.

Both Mortimer Clarke and Cabot Financials steer is that letters were sent to me so the debt is mine to pay as they are simply requesting that the CCJ issued is enforced.

I wrote to Mortimer Clarke and Cabot Financial advising the!timescales in these letters don't correspond with my actual whereabouts as the default notice was sent to an address in 2007 however I moved out of that approx 2005- their response was its my responsibility to keep lenders up to date, the problem being I wasn't aware of any debt to need to keep anyone up to date.

Due to this being so long ago I'm struggling to get any proof I wasn't living at the accommodation they sent the documents to.

The one thing I have asked them to clarify is how did they receive acceptance of the payments for the CCJ, was it via phone or in person because if this is identity theft this information could have helped me out. The court advised me they will have received a completed form however this hasn't been kept so I have nothing to work with at all- it seems they're being selective with the documentation they choose to keep which doesn't seem fair at all.

I am tempted to fill out an N244 form requesting the court set aside the CCJ as I did't know it was issued and everything seems to be so vague but I can't afford at this stage in my life
for an old CCJ to be reinstated or an attachment of earnings to be sent to my employer as anything like this would compromise my employment with them due to vetting checks being completed when I need to work in different client areas so I'm really not sure what to do.

My gut feel is that I should continue to challenge and go to court however I don't have much in the way of evidence so would I be better off paying the £6400 due to the risk to my employment? it's a risky thing to challenge but could they realistically expect me to prove my whereabouts 10 years ago and why is it okay for them to dispose of the alleged acceptance form they claim to have received but I have never known of to acknowledge.!

Any advise people can give would be appreciated.