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Help CCJ - Loz Handie 2010-03-09 12:13:11
 
I have received this from Cardiff County Court and it is asking me to pay the balance in full of £14,000 pounds. I sent the solicitor acting for Nationwide a form 9a a few weeks ago with a full breakdown of my income and expenditure. I have today found that the solictors did not submit this form to the court and claim to never have received it but i have proof they have by way of signature via reoyal mail. Is there anything i can do?

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Re:Help CCJ - simon wiggins 2010-03-09 13:33:19
 
Hi Loz. I'm sorry to hear about this problem but not at all surprised this can be one of the oldest tricks in the book so to speak. I advise all my client to send a copy of their reply to not only the address for service shown on the summons (usually the creditors solicitors or agents) by recorded delivery as well as a second copy to the court dealing with the matter asking that it be placed on the court file just in case the one they sent to the creditors agent goes astray keeping proof of dispatch and a copy of the reply for themselves. This avoids replies such as the one you sent never being seen by the district judge.

The county court rules set out when you can apply to set aside a judgment. This includes when an order was made against you in your absence, if in certain circumstances there may be an error in the judgment or you want to put in a defence and did not have the opportunity to do this; or the proceedings did not follow the court rules.

There are two sets or criteria Loz one which means the court must set the judgment aside and one that it may do so. In the first category where it must set the matter aside this includes where you have paid the whole amount owed (including any interest and costs) before the date the creditor entered judgment;
sent back the acknowledgment of service form within the time limit ; put in a defence and or offer to pay within the time limit (this applies in your case); or
sent in the reply form within the time limit asking for more time to pay (this applies in your case). The court must set aside the judgment in these circumstances, even if you do not have a defence. There is no time limit for making an application on these grounds.

From what you have said you quite properly sent back a reply detailing your financial affairs asking to pay the debt back at rate you could afford I assume within the time limits and you have proof of this but this magically was not shown to the court even though it arrived at the agent or solicitors firm involved. so this alone should mean the matter would be set aside by the court on application by you to do so.

In the second category where it may use its discretion and may set the judgment aside reasons include if the court thinks you have a real chance of a successful defence to the claim (i.e. the outcome may be materially different); or
the court thinks there is some other good reason why the judgment should be set aside. There is no time limit for making an application on these grounds but the court will look at whether you made the application ‘promptly’

So if you replied and offered to pay within the time limits and or sent back an acknowledgment of service within the time limits yet were not given the chance to attend a hearing to defend the matter then the should grant your application automatically. It may do so if you fail on the must grounds but this not guaranteed but on either count there is no time limit as such.

To help you further I have e-mailed you an in depth fact sheet on the options open to someone wishing to set aside a CCJ which I hope you will take the time to read through and can then get on with getting this matter set aside as it should be. If you need help with the application any local money adviser or debt counsellor can do so for free and can be found at your local CAB or similar. In short you replied within time and made an offer of payment for the creditor and court to consider but this was never sent on to the court. That alone should guarantee this is set aside but also as the outcome would have been an instalment order set at a rate the court deemed appropriate then the outcome would also have been materially different. So all the boxes are ticked for a successful set aside application Loz. Best wishes
& let us know how you get on

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