jonesyd UE Diary

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

PPS: the text of the final letter I sent to all my creditors/their agents in March 2011 is actually this:

"Dear xxxx,

Ref: account xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

You will know, from my last letter to you, my position in regard to the above account: it is nearly one year since I originally asked you to provide me with an agreement complying with the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and you have failed to do so, rendering the above account unenforceable.

I now wish to make you aware that as of the date of this letter I will be permanently leaving the UK. I will no longer maintain a permanent address or telephone number in the UK and, as I will be travelling for the foreseeable future, I will also not have a permanent address abroad. If you (or your agents) wish to contact me, I suggest you do so via the email address I have previously provided you with.

Please be aware that if in my absence you should apply for a court judgement against me, upon notice of it I will immediately apply for it to be set aside by reason of unenforceability.

Yours faithfully, jonesyd."

[Pixie]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

So they never provided you with a CCA (or the ones they did provide were judged to be UE by Niddy) and they knew you were abroad permanently but didn't contact you by email? I'm assuming you regularly use/check the email address you provided them with? They then left you alone for 5 years before they applied for judgement?

If that's the case then, in my opinion, you have a very good case for setting the CCJs aside. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay a court fee of £255. I'm not sure if you'll be able to claim it back if you're successful. Someone will be able to tell you if you'll have to pay £255 for each of the CCJs.

[nanna58]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Best do as Pixie says hang on for Niddy xx

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

OK, thanks guys - after all this time, there's no rush.

And yes, correct, they have never contacted me by email, ever.

[BuzzyBee]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Funny! I guess I'm just a bit paranoid because I remembered you'd said this:

"In all my years of helping debtors I have never once heard of a single case where a bailiff has turned up at a debtors house for non payment of a consumer credit debt / subsequent ccj"

in an earlier post and, now that they have doorstepped one of my old addresses, I feel in my bones that there is a reasonable chance of them turning up here. And, should that happen, I wanted to be fully ware of my rights/their responsibilities.

That used to be the case but these days more and more judgment creditors are applying for warrants of control. They do it when the debtor isn't making any payments towards the CCJ and their intention is to push them to set up a payment arrangement rather than to get the bailiffs to seize goods to sell.

Under the new regs, you should receive a notice of enforcement giving you at least seven days (excluding Sundays and BHs) before a bailiff visit. Bailiffs enforcing CCJs cannot force entry and you don't have to let them in. They can gain peaceful entry through an unlocked door and take belongings from the outside of your house, cars are the most obvious and valuable ones, so if you have one and expect a bailiff, park it somewhere else. Bailiffs cannot take cars parked on private land belonging to other people, such as a driveway belonging to a friend or relative, a garage or a public or private car park. They can take them from your own property or a public road.

For CCJs, as opposed to other debts enforced by bailiffs, if you set up a repayment plan backed by a financial statement, the debt cannot be enforced with bailiffs while you keep up your payments. If you receive a notice of enforcement, you should apply for a stay of execution using form N245 and make a repayment offer. The fee is £50 but double check because they go up all the time. Check if you qualify for fee remission: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload.../ex160-eng.pdf

As you have been away, it may be an idea to check if you have CCJs here: http://www.trustonline.org.uk/search-yourself

[BuzzyBee]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

So they never provided you with a CCA (or the ones they did provide were judged to be UE by Niddy) and they knew you were abroad permanently but didn't contact you by email? I'm assuming you regularly use/check the email address you provided them with? They then left you alone for 5 years before they applied for judgement?

If that's the case then, in my opinion, you have a very good case for setting the CCJs aside. Unfortunately, you'll have to pay a court fee of £255. I'm not sure if you'll be able to claim it back if you're successful. Someone will be able to tell you if you'll have to pay £255 for each of the CCJs.

You also need a viable defence to the claim(s) to convince the court to set aside the default judgment(s). A draft defence needs to be submitted with the N244 application form. The OP could qualify for remission of the fees, as per post above.

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

For CCJs, as opposed to other debts enforced by bailiffs, if you set up a repayment plan backed by a financial statement, the debt cannot be enforced with bailiffs while you keep up your payments. If you receive a notice of enforcement, you should apply for a stay of execution using form N245 and make a repayment offer. The fee is £50 but double check because they go up all the time. Check if you qualify for fee remission: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload.../ex160-eng.pdf

As you have been away, it may be an idea to check if you have CCJs here: http://www.trustonline.org.uk/search-yourself

Thanks Buzzy - all the info on bailiffs is v helpful.

Regarding the CCJs - I'm hoping there are alternatives to your proposal because if it is at all possible, it would be great if there is some way to extinguish them quickly and permanently, especially as the DCAs seem to have played a bit naughty by doing their business whilst I was away/unaware, and so was unable to put them to task on the UE elements.

[BuzzyBee]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Thanks Buzzy - all the info on bailiffs is v helpful.

Regarding the CCJs - I'm hoping there are alternatives to your proposal because if it is at all possible, it would be great if there is some way to extinguish them quickly and permanently, especially as the DCAs seem to have played a bit naughty by doing their business whilst I was away/unaware, and so was unable to put them to task on the UE elements.

There is no way to extinguish CCJs, not unless they are paid in full within one month of issue to avoid them being recorded. The only way would be to get them set aside. If you have previously disputed the accounts, sent CCA requests and not got compliant responses, you could use those arguments in your draft defences for your set aside applications. The first step would be to write to them, explain what happened and ask them to consent to have the judgment set aside. Failing that, you'd then move on to your N244 with all the trimmings, i.e. a draft order, witness statement and draft defence. How much are the CCJs for?

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

I've asked Jo for her thoughts on what to do.

Can you clarify, you don't work in the uk or have property in the uk do you? I've asked solicitor for advice so bear with us for now. Don't do anything yet.

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

I've asked Jo for her thoughts on what to do.

Can you clarify, you don't work in the uk or have property in the uk do you? I've asked solicitor for advice so bear with us for now. Don't do anything yet.

Hi Nid,

OK, I won't do anything until we have a plan. Thanks for arranging specialist advice.

It's a bit complicated: I'm self-employed in that I am the company director of the only company I work for. The company is a VAT registered Ltd and is incorporated in the UK, but I can effectively do my work for the company anywhere in the world with a broadband connection - this is what allows me to live in different countries and keep working. The company's income is seasonal in that it is based on long-term and complex deal commissions, so my annual compensation from the company fluctuates fairly wildly - for example, for the FY 2011/2012 my income was reasonably high, but for the most recent years of 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 it has been minimum wage, and this year it is likely to be quite high again. Depending on what my total compensation is in a given year, it may be in salary or shareholder dividend or some combination of the two, per the advice of my accountant. I've elected to continue paying NI and taxes in the UK, even though in most years I could have declared myself non-resident for tax purposes according to the standard HMRC rules.

I don't own property in the UK other than a 10 year old car and furniture, appliances, etc, that I keep in the house that I rent here in the UK.

My current plans are to be in the UK until the end of this year, then back to the US (where we have our "permanent" family home) until October 2017 when I will move again to Germany for at least a year as I begin a new work project there.

Hope that helps.

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Bailiffs cannot take cars parked on private land belonging to other people, such as a driveway belonging to a friend or relative, a garage or a public or private car park. They can take them from your own property or a public road.

Buzzy - so, for example, is it correct that court bailiffs could not take my car when it is parked on the drive of the house I rent (i.e. the house and drive is the property of my landlord)?

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Buzzy - so, for example, is it correct that court bailiffs could not take my car when it is parked on the drive of the house I rent (i.e. the house and drive is the property of my landlord)?

No they could take it as you're resident. Renting or owning a property won't stop bailiffs. Buzzy is saying if it was on private property such as a pub car park they couldn't touch it. However on your own drive or a public road, they could. However if it's a work vehicle they'd have issues too.

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

No they could take it as you're resident. Renting or owning a property won't stop bailiffs. Buzzy is saying if it was on private property such as a pub car park they couldn't touch it. However on your own drive or a public road, they could. However if it's a work vehicle they'd have issues too.

Thanks Nid - I do use the car for work, but is there anything I could/should do in order to have proof of that?

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Thanks Nid - I do use the car for work, but is there anything I could/should do in order to have proof of that?

Is it a work van - for example? Without which you'd be unable to do your job? If not, then park it somewhere private away from home until this is sorted.

[jonesyd]

Re: jonesyd UE Diary

Is it a work van - for example? Without which you'd be unable to do your job? If not, then park it somewhere private away from home until this is sorted.

No, it's just a regular car. But I've just realised - as all the paperwork relating to the CCJ & AoE went to my address from 4 years ago and thus they seem to have no idea about what my current address is - that I'm probably safe from imminent car confiscation! At least until I receive the 7 days notice at my CURRENT address...