Brilliant news. You must feel relieved.

Thank you for the compliment.

I too get satisfaction out of winning (a Discontinuance is winning without going all the way to Trial) because I've been told I'm more competitive than Andy Murray's mother

The important thing is it's all over for you and in a very short space of time, so no further stress!

Enjoy the Christmas break.

If anyone else gets a claim from Hoist, or a Letter of Claim from Howard Cohen on their behalf, feel free to drop me an email using di@joannaconnollysolicitors.co.uk

Di

I'd just like to say that I have had a very similar experience - having reached out to Di just before Christmas she gave up a (very!) large amount of the last part of her last working day before the break on the phone to me, and she reassured me sufficiently that I was able to enjoy Christmas in a way that I certainly wouldn't have done otherwise!

Thank you for that

I also get satisfaction out of helping people fight against the bad practices of creditors and debt purchasers - particularly the latter!

Di

Just to add to this. My cabot claim which was stayed for years, has now been kicked out of court thanks to Joanna Connolly and her team! Thrilled to bits!

I wanted to add my thanks to team JCS - with their involvement, I've recently had a claim struck out for a loan which I'd always believed would be enforceable, and have always expected to have to make payment arrangements or accepting a charging order or similar. But JCS worked their magic and PRA went scuttling away back into the hole they live in.

Thank you JCS and AAD!

My original diary post is here for anyone who wishes to view it: https://all-about-debt.co.uk/forum/d...888#post311888

Congrats to both.

Thank you DNW. We are glad that we were able to assist you

You know where we are, should you need us.

Many thanks
Sam

This is grotesquely late, but I was reminded of it because another issue has come up (see post elsewhere), but I wanted to say another big thankyou to Di and to Joanna Connolly solicitors, because they both 'kick ass' as the Americans say. I had around £100,000 of debts, mostly UE and all dating from 2015. Only one of the slimy leeches who buy the debts (forget which) tried to take it to court, and they were discouraged from doing so by one letter from Joanna Connolly's, which demonstrated the utter pointlessness of their case. That appears to have discouraged the others from trying, because the 6-year mark passed in November 2021 and I never heard another dicky bird. So thank you to this wonderful forum, to Di, to Niddy and to Joanna Connolly's, because you have almost literally saved my life.

Actually, while I am here, could someone tell me where to post the other query, because I am not sure where. It is about a bus lane fine for a car that I sold 2 years ago but the V5C was never received by the DVLA (my brother-in-law handed the car over to the purchaser and the silly xxxxxx gave the bloke the V5C instead of posting it, which is what you are supposed to do), so the letter has come to the address where the car was registered and I have received the fine (I live abroad).

It seems that the new keeper of the car intentionally kept the car in my name in order to be able to drive scot free - they have now sold the car and left the V5C STILL in my name, although that is now terminated by my acknowledgement from the DVLA that I sold the car in Jan 2020.

The first I knew of it was when the letter arrived at the house where the car was registered - the occupants told me about it (I had no idea the car was still in my name!). However, they returned the fine letter to sender and so I didn't know who to contact about the fine. I have notified the DVLA and the car is now logged as not having been in my name since Jan 2020, but now the people who issued the fine, whom I now know to be Brighton City Council, have issued a summons and I have to respond to Northampton County Court (surprise surprise), or I risk 'getting the bailiffs in' (good luck on that one as I am abroad).

The people at the address where the car was registered are most distressed and are anxious that I should deal with it, because they have already had one visit from a bailiff. I have told them it doesn't matter as the debt is personal to me, but they are not reassured. Question: should I respond to Brighton, to Northampton CC, or just ignore it (it is a £90 fine).

I have about 6 days left, and the only 'official' way I can get out of the fine is to send a sworn letter from a legal officer saying that I wasn't the culprit, which I obviously cannot do as a) I am abroad; and b) the timescale is too short to get the letter to them. I can phone them but I would rather not give them my foreign address is possible, but I have a UK address I could use (an empty flat where I can pick up mail). Thanks -

I will just copy and paste this to the right forum if someone can tell me which one! I assume that if a judgment is issued it will have the same status as the credit card debts did? It is presumably just another civil debt that is unenforceable abroad?

Keep paragraphing for easy reading.

inform the council the fact DVLA noted = Jan 2020? reference their letter.? court claim acknowledge it on line and tick defend all, defence would read not your property and advice Jan 2020 as per DVLA records???

Roger probably pop in here.

As The Tech Clerk points out you must go online and acknowledge the court claim, tick defend all, and your defence that the DVLA records Jan 2020 evidence this car is not your property.

Inform Brighton Council DVLA records Jan 2020 the car isn't your property.

I would also out of curtesy advise in writing the people at the address where the car was registered.
A written letter could be handed to any chancer turning up at that address be they a bailiff or a Debt Collector!

If you don't acknowledge the claim you will get a CCJ by default! A complication that could have unforeseeable consequences at some future Date.

Thanks folks. I appreciate the advice, and I will notify them both. However, there is one problem - the letter gives no opportunity to go online - the only way of combatting it that they accept is returning the letter by snailmail with a sworn statement from a legal officer, saying that I did not receive the original. Unfortunately, not only did I not receive the original fine (because I don't own the car and don't live there), but I have also not received this letter in concrete form - all I have is a couple of scans from the people at the address. And there is no time for them to send me the letter, me to get it witnessed by a UK legal officer, and get it back to the UK again, before the time limit, which I make to be the coming week - Tuesday 7th or Wednesday 8th, according to whether they count the day they sent the letter in the 21 days. I am in a bit of a quandary - I suppose I could phone them on Monday, but I am anxious not to give them my address in case they don't accept my excuse, and I imagine they will ask for an address!

I am trying to upload the letter (2 sides) as attachments, but I remember from before that uploading attachments to AAD is difficult! So I have created a onedrive album with them in - I am pretty sure that's a secure way to do it, but please tell me if it isn't!

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoCJmOvXusCZ8GAD...nHiCx?e=qcTcU1