Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

[brian250]

Hi

I'm really glad that I found this forum as I have no idea what to do, and could really do with some advice.

Last week I received a Court Claim form from Northampton County Court on behalf of TBI Financial Solutions, who appear to have bought a debt of mine from Barclaycard. Total amount incl. costs etc. is £6,626.35.

A bit of background:

I lost my job in 2007, and opened a business account with Barclays in July 2008 as I had decided to try and set up my own business (didn't come off) in an attempt to earn money.

With the account I was given a Barclaycard with a £5000 limit. I ended up stupidly running up the full debt with it trying to keep the mortgage paid, service other bills and debts etc. I had been making minimum payments but in 2009 stopped being able to pay anything.

About 18 months ago I moved house (mortgaged) and last week received a court order claim form on behalf of TBI Financial Services. Paperwork with the form include my credit card agreement, letter from Barclays confirming they had transferred the debt to TBI, and copies of letters which supposedly had been sent to me warning of potential court action in July last year. I didn't receive these, but I can't prove that I didn't.

The total claim is for £6,626,36.

My current situation is that I now earn a decent amount of money in a full time job, but once the mortgage, bills and debts are paid am left with virtually nothing each month (I am married and have a one year old child).

I have no way to pay either the full amount or make realistic monthly payments either, and desparately don't want a court order made against me, particularly with the stress it would cause my wife.

I suspect that there is nothing I can do, but would really really welcome any advice at all on this.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

Hi and welcome to LB!

First of all, you need to acknowledge the claim as soon as possible, as you have just 14 days from date of service before the claimant can apply for default judgment. :incourt:

You can acknowledge online using the password supplied on the claim form. If you state your intention to defend the claim in full, you have a further 28 days to submit a defence. At the very least, this should buy you some time. :clock:

You mention a business account, were you a sole trader or a limited company? Because if the account was in the name of a company, then you wouldn't be personally liable unless you had signed a personal guarantee.

If you are, indeed, liable for this debt, you could look at a Tomlin Order if you wish to avoid a CCJ.

What are Tomlin Orders?

A Tomlin Order is a type of consent order entered into by the parties to settle litigation. It is commonly used where complex terms are agreed, or where the terms of a compromise go beyond the boundaries of the claim or where the parties wish to avoid publicity of the settlement terms. It has two parts: the order part, which is sealed by the court and is public, and the schedule part, which contains the agreed terms and is neither sealed nor available for public inspection. It has the effect of staying the claim save for the purpose of carrying the terms set out in the schedule into effect. The parties can however apply to court to enforce the agreed terms should it become necessary without the need to commence new proceedings.

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Source: http://www.wragge.com/analysis_6022.asp#.UukwovbsNgc

Even with a CCJ, a court couldn't order you to pay more than you can afford, as long as you submit an Income and Expenditure form showing how much you can afford. Some people pay just £1/month towards their CCJs. This is a good budgeting tool: http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/quickfs.asp

[brian250]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

Thank you for your response FlamingParrot, I really appreciate it.

I've gone through the claim form and other documentation several times and there is definately no option to acknowledge online or a password. However I can return the form via email which I will do ASAP.

I was setting up as a sole trader. The Credit Card Agreement has the Business Name as the actual business name, rather than my name, although is signed in my name.

There is no personal guarantee.

There is also a Barclaycard Business Credt Card Account Organisation form which just states the Business Name and has no reference to my name.

On this basis would your opinion be that I would not be liable, and that could form the basis of me disputing the claim?

The strange thing is that I have a personal account with Barclays still, Barclaycard and Barclays have never chased me for the debt, and in fact Barclays have given me an unsecured personal loan within the last few months. Perhaps there isn't a direct connection between Barclays Bank and Barclaycard, although the business account that supplied the Barclaycard was obviously with Barclays.

Again, many thanks for your assistance, it means a lot.

[wales01man]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

if the business was not a LTD Company you are a sole trader and its your debt

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

I've gone through the claim form and other documentation several times and there is definately no option to acknowledge online or a password. However I can return the form via email which I will do ASAP.

There usually is a password printed half way down the right hand side on the front of the claim, but it has been known to absent in certain cases. :noidea:

I was setting up as a sole trader. The Credit Card Agreement has the Business Name as the actual business name, rather than my name, although is signed in my name.

There is no personal guarantee.

There is also a Barclaycard Business Credt Card Account Organisation form which just states the Business Name and has no reference to my name.

On this basis would your opinion be that I would not be liable, and that could form the basis of me disputing the claim?

If you had been trading as a limited company and the account was in the company name, you wouldn't be personally liable unless there was a personal guarantee. That's the whole purpose of a LIMITED company, i.e. limited liability.

Sadly this is not the case if you were a sole trader, in which case a personal guarantee wouldn't be required since you are liable for the business debts.

The strange thing is that I have a personal account with Barclays still, Barclaycard and Barclays have never chased me for the debt, and in fact Barclays have given me an unsecured personal loan within the last few months. Perhaps there isn't a direct connection between Barclays Bank and Barclaycard, although the business account that supplied the Barclaycard was obviously with Barclays.

Again, many thanks for your assistance, it means a lot.

Their internal communication channels are not that great, I've got an Egg card which I've not paid since Jan 2010, bought by Barclays in 2011, two current accounts (personal & ltd co) with them since 2008, never heard a peep about the card... :tape2:

[brian250]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

Ok, I got my hopes up temporarily there.

So my only options are to acknowledge the claim but dispute, to give me a little more time.

Then I can either negotiate directly with TBI to see if I can get them to agree a small monthly payment (I have no idea how successful this would be) or propose a Tomlin order.

Would that be correct?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

You are correct. As this is a business credit card from 2008 and they have supplied you with the paperwork, there isn't much you can use to dispute the account.

If you state your intention to defend the claim, you get a total of 28 days to deal with it, otherwise you really only have 14 days from service.

You say the claim included all the paperwork mentioned on the particulars of claim, which is rather unusual when the claimant uses the Northampton bulk centre. Northampton is not a court as such, just the bulk processing centre for money claims. As they have attached the paperwork, there would be no reason to send a CPR 31.14 request for documents, which is what you'd normally do and, in certain circumstances, could buy you some time. :clock:

They seem to have covered all bases here so your best bet is to do as you describe above. :thumb:

[brian250]

Re: Don't know how to proceed - TBI Financial Services Court Claim

Ok, I will proceed in that way.

The claim form with attached documentation is from Northampton Country Court. The claimant has said that their preferred court for hearings is Reading County Court.

There is definately nothing on there or any of the attached paperwork that says you can acknowledge online. I will email them.

The postage date is 22nd Jan, the service date is 27th Jan.

Thanks again for your help.