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I don't know what else to do so I turn to this forum! If anyone knows anything about the below, then I would be infinitely grateful as my brain and body cannot take much more.
I used to do contract work via my ltd company, but stopped trading and put the company dormant. It's been that way for a couple of years while I try to finish my PhD.
Last Monday, I received a strange email from my registered office provider stating that they were cancelling my account due to a "complaint" regarding a visit from named "High Court Enforcement". I immediately replied and got no response. I googled the name of the company and found a nationwide company of solicitors and debt collectors. Emailed, no response, so I phoned and got through to someone. Gave the company name and they said they were just enforcement, they couldn't discuss it and gave me the details of a reference number. I immediately phoned and the receptionist told me the name of the person dealing with it and put me through, but it went to voicemail. I sent several emails to their info address and tried three times that day. By the way, I'm out of the country and on a time difference. Same thing the next day. So I asked the receptionist to put me through to the person running the email address. Also voicemail. However he replied to my email and copied in the other person that wasn't answering.
Eventually the guy replied saying a ccj had been issued in September. They had sent the documentation to the registered office. However I found it strange, because in support he attached an email - so they had my email address the whole time (?!).
Because the company is dormant and the provider only processes statutory mail and sends any "business" letters back to sender, I've now confirmed the letters would (likely) have been returned to sender (I can only see something was returned, I can't see what it is).
Anyway, this email chain purported to be about 750 - however in the meantime the first company had mentioned a large plc I had absolutely no recollection of dealing with. Checked my files, nothing. Emailed them asking what they had to do with anything and what was going on. By the way, this plc is the parent company of the claimant.
By this point it was Wednesday and I'd spent time trying to get legal advice (impossible - too expensive), however none told me anything different to my research, which suggested I needed to do an n244 and set aside.
In the meantime I found out it's some sort of business court in Northampton and they basically allow people to file claims with no info; and big companies get reduced fees to bulk file claims. I phoned the court and they said it's a company so I have to pay the 255 to file it. The next day I phoned back and they said actually, because there was a writ, it would only be 14 pounds to file and I needed to ask to stay the writ and set aside.
In the meantime, I asked the claimant would they consent in light of the circumstances. He suggested it would likely be resolved and he was waiting to hear back from the client.
At this point I still thought the fee was 255 and that consent would do it for 100.
On Thursday they told me I would hear back from them on Friday. They never replied.
I began working on the n244 anyway, wrote a massive witness statement explaining every detail of events, that I acted quickly, that I don't even have any assets except for a laptop with a broken screen, that the pandemic would surely negate this type of attempt to visit or write to offices and that they appeared to have an email address for me the whole time.
When Monday arrived, the dreaded email arrived. In fact the claimant was saying no, they would not cooperate and tough luck. Luckily I was already prepared to file. Spent hours on hold to court phones, paid the fee, followed court instructions that basically sent it to the wrong address. They specifically told me not to tick any boxes, I wanted to tick "without a hearing" because I am abroad, but they told me not to.
By the end of the day, they told me it had been transferred to a court in Croydon for a hearing. I urgently amended the N244 after another hour on the helpline and resubmitted. Tomorrow I will know if they have processed it.
In the meantime, the plot thickens. It seems the delay was for them to basically fabricate an invoice, dated February, with the plc parent company when I have never had any contract with them. They included an address they knew I wasn't at and I'd already explained earlier in the week that the address doesn't exist.
In my witness statement, I've already set out that the behaviour is disproportionate, that they were pretending to cooperate and that I've tried my best to get consent, that it seems to be a parent company masquerading as a ltd company and the parties can't be on equal footing.
I've gone over and over the rules and really feel that they should have done due diligence. E.g. they are turning up somewhere they know I could not be, they know I never received the documentation. It bizarrely seems like some sort of vendetta I've never seen before.
My question is really for any general comments on the above, but also - surely this is abuse of process within the rules? The particulars are really vague, they've just created an invoice without my consent when they know the company is dormant, they are a plc using multiple companies and I'm a dormant microentity that hasn't even traded for a couple of years. All of it is publicly available.
I intend to defend because there is no contract. But I would also happily probably settle if they were at least being reasonable. I'm honestly not sure I owe it, but the whole process seems like a runaway train and they obviously know what they are doing.
I've submitted complaints to each of the companies about the behaviour, the invoices and the pandemic.
Is it possible to make a strike out application on top of what I've submitted? Would it switch from being just 14 to 255 now, or do I still have time to do it?
Is it via an n244 and if so, is it recommended I do it? I feel I'm being harassed and bullied. They know I've had no fair chance to even respond and have acted as quickly as I could.
Anyone with any ideas? End of my tether now.
Thanks so much if anyone is generous enough to give me any kind of info about this.
I used to do contract work via my ltd company, but stopped trading and put the company dormant. It's been that way for a couple of years while I try to finish my PhD.
Last Monday, I received a strange email from my registered office provider stating that they were cancelling my account due to a "complaint" regarding a visit from named "High Court Enforcement". I immediately replied and got no response. I googled the name of the company and found a nationwide company of solicitors and debt collectors. Emailed, no response, so I phoned and got through to someone. Gave the company name and they said they were just enforcement, they couldn't discuss it and gave me the details of a reference number. I immediately phoned and the receptionist told me the name of the person dealing with it and put me through, but it went to voicemail. I sent several emails to their info address and tried three times that day. By the way, I'm out of the country and on a time difference. Same thing the next day. So I asked the receptionist to put me through to the person running the email address. Also voicemail. However he replied to my email and copied in the other person that wasn't answering.
Eventually the guy replied saying a ccj had been issued in September. They had sent the documentation to the registered office. However I found it strange, because in support he attached an email - so they had my email address the whole time (?!).
Because the company is dormant and the provider only processes statutory mail and sends any "business" letters back to sender, I've now confirmed the letters would (likely) have been returned to sender (I can only see something was returned, I can't see what it is).
Anyway, this email chain purported to be about 750 - however in the meantime the first company had mentioned a large plc I had absolutely no recollection of dealing with. Checked my files, nothing. Emailed them asking what they had to do with anything and what was going on. By the way, this plc is the parent company of the claimant.
By this point it was Wednesday and I'd spent time trying to get legal advice (impossible - too expensive), however none told me anything different to my research, which suggested I needed to do an n244 and set aside.
In the meantime I found out it's some sort of business court in Northampton and they basically allow people to file claims with no info; and big companies get reduced fees to bulk file claims. I phoned the court and they said it's a company so I have to pay the 255 to file it. The next day I phoned back and they said actually, because there was a writ, it would only be 14 pounds to file and I needed to ask to stay the writ and set aside.
In the meantime, I asked the claimant would they consent in light of the circumstances. He suggested it would likely be resolved and he was waiting to hear back from the client.
At this point I still thought the fee was 255 and that consent would do it for 100.
On Thursday they told me I would hear back from them on Friday. They never replied.
I began working on the n244 anyway, wrote a massive witness statement explaining every detail of events, that I acted quickly, that I don't even have any assets except for a laptop with a broken screen, that the pandemic would surely negate this type of attempt to visit or write to offices and that they appeared to have an email address for me the whole time.
When Monday arrived, the dreaded email arrived. In fact the claimant was saying no, they would not cooperate and tough luck. Luckily I was already prepared to file. Spent hours on hold to court phones, paid the fee, followed court instructions that basically sent it to the wrong address. They specifically told me not to tick any boxes, I wanted to tick "without a hearing" because I am abroad, but they told me not to.
By the end of the day, they told me it had been transferred to a court in Croydon for a hearing. I urgently amended the N244 after another hour on the helpline and resubmitted. Tomorrow I will know if they have processed it.
In the meantime, the plot thickens. It seems the delay was for them to basically fabricate an invoice, dated February, with the plc parent company when I have never had any contract with them. They included an address they knew I wasn't at and I'd already explained earlier in the week that the address doesn't exist.
In my witness statement, I've already set out that the behaviour is disproportionate, that they were pretending to cooperate and that I've tried my best to get consent, that it seems to be a parent company masquerading as a ltd company and the parties can't be on equal footing.
I've gone over and over the rules and really feel that they should have done due diligence. E.g. they are turning up somewhere they know I could not be, they know I never received the documentation. It bizarrely seems like some sort of vendetta I've never seen before.
My question is really for any general comments on the above, but also - surely this is abuse of process within the rules? The particulars are really vague, they've just created an invoice without my consent when they know the company is dormant, they are a plc using multiple companies and I'm a dormant microentity that hasn't even traded for a couple of years. All of it is publicly available.
I intend to defend because there is no contract. But I would also happily probably settle if they were at least being reasonable. I'm honestly not sure I owe it, but the whole process seems like a runaway train and they obviously know what they are doing.
I've submitted complaints to each of the companies about the behaviour, the invoices and the pandemic.
Is it possible to make a strike out application on top of what I've submitted? Would it switch from being just 14 to 255 now, or do I still have time to do it?
Is it via an n244 and if so, is it recommended I do it? I feel I'm being harassed and bullied. They know I've had no fair chance to even respond and have acted as quickly as I could.
Anyone with any ideas? End of my tether now.
Thanks so much if anyone is generous enough to give me any kind of info about this.
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