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Hi everyone,
I’m applying to have a CCJ set aside and would really appreciate any insight into what my hearing might be like.
The CCJ was obtained by Overdales in June 2023 (on behalf of Lowell) while I was in a coercive and abusive relationship (left in October 2024). My abuser controlled my post by taking it, hiding it and destroying it and also my emails were monitored so I wasn’t aware of the proceedings. In January I was able to disclose this to both Lowell and Overdales. I’ve provided substantial evidence of this, including a police report, a Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form, and a letter from my abuse trauma counselling confirming my engagement with them.
Lowell initially told me over the phone that they would ask Overdales to submit a consent order to the court to have the CCJ set aside. However, when I contacted Overdales, they said they had received no such request. Given this, I proceeded with my own N244 application.
Despite the evidence I’ve submitted, Overdales is completely ignoring my explanation. Instead, they keep insisting that because payments were made on the account before the CCJ, I must have known about it. I’m not even arguing that I didn’t know about the account, I just didn’t know it had spiralled out of control because it was hidden from me. All payments made were either not me (my abuser making payments as me) or any payments I did make were under coercion which is recognised under the economical abuse section in the domestic abuse act. They’re refusing to engage with the fact that my abuser had full control over my finances and post which really did prevent me from knowing about the claim. It feels like they’re reducing everything to “you made payments, so you must have known,” rather than considering the full context of my situation. It is really shocking to me that they can be so black and white, but I guess that’s my problem.
I have of course written about the abuse in my witness statement and provided all evidence. Will the judge take a broader view, or is Overdales likely to push this “you made payments” argument in court? What should I expect from the hearing?
The idea of a court hearing is really stressful given my history, so I’d like to understand how formal or adversarial it’s likely to be.
Any advice or shared experiences would be massively appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
I’m applying to have a CCJ set aside and would really appreciate any insight into what my hearing might be like.
The CCJ was obtained by Overdales in June 2023 (on behalf of Lowell) while I was in a coercive and abusive relationship (left in October 2024). My abuser controlled my post by taking it, hiding it and destroying it and also my emails were monitored so I wasn’t aware of the proceedings. In January I was able to disclose this to both Lowell and Overdales. I’ve provided substantial evidence of this, including a police report, a Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form, and a letter from my abuse trauma counselling confirming my engagement with them.
Lowell initially told me over the phone that they would ask Overdales to submit a consent order to the court to have the CCJ set aside. However, when I contacted Overdales, they said they had received no such request. Given this, I proceeded with my own N244 application.
Despite the evidence I’ve submitted, Overdales is completely ignoring my explanation. Instead, they keep insisting that because payments were made on the account before the CCJ, I must have known about it. I’m not even arguing that I didn’t know about the account, I just didn’t know it had spiralled out of control because it was hidden from me. All payments made were either not me (my abuser making payments as me) or any payments I did make were under coercion which is recognised under the economical abuse section in the domestic abuse act. They’re refusing to engage with the fact that my abuser had full control over my finances and post which really did prevent me from knowing about the claim. It feels like they’re reducing everything to “you made payments, so you must have known,” rather than considering the full context of my situation. It is really shocking to me that they can be so black and white, but I guess that’s my problem.
I have of course written about the abuse in my witness statement and provided all evidence. Will the judge take a broader view, or is Overdales likely to push this “you made payments” argument in court? What should I expect from the hearing?
The idea of a court hearing is really stressful given my history, so I’d like to understand how formal or adversarial it’s likely to be.
Any advice or shared experiences would be massively appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
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