Moriaty Law issued judgement

[Choccysar]

Hi there

i received a CCJ from Moriaty relating to MMF and Lending Stream.

Several times I asked for proof of debt to which they inferred I was lying as their system states they posted it twice (several months apart both times when I called them as I’d heard nothing.

Long story short being eventually they emailed loan doc, assignment letter and statement.

despite arguing that I felt the amount was wrong I eventually agreed to pay a slightly discounted amount as they said they’d entered judgement (which was a lie they had not). I agreed on 6th April to have it paid by 13th April (their terms if I wanted to prevent a CCJ). I paid £175 on 10th April (about 1am) and the Balance of £140 on 13th April (again at 1am). On 10th April despite having payment agreement in place they issued a CCJ for original £396 (although I had already paid over half the agreed figure of £315). I was told it was done in error and don’t worry as I’d paid within a month it would get taken off.

I sent a formal complaint in which they have upheld and apologised but is there anything I can do to report them as they bullied, lied (on several conversations) and falsely entered a CCJ. They said if not happy go to financial Ombudsman Service (which I have) but it Turns out they cannot investigate them as they are a law firm. Surely they must be answerable to someone to regulate them?

Financial Ombudsman has written to Lantern (Mmf) on my behalf but they probably aren’t even aware of what has gone on and it sucks the way Moriarty Law has treated me and probably others

If anyone can help or suggest who I can report them to it would be very much appreciated

Thank you

[Amethyst]

The CCJ hasn't been entered on your credit file or the register as you paid it within 28 days of the judgment ? Have they/you informed the court of the payment having been made in full settlement of the judgment ?

Did you acknowledge the claim / enter any defence at all ? Was this a default judgment they entered ?

It takes a few days from entering for a default judgment to it being awarded so they might have sent off the N255 ( the request for judgment in default ) form on the 5th/6th and the judgment issued on the 10th.

The claimant ( and creditor ) was MMF (Lantern) so it is they you would complain about to the FOS, although I'm not sure what that would be for. For any complaint about Moriarty Law it would be the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA.

[Choccysar]

Thank you for replying. It was entered on my credit file as this was how I found out they’d done it. When I called the court they said it had been applied for on 10th April.

Unfortunately when I received the initial court form and contacted Moriaty as I had no idea who they or MMF where at that time (no prior communication of any form from any of them) I was told by ML not to file defence as they would get me all the info and it would all be sorted and I naively believed them. I chased the info twice after that as still not received.

They say they’ve now told the courts but I don’t know how to check until my next credit report comes out (in a few days now).

I have never heard from Lantern or MMF so not sure how I can claim to them. ML in their final response advised me that if I was still unhappy then my next stage was Financial Ombudsman which I did (why would they tell me to do that if they know FO can’t do anything).

I do want to report ML to someone for the whole way they’ve gone about everything and their refusal to give some info they stated they had (full clearance from FCS to chase my debt as it was a good debt) and the lies they told to make me pay to avoid a CCJ which they issued anyway after setting a payment plan up to prevent it.

sorry not sure above makes sense but your help is much appreciated.

thank you

[Amethyst]

First check with the court about the judgment - it will have been at Northampton - and if Moriarty have informed the courts the judgment was paid in full before 28 days they should have a record of it.

It is a pain in the bum to call Northampton, they take hours to answer and then it depends who you get whether they are actually helpful... County Court Business Centre (CCBC):0300 123 1056

Otherwise you can check on Trust Online ( register of judgments ) - I think it does take up to a month for it to be actually removed from the register once its on.

Keep a record of any affect having this CCJ has on you..... eg any job issues, application being refused, having to delay applications for finance etc. ( only genuine stuff, don't say you were going to get a new mortgage this month if you weren't lol ) It might be helpful when making a complaint.

Completely with you on making a complaint about Moriarty. 1) They encouraged you not to defend the claim 2)possibly pushed for settlement at an unaffordable rate holding the CCJ thread over you 3) they lied about not entering for a default judgment 4) they told you to complain about Moriarty to FOS - who isn't the legal regulator in any case. This is the problem with law firms working virtually within Debt firms, they forget who they are meant to be.

Do you have anything in writing at all, or did you only deal with them on the phone ? any emails etc ?

Moriarty have two offices and only 1 solicitor, who is the Director of Moriarty. However they are SRA regulated so a complaint can be made there, the LEO, the FCA and FOS( as they are acting on behalf and on instruction from Lantern/MMF ) - as you're not a client of the law firm it's actually quite hard to make a complaint against them.

Have you checked the loan document btw? Does it make sense, particularly the part where it tells you the amount to pay ?

[Choccysar]

Thank you so much. I have it all pretty much in writing as I filed complaint by email which they responded to and upheld my complaint (twice!) they offered me £50 ex gratia payment to go away I think but I’ve not responded to that yet as it’s not about the money but principal of their actions. I have the emails and also screen shot of the ccj on my credit file.

is it easy to complain to the places you listed? FOS have written to Lantern on my behalf but don’t think that will have any impact.

i haven’t really looked at loan stuff as I knew I probably owed something but didn’t agree with the amount but was too late to do anything because they took so long to provide the information and I stupidly didn’t file a defence originally.

[Choccysar]

Hi Amethyst

quick update (plus another question sorry!) FOS contacted me yesterday and said Lantern had confirmed Moriarty were acting on their behalf so they can now look into the matter on my behalf (which is good news I think?!)

Should I still report ML to legal ombudsman or SRA or leave with it as FOS looking into? Sorry for all the questions I’ve not done this before so bit unsure. If I should complain to LO or SRA do you have any templates on what I can write so it doesn’t look like waffle?

thank you again

[GBExile]

Hi Amethyst

quick update (plus another question sorry!) FOS contacted me yesterday and said Lantern had confirmed Moriarty were acting on their behalf so they can now look into the matter on my behalf (which is good news I think?!)

Should I still report ML to legal ombudsman or SRA or leave with it as FOS looking into? Sorry for all the questions I’ve not done this before so bit unsure. If I should complain to LO or SRA do you have any templates on what I can write so it doesn’t look like waffle?

thank you again

You need to carry on with whatever the court says. You should also carry on with your claim with the FOS.

this might help

""A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer's claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer's claim is not valid." 7.5.3

"A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds." 7.14.1

"Where a customer disputes a debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds, the firm must investigate the dispute and provide details of the debt to the customer in a timely manner." 7.14.3"

x

"a firm must suspend any steps" ........GOLDEN QUOTE .....

That quote saved my partner £1200 in court

Oh If you dont know already MMF (aka lantern) have had a right full on warning & redress from the FCA. for not playing the game properly

[GBExile]

............

[Choccysar]

Thank you. The FOS are tackling Lantern as they confirmed they asked ML to chase the debt. Fortunately the CCJ has now been removed (because I paid basically, the majority of which was before they issued it).

i would still like ML to be held accountable but FOS can’t as they are solicitors. Should I leave with FOS dealing with Lantern or should I also complain to legal ombudsman re ML as I have their final response upholding my complaint?

sorry for all the questions!

thank you