lowell portfolio and CCJ

[Sarahsgrove]

hi, i am new here so i apologise if this is in the wrong place.
back in november i received a court letter about a debt that lowell has acquired from shop direct which i filled in stating that i would be defending the action. the court date was the 11th january 2019 but I couldn't attend due to ill health but I received a letter dated 15th january from the court saying "upon there being no appearance by either the claimant or defendant it is ordered that the claim is dismissed"
I thought that was the end of the claim but i received another letter from the court yesterday dated 15th february saying that they have made a judgement for the claimant for me to pay the debt. I contacted the court and they couldn't give me an explanation why a claim that had be previously dismissed suddenly was reinstated.
Also i don't know if this makes a difference but i noticed today that my address is incorrect on a these court letters.It has my building number on the address but not the flat number.
any help with this would be really appreciated as i am at loss on how this has happened and what to do next.

[Amethyst]

Hi Sarah,

It sounds like Lowell may have applied to the court to vary/set aside the dismissal order. You should have received a copy of the application. Do you have a copy of the judgment order you could post up / email ( admin@legalbeagles.info ) please. It should say something on there.

What was your defence ?

Had you exchanged witness statements and evidence before the hearing date ?

[Sarahsgrove]

Hi amethyst,
Sorr for the late reply.
I didn't receive a copy of the application only the two letters that I mentioned earlier. I couldn't upload them to the website so I have emailed them to you at the email address in your reply.
My defense was that I hadn't received any goods from the catalogue and I never signed a credit agreement with shop direct.
I asked for mediation but lowell refused it.
I hope this is ok.

[Amethyst]

Got them thank you.

Judgment is spelt wrong 'judgement' which is simply irritating. Additional costs being awarded is also irritating. And that an Agent for the Claimant was heard means there was a hearing of which you had no notice of, nor any notice of any application to set aside the dismissal - also very irritating.

Ring the court again, and ask them to send you the full claim history and check if there was a hearing on the 15th February, any application made by the other side etc. Explain that your address is incorrect on the letters you have received so ask if there have been other letters besides these two judgment orders that may have gone astray.

If they won't assist then you will have to ask Lowell for the information. You need to know what's happened to be able to take any action to rectify.

Attached the two orders.... just over a month apart.

[Sarahsgrove]

Thanks for your reply.
I've been trying to contact the court but I've been unable to get through at the moment so I'll try again on Monday and let you know what they say.

I can't afford to pay all this in one go as I'm on esa. there was no information about setting up payments or even what happens next. I'm really worried that the bailiffs are going to start knocking on my door.

[Amethyst]

No bailiffs.... for there to be bailiffs Lowell would have to apply for a warrant through the court first and they couldn't apply for that until at least 1st MArch.

Why not try ringing Lowell Solicitors about the situation and tell them you have received nothing between the dismissal order and this new order and ask if they can send you copies of the documents ( or at least tell you what they've done to overturn the dismissal order so you can take action to rectify )

You may need to apply to set aside as it does appear there was a hearing without you being informed.

[pt2537]

Serious breach of the principles of natural justice to have a hearing without telling you and without any notice the claim had been reinstated.