Tweet
Hi all,
I can see that there are already some very recent conversations on here about setting aside CCJs, but I feel I have a slightly more unique situation here, so would be very grateful for any specific advice.
My story is quite long (apologies) but is needed to provide the full context here.
Basically, I have now for many years been receiving letters from various companies requesting me to pay debts that were never mine. They always have the correct name and obviously my address, but I am completely unaware of them. Whenever I call the companies in question, it becomes apparent, after much discussion, that I am not the person they are looking for (previous addresses do not match, email addresses and other details don’t match). I’m unsure if this is a genuine mistake, or if I have been a victim of identity fraud.
Anyway, I eventually began to ignore these letters. I realise this wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I got tired of arguing my case, and none of these ever affected me in any way (either my credit score or my bank balance). They usually stopped pestering me after a while, so I was starting to think it may be some sort of scam to get info from me. This was until last year, when one company entered a CCJ against me. As I had been largely ignoring their letters, I hadn’t realised I had been issued a CCJ until way beyond the deadline to reply. It was sent to my correct address; I just hadn’t realised what it was at the time.
With the CCJ against my name, my credit score finally was now impacted, in a big way. In addition, it seemed a past address for whomever does own this debt has now somehow been linked to my file, meaning accounts this person is currently opening (and failing to pay) are now also showing on my file.
I obviously contacted the creditor in question to dispute this and see what could be done. At first, it once again seemed apparent that I was the wrong person. They never admitted this fully, but it was clear my full details did not match. Subsequently, they refused to further discuss the account with me, as it was no longer mine. I felt this was a good sign, but they also did nothing to reverse the damage they had already done. After weeks of trying to find a way around this, I eventually wrote them an email summarising everything, Surprisingly, they replied this time but were now insistent that the debt was mine again, and that they would continue to pursue this money from me. They also refuse to remove the wrong address from my credit file, meaning further negative associations are still being added as we speak. They told me I need to provide evidence to prove the debt was not mine, but I am unsure how I can prove a negative? I would have thought the burden lay on their side to prove the debt was mine, but I am not sure this is the case now that the CCJ has been issued.
I’m really struggling to figure out my next move here. I have sought advice from multiple places, but I feel like I am going around in circles. I also don’t want to contact the creditor again until I have received some advice. I might be paranoid, but I can’t help feeling that they’re trying to extract real details from me that would leave me unable to dispute the debt. As far as I can see, my options are:
Option 1: Try to convince the creditor the debt is not mine, and that I never lived at the associated address (no sure how to do this). If they would acknowledge this, hopefully they could somehow revoke the CCJ from their side?
Option 2: Apply and pay for the CCJ to be set aside. If successful, I understand this would temporarily cancel the CCJ and lead me back to negotiating directly with the creditor, essentially taking me back to option 1 anyway
*
Could anyone advise me on what to do here. I guess my 3 most pressing questions would be:
*
I can see that there are already some very recent conversations on here about setting aside CCJs, but I feel I have a slightly more unique situation here, so would be very grateful for any specific advice.
My story is quite long (apologies) but is needed to provide the full context here.
Basically, I have now for many years been receiving letters from various companies requesting me to pay debts that were never mine. They always have the correct name and obviously my address, but I am completely unaware of them. Whenever I call the companies in question, it becomes apparent, after much discussion, that I am not the person they are looking for (previous addresses do not match, email addresses and other details don’t match). I’m unsure if this is a genuine mistake, or if I have been a victim of identity fraud.
Anyway, I eventually began to ignore these letters. I realise this wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I got tired of arguing my case, and none of these ever affected me in any way (either my credit score or my bank balance). They usually stopped pestering me after a while, so I was starting to think it may be some sort of scam to get info from me. This was until last year, when one company entered a CCJ against me. As I had been largely ignoring their letters, I hadn’t realised I had been issued a CCJ until way beyond the deadline to reply. It was sent to my correct address; I just hadn’t realised what it was at the time.
With the CCJ against my name, my credit score finally was now impacted, in a big way. In addition, it seemed a past address for whomever does own this debt has now somehow been linked to my file, meaning accounts this person is currently opening (and failing to pay) are now also showing on my file.
I obviously contacted the creditor in question to dispute this and see what could be done. At first, it once again seemed apparent that I was the wrong person. They never admitted this fully, but it was clear my full details did not match. Subsequently, they refused to further discuss the account with me, as it was no longer mine. I felt this was a good sign, but they also did nothing to reverse the damage they had already done. After weeks of trying to find a way around this, I eventually wrote them an email summarising everything, Surprisingly, they replied this time but were now insistent that the debt was mine again, and that they would continue to pursue this money from me. They also refuse to remove the wrong address from my credit file, meaning further negative associations are still being added as we speak. They told me I need to provide evidence to prove the debt was not mine, but I am unsure how I can prove a negative? I would have thought the burden lay on their side to prove the debt was mine, but I am not sure this is the case now that the CCJ has been issued.
I’m really struggling to figure out my next move here. I have sought advice from multiple places, but I feel like I am going around in circles. I also don’t want to contact the creditor again until I have received some advice. I might be paranoid, but I can’t help feeling that they’re trying to extract real details from me that would leave me unable to dispute the debt. As far as I can see, my options are:
Option 1: Try to convince the creditor the debt is not mine, and that I never lived at the associated address (no sure how to do this). If they would acknowledge this, hopefully they could somehow revoke the CCJ from their side?
Option 2: Apply and pay for the CCJ to be set aside. If successful, I understand this would temporarily cancel the CCJ and lead me back to negotiating directly with the creditor, essentially taking me back to option 1 anyway
*
Could anyone advise me on what to do here. I guess my 3 most pressing questions would be:
- What is the likelihood of me getting the CCJ set aside?
- How can I prove the debt was never mine?
- If successful, would I be entitled to claim back the costs of setting aside (and legal fees if necessary) from the creditor?
*
Comment