Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

[skint80]

Hi all. I'm new to this site and would appreciate some advice.

I took out a Lloyds loan years ago and was unable to pay it back. (Huband left me with the kids and all our debts - like an idiot I had everything in my name.) The current total is £8k.
I went through the DMP route while we were still together but it collapsed when he left and I lost my dad at the same time. Everything went quiet with the debt, think they'd given up at that point.
Started receiving letters in the summer as it had been sold on to MFS Portfolio; obviously I should have dealt with it at the time but ignored.
I received a letter from Restons Solicitors in November stating I had two weeks to pay or set up an arrangement or they'd take me to court but letter was late and date had passed!
I went on to their website and set up an online account. My balance had increased by £500. I paid £20 to show willing then wrote to them asking why the letter was so late, what the extra £500 was and asking them not start court proceedings. I offered to make an arangement once these questions were answered.
They've never answered the letter and I received a CCJ claim form from Northampton court. I've rang Restons but can't get through and they've never replied to my letter or answer machine messages.
With it being Christmas I acknowledged service and tried to forget it for a few days. However I have to file papers by tomorrow and despite researching everywhere on the internet I don't know what to do!
Can I defend on the basis I couldn't respond to Restons in time and they've ignored me?
Also the amount is wrong (only by £20 out of £8k though!) because I made a payment.
If I do defend should I still submit the I & E form?
Or would it be better to just admit the debt and ask for an arrangement now? I do owe it but am worried about getting a ccj as at some point I need to get my ex off the mortgage and hopefully want to work in finance in the future and ccj could affect this I'm told.
Mainly I'm I'm scared of getting stuck with a huge repayment or them going for bailiff powers following a judgement, I don't want people coming to the house as it would worry the kids.

Sorry for the lengthy post; any help appreciated!

[Stu]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

As hard as it is try not to panic, Nem will be here very shortly to give you the best information and help. I see it as with you paying the £20 this is you acknowledging the debt and started the 6 year period again, and now with them issues proceeding it might be worth you sending a letter to the sols with intetion of setting up a payment plan (Tomlin order) if they will consider ending the action against you, but the best guy to help as said is Nemesis. Good luck

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Thanks. I've wondered since if paying the £20 was a mistake.
I was trying to prevent it going this far but think I've essentially admitted the debt is mine and don't know if this will negate a defence. Also thinking about it when I wrote to them after that payment I didn't challenge the debt, just the extra costs added and the fact that the letter was received 19 days after it was dated!
With the deadline being tomorrow I just want to make the right decision at this stage so I can work out what to do for the best. Unsure if I can defend on the basis that they haven't followed the process correctly.
Do I need to tag Nemesis in? (Read something about it on another thread.)

Thanks for the support x

[nemesis45]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Hi all. I'm new to this site and would appreciate some advice.

I took out a Lloyds loan years ago and was unable to pay it back. (Huband left me with the kids and all our debts - like an idiot I had everything in my name.) The current total is £8k.
I went through the DMP route while we were still together but it collapsed when he left and I lost my dad at the same time. Everything went quiet with the debt, think they'd given up at that point.
Started receiving letters in the summer as it had been sold on to MFS Portfolio; obviously I should have dealt with it at the time but ignored.
I received a letter from Restons Solicitors in November stating I had two weeks to pay or set up an arrangement or they'd take me to court but letter was late and date had passed!
I went on to their website and set up an online account. My balance had increased by £500. I paid £20 to show willing then wrote to them asking why the letter was so late, what the extra £500 was and asking them not start court proceedings. I offered to make an arangement once these questions were answered.
They've never answered the letter and I received a CCJ claim form from Northampton court. I've rang Restons but can't get through and they've never replied to my letter or answer machine messages.
With it being Christmas I acknowledged service and tried to forget it for a few days. However I have to file papers by tomorrow and despite researching everywhere on the internet I don't know what to do!
Can I defend on the basis I couldn't respond to Restons in time and they've ignored me?
Also the amount is wrong (only by £20 out of £8k though!) because I made a payment.
If I do defend should I still submit the I & E form?
Or would it be better to just admit the debt and ask for an arrangement now? I do owe it but am worried about getting a ccj as at some point I need to get my ex off the mortgage and hopefully want to work in finance in the future and ccj could affect this I'm told.
Mainly I'm I'm scared of getting stuck with a huge repayment or them going for bailiff powers following a judgement, I don't want people coming to the house as it would worry the kids.

Sorry for the lengthy post; any help appreciated!

Good afternoon, welcome to LB,

I presume you mean you have to file a defence?

It is a great pity you paid that £20, which is an admission of liability
for the debt.

When did payments cease on the account? ( prior to Cabot's involvement)
When exactly was the account opened?
How much is being claimed?
At this short notice it's going to be extremely difficult to get any background
on this debt such as checking the validity of the agreement etc.

You could try telephoning Restons in the morning asking for an extension
of 14 DAYS to enable you to file a defence, giving the reason that you don't
yet have the documents to be able to defend the claim.
No guarantee that they will agree but worth a try.

Some options:
1. Entering a " holding " defence e.g. You don't have any documents on which
to rely court.
Stating that you wrote Restons on a specific date and asked for information
about the amount claimed and made an offer of payment and no response was
received.

2. Admit the debt and make an offer of payment which will I suspect be rejected if it 's
£20 pcm or less. Suggesting that the payments are secured by a Consent ( Tomlin) Order
which will stop a judgement being given, the court will stay the claim as long as payments
are maintained, if the agreement fails then Cabot will apply for summary judgement.
What disposable income does you I &E statement show. Any offer must be Reasonable,
Affordable and Sustainable over a long period.

You need to do this Now! What ever happens.
Then request a copy of the agreement from Cabot asap Via a request made under CCA 1974 sect.77/78 pay the £1
statutory fee ( use a Postal Order endorsed " For Statutory Fee Only and made payable to the claimant as named on the
claim form. Use the template from the forum library and send as early as possible tomorrow morning.

Try 1. First thing tomorrow, if unsuccessful then the holding defence can be filed.
You can buy a little time this way giving time to see if Cabot can provide the agreement if it
fails to comply within the 14 working days timescale the debt cannot be enforced in court.
Please Clarify when exactly the acknowledgment of service was sent?

It is of course your choice as to what you want to do.

I may not be around all day, but you can tag [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] or [MENTION=49370]Kati[/MENTION] or [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] for help.

nem

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Hi, thanks for getting back to me.
I feel like an idiot for paying the £20. I opened the letter and panicked and wanted to stop the court action.

I did the AOS online and it was received 21/12 so I'll have to enter a defence tomorrow. I'll try Restons first thing but they always seem to be busy. No option to hold; their phone system goes to answering machine and they don't reply to messages.

I think the last payment was around 2 1/2 years ago; not full payments just a reduction that was agreed wioth Lloyds. I haven't paid anything to Cabot or MFS Portfolio.
They're claiming £8028.44 debt plus £410 court fee and £100 legal rep's costs. Total £8538.44
The account was opened about 2009. Originally for £3k but was offered and took an increase about 2010/11.

I think I'll try Restons first; if they do agree how do I let the court know about this?
If they don't or I can't get through I'll enter a holding defence. Is there a template for this or should I just explain in my own words?

If they don't provide the credit agreement in 14 days can it not be enforced then? Or does the fact that I made a payment negate this?
Also if they have 14 working days but I only have 14 calendar days what do I do about the gap. I.e. what do I tell the court after 14 days if I haven't received anything.

I haven't done the I&E yet but things are tight. My tax credits will be dropping in April as well. What would be seen as generally acceptable to offer on a debt of this size? In the letter from Restons they've said they'll ask for £50 a month which doesn't seem unreasonable but will be hard to find. Are they committed to this or could they increase the request at court?

Obviously my main issues are having enough money for the kids and protecting the house.

Thanks for your help with this. [MENTION=55034]nemesis45[/MENTION] [MENTION=49370]Kati[/MENTION] [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION]

[nemesis45]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

If Restons do agree to the extension e-mail the court and tell them, or phone and
follow up in writing.
At a guess and knowing Cabot/Restons on an £8K balance at least £50 -100 per month
may be more would be par for the course.
You may have admitted liability but if the claim should go to trial defended then
unless Cabot has the agreement the court cannot enforce the debt.
If Cabot thinks there's a chance to get more paid monthly they will try.
At trial a judge would look carefully at your ability to pay as this is a large
debt.

nem

[Debt Camel]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

I feel like an idiot for paying the £20.

Well in this case it hasn't made much difference anyway as your previous payment was only 2 1/2 years ago so the debt was nowhere near being statute barred, so don't kick yourself for this.

I do owe it but am worried about getting a ccj as at some point I need to get my ex off the mortgage and hopefully want to work in finance in the future and ccj could affect this I'm told.

If you are a single parent in receipt of tax credits with outstanding debts (and they all count, even if you aren't paying anything to them and they don't show on your credit file) you have about zero chance of being able to remortgage to get your ex off. You aren't going to pass the "mortgage affordability criteria" regardless of what is on your credit file so the CCJ will make no practical difference to your chance of getting a mortgage.

You do need to do an I&E. And if you have other debts as well you need to consider what to do about those. Otherwise you make an arrangment to pay £x for this debt but what will you do when the next set of court papers arrives?

If you haven't tried to reclaim PPI, I strongly suggest doing this as a matter of urgency. Even if you think you never had any or you think that it wasn't mis-sold because you wanted it... Put in a claim to every bank / finance company you have ever had a loan, mortgage or credit card from and don't use a claims company - see http://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-out-of-debt/. If you get any money back, you can then use that to try to make full & final settlement offers on your other debts, before they to court stage.

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Thanks for all the advice.I'll get on to this first thing and post my progress.I do have other debts but this is the only big one. I have an old credit card at £1400 but they've been in touch recently and suggested £10 per month which I'm going to agree to. Everything else only £200-£700 so I'm going to be pro-active and offer small payments to all of them.No PPI; have already checked.In terms of house may have to look at ex signing over his share while remaining on mortgage but suspect this will start a legal battle and can only take one at a time!Should I submit I&E with the holding defence, thought it would be better to hold off for now?If Restons provide the credit agreement can I drop the defence and admit the debt at that point?Also trial sounds terrifying; would I go in person or would a judge just look at paperwork?Thanks.

[nemesis45]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Well in this case it hasn't made much difference anyway as your previous payment was only 2 1/2 years ago so the debt was nowhere near being statute barred, so don't kick yourself for this.


If you are a single parent in receipt of tax credits with outstanding debts (and they all count, even if you aren't paying anything to them and they don't show on your credit file) you have about zero chance of being able to remortgage to get your ex off. You aren't going to pass the "mortgage affordability criteria" regardless of what is on your credit file so the CCJ will make no practical difference to your chance of getting a mortgage.

You do need to do an I&E. And if you have other debts as well you need to consider what to do about those. Otherwise you make an arrangment to pay £x for this debt but what will you do when the next set of court papers arrives?

If you haven't tried to reclaim PPI, I strongly suggest doing this as a matter of urgency. Even if you think you never had any or you think that it wasn't mis-sold because you wanted it... Put in a claim to every bank / finance company you have ever had a loan, mortgage or credit card from and don't use a claims company - see http://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-out-of-debt/. If you get any money back, you can then use that to try to make full & final settlement offers on your other debts, before they to court stage.

This is about a CC Claim that has to have a defence filed tomorrow and /or getting an extension PPI is not of great importance avoiding summary judgement is!

nemesis

[Debt Camel]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

This is about a CC Claim that has to have a defence filed tomorrow and /or getting an extension PPI is not of great importance avoiding summary judgement is!
nemesis

Indeed - I did say the OP needed to do an I&E.

My concern was the other debts to prevent them getting to this point. But now the OP says they are all small and there isn't any PPI so it's not an option.

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Just to confirm, should I be doing the I&E for tomorrow? Given I'm trying for an extension or going for a holding defence shouldn't I hold off on this? Thanks.

[nemesis45]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

No be prepared!!

nem

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Sorry but that's thrown me; no don't send it or no don't hold off?Should I send the I&E tomorrow?

[Amethyst]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

I'd concentrate on getting your defence in for the moment, don't put your IE in with it no, that's for admissions.

You can negotiate with the creditor later but the aim is to avoid a new CCJ being added to your credit file. If you get a defence in it will give you a bit of breathing space ( at least 28 days ) to sort out your IE and work out your pro rata offers on debts ( if that is the way you are going) and you can then, if appropriate get in touch with the claimants with an out of court offer on the basis that they don't file the CCJ against you - and if they haven't come up with the agreements by that point you are more likely to get a decent deal in place.

I haven't read back your thread other than last couple of posts so not sure where you are with a defence but there is a bit of a guidance here http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...t-Court-Claims and of course we're happy to help you with it xxx

[skint80]

Re: Help please, Urgent! CCJ defence MFS Portfolio/Restons.

Thanks that's helpful; I'm worried about making a mistake in the details. I've been advised to go for a holding defence of 14 days and see if they can produce the credit agreement. I'm sure they did the original loan sale over the phone so fingers crossed it wasn't documented amazingly! Unfortunately I've slipped up in making a payment but going to to ring Restons tomorrow and go from there. Thanks everyone for this! I couldn't get through to the CAB and StepChange knew less than I did! This has been a massive help xxxx