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Hi all,
Bit of a long-winded one here so to give a brief timeline and overview:
Sept 2016 - following a work related query, my wife discovers she has a CCJ awared sometime in late 2014. She knows nothing about this and the only info we have is the claim number from her credit file.
+ 7days - submit form to County Court applying to have it set-aside as we know nothing about it.
Between then and Feb 2017 - turns out this is Cabot and their solicitors Restons. Debt is related to a credit card taken out in 2002 and defaulted in 2003. Cabot bought it sometime in either 2003 or 2004. They claim to have received payments in 2009. They took my wife to court in her maiden name but at our previous address a few months after we moved in 2014. We had mail forwarding but it's based on surname so was never forwarded. Court awarded in claimaints favour and eventually went to CCJ.
Feb 2017 - Court ruled in our favour and CCJ was set-aside on the basis that the time for them to start court proceedings in 2014 made it too likely we'd have moved etc. Claim is still live and court directs my wife to file a defence within 14 days.
Defence is filed on the basis that she simply doesn't know anything about it (this is the truth!) and no paperwork had been provided to date (and indeed they refused) but see below. The first credit card she ever had was after she married me (well after 2003!). My wife has a completely spotless credit file (as do I) now this CCJ is removed.
We've requested documentation from Restons including the original credit agreement and details of the payments they said they've received including the bank accounts it came from. The only information we have on payments is a print out from their own systems which shows an opening balance, some fees added on, interest added on and then a small number of payments received in 2009. We've asked for a proper breakdown of the fees, the mysterious opening balance etc to see if that will shed any light.
We've just received, in response to her defence and allocation questionnaire, a reconstituted credit agreement (which has her correct address on it from 2002) and a handful of letters from 2014 to our old address after we moved. The reconstituted credit agreement contains details of how to pay and APR but for the credit limit it just says "you'll be advised separetely" and that she can refuse any increases. She has never had any banking relationship with the bank listed on the credit agreement. They've also offered us to make a settlement offer if we wish.
Presumably if we don't we are off to court. They have a few letters from 2014 trying to contact her in her maiden name, the recon'd credit agreement as detailed above and a printout from their systems showing they received payments in 2009. No communication from 2002 to 2014 has been provided at all (except the recon'd agreement obviously). We've still not seen the actual original claim form from when they first filed their claim!
She has no knowledge of the credit agreement and obviously she didn't make any payments in 2009. We obviously no longer have any bank statements from 2009 and she no longer has her current account with the same bank anyway (she changed banks in roughly 2012). But apart from that we find ourselves in a situation of trying to prove a negative against a recon'd credit agreement. All we can do is come across as credible (we're both full time employed professionals with good incomes, spotless credit files and I'm also a JP if that'll help with credibility).
The amount of money they are claiming isn't huge but it's enough to be painful for us to pay if we have to. I'm concerned that if we defend on the above basis and if we lose we won't be able to dispute the amount because that mysterious "opening balance" could be a myriad of sky high bank fees and goodness knows what else.
Any advice gratefully received as to how best to proceed!
Bit of a long-winded one here so to give a brief timeline and overview:
Sept 2016 - following a work related query, my wife discovers she has a CCJ awared sometime in late 2014. She knows nothing about this and the only info we have is the claim number from her credit file.
+ 7days - submit form to County Court applying to have it set-aside as we know nothing about it.
Between then and Feb 2017 - turns out this is Cabot and their solicitors Restons. Debt is related to a credit card taken out in 2002 and defaulted in 2003. Cabot bought it sometime in either 2003 or 2004. They claim to have received payments in 2009. They took my wife to court in her maiden name but at our previous address a few months after we moved in 2014. We had mail forwarding but it's based on surname so was never forwarded. Court awarded in claimaints favour and eventually went to CCJ.
Feb 2017 - Court ruled in our favour and CCJ was set-aside on the basis that the time for them to start court proceedings in 2014 made it too likely we'd have moved etc. Claim is still live and court directs my wife to file a defence within 14 days.
Defence is filed on the basis that she simply doesn't know anything about it (this is the truth!) and no paperwork had been provided to date (and indeed they refused) but see below. The first credit card she ever had was after she married me (well after 2003!). My wife has a completely spotless credit file (as do I) now this CCJ is removed.
We've requested documentation from Restons including the original credit agreement and details of the payments they said they've received including the bank accounts it came from. The only information we have on payments is a print out from their own systems which shows an opening balance, some fees added on, interest added on and then a small number of payments received in 2009. We've asked for a proper breakdown of the fees, the mysterious opening balance etc to see if that will shed any light.
We've just received, in response to her defence and allocation questionnaire, a reconstituted credit agreement (which has her correct address on it from 2002) and a handful of letters from 2014 to our old address after we moved. The reconstituted credit agreement contains details of how to pay and APR but for the credit limit it just says "you'll be advised separetely" and that she can refuse any increases. She has never had any banking relationship with the bank listed on the credit agreement. They've also offered us to make a settlement offer if we wish.
Presumably if we don't we are off to court. They have a few letters from 2014 trying to contact her in her maiden name, the recon'd credit agreement as detailed above and a printout from their systems showing they received payments in 2009. No communication from 2002 to 2014 has been provided at all (except the recon'd agreement obviously). We've still not seen the actual original claim form from when they first filed their claim!
She has no knowledge of the credit agreement and obviously she didn't make any payments in 2009. We obviously no longer have any bank statements from 2009 and she no longer has her current account with the same bank anyway (she changed banks in roughly 2012). But apart from that we find ourselves in a situation of trying to prove a negative against a recon'd credit agreement. All we can do is come across as credible (we're both full time employed professionals with good incomes, spotless credit files and I'm also a JP if that'll help with credibility).
The amount of money they are claiming isn't huge but it's enough to be painful for us to pay if we have to. I'm concerned that if we defend on the above basis and if we lose we won't be able to dispute the amount because that mysterious "opening balance" could be a myriad of sky high bank fees and goodness knows what else.
Any advice gratefully received as to how best to proceed!
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