Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Hi Warwick65, Sorry to bother you again. I posted the cca and cpr request today. I also received a letter from Mortimer Clarke with a Tomlin Order.

This is part of the letter they want me to sign if I agree.
Schedule 1
1. The claimant will accept £657.77 (the agreed sum) in settlement of it's claim against the defendant inclusive of interest and costs.
2. The defendant will repay £0.00 with effect from 7 days after the sealing of this order, such payments to be made by the 1st day of each month.
3. In the event of the defendant failing to pay the monthly instalments as stated in paragraph 2 above the claimant will be entitled to apply to the court for judgement to be entered against the defendant for the outstanding balance of the agreed sum plus application fees if applicable.
4. Each party bears its own costs save for paragraph 3 above.

I'm confused because the monthly payment is nothing. What should I do?

Thank you.

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Hang on

First question
Para 2 says £0 per month is that actually what it says?

Second question, Are they really offering a 50% discount? ( half of what they originally said)

Third question

have they set a deadline for you to accept?


personally for now i would not touch it with a bargepole - certainly not until we get some more advice
It seems to me that they were expecting you to roll over and pay and now they are thinking- hang on a minute

Obviously it is not my money but if it were me I would not be signing anything, at least until they comply with your CCA request and CPR31.14 requests

Does the letter say anything such as 'Without Prejudice'
[MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] [MENTION=551]pt2537[/MENTION] [MENTION=7765]Joanna C[/MENTION]

What are your thoughts

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

The letter that came with the order says without prejudice save as to costs.
It does actually say £0.00. I was confused too
The amount of £657.77 is including the court costs. The debt was £527.77.
The deadline is within 14 days. The letter is dated the 5th May.

Thank you.

[Diana M]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

My carer emailed them on the 13th April explaining that she was acting on my behalf and she attached a pdf of my expenditure which was also signed by me. Despite the email with my expenditure they still issued a ccj. My carer phoned Mortimer Clarke to explain that they had received my expenditure in the given time of 14 days but they said my carer couldn't deal with my account until I signed a letter giving my permission for her to do so. They said I should sign and send it back to them and once I've done that they said we can go from there. I assumed that meant they would cancel the ccj. The next day I received the letter so I signed it but I also noticed they still wanted me to complete the ccj form.

Can you just clarify things first.

Who is the Claimant? Mortimer Clarke are solicitors so they don't own this debt. They will have been instructed by the debt purchaser to issue these proceedings.

I see you were sent a Letter of Authority for you to sign to give permission for them to talk to your carer. You signed it.

You also say they asked you to sign the "CCJ form" which would probably have been the bit where you admit part or all of the debt. Did you, or your carer on your behalf, sign that form?

You've now received a draft Tomlin Order (which may be a template). It states a lump sum to be paid within 7 days and "£0" monthly payments thereafter. That would sort of make sense if you had negotiated a F & F (one-off reduced payment).

When you sent them your I & E (signed by you) did it indicate that you had any access to funds to enable you make a lump sum payment or sustain monthly payments or neither?

I'm not totally surprised that you've been sent a Tomlin Order since it appears that you/your carer were entering into settlement negotiations before they issued the claim. This sent out the signal that you were willing to settle not fight.

It's okay to change your mind

Since then you've been made aware of legitimate manoeuvres you can make to protect your legal position which may prevent an instant CCJ (Default Judgment) and give you time to consider your options or bargain hard from a position of strength.

However from what you've said this account was opened in 2015 so that may limit some of your legal arguments in the long run. Without knowing the facts or seeing the paperwork it's hard to say.

All I'll add at this stage is that if you file a Defence then you may have the option to settle the claim using the free telephone Meditation service where the settlement would be legally binding but not a CCJ. Your carer could do this on your behalf if you give permission. It seems that Mortimer Clarke are asking you to pay for the legal cost of filing the Tomlin Order.

There are pros and cons for both (Tomlin Order or Mediation) so give it some thought since you have time on your side as long as you've filed the AOS.

Di

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Hi, The claimant is Cabot Financial. I completed the ccj Acknowledgment of service online. I didn't negotiate a one off reduce payment. I'm on benefits and said I could only afford to make small monthly payments. Sorry what's the I & E? Is that the expenditure? If it is then I made no indication that I could pay a lump sum. I'm not sure what to do now. It's all very stressful

Thank you for your help Diana.

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Hi Dinmack
Di has given you some excellent advice

I was confused as in post 3 last line you said the claimant therefore claims 1.527.77 which now looks like it might be a typo - either that or my eyesight has finally gone west

By the way an I&E is indeed an income and expenditure form

As i said as well, it is not my money but as Di said, you currently have time on your side . From what i can see, the only saving at the moment if you sign the Tomlin would be the court costs but the Tomlin would cost money - so maybe about the same

If you now follow the process and wait for mediation, assuming they have sent all the documents, you could then still settle for a similar amount - and if its £1 , whats the difference between 600 months (50 years) or 700 months (58 years) i don't know how old you are but i for one will be long dead by then.

I am not sure what benefits you are on and i don't want to know but if you are getting say ESA support and PIP they may want a little more- although PIP isn't usually counted as income for means tested things

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Thanks Warwick65, I was worried about the whole process because I thought I might be left having to pay them the full outstanding sum. I'm happy to know I can still make a small monthly payment if it comes to it.
You have been so helpful. I don't know what I would of done without your help. I don't think I'd have any hair left

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

. I don't think I'd have any hair left

Have you seen a picture of me, I don't

[MIKE770]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Heard it was a hair raising effect

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Hi Warwick65, How do I submit my defence?
The only letter I have received is from the solicitor Mortimer Clarke replying to the CPR 31.14 request.
They said "We acknowledge your request for documentation pursuant to cpr 31.14.
cpr 31.14 relates to a right to inspect a document and can be distinguished from standard disclosure of evidence during the course of proceedings.
We believe that you may have already "inspected" the documents to which you make reference because on various dates in the past they would have been sent to you by another party such as the original creditor.
We would be grateful if you could confirm what documents you have in your possession or control relating to this matter to avoid duplication over document inspection. We will then take our client's instructions.
We acknowledge your request for documents pursuant to section 77-79 of the consumer credit act 1974.
For the avoidance of doubt, this firm acts on it's clients instructions. This firm does not hold the documentation you have requested. We have asked our client to provide them and will come back to you as soon as we can.
We note they you previously requested the court proceedings to be stopped. As per our previous letter dated 05/05/2017, a copy of which is enclosed, our client is willing to settle the account without court action and proposes a Tomlin Order.
If payments set out in the Tomlin Order are maintained, a County Court Judgement would not be requested.
If you are uncertain about the suggested proposal, please seek independent legal advice so that you can make an informed decision. If you wish to choose this option, please sign the attached Order and return it to us.

I'm confused about the maintained payments because they didn't mention them in the Tomlin Order. They only mentioned the full amount.
Could you let me know how to submit my defence please because so far I haven't received anything from them? Thank you.

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Did you respond to the letter you have just quoted?
Look at the sample defence above

You are defendung in
No response to your s78(1) request therefore s78(6) applied
No notice of assignment
No default notice.

You can submit online via Mcol or by email. [MENTION=5553]charitynjw[/MENTION] [MENTION=3599]MIKE770[/MENTION]

Not sure of the email address

Work out a defence and post it up for checking.

Please dont think i am the expert im just an amateur like most on here.

A tomlin can be sorted later at mediation if you wish but if they cant productive Docs then....

[charitynjw]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

ccbcaq@hmcts.gsi.gov. to email.

You'll need to send it as an attachment, with the court details, claim no, [XXX Claimant] v {XXX Defendant], Court Claim No. XXXXXXXX etc at the top, & a statement of truth + signature at the bottom.
(See the example defence for.....err, examples.)
Also - [Claimant's name] v [Defendant's name], Court Claim No. XXXXXXXX - in the email subject box.

[dinkmack]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

Thank you Warwick65. I didn't reply to their letter because although at first they said they wanted me to confirm what documents I had, further down the letter they wrote "We have asked our client to provide them and will come back to you as soon as we can. I assumed it was worded poorly. Should I still respond or is it too late?
@charitynjw Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it.

[warwick65]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

I don't see any harm in replying with something along the lines of :
Thank you for your letter dated xxxxxx
The purpose of my letter was to obtain inspection of the documents you hold, the nature of any documents I may or may not hold is irrelevant. I expect you to respond within 7 days . I reserve tthe right to bring to the courts attention any failure to comply

They will no doubt play silly buggers with you

[charitynjw]

Re: Mortimer Clarke CCJ Help Please

I don't see any harm in replying with something along the lines of :
Thank you for your letter dated xxxxxx
The purpose of my letter was to obtain inspection of the documents you hold, the nature of any documents I may or may not hold is irrelevant. I expect you to respond within 7 days . I reserve tthe right to bring to the courts attention any failure to comply

They will no doubt play silly buggers with you

Morning, Warwick

Would 'comply' be better?