Is this charge document legal?

[barclayarua]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes;

To cut a long story short I claimed against a 2nd hand car dealer for a £1000 car which blew up one week after the sale.
I was successful in court but he proved to be evasive and was finally tracked down 2 years later by the High Court Bailiffs. He countersued claiming £14K storage costs for the vehicle but I stood to loose £20K if the case went to trial. I couldn't afford to pay my solicitor any further whilst he received legal aid. In the end I agreed to pay £10K in instalments and the other side have placed a charging order on my property (so much for justice). Is this document legal/enforceable? I've only blacked out the sensitive bits.

Thanks for your help.

Here's the link to the docs:

http://photobucket.com/1469183674982

BA.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

bumped

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Bump. Thx.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

bump

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thread highlighted and bumped for answer, Sorry for the delay in you getting an answer hun, its most unusual <3

P

[ploddertom]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

It may be better if you could explain how this came about. I find it difficult to see if you were awarded a CCJ at first how this has been turned around so that you become the "loser".

[Nikolai]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I have difficulty understanding this too. My concern for you is that you appear to have entered into a consent order in court, agreeing to pay the other party a sum of money by instalments, and part of that agreement was that you provided security for the total amount in the form of a legal charge (or mortgage), which presumably was then registered against your property.
Did you have the benefit of legal advice before this happened?

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Yes. The advice from my solicitor (who I couldn't afford to pay any more) was that I would stand to lose approx £20K if it went to court and even if I won I would have not have been able to recover the monies from the other party. The question really is can this document as it stands be enforced? I'm only a lay person but some aspects just don't look right - for example on the first page its states 'no costs' but later on costs are included? I'm hoping for a slip up from divine intervention.

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Did you give him the car back and claim £1000 back which you paid for the car?

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes;

To cut a long story short I claimed against a 2nd hand car dealer for a £1000 car which blew up one week after the sale.
I was successful in court but he proved to be evasive and was finally tracked down 2 years later by the High Court Bailiffs. He countersued claiming £14K storage costs for the vehicle but I stood to loose £20K if the case went to trial. I couldn't afford to pay my solicitor any further whilst he received legal aid. In the end I agreed to pay £10K in instalments and the other side have placed a charging order on my property (so much for justice). Is this document legal/enforceable? I've only blacked out the sensitive bits.

Thanks for your help.

Here's the link to the docs:

http://photobucket.com/1469183674982

BA.

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

No. In order to stop the case going to court he has the car, £3K costs to solicitor and £6500K in storage costs. My solicitor told me I stood to lose the case and end up paying £20K. What I'd like to know is wether there are enough flaws in the charge so that I can contest it and not pay him (I have not received any money from them in the form of a loan) without them being able to take any further action. Please help as its making my life and families life a misery.

BA.

[IanM]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

If he has had possession of the car and you claimed against him for your money back and won then surely he has no grounds to counter claim for storage costs, i would go to another solicitor, at a free consultation if possible, and argue that he had the car and owed you money as confirmed by your claim against him.

Once you established your claim in court for the money he owed you for the car, the car is no longer your property and not your responsibility to pay for its storage, i wouldn't have thought so myself but i could be wrong!

I would contest the charge and claim for your costs as well!

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

I've not paid the last instalment and the other side is instructing high court enforcement officers on monday to force the sale of my house. How can all this be possible?? My world is caving in. Somebody please help...

[Celestine]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Your solicitors advice was very poor. Everyone risks going to court and losing. Did he advise on likelihood of loss and on what grounds?
I agree with IanM, how could you possibly be liable for storage costs when you had won the case?

I hope we're not missing something crucial here. Can you give a detailed timeline of how this situation came about, especially court dates and results.

I mean effectively, upon your solicitors advice, you've lost anyway because this guy has got a judgment for 10k against you somehow?? Surely it would have been better to have fought this in court and potentially won??

[barclayarua]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thanks. My head is spinning a bit so I'll try to bullet points instead:

• Feb 2010 - car purchased £1000 from Trader via Auto Trader; engine light on trader says thermostat which will cost £50 to fix.
• Thermostat replaced by mobile mechanic on day 3 - car satisfactory
• Day 7 - Engine failure; water all over the road.
• Car recovered to Trader after speaking to him on the phone; Keys signed and handed over.
• Trader insists failure was due to thermostat installation - I disagree
• Contact lost
• April - June I write 5 letters to trader rejecting goods and accepting refund/replacement/repair.
• No responses
• County Court Claim issued and successful Aug 2010
• Trader dissappears but tracked down by Baillifs July 2011
• Feb 2012 court hearing - Judgement overturned and case assigned.
• I seek advice from Solicitor.

[pt2537]

Re: Is this charge document legal?

Thanks. My head is spinning a bit so I'll try to bullet points instead:

• Feb 2010 - car purchased £1000 from Trader via Auto Trader; engine light on trader says thermostat which will cost £50 to fix.
• Thermostat replaced by mobile mechanic on day 3 - car satisfactory
• Day 7 - Engine failure; water all over the road.
• Car recovered to Trader after speaking to him on the phone; Keys signed and handed over.
• Trader insists failure was due to thermostat installation - I disagree
• Contact lost
• April - June I write 5 letters to trader rejecting goods and accepting refund/replacement/repair.
• No responses
• County Court Claim issued and successful Aug 2010
• Trader dissappears but tracked down by Baillifs July 2011
• Feb 2012 court hearing - Judgement overturned and case assigned.
• I seek advice from Solicitor.

The vehicle wasnt purchased on finance at all?

This doesnt sit well with me, it seems that the advice you may have been given may well be poor and may be worth investigating with a view to a possible negligence claim against the lawyer, although i say this without having all the facts on the table so it may well be the advice given was reasonable in the circumstances, i do not know.

It may have been useful to have had an AA inspection report, or a report from A Another to support your view that it wasnt the thermo that caused the engine failure.