CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

[scottvsaunders]

Hey,

Got a bit of a strange one here - I have today received a green letter from Lowell Solicitors saying that I have not paid the £50 instalment on a CCJ they have obtained on a VERY old Orange mobile phone account. This is the first letter I have ever received about this so naturally, it made me check my credit file where low and behold - a CCJ has been placed under my old address (not lived there in almost 7 years).

This letter says that I have got until the 11th December to make the £50 payment or they will recommend enforcement action.

My issues are as follows.

1) This is the first thing that I have heard about this (genuinely) and did have an old Orange account at my old address back in 2008 after falling on hard times. No payments have been made on that account since we moved in Feb 2011 and I have not knowledged anything.

2) The CCJ which was obtained in Oct 2017 is under my old address so does that mean that any papers I would have needed to see for challenging etc have gone to that address?

3) Can a CCJ be obtained and enforced on a statute barred debt?

Hopefully, someone can help me out here and give me some advice.

Cheers

Scott

[R0b]

Re: CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

Hi Scott,

It is not uncommon for claims to be issued at your old address as claimants will likely have your account information from Orange/EE and the address you lived at during that period of time. Debt recovery solicitors such as Lowell (presumably) operate on bulk basis with very little due diligence so if they are instructed then they will issue a claim based on the old address without attempting to check your current whereabouts. Did you update your DVLA, credit file, electoral roll information to reflect your new address?

You will need to make an application to the court to set aside the CCJ and if successful, it will revert back to the position as if proceedings had commenced. In your case if you are certain that it is statute barred you could also ask the court to consider making a summary judgment on this basis. It might also be worthwhile making a subject access request to EE and see what information, if any, they still hold about you. These types of applications can be easily set aside especially if you can show you updated your address information and a reasonable prospect of defending the claim.

In the meantime, you might want to read the following guide about the background to setting aside a CCJ and answers probably all of your questions. Once you've read and understood it, and you still wish to continue then let us know and we can assist with the next step.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8m2rcxulnh...e%29.docx?dl=0

[scottvsaunders]

Re: CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

Thanks.

Great info - I see that i need to pay £255 to have it set aside. Does this also count if I have not received any court papers in the first place such as documents being sent to the address listed under the CCJ (my almost 7 year old address)

Credit file all up to dated along with my DVLC etc.

It was all changed in 2011 etc.

[scottvsaunders]

Re: CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

As the deadline for the first £50 instalment is due on Monday, do I need to make that and still contact the courts or do I tell Lowell that I am going to challenge this?

[R0b]

Re: CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

I'm afraid it does. Irrespective of the circumstances any person who submits an application to set aside a CCJ will have to pay £255 unless you are on low income and qualify for a fee remission. Sure, it's annoying but then again if you are successful then you generally recover that amount back.

As the deadline for the first £50 instalment is due on Monday, do I need to make that and still contact the courts or do I tell Lowell that I am going to challenge this?

They will need to make an application so you might want to take the weekend to craft a letter to them and put them on notice of your intention that you seek to set aside the CCJ and refrain from taking any further enforcement measures and if they do then you can consider this as aggressive behaviour and unreasonable conduct and you will draw the court's attention to this letter in respect of any award of costs against their client. So you will need to get your skates on and you probably want to send it to them by email so you have a record of it in case they dispute it was never received. There is an email address on their website as help@lowellsolicitors.co.uk which you could use.

Here's an example letter you might want to send them albeit you may want to adapt it with reference to the above paragraph and the fact you have received a letter from them rather than you becoming aware of your own accord. Happy to look over any drafts if you post it up for review and would like feedback.



Dear Sir or Madam,

Consent to set aside County Court Judgment
Creditor name v Your Name (claim number xxxxxx)

You will be aware that a County Court judgment (“CCJ”) was awarded in your favour on [date]. The claim relates to an allegation parking contravention though the particulars fail state where the contravention took place.

I was completely unaware that you issued a claim against me. Upon further investigation with the Northampton CCBC, I realised that the claim form was served at my previous address, that is [insert address] (“define address”)

In fact, I moved from this address some time ago and I’m concerned that no reasonable checks have been carried out to ascertain my current place of residence. Had you done so, you would have known that the above-mentioned address is no longer where I live. Furthermore, the lack of response to your correspondence ought to have prompted you to investigate further before commencing legal proceedings.

In the circumstances, the purpose of this letter is to put you on notice that I intend to submit an application to the court to set aside the CCJ. This is on the basis that service of the claim form was defective and contrary to CPR 6.9, you failed to reasonably investigate my last known whereabouts. Furthermore, I do not recall contravening any parking conditions as suggested in the claim and I believe I will have a real prospect of successfully defending the claim.

Please confirm by return whether you consent to the setting aside of the CCJ. If not, I require you to set out your reasons for refusal. If I do not hear from you by [date] then I will assume that consent is refused and I will have no other choice but to submit an application to the court without further notice to you. I will also seek costs of and incidental to the application.

Finally I reserve the right to refer this letter to the court as to the issue of costs should it be necessary.

I look forward to hearing from you by [date].


Yours faithfully,


[name]

[scottvsaunders]

Re: CCJ on Statue Barred Debt from Lowell

yes pls thank you.

I will do it this weekend.

Keep you posted Rob.

Scott