Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

[Crazy council]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

It would probably make sense to tie it to the small claims limit in court, then debt under 10k can be sued for in court and subsequent enforcement options, and fast track value claims could petition for bankruptcy where appropriate ? Or as Jules was just saying tie it to the DRO maximum level ?

Thats a very sensible idea, all-round, for both claimants and debtors. probebly the most cost efficient as well.

[Amethyst]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

i can give my own example on this statment



Mine was, a claim for 10K letter befor claim 2006 ), 5600 on stat demand ( 2006 ), 3400 at bankruptcy ( 2007 ) 4400 sent to OR claim ( 2007 ), 2400 readjustment for over charges. ( 2012 )

Leaving 2200 ( less than my current years liability )

For this, the charges was a STAGGERING £ 238,000 for the trustee,

But, ther eare rules around the trustees charges for bankruptcy that changes in 2010.

That is the bit that many people do not realise.

[EXC]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

It would probably make sense to tie it to the small claims limit in court, then debt under 10k can be sued for in court and subsequent enforcement options, and fast track value claims could petition for bankruptcy where appropriate ? Or as Jules was just saying tie it to the DRO maximum level ?

I agree.

It's interesting that the official creditor petition levels put the £750 to £3000 bracket at 9% but your stats for Celestine's cases show something in the region of 30%. That's a big difference and we should use the data of all of her cases in the consultation.

[bluebottle]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

i can give my own example on this statment



Mine was, a claim for 10K letter befor claim 2006 ), 5600 on stat demand ( 2006 ), 3400 at bankruptcy ( 2007 ) 4400 sent to OR claim ( 2007 ), 2400 readjustment for over charges. ( 2012 )

Leaving 2200 ( less than my current years liability )

For this, the charges was a STAGGERING £ 238,000 for the trustee,

But, ther eare rules around the trustees charges for bankruptcy that changes in 2010.

In one case I had dealings with, a trustee went before a judge demanding an order that the "bankrupt" be ordered to do as the trustee told them. You can imagine the trustee's face when the judge said, very calmly, "If there was a Bankruptcy Order in force, I would, but seeing as there is not, get out of this court and stop wasting my time." 'Smacked arse' doesn't come anywhere near to describing the look on the trustee's face as he left the court. I understand the trustee is now under investigation.

[EXC]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Set in 1986 at £750

According to the This Is Money historic inflation calculator it's now worth £1984 so it should be at least £2000 at the very minimum.

[Crazy council]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Can i be a devils advocate in this for the creditors side.

The main thing that concerns me with raising the limit, is it takes away small creditors ability to push debitors to get them to pay. I fully agree that there are companys abusing this, and maybe thats were the rules should be. How the trustees and OR rules changed in 2009/10 are a great example how finacial rules can be made to be adjustable and suit the debt more.

Now, there are lots of people with debts through unfortunate circumstances, and they deserve help and some protection from creditors in court, but, you also get some people who just do everything apart from pay ( in a normal business ).

It has to be kept low enough to be in reach of smaller creditors, unless, like Amethst suggests, there is a tyeup with teh small claims track, but with the ability of the judge to give a SD if he chooses.

Also, private business take a dissension to push to SD, and usually consider the circumstances first ( ability, fairness, appropriateness ),
But
That is not the case with public organisations, for them its just accounting marks, and thats horrendous

[Tools]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

As mentioned earlier by Amethyst I have the following thoughts.

A Debt Relief Order is a lower cost alternative to bankruptcy

To apply for a DRO you need to meet the following criteria:

• Owe less than £15,000 in unsecured debts
• You can’t be a homeowner
• Have no more than £300 in assets (although you can have 1 vehicle worth up to £1,000 or 1 business vehicle worth up to £300)
• Have less than £50 a month left over after you’ve paid all of your living costs

The key point with a DRO is that you cannot be a homeowner, therefore having no tangible assets on which a DCA could pursue a stat demand.

There is also the argument that it should be set at small claims levels, £10,000.

There needs to be a balance here, particularly in the way that recovery is sought. For instance, a <10K debt should be initially sought through the courts, using charging orders where applicable to secure repayments. Should the debtor fail to pay then it should be escalated, eventually resulting in a sale order.

Should the debt be owed by a non home owner, all efforts sought to repay the debt through CCJ should be explored first, then last resort DRO or insolvency.

Debts >10K, and therefore fast track, are liable to higher costs, again if the debtor is a home owner or not follow steps as above.

Once the debt reaches 15K (outside the scope of DRO) then by all means issue a SD. In fact, as ROI have done, make it £15,900, that way it may exclude the grey area of being pushed "just over" by spurious fees made up to force the issue.

I have voted 10K but after thinking about it, changed my mind to £15,900.

[dogtired]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Having now read through I have changed my mind but cannot vote again.

[enaid]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Having now read through I have changed my mind but cannot vote again.

Well just give your reasons why you have changed your mind

[enaid]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

I think more should be taken into consideration as to 'Home Owner' status too, just because you have paid a deposit and a mortgage every month does not make you a home owner, think if we are honest for lots of folks it's a thorn in their side as things are at present.
I think there should be a certain percentage of equity in the property before it is considered as an asset, people losing there homes is no answer to debt recovery imho.
By this I mean when it is genuinely their family home, not any other reason for home ownership.

[Crazy council]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

I think more should be taken into consideration as to 'Home Owner' status too, just because you have paid a deposit and a mortgage every month does not make you a home owner, think if we are honest for lots of folks it's a thorn in their side as things are at present.
I think there should be a certain percentage of equity in the property before it is considered as an asset, people losing there homes is no answer to debt recovery imho.
By this I mean when it is genuinely their family home, not any other reason for home ownership.

Hi, the rule changes around the OR and trustees in 2010 built in a number of protections for home owners. Including those with little or no equity in there propertys. It also gives the Homeowner a bit mroe time to sort it out before anyone take further action on the debt, and put limits on trustees charges against the estate.

But, ( being devils advocate again )

People sign charges against there home without the proper consideration.

[dogtired]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Well just give your reasons why you have changed your mind

It just says I have alredy voted

[enaid]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

It just says I have alredy voted

I mean post your reason for changing your mind in here not on the poll

[dogtired]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

Ok. changed to same as ROI just because currently it is just such a small account and I clicked the wrong option on Android and could not change it.

[Amethyst]

Re: Should the £750 limit for Statutory Demands be increased ?

I'll switch it for you xx