notice to set aside

[Linz]

Hi Lovely Beagles, I was hoping to pick your cleaver legal brains!!! I am trying to enforce a high court writ but I have been told by the HCEO that the defendant has filed to set aside the judgement. (The defendant showed the HCEO the application and proof he has paid the filing fee.) I haven’t received anything from court or the defendant in relation to the setting aside. I’ve read various things online and I just wondered is the application likely to be successful? Will I have to go to a hearing? Is there anything I can do to oppose the setting aside? Will the court notify me of what is going on as the defendant certainly won’t!

Many thanks in advance guys

Linz

[charitynjw]

Hi Lovely Beagles, I was hoping to pick your cleaver legal brains!!! I am trying to enforce a high court writ but I have been told by the HCEO that the defendant has filed to set aside the judgement. (The defendant showed the HCEO the application and proof he has paid the filing fee.) I haven’t received anything from court or the defendant in relation to the setting aside. I’ve read various things online and I just wondered is the application likely to be successful? Will I have to go to a hearing? Is there anything I can do to oppose the setting aside? Will the court notify me of what is going on as the defendant certainly won’t!

Many thanks in advance guys

Linz

Hi & welcome to LB.
I was under the impression that the Sheriffs would carry out the writ unless there was court instructions already in place to halt it.
What (if anything) have they told you?

[Linz]

Hey thanks for getting back,

The HCEO took a thousand pounds from the defendant on 29th April. (This is about a third of what he owes me without any enforcement fees) and said they will return tomorrow if they don’t receive the set aside documents, I have not received anything from either the court or the defendant.

The Debt collection agency expect the case to be put on hold until a hearing. Is this always the case or can the judge dismiss his application?

The defendants answer to my claim is awful, there are no facts just a character assassination of me. If this is what he’s reliant on to get the case set aside I can’t see how he can win?

I’m not too worried about going to court I think my case is pretty strong. He took a deposit, worked for one day, broke my heating system and refused to come back to repair it or answer any of my correspondence. His defence is neither he or I knew if my heating was working before he started the job?

What I am worried about is that he will use the delay to clear his business unit and fold his business and I will be left with no way to get my money back.

He has already taken down his Facebook page and other social media accounts

Many Thanks Lindsay

[ploddertom]

Until such time the HCEO has proof he will continue to enforce. This is a story they are told on a regular basis, of course what the Defendant forgets is that they may lose their application. As for him disposing of assets then he may be in for a shock as all his assets are bound by the Writ and he can no longer sell, giveaway or otherwise dispose of anything without the permission of the Court. The money already given over will be held by the HCEO for 14 days before it is released in case he was declared bankrupt in interim. Once paid to you I would set it aside temporarily just in case things go against you.

[Linz]

Hi Ploddertom,

Thanks for your reply.

The HCEO has not yet been to the defendants business unit, I gave them two addresses for the defendant, and they went firstly to his home address where they were denied entry. When they threatened to force entry at his business unit he then paid them £1000 and showed them his set aside application and Proof of payment of fee. They have not yet seized any goods at his business unit and I’m worried that if the case is put on hold he will just empty the unit and put anything worth money into storage somewhere.

From what I’ve read online it seems that set aside judgements are almost always granted? I’m just wondering if there is anyway to help increase my chances of stopping it?

Many Thanks

Linz

[ploddertom]

Invariably a lot of Set Asides are made pending a full hearing where a lot are then lost. If he has made application to the Court then he should also be sending you a copy as well - if not then wait until such time you receive notification of the Hearing from the Court and ask them for a copy then. He does need specifics to be able to apply and obviously character assassination is not one of them - once you have his grounds then please do post them here so we can have a look. Does he trade as a Ltd Co or as a sole trader?

[Linz]

Thank you Ploddertom, I will wait to see if anything turns up today, he is a sole trader.

Thanks

Linz

[ploddertom]

In that case he has very little protection against the Writ and it would be more sensible for him to either pay or come to an arrangement. To pre-empt things would you be prepared to accept payments on a monthly basis - say £100 minimum but preferably £250 until all paid. I accept it prolongs things but he may apply for a Variation Order anyway, if so then make sure payments are made through the HCEO who will possibly split payments 70/30 in your favour - please note he will still be paying all that he owes you but the HCEO is also getting part paid as they go.

[Linz]

Hey thanks again for getting back, he won’t speak to either the HCEO or myself about the matter, he has ignored all my correspondence. I turned up in person at his unit and he refused to come out. He denies that he owes any money, I would accept a payment scheme but I doubt he will agree, he seems to prefer to try and hide!

Still nothing received from either him or the court, so it looks like the HCEO will be forcing entry at his unit!

[jaguarsuk]

Okay, so an application isn't a guarantee of a set aside. A lot get granted because of service to wrong addresses, but those where the defendant has received the court forms are rarely granted.

You say his defence is that he doesn't owe you money and that the heating was broken before he worked on it, was that his response to the claim form?

Has he participated in the court proceedings, it's gone against him and now he wants to try to set aside is what I'm asking really?

[ploddertom]

I don't quite understand why he has applied just for Set Aside & not for a Stay of Execution against the Writ. I assume he either knows very little of the process or is being badly advised.

[Linz]

Thank you for responding!

I filed a claim online and the defendant responded, he refused mediation and denied all of the claim. His response was that he did not know wether the heating he was working on was functioning when he started the work. There were also some points made about me personally which were not relevant or true!

This is the only time he has had any contact with me since I issued the claim.

The defendant then failed to send in his directions questionnaire even after a sanction. I filed for a judgement by default which was granted. I then escalated it to the high court and the HCEO attended.

He has still not filed directions but applied for a notice to set aside after the HCEO informed him of their imminent enforcement.

I think he may be representing himself, and he is as bad at law as he is at building.

I still do not have any documents from court.

Many Thanks

Linz

[charitynjw]

To take this in a slighlty different direction for the moment, exactly which part of the heating system was he working on?

[Linz]

Hi Charity, he was moving a pipe which fed the downstairs heating and ran underneath the middle of the kitchen floor, to the back of the kitchen floor underneath the kitchen units. He was doing this so the heat from the pipes did not warp the oak flooring I was having laid which he was also supposed to be fitting.

[charitynjw]

Hi Charity, he was moving a pipe which fed the downstairs heating and ran underneath the middle of the kitchen floor, to the back of the kitchen floor underneath the kitchen units. He was doing this so the heat from the pipes did not warp the oak flooring I was having laid which he was also supposed to be fitting.

Ok.
I was just clarifying whether or not he needed GasSafe registration.
Probably not applicable if it is only the water side of the installation.
You mention only one pipe?
Is there not flow & return pipes to the affected rads?