Never received claim papers as a defendant, just had to pay £000’s to a bailiff

[Happyguy]

Hi any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
i had a tradesman carry out some works to my home that I wasn’t happy with. Not just the quality but quite dangerous regardless fire safety etc. Had a few texts from him then nothing for over 6 months when a few weeks ago I received an Enforcement letter from High Court Bailiffs with a removal notice.
the next day I logged an N244 form and paid the £260 fee to try to set aside the judgment and stay the writ.

well this afternoon a bailiff appeared and wouldn’t negotiate at all. I showed him the acknowledgment letter from Northants Court acknowledging my application but he said it was useless as a hearing date hadnt been set and he was there to collect payment or remove goods. He blocked my drive and wouldn’t let my wife out in her car to a GP appointment.
I paid the now massively inflated sum in the hope I can claim it back if/when the original claim is heard from scratch.

Sorry for the massive amount of text but what I really need to know is how will I get the payment back? The Bailiff said they hold it for 14 days then give it to the claimant.
i just called the court and was told they hadn’t yet set a date for the hearing to set the judgement aside. I think and hope that if the claim re-starts I will be successful in defending it.

[ploddertom]

Unfortunately the Enforcement Officer has done nothing wrong. You should have submitted your Forms to a nearbt County Court that also acts asa District Registry of the High Court as an urgent application which could have been heard the same day. You will have to wait until they do allocate a Court & a date to have this heard but to stand any chance of success you will need a good defence to the original claim as why you should have not had to pay. If successful then you will get every penny back.

[Happyguy]

Thanks PLODDERTOM for the info. What do you think I should do next, so I have to inform the Court that I have paid the EO?

[ploddertom]

No need that goes into your defence. I'm assuming you have just made a simple application to Set Aside the CCJ & Stay the Writ? What grounds did you use for this?

[Happyguy]

Yes that’s right I did do that. I never received the original claim papers so said that plus noted that the CCJ would make it impossible for me to re-mortgage my home soon. I also said that I wasn’t happy with the tradesmans work and that it was found to be unsafe.

[ploddertom]

I also assume that if a CCJ was a possibility then you would have been able to pay in full at that time.

Let's see what transpires but usually you get a chance to submit a defence before any hearing and I'm more than sure we can come with some that will be helpful to you - don't want to put them on here as you don't know who is watching.

[Happyguy]

That’s right I would have been able to pay in full at the time. You’re a star for helping me thank you so much.

[Happyguy]

Hi, it’s been a little while but a date has now been set for a hearing to set the judgement aside. It’s in a couple of weeks. What do you think my best argument would be to have the CCJ set aside? Is simply telling the truth that I didn’t receive the claim papers enough?

[ploddertom]

I'll come back to you later on.

[ploddertom]

Ok, going back over things you need to write down why you think this should never have gone ahead.

Have you checked with the Court as to which address all documents were sent to? Something has to be wrong as there should have been a series of documents you should have received - not to receive 1 document could be seen to be normal but to receive nothing at all is unusual - do you have any problems with your post

You say the work carried out was unsafe - do you have documentation that backs this up? Part of your defence could be you could have used this as grounds to make a Counterclaim against the Claimant had you known about the original Claim.

The HCEO managed to trace you, was this because the initial address was incorrect and they "retraced" you. Is the address on his Notice of Enforcement agree with that on the Court documentation.

If you had known about the original CCJ you could have paid it pending further action to defend. Proof of this is your payment made when visited by the HCEO.

Plus anything else but please don't use the re-mortgage ticket.

[Happyguy]

Thank you Ploddertom that’s extremely helpful information. I’ll try to formulate some notes from this.

[Happyguy]

Hi PLODDERTOM,
The hearing is very soon. If I’m successful in getting the judgement set aside is it at this point that I’ll receive back the payment I made to the HCEO? Many thanks for all of your help also, I couldn’t have came this far without your invaluable insight.

[ploddertom]

It may take up to 2 - 3 weeks to get it back after they have received notification of the result of the Hearing. Depends where your case is being heard - my local Court produces the paperwork within 30 minutes of a Hearing so you can collect immediately. I also advocate sending the other side notification after the Hearing so they now what to expect coming through - could also be an opportunity to ask when you get your cash back if you are successful. I would hazard a guess the HCEO will have forwarded on to the Claimant the amount they were seeking.

[Happyguy]

Excellent information thank you. Would I send any notification straight to the claimant if I’m successful? Also, I assume that the HCEO would have taken a percentage for their charges. Would the other side have to return the amount I paid or just the original claim amount? I hope what I’m asking makes sense.

[ploddertom]

The fees the HCEO has taken are regulated unless they had disbursments they had to pay but otherwise you can roughly work them out depending on ehat the original CCJ amount was. The theory is that if your Set Aside is successful then it is as if there was never any Court case in the beginning. The HCEO should repay you every last penny that they took but as it looks as if the matter was sorted between the HCEO and the Claimant then this muddies the waters a little with the Claimant then becoming liable to pay the HCEO fees as well as the monies they were given. Not your problem this it is something they should have been aware of before they started enforcement. Unfortunately you are likely to be caught in the middle but rather than speculate on what should or should not happen just take one step at a time and see what your Hearing brings, after that you can then formulate a plan of action.