Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

[Amethyst]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Oh that's great to hear, well done [MENTION=108415]Pretzel[/MENTION], a way to go, but you're on the right track to getting this sorted out with some semblance of fairness

Your local court will look at the set aside application and decide if it wants a hearing and send out directions for you, might take a couple weeks. It is likely the court will decide at a hearing whether the judgment is set aside or not, if it is then you can defend the case from the beginning, if it isn't you can use that opportunity to negotiate affordable installments and get them set by the court ( so they can't be randomly increased by the claimant along the line)

So we'll need to have a look at the case really - do you have your contract with the nursery and copies of invoices etc at all that they are relying on for their claim?

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Oh that's great to hear, well done @Pretzel, a way to go, but you're on the right track to getting this sorted out with some semblance of fairness

Your local court will look at the set aside application and decide if it wants a hearing and send out directions for you, might take a couple weeks. It is likely the court will decide at a hearing whether the judgment is set aside or not, if it is then you can defend the case from the beginning, if it isn't you can use that opportunity to negotiate affordable installments and get them set by the court ( so they can't be randomly increased by the claimant along the line)

So we'll need to have a look at the case really - do you have your contract with the nursery and copies of invoices etc at all that they are relying on for their claim?

Yes I do I have sent all the invoices and contract to the court already along with the pre-action papers which the claimants sent to me. Another thing I wanted to query was they added £600+ onto the claim after they sent me a letter of action, so on the letter before action the outstanding balance was £1152 but when I received the court documents the amount being claimed was £1800+ isn't that against some sort of pre action protocol rule.

[Amethyst]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Some of it will be the court fee and maybe solicitors cost, and possibly statutory interest. Best thing to do to sort out a defence ( when you do get a hearing you will be wanting to show the court you do have a defence with a reasonable chance of success - even if it is just partial and you come to an arrangement on any actual bonafide debt owed ) - is to remove your personal details and upload the claim form, letter of action and invoices on here xxx Did you send a copy of the set aside app to the claimants sols btw?

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Some of it will be the court fee and maybe solicitors cost, and possibly statutory interest. Best thing to do to sort out a defence ( when you do get a hearing you will be wanting to show the court you do have a defence with a reasonable chance of success - even if it is just partial and you come to an arrangement on any actual bonafide debt owed ) - is to remove your personal details and upload the claim form, letter of action and invoices on here xxx Did you send a copy of the set aside app to the claimants sols btw?

The court Fees are separate to the figure I quoted above the £1800+ is just for the debt itself that I apparently owed. What I am asking which is what I can't seem to find an answer to is how much are they legally allowed to add on to the debt? The original debt was £772 + a 5% late fee as per my contract. They have added 124% to the debt bringing it up to over £1800 (before court cost are added) are they allowed to do this. That will be my partial defence.
1) admitting to the £772+ 5%
2) but querying whether a further 124% added by them in just a year (the debt is for last year November) is legal or proportionate.
3) Can their cost be more than the original debt?

I sent 3 copies of my witness statement and defence to the court and asked it be served to the claimant.

[Amethyst]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

It can be, do you have a copy of the original contract ? that allows for a 5% per annum late fee or a 5% charge as soon as payment is late? so £810.16 ? --- any debt collection charges allowable under the contract ? could it be 5% a month ?( that'd take it to £1300 odd over 12 months )
Do they mention the 8% stat interest in the claim ? sometime those calculations go terribly wrong.
Do they itemise what the additional charges are anywhere, on the invoice etc at all ?
Was there anything like a tie in period and you cancelled early ?
Have you asked them in writing for a breakdown of the invoice/amounts ?

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

It can be, do you have a copy of the original contract ? that allows for a 5% per annum late fee or a 5% charge as soon as payment is late? so £810.16 ? --- any debt collection charges allowable under the contract ? could it be 5% a month ?( that'd take it to £1300 odd over 12 months )
Do they mention the 8% stat interest in the claim ? sometime those calculations go terribly wrong.
Do they itemise what the additional charges are anywhere, on the invoice etc at all ?
Was there anything like a tie in period and you cancelled early ?
Have you asked them in writing for a breakdown of the invoice/amounts ?

The 5% is a one off late fee payment. I can prove this as I received a total of 4 invoices. The 1st dated the 26/10 with the original sum which should have been paid on or before the 1/11 the second was dated 5/11 with the added late fee amount. Then after that two more dated 26/11 and 7/12 with the same amount as the one sent on the 5/11.

None of the letters from their solicitors say anything about their admin costs there is no breakdown in any letter. Just a figure and a threat of court action. There's no "this is what you owe + xxx for the admin costs of sending this letter" on any of the letters I've received from them. The court lady says when she's checked she sees no breakdown of costs apart from the sum they demanded £1800+ and the £190 court cost.

I haven't asked for a breakdown in writing. Do you think it is worth doing so before the hearing??

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Just to answer the last part there was no tie in period. Just a statement on the contract that says you must either give one months notice or pay one months fees in lieu of notice. I paid for 4weeks and after 3weeks I removed my son and admit I should have paid for the following month as that would have been the money in lieu of notice that I had agreed to in the contract. There is nothing in the contract that says he has to go for xxx months before leaving or any other conditions.

[Amethyst]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

I haven't asked for a breakdown in writing. Do you think it is worth doing so before the hearing??

Definately.

Did you send a copy of the application to the claimant/judgment holder ?

[Amethyst]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Just to answer the last part there was no tie in period. Just a statement on the contract that says you must either give one months notice or pay one months fees in lieu of notice. I paid for 4weeks and after 3weeks I removed my son and admit I should have paid for the following month as that would have been the money in lieu of notice that I had agreed to in the contract. There is nothing in the contract that says he has to go for xxx months before leaving or any other conditions.

Okay so you paid upfront for 4 weeks, removed your son after 3 weeks, and owed the months notice - which is the £772 ?

[ploddertom]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

What you have is a temporary Stay pending a further Hearing to be heard at your local Court. Dependent on the outcome of this Hearing the Stay could be lifted to allow enforcement to continue or if your Set Aside is successful then the Writ will be no more.

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Definately.

Did you send a copy of the application to the claimant/judgment holder ?

I sent three copies of the application to the court and when it asked who should be notified I said the claimant. The letter I received today says the claimant has been notified.
I will now send a letter to the solicitors to ask for a breakdown in writing. Is there anything specific that I need to put in the letter or should I just put the figure and ask for a breakdown?

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

Okay so you paid upfront for 4 weeks, removed your son after 3 weeks, and owed the months notice - which is the £772 ?

Yes. That's exactly what happened and because I didn't pay by the first they added the late payment fee. Then a couple months later I received the letter from the solicitors with £300+ added and no break down of why. It just says that was my outstanding balance. That balance remained the same on all the letters they sent me include the letter before action, until I received the court papers in September at which point it went up by a further £664 (Not including the court fee).

- - - Updated - - -

What you have is a temporary Stay pending a further Hearing to be heard at your local Court. Dependent on the outcome of this Hearing the Stay could be lifted to allow enforcement to continue or if your Set Aside is successful then the Writ will be no more.

If the set aside isn't approved can I still ask the court to consider affordable instalments or would I have to reapply and pay a fee to get a variation. Just want to understand where I would go from there if I don't get a positive outcome.

[ploddertom]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

If the set aside isn't approved can I still ask the court to consider affordable instalments or would I have to reapply and pay a fee to get a variation. Just want to understand where I would go from there if I don't get a positive outcome.

A lot will depend upon the Judge but there is no reason why it cannot all be sorted at thee same time.

[Pretzel]

Re: Set aside rules PLEASE HELP ME

A lot will depend upon the Judge but there is no reason why it cannot all be sorted at thee same time.

Lets hope we have a judge who sees that they were trying to be very sneaky with the whole thing. I think the purposely didn't want me anywhere near that courtroom because they know they've done some dodgy stuff.
Thanks Again for your reply.

[Pretzel]

Hi All, it’s been a while since I’ve logged on here. But after looking through my email and remembering the amazing support I received I thought I should come back and relay the outcome.
The Whole claim as since been dismissed by the court. The Claimants were asked to provide proof of their claims back in February 2018 and again in October 2018 the judge ordered the whole thing be thrown out because they did not reply. I no longer have a CCJ and I can say I’m now sleeping without fear. I’m also back on my feet and come February 2019 I will be debt free as I contacted all my debtors and set up payment plans. Definitely a lesson learned, I panicked and instead of attacking the situation head on I went into a state of depression and denial, but once I had the right information from you all I was able to deal with this nightmare.
Thank you All!