High Court Enforcement Group - advice needed

[Sweetrevenge]

Hi everyone, long time no see.

Quick story: Was subject to a disciplinary in Feb 2012 and went to get some 'proper' legal advice from a solicitors in Manchester first. Must have received a bill at some point, probably while reading the letter telling me I no longer had a job. Deep depression put me into a padded cell for much of that year. In the meantime, CCJ against me for £1,269.25 + Judgment costs of £182.00 - Fair enough, never had a CCJ before, but not functioning properly at the time..

Finally got my act together in July 2012 after some very big burly chaps kept knocking on the door for a few weeks (at my new address - yes I'd had to move) and finding money somewhat tight i offered £20 a month until i could afford more. I have one letter acknowledging this, but no bill or breakdown of costs or anything to describe the additions which I have TODAY become aware of (from asking for it). Costs of Execution £111.75, Accrued Interest £113.53, or Disbursements at £639. Total now £2,315.93. Apparently interest is still going on it at 30p per day !!!:0 I seem to remember the 'nice' lady at HCEG telling me only to pay £20 a month if I couldn't really afford £50. Crikey, at this rate I'll be paying it off forever!I have had no statements, no total, no contact from High Court Enforcement Group on behalf of their client Moon Beever until today. Apparently my balance still outstanding is £1,195.93 - I have paid off £1,120 at £20 per month.

Can anyone please advise me:
a) shouldn't they have let me know all the charges and interest in some letter or email so I knew how much was to be paid in total?
b) as they haven't done this, do I have to pay it all or can I ask for a reduction of any kind? and
c) If I still have to pay it all, what do you think would be reasonable as a full and final offer to get this off my credit record at last?

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks guys n gals.

[Amethyst]

Re: High Court Enforcement Group - advice needed

It will come off your credit file and register in June? 2018 - 6 years after the CCJ was awarded against you. So paying it off won't help there, it would just be marked as satisfied until the 6 yr point.

Did you get a copy of the judgment? If post judgment interest was awarded it would/should only have been stat rate at 8% pa.

The judgment debt was £1269&182 - so £1451 - if you paid nothing the interest should have been ( if awarded) about £116 a year which kind of scans with that Accured interest figure.

The warrant of execution would be about £100.

I don't know what disbursements are but presumably they include the enforcement agent fees ( something like £75 for the letter then £225? for the visit (hopefully someone who knows such things will confirm) - and I'm not aware that they can charge interest on that. It's not really my area though so this is just my thoughts.

I would certainly ask for a full breakdown and statement of the account from the Judgment holder ( the solicitors firm?) so you can look at offering a full and final settlement to bring an end to matters. The costs will need to be paid (so the enforcement costs) and the judgment debt & court costs - so you're probably looking at realistically an offer of £800+ - but could start at £450 as that covers the basics - just bear in mind it won't fix the credit file, but will just bring an end to it continuing to increase and get it off your back.

[Sweetrevenge]

Re: High Court Enforcement Group - advice needed

Thanks Amethyst, that's really helpful. The breakdown has been emailed to me - that's how I know the figures quoted - and the client seems to be Moon Beaver - nothing to do with the original solicitors but I think they must have bought this debt at some stage.

My depression around losing my career and the fact that I had to give up the house I was living in led me to not being able to cope and deal with the other problems that came at the same time. I simply hid my head in the sand because I had no money to pay for anything. It has taken me so long to get back on my feet and even now its not like there's loads of money in the bank. This was the first debt in my life which wasn't paid on time. How easily it happens!

I know my credit file won't be clear for a while but at least if this shows as a satisfied debt it might help. I would like to know why there was no contact for so long and why I didn't even know what interest was being added daily. This can't be a responsible way to deal with debtors, surely?

Either way the settlement figures you gave are a useful starting point. Thank you for taking the time to understand my post and to reply.