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CCJ Judgement issued to wrong address 2 years ago and I just found out!
Dear all,
This forum has been very helpful to me in the past and I have returned again with another issue I am faced with now.
I checked my Experian credit report today for the first time and found out that there was a County Court Judgement issued against me in May 2012 for a Santander Credit Card (Store Card) debt of £700. I contacted Northampton County Court and obtained the claim number and claimant details which was Howard Cohen Solicitors working for Lewis Group who are in turn working for Santander.
The reason why I do not know anything about this CCJ Claim and eventual judgement is because I moved out of that address in 2011 and informed Santander too. I have a letter from Santander dated 27th Jan 2012 regarding this particular credit card to my new address to prove that I have made them aware of my address change.
In June 2013, I was contacted about the same credit card by Arrow Global debt collection agency at my correct new address, I made them a full and final settlement offer, paid and they confirmed in writing that the account is closed and that was on 28th June 2013.
Now I am really confused what to do next. Northampton County Court advised me to contact the Claimant which I did. The claimant, Howard Cohen, asked me to contact Lewis Group who they work for. After contacting Lewis Group and demanding why they had sent the claim to the wrong address that resulted in a judgement without my knowledge, they apologised and assured me that they will ask their solicitors (Howard Cohen) to write to court and 'Resolve' this matter. I asked if they require me to do anything, they said I just need to wait for two weeks and the judgement will be dropped.
I also contacted the Financial Ombudsman as advised by a representative I spoke to at Northampton County Court. The ombudsman told me that they will send a letter to Howard Cohen demanding why they have filed a claim with the wrong address and ask for explanation.
However, when I spoke to National Debt Helpline afterwards, I was told that what Lewis Group is suggesting that they will 'Resolve' this matter and drop the judgement may not be as easy as it sounds. The County Court apparently does not allow a claimant to amend a judgement after it has been passed.
Therefore, I call up Northampton County Court again and explained the whole situation and asked if Howard Cohen Solicitors can call them and have the judgement set aside. They asked me to call them in two weeks time to find out what the outcome is. I asked if I would need to fill out a N244 and pay £80 to request to have the judgement put aside as it was served to the wrong address but the person sounded confused.
Now it looks like if Lewis Group Solicitor Howard Cohen do get in touch with the court and ask for the judgement to be dropped or something similar which I really dont know how they will, the outcome can either be that there is a miracle and I do not have a CCJ any more on my credit file.
Or, when after Howard Cohen get in touch with the Court, the CCJ process will start all over again and then I will have to respond to this claim following normal procedures. If that happens, then should I just inform the court that I had settled the debt already in June 2013 through Arrow Global and Howard Cohen's claim of £700 is invalid? Then would the court agree that I do not need to pay the claimant as I have already paid Arrow Global.. or would I need to settle the same debt again with Howard Cohen too?
I really appreciate your time if you have read my post so far. Any comments on my situation or any piece of advice would be very helpful.
National Debt Helpline adviser was very helpful and said my case is a rare one and asked me to seek legal advice. Do you recommend I get an appointment with Citizens Advice Bureau or just wait for two weeks to see if Lewis Group get their solicitors to 'resolve' this matter.
I somehow can not gather enough faith on Lewis Group to actually 'Resolve' this matter as they told me on the phone today.
Many thanks for reading and I hope my post and your replies help others who face similar situation like me.
This forum has been very helpful to me in the past and I have returned again with another issue I am faced with now.
I checked my Experian credit report today for the first time and found out that there was a County Court Judgement issued against me in May 2012 for a Santander Credit Card (Store Card) debt of £700. I contacted Northampton County Court and obtained the claim number and claimant details which was Howard Cohen Solicitors working for Lewis Group who are in turn working for Santander.
The reason why I do not know anything about this CCJ Claim and eventual judgement is because I moved out of that address in 2011 and informed Santander too. I have a letter from Santander dated 27th Jan 2012 regarding this particular credit card to my new address to prove that I have made them aware of my address change.
In June 2013, I was contacted about the same credit card by Arrow Global debt collection agency at my correct new address, I made them a full and final settlement offer, paid and they confirmed in writing that the account is closed and that was on 28th June 2013.
Now I am really confused what to do next. Northampton County Court advised me to contact the Claimant which I did. The claimant, Howard Cohen, asked me to contact Lewis Group who they work for. After contacting Lewis Group and demanding why they had sent the claim to the wrong address that resulted in a judgement without my knowledge, they apologised and assured me that they will ask their solicitors (Howard Cohen) to write to court and 'Resolve' this matter. I asked if they require me to do anything, they said I just need to wait for two weeks and the judgement will be dropped.
I also contacted the Financial Ombudsman as advised by a representative I spoke to at Northampton County Court. The ombudsman told me that they will send a letter to Howard Cohen demanding why they have filed a claim with the wrong address and ask for explanation.
However, when I spoke to National Debt Helpline afterwards, I was told that what Lewis Group is suggesting that they will 'Resolve' this matter and drop the judgement may not be as easy as it sounds. The County Court apparently does not allow a claimant to amend a judgement after it has been passed.
Therefore, I call up Northampton County Court again and explained the whole situation and asked if Howard Cohen Solicitors can call them and have the judgement set aside. They asked me to call them in two weeks time to find out what the outcome is. I asked if I would need to fill out a N244 and pay £80 to request to have the judgement put aside as it was served to the wrong address but the person sounded confused.
Now it looks like if Lewis Group Solicitor Howard Cohen do get in touch with the court and ask for the judgement to be dropped or something similar which I really dont know how they will, the outcome can either be that there is a miracle and I do not have a CCJ any more on my credit file.
Or, when after Howard Cohen get in touch with the Court, the CCJ process will start all over again and then I will have to respond to this claim following normal procedures. If that happens, then should I just inform the court that I had settled the debt already in June 2013 through Arrow Global and Howard Cohen's claim of £700 is invalid? Then would the court agree that I do not need to pay the claimant as I have already paid Arrow Global.. or would I need to settle the same debt again with Howard Cohen too?
I really appreciate your time if you have read my post so far. Any comments on my situation or any piece of advice would be very helpful.
National Debt Helpline adviser was very helpful and said my case is a rare one and asked me to seek legal advice. Do you recommend I get an appointment with Citizens Advice Bureau or just wait for two weeks to see if Lewis Group get their solicitors to 'resolve' this matter.
I somehow can not gather enough faith on Lewis Group to actually 'Resolve' this matter as they told me on the phone today.
Many thanks for reading and I hope my post and your replies help others who face similar situation like me.
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