Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

[suziebear365]

I have just received the above for a debt owed to Arrow Global Ltd handled via Restons Solicitors.

I was unable to pay the whole claim of £1540.74 so admitted the claim & offered a monthly payment of £15 which is the true sum I can afford after rent, utilities, living expenses & other debts (including other CCJ's.

This new order has stated I must pay £700.24 per month. I only earn £1630 per month, so how can I be expected to pay such a high sum (especially as I am already in severe financial hardship).

The debt has also increased to £1780.24 with £ 240 court costs added to the original sum.

What can I do ? Should I speak to Restons direct to see if they will accept a reduced sum.

Also how can I tell if they received my income & expenditure form ? Is it possible they didn't receive it & asked the Court to decide the payment sum without submitting my income & expenditure details.

Please help as I am worried sick. I am also really concerned that they will arrange for will arrange for an attachment of earnings order which would seriously effect future work prospects.

For additional info I am not a homeowner so they could not apply for any charging order.

[EXC]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

Bumping for [MENTION=6]Amethyst[/MENTION] [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION]

[Joanna C]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

I have just received the above for a debt owed to Arrow Global Ltd handled via Restons Solicitors.

I was unable to pay the whole claim of £1540.74 so admitted the claim & offered a monthly payment of £15 which is the true sum I can afford after rent, utilities, living expenses & other debts (including other CCJ's.

This new order has stated I must pay £700.24 per month. I only earn £1630 per month, so how can I be expected to pay such a high sum (especially as I am already in severe financial hardship).

The debt has also increased to £1780.24 with £ 240 court costs added to the original sum.

What can I do ? Should I speak to Restons direct to see if they will accept a reduced sum.

Also how can I tell if they received my income & expenditure form ? Is it possible they didn't receive it & asked the Court to decide the payment sum without submitting my income & expenditure details.

Please help as I am worried sick. I am also really concerned that they will arrange for will arrange for an attachment of earnings order which would seriously effect future work prospects.

For additional info I am not a homeowner so they could not apply for any charging order.

Make an application to vary the order to allow monthly payments at an amount you can afford. The form to use is the N245 which can be accessed here :
https://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov....t_forms_id=486

The court fee is £50 but you may be eligible for fee remission which can be accessed here https://formfinder.hmctsformfinder.j.../ex160-eng.pdf

[suziebear365]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

Is this the only way around this problem ? Why would the Court confirm such a high sum initially knowing I can't afford it ? Is it a way of getting more money out of me (which I'm already struggling to pay) by assuming I'll have to get a variation order to reduce the payment ?
Are there no rules concerning how much a court can set a payment at once someone has admitted the Claim & offered the true amount of how much they can pay back ? Just seems very unfair to me.

[Joanna C]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

Is this the only way around this problem ? Why would the Court confirm such a high sum initially knowing I can't afford it ? Is it a way of getting more money out of me (which I'm already struggling to pay) by assuming I'll have to get a variation order to reduce the payment ?
Are there no rules concerning how much a court can set a payment at once someone has admitted the Claim & offered the true amount of how much they can pay back ? Just seems very unfair to me.

Its probably been a court officer making the decision. Your income and expenditure will be taken into account.

[MacManc]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

I'm not a solicitor, but recently won an award by self representation in the County Court and after the judge had awarded he asked me about repayment.

I knew the defendants financial limitations and therefore asked for a reasonable repayment structure as I don't want to place them into hardship and want repayment of their debt.

I'd hazard in your case that the Claimants Representative has asked for that repayment structure.

In terms of the increased amount of the claim, that's likely due to the addition of costs for the Claimant going to trial.

The course of action above is sound advice and I'd urge you to follow it.

[suziebear365]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

Sorry but I don't really understand your advice.

I admitted the claim to the Court & then completed an income & expenditure form which clearly showed the monthly sum I could afford.

The Court then disagreed with this & confirmed I should pay nearly 50% of my monthly salary to the Claimant.

What's the point of asking me to complete an Income & Expenditure Form if they are just going to disregard it ? Not only that but they've loaded on additional cost.

[Debt Camel]

Re: Judgement for Claimant (after determination)

Well it's hard to say anything as we don't know what your Income & Expenditure form said. But if you can't afford it, the correct thing to do is to complete an N245 form as has been said. If you are unsure what to put on this form, you can talk it through with National Debtline.