# Circuit Court Summons received - what do I do next?



## teesie (12 Dec 2008)

Hi,

I hope someone can help me, earlier this year I got into arrears with my credit cards, I didnt just ignore it and hope it would go away.

I contacted the bank, I explained my circumstances to them, I was always told not to ignore a problem so I tried to come to a repayment agreement with them, I have an existing personal loan with them which I have never got into arrears with, I offered a fixed amount every week, I sent them a statement of means and how I could not afford any more than the amount I offered and I started paying this amount into my credit card by direct debit every week. 

I was a little worried about the amount I was paying so I sent them a letter stating that I was paying the money directly into their account and should they not accept my offer that they should return my payment, this letter also stated that if they did not return the money I was sending them, then their non return of this money implied that they were accepting my offer.

I then received a letter from them stating that they were not accepting my weekly offer, but to date they have not returned any money to me, now I have received this summons from their solicitor, and I believe that I should enter an appearance and also a letter of intention to defend as I have kept all of the correspondence from myself to the banks, and their replies and also the solicitors.

Does anyone believe I should enter an appearance? should I defend this case? will my letter to the bank stating that they should return my money if they did not accept my terms and that non return implied acceptance of terms help me in Court.

Dont get me wrong, I owe this money, I will pay it back, but I just cannot repay they amount they are looking for right now.

Any suggestions please?


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## j26 (12 Dec 2008)

Enter an appearance and defence, otherwise they are entitled to apply for a judgment in default.  Given your apparently honest attempts to repay, you should want to present your side to the judge.  Also, the bank won't relish having to go into open court against someone who is making genuine attempts to repay. **

If you are entering an appearance, ensure that you do it within 10 days of it being served on you.  If you're late you will need the leave of the plaintiff or the court to do so.  After that, you have a further 10 days to file a defence.

At the very least it will give you time to negotiate further with the bank, and to get on to a solicitor.

The non-return of money makes no difference - you have made payments on the loans and they are entitled to keep them.  You saying that if they kept the money it implied agreement has no effect as it is akin to inertia selling (e.g. a company sends you a product you never ordered and then tries to bill you for it).

I don't know if you've tried them, but MABS might be a very good idea at this point, and entering an appearance and defence at least gives you breathing room to try to come to some arrangement.




**NB bear in mind that if you fail in court you would be fixed with two new debts - your legal costs and theirs.


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## jhegarty (12 Dec 2008)

If you give a guidelines on the figure you may get different answers on on how the bank may proceed.

How much was the balance , and how much did you offer per week ?


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## allthedoyles (12 Dec 2008)

Face the music .................you will find it will pay in the long run


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## j26 (12 Dec 2008)

allthedoyles said:


> Face the music .................you will find it will pay in the long run



The OP appears willing to face the music and repay, but if that can be done without a judgment being entered against him/her, all the better.


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## bond-007 (13 Dec 2008)

Indeed.


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## teesie (13 Dec 2008)

Thanks for the advice, the balance is 9k and I offered 100 per month, I've this morning  been given notice of termination at work, which means I wont even be able to pay the amount they refused.  Only option for me now is bankruptcy I feel, not what I would want in a million years but no choice.  Let Insolvency practitioner decide who gets what,


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## babyspice (13 Dec 2008)

get a loan from the credit union enough to cover what you owe, any pay them off asap, then throw every penny you have off the loan, you cant go wrong with the credit union..


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## teesie (13 Dec 2008)

Yes I have made an appointment with credit union for this afternoon, but if i have learnt anything from all of this it is that the banks dont care, AT ALL, they say that people should contact them and they will make every effort to accommodate you if you do run into trouble, and im not alone, there are many many people in the same position I am, I got this credit card 10 years ago, I filled out the application and it came in the post, I quite happily paid this off for years and never go into arrears, then this year one disaster after another meant that I got into arrears, and the amount I owe them now consists of a large amount of late payment fees and interest charges. Every attempt I made with the bank to come to an agreement was met with a refusal, they wouldnt even stop the interest temporarely until some agreement could be made.  they should stop telling people to contact them if they have problems.  They do not want to help.  They want to persecute and harras people who mistakingly contacted them believng they would be accommodating.


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## gillarosa (5 Jan 2009)

Hi Teesie,

Have you contacted Mabs and tried to get an appointment with them? as your circumstances have changed now that you are about to lose your job you may need their assistance with the loan and possibly other areas of your finances.

Good luck


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