Claim notice district court.

O

Orchid

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Hi all, I’m in a bit of a tizzy at the minute. I received a claim notice on the 19th December. I made a appointment to see a flac solicitor tonight who was zero help and told me to contact a solictor but I can’t afford one. tomorrow is the last day I can lodge a defence. It’s from a credit card debt I had in 2008. It’s for 4.5k and I don’t think I owed that amount. It’s gone off my credit check so I can’t check it. It was sent to the house I own but don’t live in.
As it stands I won’t be able to go to the court tomorrow to lodge my defence, I live three hours away and my kids are in school, so what is going to happen? I’ve been reading about sheriffs knocking on the door. Can they enter the house even though I don’t live there?(my mother does)
Will a judgement be placed against the house?
I don’t have the money to pay. I’m a single mother and a student.
 
Just to add I have never acknowledged the debt from Cabot so the debt is 12 years old.
 
I'm in one way sorry for you but when I see you using an excuse of being a single mother for not paying what you owe from 12 years ago i've changed my mind. What is it about people getting money and feeling they don't have to pay it back?
 
Thanks for that. It’s not a excuse but to give a background. I’m in college and also a single mother so finding the money now is impossible. I was paying Tesco what I could until they sold the debt to Cabot 12 years ago. I lost my job and was trying to hold on to my house so the credit card debt(under the advise of Mabs) was moved to the end of the line. Unfortunately since then it’s been just as hard staying above water, and I was frightened to contact Cabot as their letters are so threatening I was afraid what they would demand. Clearly that was the wrong thing to do, hence me looking for advise.
 
Unfortunately for you, it's possible that someone did engage. I'm guessing your mother who wants to look out for you possibly. The letters from Cabot are generally just words to get you worried so I'd ignore them. You have a few choices. The worst that can happen here is that they get a judgement on the house for the amount outstanding but without knowing the exact contents of the letter we can't know for certain what their intention is.
You could write to them acknowledging the debt and saying that you are willing to negotiate and pay over a long period of time. The fact that they have a judgement will work against you as they have 12 years to get their full payment if you ever sell. I would doubt very much any sheriff is coming your way. First thing you need to do is maybe talk to your mother about this though.
Lastly, FLAC are very good at dealing with issues and generally don't tell people to get their own solicitor unless they feel they are not genuinely in dire straights. They feel you don't have much of a case I'd say.
 
You need a solicitor to file a defense on the grounds that the debt is statute barred. Today. Otherwise Cabot could get judgement by default. Suggest you start "googling" solicitors that are physically close to where the court is. Make a list. Then start phoning them. See if you can find one that will file a defense on your behalf today. With a defense filed, you will have breathing space to prepare for the next steps.
 
Could you ask your mother who lives in your house to attend and ask for an adjournment based on what you've said? Presumably she's nearer to the court where the hearing is. Ignoring the court hearing is a very bad idea.
 
Hi dereko1969, it doesn't appear that there is a court hearing today. Today appears to be the last day to file a defense to Cabot's claim. It's a paperwork exercise and basically tells the court that you don't agree with Cabot's position, that you have a defense, and that you want a judge to decide.
 
Thank you all for replies. I rang belgard Solictors this morning and told them I would be disputing the amount(originally the debt was no more than 2k) and she has given me an additional 14 days to file the notice at the courts.
I feel this is the best course of action and then when it goes to court I can pay it back in instalments? Was this the best thing to do?
 
The problem now is you may have left it to late to have the case dismissed. The debt is statute barred as TLO says above. However this is your defence to the claim and you need to submit a replying affidavit ( sworn statement), drawn up by a solicitor, to the court and Belgard to this effect. Because the 28 days have expired since you received the claim notice I don't know if you have time to submit a defence. You really need to talk to a solicitor to see if it's too late to submit a defence. If it isn't you should be able to get the case dismissed.

FWIW a plaintiff must get a judgement to chase up a debt ie that is the first stage of the debt recovery. Thereafter they must return to the court to try and enforce the judgement eg getting an installment order against you. A judge will never make you pay what you can't afford and if you are of limited means the installment order, if it ever comes to that, would be manageable for you.
 
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elcato said:
Lastly, FLAC are very good at dealing with issues and generally don't tell people to get their own solicitor unless they feel they are not genuinely in dire straights. They feel you don't have much of a case I'd say.
Click to expand...

I'd say the OP putting this on the long finger might be the issue here. If this case had been addressed back in December , with the appropriate advice, it would be dismissed.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I did contact belgard solicitors and they were required to give me a additional 14 days to file the appearance and defence claim. I am swaying between saying it is statue barred(the original debt is from 2008) and there has been no contact from me since then or disputing the amount and hoping for a installement order that I can afford. Can anyone advise on the best course of action ?
 
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