Judgment set aside

[hannahbtw]

Good evening peeps!
Ive been doing my mums claim for her (just over £2000 in penalty charges) and filed everything through MCOL.
Cobbetts missed the deadline for acknowledgment, so i duly filed for judgment by default, which i was awarded by the court on the 22nd August (last wednesday).
I thought brilliant! ultra quick claim, all done and dusted, just a quick e-mail to Cobbetts to request that they ask NatWest to pay up and let me know when Mum is to expect the cheque.....

Well...Cobbetts dragged out the e-mails back and forth "looking into it, e-mailing our clients to request payment, etc etc." and finally i get an email from Cobbetts today advising me that NatWest are asking for the judgment to be set aside!

What does this mean for this claim?
I wanted to request a warrant of execution straight away (ie on the 22nd when the judgment was confirmed) but thought no, i'll give them a chance to pay up without the threat of a warrant, and now they stall it for a week and come up with this setting aside nonsense. They really make me angry!
They didnt even acknowlege the claim, never mind put a defence in, within the timescale, so surely a judge would frown upon them applying for a set aside, when they had ample time to acknowledge and defend before!.

Any views on this?
What do i do now?
I have applied for the warrant today...but will that do any good, will their applicantion for the judgment to be set aside over-rule the warrant of execution?
I'm a bit confused as to how i can proceed on this one.
These banks make my blood boil!

Any comments folks?

Han x

[tonycee]

Hi Hannah..
I have to say that from my own experience, telling them that you have got judgement was, in hindsight, a mistake.
Not your fault, you werent to know.
Anyway, have a read of these, and follow them through on exactly the day that you can.
Hopefully you will get enforcement before they get a request in.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...t-how-get.html

How to enforce a Judgement.

Warrant of execution


I really hope that any judge would have the guts to dismiss any request, but you just dont know these days.

Good luck, im watching with interest. ( no not 8% )

[hannahbtw]

Thanks for your reply Tonycee!
I guess i shouldnt have e-mailed them telling them of the judgment, before they received the order from the court the following day (23rd).
As i'd been through 2 successful claims like this before, i thought this one would follow suit...obviously not!
They knew full well that the judgment had been awarded, but still kept fobbing me off by e-mail, saying that they had requested the money from NatWest, then saying that the girl who deals with my claim was off sick, etc..i should have smelt a rat and filed for the warrant sooner in hindsight!
Their e-mail today says that they HAVE today filed for the judgment to be set aside, so as i applied for the warrant today also, i guess its a race to see which the court chooses to uphold.
Just annoyed that all week theyve been stalling it and only now they choose to tell me that they are trying to set it aside.
Heres hoping that the judge takes my side! lol!
Thanks again for the info, i had a read of the links and interesting to note that they can apply to have the warrant suspended, but i would have to agree to it, if not the court would set an appointment for the claimant and defendent to attend......wondering if NatWest would bother to show...or just pay up!!!

Han x

[tonycee]

My gut feeling ( and its a huge gut ) is that you will come through this ok.
If you were awarded Judgement on the 22nd, I doubt if Cobbnitts would have even got it yet, and even if they have, they are not very good at putting 2+2 together.
Send in the BIG BOYS ASAP.

P.S. Stop ALL communication with Cobbnitts & Nastywest.
Dont keep showing them your hand.

[Loonychoons]

Hi Hannah - good luck, would think you'll be ok. Am watching to see how you do so keep us informed please!

[hannahbtw]

Thanks so much for the support guys!
I've got everything firmly crossed that i do manage to get this pay-out for my Mum, would mean alot, as she's even more skint than me (quite a hard feat but she manages it!).
I've requested the warrant today, so hopefully by tomorrow it will be showing as "accepted" on MCOL.
Will keep you all informed of my progress.
Thanks again for the solidarity!

Han x

[tonycee]

Originally Posted by hannahbtw

I've requested the warrant today, so hopefully by tomorrow it will be showing as "accepted" on MCOL.

Do everthing Personally through your local court.

[hannahbtw]

Quick update:
My warrant request was accepted and has been sent to the bailiff at the appropriate court for action!
Well, thats what it says on my MCOL claim menu anyway, lol!
Tonycee, i wish i could do everything personally through my local court, but being a lowly coach driver, i work 6am until 8pm 6 days a week, and am never in my local area to do that kinda thing, hence having to do everything online in the evenings...it sucks, i know.

Also, today received Cobbetts application for the set-aside, and a copy of their standard "defence" and request for more information. They say that they have sent a copy of all of this to the Court too.
Do u think the Warrant, now its been issued, will override their request to have the judment set aside? It seems we are neck-and-neck in the fight for this claim to be resolved.
Any comments folks...
Han x

[hannahbtw]

This morning i received a Notice of Warrant Issued from NCC, stating that the warrant was issued against the defendant on 31st august. It then goes on to say that it has been sent for execution to a London Court (im assuming the address stated is a Court local to Natwests Bishopgate office).
Says at the bottom that until the warrant is satisfied, i must inform that local court immediately if i receive any payment direct from the defendant.

So what do i do now? Has anyone got to this stage in enforcing a judgment?
I really thought that NatWest would have paid up by now...surely an enforced judgment isnt gonna look good on their CRA file, lmao!
Seriously though, is there anything that can go wrong at this stage..?
I'm thinking that i should be sending a TV crew down with the bailiff, hehe!
Do i just wait to hear from this London Court? How will i know when they intend to go to NatWest to "collect" on this judgment?
Blimey...so many questions...
Anyone that can shed any light..or am i just being impatient.
Views invited..
Han x

[tonycee]

Originally Posted by hannahbtw

Do i just wait to hear from this London Court? How will i know when they intend to go to NatWest to "collect" on this judgment?

Yes. Do absolutely nothing.
You will know soon enough.
They will walk in with a warrant of execution, and walk out with your money.
It should be a matter of hours now, not weeks/months.
Im sooooooooooo excited for you....

[hedgey06]

Wow! Can't wait for the update on this!

Best of luck Hannah

[hannahbtw]

Thanks for the replies!
Nothing in the post this morning, but i guess it'll take a week or so, the courts are still inundated i bet.
Would love to be a fly on the wall at Bishopsgate when the bailiff walks in, hehe!
Will keep you all updated!
Han x

[hagenuk]

You need to read this page. You are not out of the woods yet, at any stage in this process Nat West can apply to the court to halt proceedings.

Guide To Reclaiming Bank Charges - April 2008 - draft

Problems arise when claimants attempts to file for judgement in default. This will almost certainly be opposed and the claimant will end up having to wait for a set aside hearing, which could take weeks. Then the set aside is almost always granted and the claimant has to wait again while the defendants file their defence.

Civil Law is very, well, civilised and surprises, sneak attacks and ambushes are simply not permitted.

[hannahbtw]

Court appointed bailiffs only work between 10 and 4, they write to the defendant first, then do nothing for 8 days, then write again, are not allowed to enter premises by force and will almost always leave empty handed having struck a deal with the debtor.

In cases where the defendants do pay, the money is held by HMCS for a further 14 days in case the payment is reversed and then it is paid to the claimant by the court, but many courts only issue cheques once a week therefore you may suffer yet further delays.

Oh well...looks like i could be in for a long wait after all. That link you posted makes disheartening reading.
NatWest make me mad, they had ample time to submit a defence originally, instead chose to ignore the claim, whereby i entered a judgment by default (as anyone would) and yet when i go to enforce it they are up in arms asking for a set-aside/stay. Sort yourselves out Natwest! Cant have everything your way all of the time.
Sometimes seems like the law is more in favour of the baddies than the goodies!
*settles in for long wait*

[hannahbtw]

Rang the court in London yesterday to enquire about a timescale on the execution of the warrant.
Apparently the bailiff takes approx 4 weeks to submit an "interim return" to the court(??) (as its been only 2 weeks, ive 2 weeks still to wait!).
It isnt an in-house bailiff either, but an appointed baliff firm that the courts make use of.
In the meantime Nastywest have applied to the court to have the judgment set-aside, i received the paperwork from the court (northampton) saying that an application to set aside judgment has been filed on 7th September and that the case has been transferred to Gloucester County Court (which i spose is coz its Mums home court...not mine unfortunately, day off work to attend hearing will be in the offing i bet!)
Do i need to send Cobbetts anything? Or send the Court anything? I want to appeal against them applying to have this judgment set-aside, but dont know how to go about it.
Also, before the Court sent me the notice about the application to have the judgment set-aside, i received a copy of the documents from Cobbetts, i.e their defence, witness statement and also a "request for further information and clarification".
Am i right in thinking that i dont need to send a reply to Cobbetts re this, but i would have to reply if the court asked me for it??
Is there a template letter anywhere on how to respond to Cobbetts request for info that i dont need to legally supply!?
Sorry, so many questions... hope someone can help me out.
Many Thanks in advance.
Han x

[hannahbtw]

Update:
Rang the Court where the warrant is being executed from, and they advised me that it had been "put on hold" as they had word from Gloucester County Court that an application for a set-aside hearing had been submitted by Cobbetts.
Bugger!
I knew that this would happen.
So im at the end of the line with the warrant route, im not going to get mums money through the bailiff after all.
Instead i now have to wait for this "set-aside" hearing to take place.
Rang Gloucester County Court for a timescale, but was told there is none...the application had been submitted to the Judge on the 20th September, but that was all the lady on the desk could tell me.

So what do i do now with regards to this "request" from Cobbetts about supplying further information under CPR Part 18?
I'm sure there is a letter on here someplace that im to send to them/the Court saying that im not obliged to supply them with anything unles the Court directs me to. Please can someone point this link out to me.
I'm scared witless about going to this upcoming hearing(whenever it might be), as i honestly didnt think it would come to this...and havent a clue what i should be doing to get prepared.
Need help!!
Han x