CCJ from Water Board

[tabs75]

Hi,
I had a dispute with Essex & Suffolk Water Board regarding my bill about 18 months ago (there was an error with the water meter and we didn't receive a bill for ages and then a massive one arrived). We were on a payment plan which wasn't a problem until my husband had to go on incapacity benefit and then we could afford the amount they wanted. After many phonecalls and another bill from them arriving, they decided to pass the debt to their DCA Alexander James and Co. We were on a repayment plan with them and then they decided they wanted at least half of the balance to before they could review the plan, this meant they wanted us to pay £200 in one go before a review. As we couldn't afford this they decided to pass the debt to Northampton Court. We received the papers in April which we filled out and returned immediately offering £40 a month. We got a response in June! from Alexander James accepting the offer and notifying us that a judgement has been placed against us. What is the official line on this sort of thing, should we not a been dealt an official default notice on the balance of this debt before going to court? Any advice would be appreciated. I should also mention my husband is no longer on benefits and is back working. However this is not the only bill we catching up with.
Thanks

[kasdizz]

They must send you at least one notice of pending litigation. A default notice sould normally have been sent also.

They will have then run a 'prediction report', where an employee will try at least once to contact you by phone, and will then ok the claim to go to Northampton County Court Bulk Centre.

If you were on a repayment scheme for a fixed time, and it was up for review, then they were ok in asking for a down payment. They've shot themselves in the foot by doing this though, as they could have got their money quicker by sticking to the original plan. If the plan had not expired and you had always paid by the due dates then they have made an erroneous claim, and you should speak to a good free advice center (the CAB are very good with this kind of thing) to help you get the Judgement set aside.

Has Judgement by Default been entered, or did they enter it by Admission (using the admission firm you filled out)? And did they accept your offer of £40? And have you been complying with the Court Order?

[tabs75]

Hi,

No notice of default received at all, just a letter saying the debt was being passed to the court as I could not pay what they were requesting.

I responded to the claim pack well within the required time, however it took them 6 weeks to reply and accept my £40 a month offer which was what I was paying to James Alexander anyway.

The letter sent accepting the £40 stating that a jugement would be placed against me and Yes it has when I got a copy of my credit report last week it is on there.