On the 4th November 2016 a decree was granted against me for the sum of £1550,

I was in attendance however had no defence at the time. I had absolutely no knowledge of the matter and very little paperwork. The matter relates to money paid to a bank account by the Student Awards Agency For Scotland. I'm 49 and not a student. They claimed that several payments were made to me via a Lloyds Bank account very recently.

No money had been paid to me and I believe it was an administrative error on their part, the bank account in question is not my bank account but on the day I had nothing with which to prove this and the Sheriff granted a decree against me.

For many months I’ve been writing to Lloyds Bank and finally they responded a few days ago to confirm that I had no links to that bank account but also that the account was dormant and that no money had in fact been paid into that account. Obviously I thought I could have the decree overturned.

The court have rejected having the decree recalled as they say I was present in court, I could have it recalled if had not attended. The court have also refused to allow me to appeal since an appeal must be done within 14 days of the decree being granted.

So I seem to be stuck in a place where I’m now faced with possible bankruptcy over money which I never owed in the first place and does indeed seem to be an error.

Can you advise on how I might proceed? I had considered contacting the Sheriff Principal in Edinburgh to ask her to reconsider the case.

why did you not convey to the sheriff that you were awaiting paperwork from Lloyds to prove what you've now found out?

the 1a claim? would have been issued months in advance of any hearing /response date

you should of had well enough time to sar Lloyds, I gather that's what you did?

more info please

there is also no harm in directly contacting the pursuers

who were?

they can cancel it

Thanks for the input.

The pursuers are The Scottish Ministers (Student Awards Agency For Scotland [sAAS]).

I got a letter mid 2016 stating I owed them money for student loans made as I hadn't completed my course; these were paid out in November and December 2015.

Confusing as I haven't been a student for over 30 years.

They didn't respond to any letters,

They started court proceedings and there were two preliminary hearings at which the only evidence provided was an application form printed from the internet.

Then remember the Sheriff at the prelim hearing holding up the application and telling their solicitor that this really wasn't evidence.

I had informed the Sheriff that I had contacted Lloyds Bank to find out about the account where the money was paid to.

At the proof hearing it was a different Sheriff who was very dismissive of me, continually interrupting.

I had asked since the application was made online if there was an IP address available of the person who made the application and the Sheriff ignored me.

SAAS had an employee give evidence that the payment was made to Lloyds Bank account and that Lloyds had told her the account was in my name.

I really had nothing to offer in defence other than a letter from the University stating I wasn't a student, hadn't been offered a place and had never applied, SAAS already had this information in their productions along with the online application.

I informed the Sheriff that I was still waiting to hear from Lloyds but she said she wasn't prepared to wait any further.

Her ruling was that it was entirely likely that I had applied for the student loan and received the money.

I had made a comment that SAAS had provided no physical evidence that any payment had been made however she shot me down entirely saying that that was not the issue before the court (??).

based on that the Sheriff granted SAAS their decree against me.

Lloyds finally got back to me a few days ago with an apology (thanks) and their letter states firstly that account information is never divulged and that they have a duty of confidentiality.

They then go on to state they can find no link between the Lloyds account details provided by SAAS and myself and confirm the account is not in my name nor based anywhere near my home address.

They then go on to say that the account is dormant and there have been no transactions on the account since June 2013.

Having previous had my identity stolen

I had considered that someone had made a fraudulent application in my name although for some reason SAAS admitted they didn't carry out their usual checks to see if I had enrolled on the course before paying out the loan.

I had also considered that it may be an administration error as my daughter attends the University listed in the application and receives a loan from SAAS although her reference is different to the one on the application relating to my name.

I've tried contacting SAAS but they have simply responded saying their next step is to petition for sequestration.

I've written directly to SAAS as well as The Scottish Ministers who simply pass the matter back to SAAS.

I've been turned down for legal aid; I'm currently on Carer's Allowance as my wife is seriously ill.

I'm unaware of the "1a claim" and I simply wrote to the bank,

I didn't make a SAR,

they obviously wouldn't provide the name of the actual account holder however I just needed them to confirm that I wasn't the account holder.

As I said, the Sheriff simply dismissed it and stated she wasn't prepare to adjourn.

Is it worth contacting the Sheriff Principal requesting that the decree should be set aside and another hearing be set?

The court says that this can only be done when I've not appeared in court at the hearing.

ouch that's very poor

I cant say ive not almost been in exactly the same situation

i'm really surprised that SAAS are not taking your findings seriously

it obviously an admin error p'haps compounded by the identity theft and daughter 'link'

even though I help an live in Scotland

my actual knowledge is limited with the way courts up here work being a southerner!!

have you tried something oddball like contacting the sheriffs clerk officer at the court with this?

dx

SAAS just aren't interested in anything I have to say.

Spoken to the Sheriff Clerk who told me she's she spoken to the Sheriff who confirms that I can neither recall the decree or appeal it and that I should see further legal advice.

I was going to contact the Sheriff Principal in Edinburgh to raise the fact that there should be some kind of recourse in this situation.

i think that might be your only option

this is poor system.

have you spoken to Scottish CAB?

Spoke to Scottish CAB last week, they took down all the details and said they'll get back to me asap.

i'd chase them up

you are in danger of arrestment of wages etc if you don't act?

Yes, it's constantly on my mind. I phoned CAB again this morning and they said it would be the end of the week.

My wife recently developed a serious health condition which meant giving up work for a while until her condition improves, so at the moment I receive Carer's Allowance, not sure if that'll satisfy them.

Already had Sheriff Officers at the door twice and explained the situation and that I was trying to get the decree recalled or appeal, they were very good and said they'd report back to SAAS and let it go at that.

yes they can be very helpful and understanding.

dx

how did this resolve?