Hello,

I owe service charge backpayment to my management agent for my leasehold property.

They took it to county court,

then fast tracked to high court without informing me.

I only knew when I received a demand for £2100 from the Sheriff's office.

I offered to pay in instalments but they said their client wanted full payment, which I could not do.

I sent them a copy of my Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form, they said their client rejected it.

A Baliff visited my property when I was not in.

I submitted an income and expenditure form (both mine and my wife's)to the sheriff's office, which clearly shows a minus.

Even so I offered to pay £50 a month.

I have now had an email saying they will forward this to their client and if it is rejected I will receive a visit from the Baliff without any prior notice.

The amount has risen from £2100 to £3700 in just over 6 weeks, with interest at 41p a day.

There is also a charge for a Baliff visit that never happened.

I am worried sick.

Please, if you can, please advise.

I feel due process was not followed regarding the secrecy in taking this to court.

I suffer from depression due to my debt issues and this is really affecting me

theres no forced entry on these so called service charges debts

so quite honestly id not sweat about the bailiffs.

just don't entertain them

nor let them in whatever you do.

why did you not contest nor defend the CCJ?

Have you not got a chance to get set aside so you can defend ?

Looking at what you have said above then there is one question to ask before trying to suggest what route to take over this.

Were you in a position to be able to pay what was owing in full?

theres no forced entry on these so called service charges debts

so quite honestly id not sweat about the bailiffs.

just don't entertain them

nor let them in whatever you do.

 

why did you not contest nor defend the CCJ?

I had no notification of it until I received a demand from the Sheriff'S office. I was not given an opposite to defend

No. I could, at that time made an initial payment of £500, but was told by the Sheriff 'S office that their client wanted payment in full.

I can fill out an N244 form, but I need help with that. If not successful the charges will increase

so you did not receive the claimform or any prior letters etc that they were taking you to court?

Did you know about the ccj?

Your not notified of escalation to high court for enforcement purposes. Tho is done as you have failed to pay a court order

In my view Set Aside is not really an option as if you couldn't afford to have paid it you would have received a CCJ anyway.

What you can do is to apply for a Stay of Execution against the Writ the HCEO holds and also apply for a Variation Order whereby you can make affordable payments laid down by the Court.

I assume from your comments your income is limited meaning you should be able to apply for Remission of the Court fees.

HCEO referred your offer to Claimant (as reqd) which was rejected (their Right). Your only option is to apply for a Stay of Execution of the Writ.

Stay is definitely only option as advised above. A Stay will do just that Stay the execution of the writ. This gives time for you ato apply for a variation order. One thing to bear in m ind is that if you are still in the property further ongoing Service Charges will also be due and can you afford to pay them?

 

I owe service charge backpayment to my management agent for my leasehold property. They took it to county court, then fast tracked to high court without informing me. I only knew when I received a demand for £2100 from the Sheriff's office.

 

I offered to pay in instalments but they said their client wanted full payment, which I could not do.

 

I sent them a copy of my Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form, they said their client rejected it.

 

I submitted an income and expenditure form (both mine and my wife's) to the sheriff's office, which clearly shows a minus. Even so I offered to pay £50 a month.

 

I have now had an email saying they will forward this to their client and if it is rejected I will receive a visit from the Baliff without any prior notice.

You have mentioned that this debt relates to backdated service charge for your leasehold property. I am assuming that this is the property where you currently live. If so, then I would have expected that the address on the claim form (and eventual judgment) would have been correct so it surprising that you had not known about the claim. Have you made enquiries as to the address where correspondence about this debt has been sent to?

You mention the you sent a Debt & Mental Health Evidence Form to the Sheriffs Office but that this was rejected by the client.

Where did you source this evidence form from?

What evidence did you provide regarding mental health difficulties? (for example, did you provide a letter from a Mental Health Counsellor or your GP?)

Lastly, you have said that following a recent visit, you have submitted an Income & Expenditure to the Sheriffs Office and that you have received an email back from them confirming receipt and advising that they have referred this offer to their client. This may result in the warrant being returned to the client.....its difficult to know so fingers crossed.

One last question, when the enforcement officer attended your address, would he have been able to identity any motor vehicles belonging to either you or your wife and if so, would the vehicles be of a high value?

Surely a set aside is worth it IF you have some sort of defence and want to dispute the service charge amounts ? If not than theres no point.

Have a look at the LEASE site, it has helpful info about leasehold law and service charges, etc - https://www.lease-advice.org/