Hi, First time user, long time reader.

I am in a bit of a pickle, too say the least. On Monday i had a visit from a High Court Enforcement Officer from a company called ‘SHERFORCE LTD’ i was not in at the time but he had promptly put paperwork through the door.

What i received was a letter from sherforce “Warning Notice – Visit By High Court Enforcement Officer” within the paperwork there is details of an apparent CCJ against me was issued by Worcester county court on the 3rd May 2011 From a solicitors FDL for £3758.79 plus sherforce costs of £1201.49.

The debt was from about 18 Months ago for a solicitor we used to help sort a business issue out, however they tried to rip us off and it never got paid. It was in joint names, with my other half, when we employed there services

The thing is, is this? This FDL made my partner bankrupt for this debt in October last year, but yet they are now trying to get this money from me. It was in joint names when we employed there services

She had a meeting with the OR in January and it went from there, however, we have not heard from the OR for a while but she is still bankrupt and assume the OR is dealing with it.

I sent an email and letter to sherforce on Monday evening explaining the above situation and received an email back from the on Wednesday saying that they have forwarded my response to FDL and await their reply. I received a phone call from them today, demanding that i pay £5k immediately or they will come and take goods to the value plus additional costs!!!

I can’t afford to pay this in full at the moment; i am a builder in a recession! I don’t have large amounts of cash just lying around and told them as much. There reply was well if i could pay half of it then i could make an arrangement for the rest! No chance, i just haven’t got that kind of money. I offered to pay them £500 a month but they would not accept it. They say i have to pay £2500 by 10:00am tomorrow morning or they will take action to recover the money.

I guess my question is, can they actually recover this debt from me as the OR is dealing with it? Or at least we assume that they are. What are my options? I have read something about SET Aside, but not sure what that is about, declare myself bankrupt? I could really do with some advice?

Incidentally, Sherforce, when they dropped a letter through my door a third page was a walking possession order for all of the goods within the property, although i was not there to sign it. Nobody signed it?

Please help me, i have got some good advice by reading the posts on this forum over the last few months and i apologise that this post is really long.

Thanks in anticipation

Neil

Hi and Welcome to Cag.

First question is did you know about the CCJ ie: did you receive a claim pack, acknowledge the notice but did not attend the hearing and judgment was made in default? or is it a case you just had no knowledge of the ccj full stop? Your answer will determine if set aside is the right route, but you do still have the right to apply for a stay of execution which if successful stops all action of enforcement and further fees being applied to the account. We can take a closer look at fees at a later date for the most vital aspect is a stay of execution.

WD

Hi WD, thanks for you question.

I have not recieved anything saying they were going to take me to court for this, to be honest, it was kind of put to the back of my mind as the OR was dealing with it with my other half. I did not know about any pending court hearing, seen any summons / petitions or have acknowledged anything?

OP edit your post to take real names out of it as bailiffs HCEOs and other assorted lowlife also troll these forums, I'm sure the regulars will be along with some advice soon, wonkydonkey may well be on the right track, but the fly in the ointment is that as you are not bankrupt Sherforce see you as a likely prospect to screw over as your partner is under the OR, sherforce will be urinating in the wind asking them to pay them anything out of your partners assets, so as you are solvent you are their unlucky target

Thanks Brassneckked, just omitted "names"

Surely reference numbers and specific amounts should be edited aswell?

Thanks Brassneckked, just omitted "names"

Yours and your partners names needed to go but Sherforce are well known on here so they can stay named and shamed , the others will be able to point you in the right direction as they load all the fees they can think of, and plough on trying to collect them, then fall back on getting a court "Master" to tax them and they like to load wads of moolah under the miscellaneous heading as it is a licence to rip off to them. many fees can be challenged under the reason that you cannot afford to pay them, and if they carried on adding fees and pressing the debt will never be repaid. But others will be along soon no doubt to help you sort this.

Right, Hopefully edited out all names and private info. (ime only a newby)

Thanks for you comments so far

What was your first knowledge of having the CCJ?

PT

Others will know more, but it was a joint liability with your partner who is now bankrupt as a result of this debt? If so as you both appear on the strength of your first post equally both jointly and severally liable, her assets are out of reach, due to the bankruptcy but as you aren't bankrupt they can come after you for the debt. had you both been bankrupt they would be urinating into the wind imho, but you are where you are and I'm sure the regulars will be able to help you sort it out,

as per ploddertom , was the first knowledge of the CCJ when the Sherforce demand came, as the OR likely will have told them to go away but due to the joint nature of the debt FDL would go after you realising that they have partially shot themselves in the foot bankrupting your partner themselves

Monday, when I recieved the stuff from the high court office person

I certainly do not recall seeing anything from the court or sherforce prior to that!

Might be worth going for a set aside and a suspension of any warrant if you didn't receive court papers, so that you could enter a defence I'm sure the regulars will show you how to deal with thisnow.

Monday, when I recieved the stuff from the high court office person

 

I certainly do not recall seeing anything from the court or sherforce prior to that!

In that case you certainly can apply for Set Aside as you have been denied the opportunity to defend/counterclaim/make an offer of payment. However you must also bear in mind you must be able to demonstrate you will have some success in avoiding just getting a CCJ again. Have a read of this link http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_factsheets/how_to_set_aside_a_judgment_in_the_county_court.php . There is a fee to pay for this but if on a low income or certain Benefits this can be remitted.

I make the assumption that the HCEO has not gained admission to your premises or otherwise made a levy on any goods outside. You say this relates to a business debt - under what status do/did you trade - Sole Trader, Partnership, LLP, Ltd etc. If you are being chased for the debt then that suggests you also are named on the original CCJ but why they made 1 person BR and not the other is a mystery. Have you checked your own Credit History with the CRA's to find this out, alternatively you can use Registry Trust to do the same.

In my view the most important issue at present is the HCEO but you cannot do anything about this now until Monday. In the meantime you must keep all doors and windows locked and treat your home as Fort Knox.

PT

Ok, how long does this set aside thing take to work?

Do I need to tell HCEO of my intention to set aside.

From reading previous posts, I need to get a form and give it to the court?

The HCEO has not gained entry to my property as yet

Is it normal not to recieved court papers? I have checked all my post twice and found nothing?

Will they just think I am lying or something?

Thanks fir you support and advice so far

Neil

There has probably been a breach of due process, by FDL, I wonder if they have been devious, as initially you say they bankrupted your partner for the debt, so they then avoided issuing court papers to you thus denying you the opportunity to defend yourself, this allowed them to gain a default judgment against you, your partner is BR so the OR would tell them to foxtrot oscar, they then get a writ of Fi-fa and get that greedy bunch called Sherforce to proceed to enforce against you for the full debt.

You should go for the set aside and suspension of warrant as advised by PT, on the grounds that the first you knew about the CCJ wqas when Sherforce contacted you, Do it first thing Monday, go to your local county court and try to get a hearing ASAP to stop the enforcement.

Ok, how long does this set aside thing take to work? not being flippant but how long is a piece of string, a lot depends on availiability at your local Court

 

Do I need to tell HCEO of my intention to set aside. - best not to, anyway the Set Aside hactually has nothing to do with them it is between Claimant & Defendant but remember Bailiffs & HCEOs read these forums.

 

From reading previous posts, I need to get a form and give it to the court? - yes Form N244 from HMCS website

The HCEO has not gained entry to my property as yet

 

Is it normal not to recieved court papers? I have checked all my post twice and found nothing? - It happens a lot, Court documents are at the mercy of the ordinary post, they get no special handling. You should contact the Court where this happened and ask what address has been used for Service.

Will they just think I am lying or something? - Not at all

 

Thanks fir you support and advice so far

 

Neil

First off you need to get Form N244 which is available online from HMCS website, you may fill it in online but cannot save a copy. Either fill it in in its entireity and print 3/4 copies or just print several blanks and fill them in by hand. You need more than 1 copy as 1 is for the Court, 1 for the Claimant and you need at least one for yourself.

Here is an inkling of what to put:

N244 Form:

Name of Court - where CCJ was awarded

Claim No - CCJ number

Warrant No - leave blank

Claimants Name - name of Claimant as entered on CCJ

Defendants Name - name of Defendant as entered on CCJ

Date - when you filled this in

Q1 - put your name in here

Q2 - tick relevant box

Q3 - a brief description - you are applying for Set Aside because you never knew you had a CCJ until a High Court Enforcement Officer arrived. If applicable ask for case to be transferred to local Court. You also need to ask for a Stay of Execution against the HCEO on the following grounds:

a - pending determination of your Set Aside application

b - you cannot afford the fee they are asking - you will need to submit I&E

Q4 - tick No

Q5 - tick at a hearing

Q6 - leave blank

Q7 - leave blank unless relevant

Q8 - District Judge

Q9 - Claimant & Defendant

Q10 - needs expansion of Q3 - better done on sheet(s) of paper with each point bulletted. Remember to copy of Statement of Truth on to last sheet & sign + date. Tick statement of case on form and again sign + date

Q11 - fill your details in

Send form to Court where CCJ was awarded with appropriate fee.

Claimant is entitled to oppose your application but in most cases this can be disregarded.

The most important part of this application is the Stay of Execution as this can halt all enforcement proceedings and charges. As the HCEO is on the scene I would advise you take the form in person to the Court - preferably on a morning. Explain the urgency of your Stay application and usually a "spare" Judge can be found who can hear this application immediately. If granted you must notify the HCEO Company ASAP giving them details of what the Judge has ordered, name of Judge, the Court it has been heard at etc. When you receive the paperwork you must also pass a copy on ASAP, do not rely on others to do this for you.

A separate hearing will probably be arranged for your Set Aside and if successful this rolls the situation back to the point where you would have received the initial documentation.

Hope this helps.

PT

What a star, excellent info.

I will sort the form out in the morning and take it to the court 1st thing Monday.

I will update on Monday evening when I know more

I would like to thank everyone who has commented on my situation. At least I may be able to get some sleep tonight.

One thing is for sure though, these people seem to be a law unto themselves! Reading the bailiff section, they seem to get what they want by intimidation!!!

Thank to all for all for help

Neil

wd passed message to thread I was glad to help

Hi, All , hope you can help

about 3 weeks ago ish i got some advice from this forum about a high court enforcement officer calling about a CCJ which i knew nothing about. i have followed your advice, submitted a form N224? i think with a statement if truth, went to court office, submitted and paid £80.00!

about 10 days ago, i received a letter from the court stating that a hearing is scheduled for 10.00am on the 16th August 2011.

At the time i had no problem with this date but now i do.....

Since mid June, i have been unemployed! ran out of work and had to close my business and started looking for work. Finally after 7+ weeks i have got a new job and started yesterday.

The problem is, i do not think i will be able to get the time off work on the 16th, i am primarily covering other peoples holiday for the first month until a permanent vacancy is available towards the end of September.

i guess my question is: is there any way to postpone this hearing for a few weeks?

Jobs are few and far between at the moment and i don’t want to rock the boat!

I would appreciate any comments or assistance,

Thanks

Neil

My original post:

I am in a bit of a pickle, too say the least. On Monday i had a visit from a HCEO from a company called ‘SHERFORCE LTD’ i was not in at the time but he had promptly put paperwork through the door.

What i received was a letter from sherforce “Warning Notice – Visit By HCEO within the paperwork there is details of an apparent CCJ against me was issued by Worcester county court the 3rd May 2011 From a solicitors FDL for £3758.79 plus sherforce costs of £1201.49.

The debt was from about 18 Months ago for a solicitor we used to help sort a business issue out, however they tried to rip us off and it never got paid. It was in joint names, with my other half, when we employed there services

The thing is, is this? This FDL made my partner bankrupt for this debt in October last year, but yet they are now trying to get this money from me. It was in joint names when we employed there services

She had a meeting with the OR in January and it went from there, however, we have not heard from the OR for a while but she is still bankrupt and assume the OR is dealing with it.

I sent an email and letter to sherforce on Monday evening explaining the above situation and received an email back from the on Wednesday saying that they have forwarded my response to FDL and await their reply. I received a phone call from them today, demanding that i pay £5k immediately or they will come and take goods to the value plus additional costs!!!

I can’t afford to pay this in full at the moment; i am a builder in a recession! I don’t have large amounts of cash just lying around and told them as much. There reply was well if i could pay half of it then i could make an arrangement for the rest! No chance, i just haven’t got that kind of money. I offered to pay them £500 a month but they would not accept it. They say i have to pay £2500 by 10:00am tomorrow morning or they will take action to recover the money.

I guess my question is, can they actually recover this debt from me as the OR is dealing with it? Or at least we assume that they are. What are my options? I have read something about SET Aside, but not sure what that is about, declare myself bankrupt? I could really do with some advice?

Incidentally, Sherforce, when they dropped a letter through my door a third page was a walking possession order for all of the goods within the property, although i was not there to sign it. Nobody signed it?

Please help me, i have got some good advice by reading the posts on this forum over the last few months and i apologize that this post is really long.

Had a hearing today to set aside, it did not go well!!!

Basically, the judge said that as I was not disputing the debt, only disputing that I did not have the opportunity to defend myself as I did not receive the claim form that he would not grant the set aside of stay of execution. !

I don’t know what to do now, I am at my wits end, the straw that broke the camels back….. in addition, the HCEO push another piece of A4 paper through my door yesterday and charged me £1300 for the privilege.

I have briefly read about Charge orders, Installment Orders IVA’s and declaring myself bankrupt but I have no idea what would be the best option.

I was thinking about sending an email to the claimant tonight in a last ditch attempt to make an arrangement?

I would welcome any comments

neil

Three threads merged so peeps have the background.. sorry cant advise but others more expert in this field will.

S.

I have replied to this post but it seems to have disappeared when threads merged ?

I have replied to this post but it seems to have disappeared when threads merged ?

Hmm shouldnt have. thread was moved over an hour ago.

S.

Hi WD,

Not to sure whats going on with the threads - no doubt i done something wrong. i can kind of view part of the lost message via email?

To clarify what the judge said today:

The judge has refused to grant the set asside as there is no disptute with the debt; only with how the process come about, i.e not recieving a claim form to either file my defence or to make a repayment proposal.

He said that it would be irrelevant as i would have admitted that i owe the money so the outcome would have been the same. he also dismissed the stay of execution as he was not prepared to set asside.

He also said that i should contact FDL and make a proposal to repay, the debt and if unsucessfull, i could get an installment order from the court.

I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do? i have sent FDL a email tonight with a proposal, i thought at this point it couldn't hurt.

i have been trying to figure out what a installment order is? something to do with form N245 and a £35.00 fee however the information online is a bit sketchy? keeps drifting onto charge order?

thanks

neil

Ok. I will try to recall what I wrote in the previous post and now you have explained the action of today IMO the Judge was correct to refuse set aside as the grounds you went on would only have swapped one CCJ for another. Is this CCJ against you as a business or individuals? I ask because a business debt in respect of a CCJ is usually seen to be granted "as payment forthwith" ie all at once.

Now right from the word go I can tell you that if Sherfarce have not obtained entry to your home to levy on goods they CANNOT force entry to remove ANY goods so they can go hang themselves on that score, they CANNOT simply list "all goods" on a levy they MUST itemise all goods appertaining to the alleged levy, otherwise how are they going to identify those goods exempt from levy or those which have a third party claim to them? They CAN break in to ourbuildings ie: garage but only if it is detached from the dwelling, the contents of garden sheds and garden furniture etc can be levied upon which is why it is always suggested anything of valuei you have in place externally, should always be taken into the dwelling and stored.

Sherfarce can call 10 times a day 6 days a week if they are so inclined BUT as long as you make sure they cannot and do not get entry to your home they can do nothing else, they will of course add stupidly exaggerated fees for these visits but "what the hell" as will become clear further down this post. They do have a clear history of not passing on to the claimant any offer of payment the debtor has made, so you have done right to contact the claimant with your proposal to enter into a payment plan.

Should the claimant refer you back to Sherfarce with the proposal and they in turn contiue to refuse your payment proposals then you have other options.

1. You can submit Form N245 as has been suggested by the Judge and file for an installment order (ignore the reference to charge orders it is not relevent to you)

2. Sit tight and force the creditor to petition to make you bankrupt, in which case neither they or Sherfarce will get a penny from you.

3. If the creditor accepts a payment plan then that brings me back to "what the hell" for Sherfarce will without a doubt have applied charges that can be challenged, for that is their way, they do not do "fair or honest" they prefer to wait and when caught out say "never mind some you win some you lose and there is always another writ just around the corner" then hope to get lucky and find ithe next writ is for an unsuspecting mug with no understanding of the process.

Its getting late and my brain is not focused but I hope this helps. Finally there is NO quick fix to this and if you try to rush ahead you will fall over, sit back take a deep breath and appraise things logically then walk slowly toward an solid resolve..

WD