Well in, Car! Do you know whether you will have the same judge at subsequent hearings? If so, she seems to be a good one - i.e. she's not willing to be hoodwinked by the opposing solicitor. All bodes well . . . BAE

Hi, I would simply add it on. You've gone through the correct process, sending the requisite letters, giving them time, etc, so they cannot claim otherwise. I've had two claims against B/Card and both times it went to the court claim stage. And both times they settled a few weeks prior to the court hearing. It's their policy - they won't pay if they can get out of it and will they will test your resolve, for sure. . . but one thing is certain - they will pay up in the end! Go for it! BAE

The application wasn't attached, so I rang an hour ago and the court is going to send it . . . BAE

Hi, Tom, All I've received is a 'Notice of Hearing of Application'. It is dated 18th February. It simply says, The hearing of the defendant's application for Set Aside Judgement, (see copy attached), will take place at xxxxxxx on the xxx March at xxxxx County Court. BAE

Kittycatty, Have you considered making your claim through your local county court ?MCOL are staying all charges claims even credit card charges. BAE

Cheers for the replies, everyone! Well, a date has ben set for the set aside hearing - early March. Surprisingly, there was no set aside application attached to the court directions, even though it said, 'see attached application' so I'll have to follow that one up as well. In the meantime I've been on the phone to the CC company's litigation depatment to see if they're willing to pay my claim in return for me not objecting to the set aside. They've told me it's in the hands of their 'legal' department, who are quite prepared to defend the claim. The litigation mob are supposed to ring back with further info regarding my proposals, in the next day or two. I also told them I hadn't received a copy of the N244 application and asked that they supply me with one. So, unless they respond favourably I have to prepare for the setaside. I will certainly be turning up for the hearing and will be objecting to their application. Trouble is, I've not read one thread where objecting to a setaside has actually worked! (bear in mind that this is not an objection to a stay application.) So any ideas for the hearing are welcome. At the moment I will be highlighting the fact that I have followed every procedure by the book while they have blatantly ignored my LBA, the Court claim form and the judgement. I have also phoned them on many occasions and they have had plenty of time to defend the case etc. All my letters were sent recorded/ proof of posting and I have logged every phone conversation. It was only after the bailiffs arrived at their head offices that they acknowledged a thing! So - have I got a case? And has anyone any other ideas? Cheers, BAE

Update - Rang the bailiffs 2 days ago to see what was happening. She phoned the CC company and was told that they had applied for a set aside!!! Now my plan is to contact the defendant to see if they are willing to pay out my claim in return for me not objecting to the set aside. Phoned yesterday and got passed to about 4 different departments, none of which knew what was going on. I'll try again tomorrow, but I have one question: are they likely to achieve a set aside after 28 days of the default judgement being awarded? Is there any rule that governs the late application for a set aside? (Okay, more than one question!) If I can find this information it may give me more leverage when it comes to the negotiations . . . BAE

Are they stupid, ignorant, or is this a common tactic employed by them? Yes, yes and yes to all of the above. In my experience they can be nasty and unscrupulous too! BAE

Thanks! BAE

If the debt is statute barred, something like this: I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY DEBT TO XXXXXXXXXXXX Dear Sir/Madam Acc/Ref No xxxxxxxxxxxx You have contacted me regarding the account with the above reference number, in which you claim £xxxxx owed. I would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.” I would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”. The alleged debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against us to recover the alleged amount claimed. The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970”. I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter. I look forward to your reply. Yours faithfully XXXXXXXX BAE

Hi, Cos, I'm in the process of enforcing a default judgement on a credit card company. In case they don't play ball with the county court bailiffs, would it be adviseable to take it a step further and get it enforced by HC bailiffs? If so, how do you do it? How much does it cost? What is the chance of success? Lots of questions, I know(!) but I'd be grateful for any info, cheers. BAE

Hi, BettyB, They can'tcan claim back this debt if it is over 6 years old - it's called 'statute barred.' When was the last time you paid anything towards this debt, or when the fee was originally issued? If you can find this out then you will be able to tell if your debt is statute barred. If so, they are on a fishing trip, hoping that you will acknowledge the debt, pay something towards it, and give themselves another 6 years to harass you! BAE

Hi, MrsFoot, Don't know I can help you but I'm in the middle of enforcing a CCJ - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legalities/124731-ive-got-judgement-default.html - so am interested in what you are planning! Have you received judgement against a large financial institution and are wondering how you can penalise them for their behaviour? I may have to look into this myself. In the past I have received 2 default judgements, one against Amex, and one against MStanley. Amex paid up sharpish and got the ccj wiped rom the record by satisfying the debt. MStanley only paid when the bailiffs were sent in, and have never asked me to sign to say that the debt has been satisfied - so this CCJ should still be on their record. Are they bovvered? I really don't know, but you would think that their credit licence could be revoked if this was a common occurence, (in reality, though, cat in hell's chance!). I guess a standard complaint to the OFT would be one way to proceed and I'm not sure if this would do much anyway . . . are you thinking of such? BAE

Thanks, Tifo Yes, I may consider sending this to the High Court bailiffs if the county court bailiffs have no success. I doubt it will come to that, though. By now the cc company, (who I'm sueing), know about the default judgement and I think they will have to act, (surely they couldn't be that stupid!). I figure they will do one of two things - 1) pay up or 2) apply for a set aside. Now, if they agree to paying up in return for me not objecting to the set aside, no problem! But if they go for a set aside and won't pay, that's when the fun will begin! BAE

mrman, How did you get on at court? BAE

Chris, I think you have all bases covered in this one. You've done the research and bought the T shirt! If, and that's a big IF, this does go to court, you will know the exact history of the dispute unlike any bog standard solicitor they send, who will probably not have the foggiest . . . BAE

Cheers, Car & Saintly, Whatever happens, it's been fun! As I said, I'm not building my hopes up, yet. On the one hand, the defendant has shown to be totally incompetent and ignored all communication regarding the claim - good for me; on the other, I know this claim is not as watertight as my previous claim which they paid out - the present claim contains CCI and charges past the 6 years etc . . . so if a set aside is granted, I will have to prepare my case very carefully. Also, I'm itching to say who the c/c company is but because of a past creditor monitoring the site, I can't yet . . . BAE

Hi, Car, Just skimmed your thread and it makes interesting reading! Even though it's galling that they have put in a request for a set aside at this stage, I would say that you have a firm advantage. You've done everything by the book, followed CPR correctly, while O2 have blatantly ignored the court's judgement. If you do end up in court, the judge surely must take this into consideration. Let me see if i've got this right - your claim is for the removal of a default, (or 2?), + £65 court fee + damages caused by the unlawful default of £1000? (as I said, I skimmed your thread!). Have you considered contacting the litigation team at O2 directly to come to a settlement? I'm just thinking aloud but do you think they'd be willing to remove the defaults, write off any outstanding balance from your contract and pay you the court fee in return for an early settlement? (This might be a tactic if you weren't too bothered with the £1000 damages.) Or maybe you just want to see them squirm in front of the judge , trying to explain their incompetence! (who wouldn't!). And the crazy thing is, it's probably already cost them more in solicitor's costs for that defence, than it would to pay out your claim. Good luck . . .

Contacted the court bailiffs today. They told me a few interesting things - namely that they have contacted the cc company to ask for my money, and will be phoning them again in a few days if they have not responded. In her experience, (yes, the bailiff was a woman!), the Warrant can be passed around from department to department several times before the right people get hold of it! The bailiff, by the way, she was very helpful. She even told me of a financial company, ( bank / cc company ?) which she had gone to recently to request payment. She ended up standing in the reception of this company, telling them that the 'van was on its way' - funnily enough, this made them produce a cheque in minutes! Oh, yeah, and she said that there was 'plenty of stuff she could take' from the Head Office of the defendant in my case! I should have asked her if she had done a levy but forgot. So, basically, the bailiff sounded hopeful in retrieving the money and even said that sometimes the money can be transferred direct to your bank account. However I won't be counting any chickens yet. I wouldn't put it past them to apply for a set aside even at this late stage . . . BAE

Hi, SG, Any update on the directions the DJ sent you? Have you found out what the 'schedule' is yet! ? BAE

Thanks, Chris, Part of me is getting impatient and I'm thinking of phoning the litigation team at the CC company to ask them when they are going to pay up. I will politely inform them of the judgement against them, recording all details of what they say, and give them the phone number of the bailiffs so they have have a chat about their 'situation.' This is a company who have fobbed me off in the past, with months of "We ain't gonna pay ya," then - lo and behold - as soon as the court claim gets started, "Oh, okay, how much do you want?" (A previous claim.) For this new claim, they didn't even have the decency to reply to my request for charges, instead they left it for 5 weeks, then, on about the 5th time I phoned them, said, "No, we're not gonna pay you, you've had your lot." Apparently, they don't even see fit to tell you by letter - their words, not mine. Maybe they're just inundated with 1000s of claims and can't cope, poor dears. Anyway, if this does ever get sorted I will reveal the name of these scallywags, though some of you have probably guessed already. BAE

Phoned up today and asked if any enforcing had been done yet. The warrant has been sent to a county court that is nearer to the defendant's address so they can enforce it there. Apparently it can take up to a month before any enforcement action is taken! The court staff also told me that the defendant could still apply for a set aside even though I waited for 28 days after getting the default judgement, before I issued the WOE. Hope they are wrong! I will scour the rules on enforcing judgement to check this. I would love to know the likelihood of them successfully getting a set aside after all this time, and after ignoring both the initial claim and the default judgement. Okay, if it was a litigant in person, maybe there could be mitigating circumstances like changing address, going on holiday etc - but this is a mutinational, multi - billionaire company with thousands of staff! Surely they can't be this incompetent? BAE

Update; The 28 days are up! I issued the Warrant of Execution yesterday. Will phone up the court bailiffs on Friday to see how they are doing . . . BAE

Hi, MrMan Now that the dispute is at the court stage, there is no need to do a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request). They have to send you any information you require under CPR (Civil Procedure Rules). Below is a template letter you need to send to LLoyds asap, by recorded delivery - not forgetting to edit it for your own purposes. In the XXXX County Court Claimant -v- (YOUR NAME) Claim Number: (CLAIM NUMBER) Dear XXX REQUEST FOR INFORMATION I have received a recent court claim from your organisation. In order to file a defence and counter claim I require some information. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below. The information must be furnished within fourteen days of the receipt of this letter. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought. 1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of default and at the time the account was opened. 2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to: a. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditor b. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my account formerly held with XXXXXXXXXX c. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold. d.Documents relating to any insurance added to the account, including the insurance contract and terms and conditions, date it was added and deleted (if applicable). e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers. f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied. g. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998 h. A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed. i. Copies of statements for the entire duration of the credit agreement. 3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court. I will require this information within the next fourteen days. I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim. Yours sincerely, XXXX (type, don't sign). You will also need to Write a Witness Statement detailing your situation and why you have not replied to the claim, (holidays etc), and any other relevant details as to why you need more time. Only you can do this as only you know the situation exactly. For example, the DJ will want to know that you have legitimate grounds for defending the case, and why you have let it get to this stage. Plus if you get it all down in a statement you will feel less pressure in court as you can refer to it. If you get to the court early on Monday you can get an affadavit, which is basically a sworn statement that what you've written is true, signed by the court staff for free. I would if it was me. By the way, the template letter is letter 3 in this excellent thread by Tomterm. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt/108467-basic-introduction-consumer-credit.html I would give it a good read because it will at the very least reassure you that the 'courtroom' is not as scary as it sounds! And most of all, read this!! http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/guidance-notes/64911-got-court-date-guide-new-post.html BAE:)

Hi again. My thinking was actually whether this was an 'Allocation Hearing' - these are usually, (but not always) held before the main hearing to decide issues like which 'track' the case is allocated to, whether the defendant / claimant needs to produce documents, and by which date, etc. Basically the District Judge will use this hearing to clarify these matters with the both parties and issue directions on how the case is to proceed. Alternatively, the claimant may have asked for a summary judgement at a hearing, where they will ask the judge to make a decision against you. If the court form does not indicate either of these hearings, I would get on the phone asap to the court to clarify at which stage this case is and what type of hearing it is. Once we know that, I am sure you will get the advice you need - if not, I will send a message to someone with experience in these matters to help you out. Hope that makes sense! BAE