Have today received interim charging order and date for hearing late November. I have been making monthly payments as agreed for 4 months of £50 and have made an additional payment of £500 due to selling a piece of machinery, therefor reducing the amount owing from2800 to 2100 within 4 months. The offer of £50/month was offered to the hceo's acting on the creditors behalf and was bluntly refused but readily accepted as soon as the debt got passed back to the creditor, so the debt could have been reduced by another 3 - 400 pound by now had they accepted the offer at the time. The house is in joint names with my partner but the debt is in my sole name, the debt is to "howdens Joinery", we have no equity in the property. Have made all these points directly to howdens and cant understand why they are still pushing ahead with the application. My questions are really why would they carry on with this action costing them money when as I understand it they would have virtually no chance of getting a forced sale, due to the house being jointly owned and there being no equity. also is a judge likely to make the order final when there is an agreed payment plan in place which I am honouring and making substantial additional payments. Would be grateful for some advice. Cheers all..

Not filed my defense yet as unsure what to include, will it help or hinder me if disclose all my financial detail? Do I have to use the forms provided? If not are there any templates wich I could use? Should I counterclaim? If so which form's, specified or unspecified amount. Brief history: Made an official offer to mortgage company, no rebuttal therefore deemed accepted, been paying monies without fail to honour my agreement. Mortgage company now saying a/c in arrears! How can this be if I'm honouring my agreement? Can't be any arrears if agreement in place. Mortgage company sent field agent without warning to my home, made official complaint. I have revoked power of attorney over all parties involved and requested info on document excised on my behalf., no response. Asked for deed of assignment, no response, letter threatening to strike out if I attempt to defend their claim. Have official claim with financial ombudsman also regarding non compliance on their behalf to pre action protocol. Is there anything vital I may have missed? Anything I should or shouldn't include in my defense? Help.....time is running out.

I have a discplinary hearing tomorrow and i need some advice as i believe i have been targetted and singled out to be made a example of for the rest of the unit and they aim on dismissing me. i work in a call centre, i was caught with my phone on the unit, which is a big no no, which i accept, and they have issued a letter for a disciplanry hearing. Now, i believe i am being target and my reasoning behind this is.. numerous people within the unit have been previously been caught with mobile phones out on the unit and all they have had is a slap on the wrist, not even a written warning. 1 guy was caught on his phone by the operations managers' manager, he nothing happened to him, a girl was caught twice in 1 day by the same team leader on both instances, and she never get repremanded for anything, another guy, openly showed agents. managers and team leaders pictures on his phone and facebook of girls, and to top all this off, 1 guy, who next to the person who is doing my disciplinary hearing, OPENLY, uses his phone while she is sat next to him, not even trying to hide it and he has never been "caught" so clearly in my eyes this guy believes even if this manager sees him using the phone, nothing will be done, YET, with me, this is my first infraction, i am a model employee, i have the best sales stats, top 5 in the call stats, never been told off, nothing, and yet ive been pulled in for basically a dismissal, am i being paranoid or does this sound like im being targetted to be used to set a example for the unit by them dismissing me?

Is it pretty normal for tribunal to go from .. et1 and et3 accepted then straight to final hearing? ( and just filling in form which asks what dates I might not be available) after i send this how long should i expect to wait for the date?

Hi there I did a google search on this and have read a few threads on here regarding this but thought id ask about my own personal case. I have been suspended from work since the 16th of july after i appeared in a news paper article naming me but not the company i work for nor the clients site ( i am a industrial cleaner working on a private aircraft manufacturing site). It said in the paper i was "high on cannibas" when i supposedly committed this offense but i was acquitted of the charge with a not proven verdict, i stupidly made a false confession for reasons that il keep to myself unless needed, the reason i told the police i was high on cannibas at the time was because my ex's mother told me to say this to lesser my sentence if i got one was schizophrenic people get lesser sentences anyway as i said this was a false confession. I hadnt told my employer about the court case before or after the case ended because frankly i didnt know how to talk about it. They asked me to do a drugs test which i agreed to do which they still haven't arranged but i have just received a disciplinary hearing letter for the 30th of july, there reasons are as follows. 1. Suspicion of drug use whilst working for the company, the site operates a zero tolerance, due to the fact that you drive and operates machinery as well as lone working on the nightshift this is a real concern. In our company handbook it states coming into work under the influence of alcohol or drugs is classed as gross misconduct. 2. Failure to inform your employer that you were attending court as part of a trial aggainst yourself for allegations of a violent behavior, in which your employer andsite client were informed about through a newspaper article naming you, this may have brought both the company and our client into disrepute. 3. Breach of trust and confidence by failing to inform your employer before or after the court case to enable us or the client to prepare for any consequences of the newspaper article. It goes on to say........ This is a serious allegation and, if proven, may be regarded as gross misconduct, therefore any disciplinary action may result in your dismissal from the company. Now this hand book they talk of i have never seen nor have i had a copy of any contract to say if i have to inform them if i where attending court. Its a pretty big well known company, they in my opinion and colleagues opinions are looking for ways of paying people off, they have cut costs and recently paid off 6 employees on the site. I dont see how they can have this meeting without doing the drugs test first?

Hi i was working for a company in the public sector , one of the things in my defense is the basic fact that they was in breach of contract because .... The manager forced me into taking a break at the end of the duty which i am claiming effected my performance According to ACAS It's extremely important that workers take breaks. Studies have shown that heavy workloads and stress can make workers less productive, increase the risk of mistakes, and affect health. and should have their break at some point during the middle of there shift rather than adding the break to the end or beginning of work. In the CWU agreement contract it states breaks must not be taken at the end of the duty. I have it in writing in the interview notes when i pointed out that i was stressed because i had had no break " we have spoken about this before , U MUST TAKE YOUR BREAK AT THE END." ( which was just to suite manager so he can can close doors early and get away earlier while im on my "break" as im walking home) The company s CWU has a binding agreement which means it is contract ... contract of employment explicitly mentions the inclusion of collective agreements with the cwu.This means that all valid collective agreements are express contractual terms.Breaching those terms is a breach of contract. Its gone straight to FINAL HEARING .. i dont know if that is the final thing skipping any kind of pre hearing or whatever? Anyway would you guys say this is breach of contract or what. sorry if this makes no sense

I have an ongoing case with britanica recoveries who took over an MBNA credit agreement taken out in 2005. they are chasing me for over 12K! and am very afraid that if they manage to get my defense struck out I will have a ccj against me. they have applied to court to struck out my defense of not providing the credit agreement. I have received the alleged credit agreement with the signed page in 2005 but not the original credit agreement which from my research on the forum credit agreements pre 2007 were unenforceable. can somebody help me with this pickle. please help

A deputy district judge has allocated a case FILED by my former accountant for hearing by July 30. I think its time I write and submit a statement of case with documents as evidence. What do you think? Thanks for your quick response

I have recieved a repossession hearing date from the courts for Capstone Mortgages, due to being self employed my payments have always been a week or 2 late but I have always paid. However due to the 2 recent bank holidays the cheques from my customers arrived even later, which put me one whole month in arrears and the next month 2 weeks overdue. Which they said amounted to £960. However upon phoning them one of my payments had crossed the letter in the post and I was only £460 in arrears, but they were going to add on £115. I paid the £575 and they then give me until the 15th of this month to pay this month mortgage, which I have paid and I am up to date. Their solicitors Lightfoots however have told me that they are still going to go for possession even though I have no arrears, the hearing date is 9th July, what do I do to stop this, I am going to lose my home and I do owe anything.

Hi I hope someone can help, I am attending a disciplinary hearing on Monday for an action at work that I fully admit to. The issue itself would have just resulted in a Final Verbal warning but for the fact that I failed to disclose at the initial factfind that I had done the action more than once. So I am looking at Gross Misconduct for dishonesty. (NB I am not able to discuss actual details due to restrictions placaed on me for my suspension) Now the omission was not intentional, I know it seems that way, it's just that when I was in the factfinding meeting I was concentrating on dealing with what was in front of me and it totally slipped my mind, I was dealing with the here and now. To be honest I often find that if I am concentrating on one thing some of the other things I have said I am going to deal with go straight out of my head. I often find myself writing things down to remind me. Recalling the fact find and reading the minutes that have been provided I can't recall actually been asked directly whether there any other instances and can't find any reference to it in the inital fact find. I feel that if I have been directly asked it would have jogged my memory and I would have told them about it, as I feel that in those situations it's always bet to be honest and I wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Has anyone any ideas on how to phrase this in my hearing as well as expressing regret and remorse for the initial incident?

Last Sept I was told by my supervisor that a client I worked with had made very damaging accusations against me. I was so distressed I took some leave and was told by docs (mine and theirs) that I suffered from depression. Now many months later I still have problems and take medications. During a grievance proceedure I discovered that there were extraordinary safeguards in place to protect staff. This was never mentioned to me, nor was I advised the client had a history of making off the wall accusations. I won the grievance (just a tecnicality), attended an Absence Management (we cannot bring you back to work until you are given a clean bill from the docs), and sent to visit other avenues of possible healing. Now they want another meeting and to discuss the possibilithy of a capability hearing. My sickpay is all used up, I am turning 68 soon and have a private pension. My question is what now? What are my options and how should I proceed. I still have anger, resentment and issues of trusting with the workplace. I would like some accountability on their part.

I was seen by an off duty police officer using my mobile phone and no seatbelt. They sent me a letter stating I can goto court or plead guilty in writing and without going to court.. Does anybody know what the maximum penalty/points this could carry? Somebody mentioned that if you are convicted of more than one offence you'd get points for 1 of the 2 offences, whichever carries the most number of points? Is this correct?

Hi I made a claim through money claim online to which i paid the court fee I received notification from my county court that i now have to pay a hearing fee. Is this normal practice when i have already paid to bring the claim? Thanks

i have an hearing this week is it normal for the defence solicitor to send me their witness statment? does this mean they wont be attending court ? also i have a charge on the house 1 of the papers says somthing along the lines of "we have been instructed to commence possetion procedings" a few lines further down it says could you please confirm if you have begun precidings ? any advice would be great

Hi everyone, back in March last year I had an ET hearing for constructive unfair dismissal breach of contract disability discrimination. The case failed on grounds of no discrimination having taken place even though I was found to be disabled! I then applied for review of judgement (not granted) An appeal was submitted to the Employment Appeals tribunal, from a solicitor (not granted) I now have 1 hour, oral hearing in front of the EAT judge (respondent not present) in London early next year (to persuade the judge to allow the appeal in) I have been advised that I need prepare a bundle (much shorter than the previous ET bundle) and prepare a skeleton argument. I have until mid December to get all the paperwork into the EAT. I am not too sure as to the process and preparation of the case and am handling it myself. I would be very grateful for any help from the more experienced Caggers. Many thanks Best wishes BB

Hi All, I am in Northern Ireland and I currently have a case against a previous employer for 3rd Party Harassment. I was working in a nightclub and was sexually assaulted (penetrated) by a customer, the last in a long line of harassment issues by customers, against not only myself, but also other staff members. In their ET3, the employer has defended their position by arguing that 'it took all reasonably practicable steps to prevent staff being harassed, and as such cannot be held liable', because of adequate security presence etc.... However, during the course of discovery, I have received security check sheets from the Respondent showing that security checks (conducted every 20 minutes according to their records), were missed for 1hour 20minutes, totalling 4 checks, on the night in question. My Question is would I be worth my time to request a pre-hearing review to get this response, or at least this part of their defence struck out, and say that their claim has little or no prospect of success? They have made the assertion that they had done everything they could, and cant be liable. However even their own evidence suggests that this is a blatant lie, and by the same logic they would then be liable. Is this something a pre hearing review would consider or would I just bring this up when they argue it at the hearing? Below is a copy of the letter I have drafted to the tribunal, but I don't know if I should send it or they would consider it. ================================================================= 'I, beingthe claimant in the above matter, would like at this time to requesta pre-hearing review to consider the veracity of the Respondent'sdefence of this tribunal claim. The main reason for doing so is thatI believe that the Respondent's claim has little or no chance ofsuccess and I believe it should be partly, or wholly struck out. There area number of issues outlined below which I believe should beconsidered. The Respondent has stated in their ET3 form that, 'Without prejudice to the foregoing even if accepted that the assault took place the Respondent does not accept that it has any liability in respect of this and further contends that it took all such reasonably practicable measures to prevent such an assault from occurring as evidenced by both the number of security personnel in place...'. However, during the course of discovery, it has come to the attention that on the nights of the main incidents, namely the 18th and 19th of January 2013 (incidents mentioned in the claimants ET1 form), security checks which the company claim are conducted every 20 minutes, and had always been done so before this weekend, ceased on the toilets in question at 1.40am while the club remained open until 3.00am, on both evenings, even though checks were still carried out on the other areas of the premises up until 3.00am. This point also raises another issue in the ET3 when the Respondent stated that 'It is denied that the toilets within the premises are not secure'. Clearly in their own written reports they have proven that the toilets were not secured on the nights in question by a member of security. The Respondent has also argued in their ET3 form that, 'Without prejudice to the foregoing even if accepted that the assault took place the Respondent does not accept that it has any liability in respect of this and further contends that it took all such reasonably practicable measures to prevent such an assault from occurring as evidenced by..., procedures and risk assessments in place and adhered to...'. However, according to the Respondent themselves, on the 2 incidents involving xxx, incidents involving xxx and xxx, no incident report forms were filled in by security or management, and with regards to my incident on the 19th January 2013 (incident of sexual assault), the Respondent freely acknowledges that the Assault was reported to and investigated by xxx, Club Manager (even though no incident report or notes are said to exist). However, in the Door Supervisor Summary Job Description, Main Duties, point number 7, clearly states that 'all incidents that occur are fully documented using incident reports, on the same night that the incident occurs'. Therefore, the Respondent cannot argue release from Liability for its procedures in place, when the procedures have clearly been shown not to be adhered to at all times. It is forthe reasons outlined above that the Claimant believes there may be aneed for a Pre-Hearing review, so as to get either this part of thedefence, or the defence by the Respondent in its entirety struck out,as the Respondent has little reasonable prospect of success in thedefence of this claim. The Respondent cannot argue that they cannotbe liable because they took all such reasonably practicable measuresto prevent this type of incident when it can be so easily proven thattheir reasonably practicable measures were not always adhered to assuggested within their own policies. By the same logic, as it can beso easily proven that the security presence and procedures wereinadequate or not adhered to, and therefore they did not take allreasonably practicable measures to protect staff, they are whollyliable, and the Claimant feels that this part of the defence cannotbe allowed to stand, in my opinion. ' Thanks

Basically trying to prepare for a 3.10 hearing and need guidance on the following: Does a new point of law and fresh evidence need to be presented at the hearing or prior to the hearing? Can a similar case successful at an employment tribunal be cited where exactly same policy was relied on and the organisation is the same? Is it acceptable to file extract of policy documents in the bundle rather than entire policy documents in order to comply with 100pages requirement.

Hi CAGgers. I recently submitted an N244 requesting that a CCJ against me (claimant is Egg being represented by Arrow Global) be set aside as the paperwork had been sent to the wrong address (which was naughty as Arrow Global knew my correct address.) The paperwork was sent to 357 High Road (which doesn't exist) and I lived at 357B High Road. I have now received a Notice of Hearing of Application saying that my hearing will take place in court in early Feb. What information should I take to the hearing? Is proof of my correct address sufficient, or should I prepare another line of defence? Will the judge 'investigate' whether or not I contest the debt, or is this simply a matter of proving that I did not receive the original paperwork? Thanks for all your help!

Hi there I am confused! I have been having numerous telephone calls from Frederikson International Ltd about an old overdraft with Lloyds. I have ignored the phone and the calls have stopped. However a man called Terry knocked on the door last Friday and asked my 13yr old if I was in. My husband didn't answer any of his questions! I thought her was for the overdraft but I received a letter yesterday with a paying in card from Frederikson stating I could pay at our local post office - which closed about 6 years ago!! I have just checked our mail box and there is a hand delivered letter from T Brydon from Lewis International saying that Lowell have asked him to serve a SD and he will be back on the 20th April. As I haven't left the house since yesterday I can only assume that he didn't knock but posted it. I have had 2 dealings with Lowell - one was for a Capital 1 card and they served a SD. That is how I found this site!! I sent off for the CCA (?) and filed against them and of course they didn't turn up to court. The next week they wrote and said as a goodwill gesture they were closing the case! The second has been for an old T-mobile account. Hamptons Legal last wrote to me on the 11th April 2011. So my question is would they now be issuing a sd after waiting a year? Would they have bought the overdraft off of Frederikson but if so why are they writing to me yesterday? Any thoughts?? Thanks

Respondent has put in request to ET to postpone claim citing that one of their witnesses will be away due to a pre-booked holiday (apparently booked in advance). I have imminent case management orders to follow (remedy, list of bundle docs and mitigation of loss) but in the respondents request it's also stated that 'neither part has undertaken any preparation' (?) I know I'm almost ready to send my documents over to the ET and respondent. Any ideas on best course of action at this point? E.g. objections etc...

Hi A Section 21 is **alleged** to have been served "personally" by my landlord. However, this was genuinely not received, and the date of alleged "service" is during a time when I was actually staying in a hotel in Birmingham, hundreds of miles away. Anyway, I filled in the defence form and sent it back. Got the following response from the court: Before District Judge XXX sitting at XXX County Court IT IS ORDERED THAT Dispute as to service of NSP List on notice ELH for 20 minutes for directions. Hearing is set for XXXX at XXX at XXXX County Court. Questions: 1) What is the aim of the directions hearing? 2) What outcomes can come from a directions hearing, can eviction or claim struck out be ordered? 3) What is NSP? Thanks!

I have just received a Notice of Hearing of Application for an order to set aside judgement. The defendant had previously acknowledged service of the claim but failed to put forward any defence within the allocated time frame, a judgement was then made in absence of a defence and baliffs became involved. Hasn't the defendent left it too late to do this? Also, as the claimant - is it necessary for me to attend the hearing as it would be very difficult due to work commitments? (I work in the medical profession and cannot get cover for the day). If i cannot attend is there any point in sending a friend along who witnessed the original events leading to the claim? One final question?! - The notice of hearing i have received is very sparse regarding details - it doesn't state if i need to provide evidence at this stage - is this necessary? Can anyone help with the above? - Advice greatfully received!

I have had a disputed debt with Egg for 5 years. Every once and awhile another debt company tries it on. I tell them about the dispute ,no signed credit agreement or default notice ,and they go away. In May 2012 I had a letter from a solicitor ,called Chivers Easton Brown on behalf of Aktiv Kapital. A court hearing was set for 8 June 2012. i submitted my defence on the allocation questionnaire. The court hearing was postponed as the claimant hadnt prepared a witness statement. I have heard nothing until last thursday a think envelope arrived ,dated 25 MArch 2013 with their witness statements. The court hearing is now friday 12th April. I havent the time to draft a witness statement. What do i do? Satsuma

Hello, I'm new here, and this seemed like the right place to post the topic. I need some advice. I'll try to put as much detail as possible. I work for a retail company in a department store. I've been there for almost exactly one year with no problems. However, I've been called to a disciplinary hearing this Monday. It is concerning an apparent fraudulent filling in of timesheets. The signing-in sheet and the timesheets I sent off to my manager show an apparent discrepancy. The discrepancy almost resulted in me being overpaid by £50 in the past three weeks, though I've informed payroll that they can deduct it from my wages, which they have done. Looking at the evidence presented to me, it seems that it was an honest mistake on my part, as my working hours changed a month ago, and this required a change of procedure I wasn't informed about. It was my first job using a hard timesheet, so I didn't have prior knowledge of how to fill them in. I would argue that I wasn't properly trained at the start of the job, as my training consisted of an informal store tour that lasted 90 minutes and didn't cover the signing-in sheet. I wasn't asked to sign anything signifying that I'd had adequate training. Also, I don't have access to the staff handbook; I was asked to return the single copy sent to me with my contract, so I had no copy to keep, and the digital copy on the company's computer system is inaccessible due to a technical issues. It has always been inaccessible despite my informing two managers of the problem. So, I've made a list of potentially mitigating points that could work in my favour; - I wasn't properly trained: My training consisted of 90 minutes one Saturday, and was essentially an informal tour of the store. - I've shown only the best of intentions in the past; I've consistently produced some of the best sales figures in the store's history, and I've offered to sacrifice my banked holiday without taking it because the company was having trouble finding cover for me. - I don't have access to the staff handbook; I was asked to return the lone copy sent to me, and the digital version is inaccessible from the store computer, despite my informing two managers of the problem. - I was happy to pay back the £50 Bearing in mind there was no malice or dishonest intent on my part, my willingness to repay the sum overpaid, and my exemplary record, how do you think this will pan out? Also, could this go to court? And should this go to court, how do you think their case would hold up? Any advice would be appreciated.

I have a hearing coming up for a deposit dispute. I have already lost one witness who promised to write a witness statement, but has now backed out for fear of retaliation. I know the hearing won't be fun, but I don't want my two remaining witnesses to get cold feet. It would be great to be able to tell them ahead of time what to expect. Can they be cross examined by the defendants like I can? One is particularly concerned as she is being aggressively pursued by them as well, and has filed a sizable counterclaim. She is keen not to jeopardize her case in any way by being a witness in mine. Is there anything she needs to be aware of? Thanks in advance!