Notice of Eviction Barclays >HLCF>Booker MS>gbp sol

[mikeregan]

Please could someone help me to stop an eviction order, looks like I am going to lose my house on 17 Feb 2011 !!!

 

I am desperate and at my wits end. Apologies in advance if this post is too detailed but i wanted to try and include all the facts. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you think i have left anything out, or have any questions. I have put what i think are the most important points in bold, i hope that is ok.

 

 

Unbelievably, they have a judgement to sell the house for not less than £229,500 when the house was valued last year at £260,000. This is for a judgement of £4,680 (Original judgement was for £6500, £4000 of which was costs !) ! So, after all costs I will most likely have nothing. I have offered to make a payment of £1400 includes o/s amount including march 2011, but they said they would not stop the eviction unless i paid the full judgement amount now standing at £4860 !

 

Possession hearing details :-

The original judgement was served in 2004 from Northampton County Court, but I knew nothing about it until 2008 (at the time I was recently unemployed and on benefits). In 2008, the claimant filed for a possession order at Edmonton County Court and I went to court on 3 occasions, I filed a set-aside judgement, the first two occasions the hearing was adjourned, the judge advised me to re-submit the set a-side.

 

When i first received the possession order i took some advice of the debt collection agency who advised me to request a signed copy of my credit agreement. i wrote to hlcf and received a reply from booker management services who said that they didn't have a copy of my credit agreement, but didn't need it as they had already secured a judgement. i included this in my set aside application which was never heard. further more, the judge advised rather robustly that if i applied for the set aside it would be unsuccessful because 5 years had passed since the judgement and that i would have to pay costs, and was not interested that they had got the judgement because the summons was at an address i hadn't lived at for over 6 yrs after it was served !

 

 

On my 3rd visit to court, Nov 2009 (by this time I was back in employment), the judge refused to hear my set aside, stating that i should have filed it to the court where the judgement was granted, when I advised him that on my two previous visits neither judge had mentioned this and indeed told me to send the set aside request to Edmonton he said he was not interested and found in favour of the claimant and grant the possession order. I must admit that i never noticed the judgement was for £6500, of which over £4000 were costs !

 

Bizarrely despite both the original judgements being for similar amounts, one of the possession orders was for about £2000, and the other for c.£4,500. Not sure if it is relevant but the two original judgements were consolidated to one judgement at the final hearing (where the possession order was granted).

 

Needless to say, i was very overwhelmed by the experience (possibly one of the worst bar this eviction notice). the judge was obviously riled that i asked why he wouldn't hear the set aside because he even added costs of about £400 that the claimants solicitor said that they were claiming, but the judge said it was listed on the claim documents so he was including them.

 

At this point I was totally intimidated and just want to get out of the court room (which I would never be in a work situation but this was different), so when he asked how much i was going to pay a month i foolishly said £200 per month, even though i knew this would stretch me, but i planned to file a set aside or make an offer to the claimant if that was not successful, so wasn't thinking about how that much money would disadvantage me regarding any offer.

 

Post Possession order:-

My first payment was for Jan 2010, and i made payments until July 2010 via the claimants solicitor Blake Lapthorn. In July / August 2010, I received 2 letters from Geoffrey Parker Osbourne (GBP) saying that they were now handling the account and enclosed a notice of change of solicitor. In the top box, they listed the court as Northampton CC not Edmonton CC who granted the possession order, not sure if this is relevant ? Also they named booker management services as the previous solicitor not blake lapthorn.

 

The two letters i rec'd from Geoffrey Parker Osbourne, one that said that the current balance £5042.80, one that said i owed £1,552.17, this confused me as i had already paid around £1200 of the original debt. even more confusing was that the claim numbers quoted both related to only one of the debts, as did the change of solicitor notice. A month letter i received another letter saying i owed £4642, at the time i thought they was no way that i owed over £10000. in my conversation with them this week they said the debt was £4842.50, a different amount again.

 

I wrote to Blake lapthorn asking them to confirm that they were no longer dealing with the account, but heard nothing from them. I spoke to them when i received the eviction notice and they confirmed that they

were no longer dealing with the account. They advised that they didn't reply to my letter as they were no longer dealing with the claimant, and that they would have issued the letter to GBP.

 

In September, my work contract finished so i am no longer working, i am not claiming benefits which i believe means i would have to pay any court fees, but in the scheme of things this is small fry and not a problem. however, this is the part where i stuck my head in the sand, partially because i was waiting money to come in for the work contract i had just completed. this invoice wasn't paid until end of december, so knowing i didn't have any money i put off contacting GBP.

 

I had planned to file a set-aside judgement to Northampton CC, but in the meantime i received the eviction notice

 

I called geoffrey parker osbourne solicitors when i received the notice (31 jan 2011), the call was taken by a very unhelpful collections dept (not a solicitor), when i said that i wanted to talk about the account he asked me my name and address, which i provided. He then asked for my date of birth, i have never provided this at any point of the case so don't even know how they have it, rightly or wrongly i declined to give this at this point, so he refused to speak to me about the case as he said he needed my debt of birth to comply with the data protection act, is this true ? ?

 

I have tried to call the court on a number of occasions but they don't seem to pick up. I called my local citizens advice bureau, who are also v busy, when i did get through to them they said they had no appointments for over a month and provided me with names of the community legal advice centre and some solicitors. I spoke to community legal advice when the possession order request was issued in 2008, and they said 'maybe its best you let them sell your house', not really the advice i was looking for, esp as i have at least 60K (if not £100k) of equity in the property, of which there is unlikely to be any left if the solicitors/hlcf get their hands on it.

 

As i mentioned earlier i called the original solicitors blake lapthorn to confirm they were no longer dealing with the account which they confirmed. I asked if they had the outstanding debt amount on their records as gbp had indicated i owed more than i thought, they replied that had sent all the details to gbp and that I request a full breakdown of the amount from gbp.

 

I then called GBP and said that i wanted to bring the account up to date including march 2011 and would set up a dd for the remaining monthly payments, this would give me the chance to apply for a set aside to northampton. (i believed this to be c.£1200), and explained i hadn't paid earlier primarily as i never received a letter from blake lapthorn, hlcf or booker management services. i also said that the amount they said was o/s seemed to differ on their letters to me, and asked for a breakdown of the account.

 

They advised that the o/s amount was £4862.80 but said they couldn't provide me with a breakdown of the account ! They advised that to bring the account up to date would be £1200 and initially advised me that this would suspend the eviction notice, i asked how would i know for sure that the eviction notice would be suspended for sure, and they said i had to trust them ! Something told me that this was not sufficient so i asked for a letter to confirm that they would suspend the eviction. She said that she couldn't do this but would speak to the person handling the account, she put me on hold and a few minutes later said that they would only suspend the eviction notice if i paid the full £4862.80 ! Despite my asking if there was any way we could an amount between the o/s amount and the £4862.80, she said that they had an eviction order and would not even consider suspending the eviction unless i paid in full ! Am i not entitled to a breakdown of the amount owed ?

 

 

This seems grossly unfair since the debt is £4800, as i am prepared to bring the account up to date, and the equity in my property is property is over 20 times that amount ! Furthermore the costs associated with Bailiffs and selling the house will no doubt dwarf the £4800 claimed

 

Please advise anything i can do to stop these people stealing my house. If i have to i will borrow the money from family to pay the o/s amount, but how will i know for sure that they will stop the eviction bearing in mind the eviction is Thursday this week and that have already said that i will have to just trust them. i would rather not have to borrow this money, is this my only option ? If i did pay the money would i be able to file a set aside and if successful claim back the £6800 i have paid these people ? Esp as this hlcf do not appear to exist ?

 

If i filed a set aside to northampton straight away, would this suspend the eviction until my case was heard ? can i file a set-aside (is this a n244?) online ?

 

If i apply to Edmonton county court to suspend the eviction order on the basis that i am able to pay the account up to date (c. 6months behind) plus march 2011, and if absolutely neccassary even put the rest in a neutral holding account until the set-aside has been heard, do i have any chance of being successful ?

 

What should i do ??? Can i even do anything, except pay the amount in full, and what assurances can i get from gbp that they will suspend the eviction, do i contact the bailiffs ????

 

 

Apologies for such a long winded message

 

 

 

Debt History :- (not sure if relevant ??)

In 2000 I closed my account with barclays (which I had held with them for 12 years) because they kept debiting unauthorised payments to pay AOL from my account (I didn't even have a contract with AOL !). I spoke to them on two occasions which resulted in them stopping the payments, but on checking my statements within a couple of months they restarted the payments without my authorisation and at NO time did they credit me the amounts deducted, instead telling me to contact AOL. The 3rd occasion that they restarted taking the payments I cancelled my account.

 

Roll onto 2004, at this time I was TOTALLY unaware of what proceeded to happen. As far as I can make out Barclays sold two alleged debts in my name to HLCF, who filed and were granted a county court judgement(s) in their favour. one judgement was for £1080 relating to a bank account, and one for £1200 for a barclayloan so total £2280 plus costs which i believe were £206 for each claim). I believe that I do not owe these monies and would have defended the case. I have never had a copy of these judgements.

 

I was unable to defend these cases as I believe the court summons were issued in my name to an old address which i had not lived at since around 1998. Barclays WERE aware of my new address, as these case relates to an account I closed back in 2000, and never wrote to me when i closed my account to say that i owed them any money, I believe this relates to interest and charges which they 'fabricated' when i closed my account.

[silverfox1961]

Hi. Glad you made it to the forum. I have let some of the others know and by my replying, have 'bumped'your post onto todays pages

[mikeregan]

Thank-you Silverfox !

[mikeregan]

I have just re-read my blog and there are a couple of details that I missed, not sure if these are relevant.

 

i. On the 'General Form of Judgement or Order' in respect of my application to set aside the original judgement on 13 Nov 2009 it states ' it is ordered that

1. Application of the defendant dismissed.

2. permission to appeal refused there being no grounds for appeal.

 

This is despite him saying any appeal should be made to the court where the original judgement was served, and that he robustly advised me not to appeal as i would be liable for all costs.

 

ii. When i received the letters from GBP solicitors in August and Sept 2010 to say they were now dealing with the case, after not hearing from Blake Lapthorn (the original solicitors acting for the claimant) I wrote to GBP in Sept 2010 that i had not received any confirmation from either blake lapthorn (BL) or the claimant HLCF that GBP were now handling this matter. I also pointed out that the two change of notices I received with their letter quoted the same case ref (the judgement relates to two case nos), and questioned the amount that they claimed was o/s as the two covering letters issued with the change notices stated i owed £5042.80 and £1552.15 respectively which was more than the original judgement, despite me already making payment of £1200 to date. I also informed that my employment situation had changed, and that following confirmation from BL or HLCF that they were now dealing with this case, that i would be hoping to discuss a more managable repayment plan. I did not receive a response to this letter from GBP.

 

iii. I have a son who is 17 who stays with me once a week, is this taken into consideration by the judge ?

[Ell-enn]

Which court is named on the eviction notice ?

[mikeregan]

The eviction notice is from Edmonton County Court

[Ell-enn]

OK, you need to get a N244 to court this afternoon before it closes at 3.30 (or 4pm). What are you going to offer the court to stop eviction? I can help you with the form but we will need to act fast.

[mikeregan]

I offered to pay the solicitors the arrears which they said was £1400 (which includes the march installment of £200), thereon i proposed paying the agreed monthly installments of £200 per month until the debt is cleared

[Ell-enn]

OK, firstly - fill in the affixed budget sheet (it calculates automatically as you fill in the figures). The amount of £200 that you are offering to pay should be the amount left over after everything else has been accounted for. We need the budget sheet to go with the N244 to show the judge that you can afford the payments. You will also need to pay the £1,400 before the hearing so you can take proof to the court with you.

 

while you are doing that I'll type up a statement for the N244 and then affix a N244 form to the thread with instructions for filling it in.

Budget Sheet.xls

[Ell-enn]

Am I correct in thiking that this debt relates to two CCJ's which you didn't receive paperwork for and subsequently the lender was granted a charging order on the house? is the eviction notice a result of an order for sale following the charging order being granted?

[mikeregan]

So will i call gbp now and pay the £1400 by debit card or by internet transfer ? I think debit card is quicker ? What should I ask from gbp as confirmation that i have paid them the £1400, when i spoke to them yesterday they didn't seem to helpful or forthcoming regarding a receipt / confirmation of payment.

[Ell-enn]

If you pay by debit card you can then print off the last transaction from your internet banking ?. Are you going to be able to get to the court by 3.30 today?

Have you done the budget sheet ?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but we have very little time to get this right - also I am at work and could be called away from my desk at any time so we need to crack on with it

[mikeregan]

There was two original claims for which i believe two judgements were served. I have never seen a copy of the original court summons in 2004, or the judgement.

 

 

The claim form (CPR Part 8) included in the application for possession order in 2009 has one claim number, but the particulars of the claim lists / refers to the the two judgements separately 1.1 being the "first judgement" and a unique claim number and 1.2 referring to the "second judgement" with a different claim number both obtained on 20 may 2004 in northampton county court

[mikeregan]

I have completed the budget sheet which shows around £455 income left before the £200 /month payment to gbp.

 

Thank-you very much for all your help

[Ell-enn]

What Claim number are they using on the eviction notice - that's the one you want

[Ell-enn]

If you show £445 left over the judge will think you can afford to pay all that to the debt each month. Have you included everything in your outgoings ? you should really only have £200 left over

[mikeregan]

it is going to be a push to get to the court by 3.30 but will certainly try.

[Ell-enn]

OK, I'm assuming you've got a printer there ?

Affixed is the N244 form

Also affixed is the statement to go with Q.10 of the N244 . You need to fill in the info where there are XXX's in the statement (remove the XXX;s) read through it carefully to make sure everything is OK. When you print it out, your printer needs to be set for A4 paper (not Letter size) so it all stays on one page.

 

On the budget sheet - write the Claim number on the top left hand corner and Appendix 1 on the top right hand corner.

 

These are the instructions for the rest of the N244:

 

1. Your name

2. Tick Defendant

3. Suspension of eviction

4. No

5. Tick at a hearing

6. 15 minutes

Agreed by all parties: No

7. Write - Not applicable

8. District

9. Both Parties

10. Tick box for attached witness statement

Cross out all options except The Applicant Believes

Sign and cross out all options except Applicant

11. Sign and cross out all options except Applicant. Enter your address and contact details.

 

Now assemble as follows:

N244 - signed

Statement - signed

Budget Sheet - Appendix 1

 

This forms the pack to take to court. Make sure it is stapled securely together. You will need to take a photocopy of it all for yourself so you have a set to refer to in the hearing. When you take it to the court you will need to pay a fee of £35.00 and it will need to be in cash. The court staff should be able to give you a date for the hearing while you are there.

Hopefully you will get in to see the judge tomorrow and you can take the receipt for payment along with you.

Any questions, just shout.

n244_0400.pdf

MikeRegan Statement.doc

[mikeregan]

The claim number on the notice of eviction is XXXX, there is also a warrant number

Edited February 15, 2011 by Ell-enn
Removed identifying number

[Ell-enn]

OK, put the Claim number and the Warrant number on the N244 form at the top where there are boxes for that info. Have you adjusted the budget sheet ?

 

Edmonton Court office closes at 4pm but you'll have to be there by 3.45 to get the application dealt with - they won't deal with it if you arrive at 3.55 !

[mikeregan]

What happens if i don't get to the court today, does it definitely shuts at 3.30pm ?

 

I don't have a printer here, so worried i won't get to the court in time.

[mikeregan]

I have just read the statement that you prepared for me and just wanted to clarify that I have borrowed money from my family so could pay the £4862 if i have to, to stop the eviction.

 

I couldn't have written that statement anything like that well, so I am soo soo grateful ! ! !

[Ell-enn]

OK, choice is yours - if you can pay all the arrears today you can take the form to court with the receipt for payment first thing in the morning and hope you can get in to see the judge. We can alter the statement to reflect that the outstanding balance has been paid off. If you only want to pay the £1400 then you really should try to get to the court before 3.45 (I checked Edmonton court opening times). Is there nowhere you can print your documents out ?

[mikeregan]

The reason why i didn't want to borrow the remaining money from family is that it will leave my with practically no money for the next few months, and if i was able to pay the 200 per month i would be ok and wouldn't have to put myself in debt with my family.

 

If it is a case that i will lose my house if i don't pay the full £4862, then i will pay the full amount.

 

Also i was hoping that i had a case for putting the original judgement aside given that it was secured because they sent the summons to an address that i hadn't lived at for 6 years, and that not being able to provide the origal signed copy of the credit agreement would most likely result in the court overturning the original judgement.

[mikeregan]

Just read your last post Ell-enn, it is unlikely that i can get the documents printed and get to the court by 3.45 as it is about an hour away, but can definitely get down there for first thing tomorrow.

 

When you talk about the outstanding balance being paid in line 3 of your message, are you talking about the arrears of £1400, or the total amount outstanding £4862 ?

 

 

once again, thank-you for all your help, i have felt v isolated and out of my depth, i feel better knowing that i am talking to someone who knows what there are talking about