Thomas higgins partnership - missed paying a bill got a CCJ now warrant!

[mrk1]

Hello not really too sure where to post this one.

 

I run a business (retail) and I recently opened a new shop, I am still classed as sole trader (thinking I need to go LTD soon though?).

 

My shop was a big move and there is a lot of financial pressure on me right now and a lot of people wanting money from me. Suppliers and trade merchants.

 

One of the trade merchants who put the shop sign up have sent a £145 balance onto Thomas Higgs Partnershop and the usual 7 day B.S that they give with it.

 

Is this anything to be worried about?

 

I have had letters like this before so I am not shaking in my boots, just thinking about credit scores and stuff like that??

 

My score is not the best at the moment..

 

Please let me know.

 

Thanks.

 

Mrk123

[steampowered]

Do you owe these people money?

 

Not sure there would be any credit score implications at the moment, but if they go ahead and issue your proceedings you will be liable for the debt plus their court fees. Your credit score would be damaged if a CCJ is issued and not paid in 28 days.

[Conniff]

So are you saying that you ordered a shop sign for your premises and 'can' not or 'have' not paid for it ?

[mrk1]

I have decided to bite the bullet and just pay it..

. because these things get messy and lets face it those with money have power

 

I paid the amount... all of it today but also had a letter in this morning after i had paid it saying that the 7 days had passed.

 

I paid direct to the company I owed the money to and i emailed them to say I had sent the money. He replied (who I believe to the the main manager) saying 'sorry its too late you will have to pay the added costs or something (not got the letter now)..

 

I have paid him now so where do I stand...

[steampowered]

What added costs are they asking for?

[mrk1]

Right I paid this yesterday at about 10am...

 

To the business themselves....

 

This morning In have now received a N1CPC claim form... what is this??

 

It's saying I owe £209.80..... (144 of the cost i owed and solicitors and court costs)

 

What do I do?

 

I'm not shaking in my boots, just can't be bothered with this crap as I have a business to run, and i am not in the game of just giving my money away to these fat cats!

 

Another letter that come with it was from Thomas Higgins Partnershop asking that I pay the remainder to them.. ahahaha!!

 

This is how they make their money..

 

Am I guessing that I have nothing to worry about?

[steampowered]

Assuming this is a genuine claim form issued through the court, you have to be bothered with it. If you do not respond within the time frame default judgment will be granted against you and the claimant will be entitled to use county court bailiffs to recover the full amount they are claiming (regardless of the underlying circumstances). If the CCJ is not paid in 28 days after it has been granted it will also badly damage your credit record for the next 6 years.

 

What is the issue date on the claim form? If it was before you made payment, and it just took any or two in the post to arrive, you might be liable for the additional costs. If the claim form was issued after you paid the debt then I don't see how they can claim anything apart from interest (the interest should be very small).

 

I should point out that there is automatic compensation payable for the late payment of commercial debts. For a debt of this size the automatic compensation is 40 - see http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/20/contents. Have the solicitors tried to claim this? If so, you are liable for it.

[Conniff]

I know this bill doesn't amount to it, but bear in mind that a bill of £750 can be used to make you bankrupt.

[mrk1]

The date on the claim for is 22nd october..

 

I paid this on the 23rd.. ??

 

What do you mean automatic compensation?

[steampowered]

OK, so the claim was actually issued before you paid the invoice. It just took a day or two to arrive in the post. I am not sure if you would still be liable for the costs in this situation.

 

A good compromise would be to write back and offer to pay the court issue fee (£25), but not the solicitor costs, if they withdraw the claim.

 

When I say automatic compensation, I am referring to section 5A of the legislation linked in my post. This basically says that when a business pays a debt late (even only 1 day late) it is liable for pay compensation for the late payment. The amount is £40 for debts less than £1000. If they want to claim this they would need to mention it in the Particulars of Claim. If they haven't mentioned it then don't worry about it.

[mrk1]

OK. So write back and who to do you know?

 

I am not going to panic over this... these people/companies try to really get you deep inside well I am way above all that! Just be good to get them out my site.

 

 

Do I write to thomas higgins or the court? Obviously THP will just say pay it all....

 

Ideas?

[steampowered]

You have to write to Thomas Higgins. I wouldn't be so sure they will say pay it all, after all you have paid the underlying debt since the claim was issued. The court won't do anything if you write to them - the court decides cases at court hearings not by letters.

 

Regardless of whatever else happens, you need to file an acknowledgement of service / Defence within the court within the timelines mentioned on the form. If you miss the deadlines default judgment will be granted against you and you will then have a CCJ for the full amount.

[mrk1]

is it worth getting letters recorded?

 

i can't imagine a ruthless company like thomas higgs will just say 'oh ok'.

 

what should i offer to pay them... i really don't want to pay them anything... but if i need to what should i offer?

[steampowered]

As suggested above, given the fact that the claim was issued but not received before you paid, I personally would offer to pay the court issue fee (which I believe should be 15 or 25 - it should say on the claim form). State that other costs aren't appropriate since the claim was paid in full before it was received. and of course if your generous offer is not accepted the claim would be vigorously defended on the basis that it has already been paid.

 

Its always nice to send things recorded but not strictly necessary. The important thing is to make sure you keep a copy and follow-up if you don't get a response.

[Conniff]

I bet they can't give a breakdown of the charges, 'lets say we took 2 hours to write our name and then we had to post it so a couple of hundred quid should do'.

 

 

They really are rip-off merchants, good luck.

[steampowered]

Just to add so that it is clear - technically, under the court Civil Procedure Rules, I think you are liable for both the court fee they paid (£15-£25 most likely) and fixed costs of £50.

 

See CPR 27.14 at http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part27 and CPR 45.2 at http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part45-fixed-costs.

[SuperVillain]

Will be interesting to see what TH say.

 

You have to write to Thomas Higgins. I wouldn't be so sure they will say pay it all, after all you have paid the underlying debt since the claim was issued.

 

When the claim is paid after the date of issue I'd tend to chase all the monies on the claim form on the basis the debtor had every opportunity to pay the claim pre-issue without the additional costs.

[steampowered]

Will be interesting to see what TH say.

 

When the claim is paid after the date of issue I'd tend to chase all the monies on the claim form on the basis the debtor had every opportunity to pay the claim pre-issue without the additional costs.

 

I would agree for litigants in person. But in most circumstances costs for a claim of this size are fixed at £50. If the Op defends the claim and forces this to a hearing it will surely cost TH more than £50 to send someone to the hearing, so I think it is in their interest to settle.

[mrk1]

Update on this..

 

I have just received a letter from Thomas Higgins Partnership....

 

It says something along the lines of:

 

We have been instructed by our above named client to proceed judgement and execution (they love their powerful scary words don't they) upon the country court claim issued in this matter as neither full payment nor defence has been received.

We therefore applied to the county court for judgement to be issued against you (CCJ) If the court has received a defence from you judgement and execution will not be entered Other wise once judgement has been granted this matter will proceed and youb will ne hearing from the bailiff direct. It goes on..

 

 

So what am I to make of this?

[steampowered]

Have you entered a Defence? If not, you need to do so else they will get default judgment.

 

Have you written to them offering to settle as suggested earlier in the thread? If not, you need to do this ASAP.

[SuperVillain]

Regardless of whatever else happens, you need to file an acknowledgement of service / Defence within the court within the timelines mentioned on the form. If you miss the deadlines default judgment will be granted against you and you will then have a CCJ for the full amount.

 

Did you do this?

[mrk1]

I didn't enter a defence... I am unsure how... This is all lingo to me...

 

What is my next move here? Is it too late... I am unsure what my time frame is??

 

Please advise..

[ericsbrother]

you need to fill out the form the court sent you and send it back saying that you have paid the principal sum on the 23rd, prior to receipt of the summons. You can then fill out the box saying that you are either going to pay the rest or offer a partial payment and defend the rest. I would suggest that you should say that you are willing to pay the court fee of £25 and the £50 recognised solicitors fee. Send copy of this to the company who you have a contractual relationship with, not the lawyers otherwise they will not necessarily do what is the best for both parties.

Hopefully they will then drop the matter as they would otherwise risk what you have offered by chasing more and being slapped down.

[mrk1]

I have just received a ;notice of issue of warrant of execution' in the post.

 

'TO THE DEFENDANT, YOU HAVE NOT MADE PAYMENT UNDER THE JUDGMENT AS YOU WHERE ORDERED - (I PAD THIS ON THE 22ND OCTOBER TO THE CLIENT DIRECT)

 

THE CLAIMANT HAS THEREFORE ASKED FOR A WARRENT TO BE ISSUED TO THE BAILIFF TO SEIEZE YOUR GOODS.. UNLESS YOU PAY THE DUE TO THE COUNTY COURT BEFORE NOV 19TH - ( THEY ARE ASKING FOR £159 )

 

I paid the company direct in their bank account... and then i think they where asking for £50 for court costs and £25 admin fee..

 

What is this now? Are they just using scare tactics?

 

What do i do here?

[steampowered]

OK, so contrary to the advice given in post #14 you did not file a Defence within the time specified on the claim form.

 

As you did not respond to the claim against you, the Claimant was granted default judgment by the court. This means the court ordered that you have to pay the full amount including costs. The Claimant has now asked for a 'warrant of execution', which would mean county court bailiffs will be instructed to come to take your property in order to pay the judgment. This is not just a scare tactic it is a formal bailiff instruction. If this all goes ahead you will also be liable for additional costs of the bailiffs.

 

I think you should get in touch with the Claimant immediately to explain that you have already paid part of the amount and check how much is outstanding. Realistically, now that a CCJ has been granted, they will probably insist you pay the full amount mentioned on the court order.

 

If you wish to stop the bailiffs and the Claimant does not agree to withdraw them, you will need to make a formal application to set aside the CCJ on form N244, accompanied by a witness statement explaining the situation. Unless you are exempt from court fees (e.g. because you receive certain benefits) there will be an £80 court fee for making the N244 which you are unlikely to recover from the Claimant. As the costs they are claiming seem to be less than £80 and as the application would be a lot of work, realistically you are probably better off paying the difference between what you paid and the amount mentioned on the CCJ.

 

You should also bear in mind that a CCJ will stay on your credit record for 6 years. In order to avoid this you must pay the CCJ in full (including costs awarded by the court) within 28 days.