Court hearing soon

[IOU24]

What should I do?

 

 

I had a Business unsecured loan which turned into a secured ccj and now this month a charging order is being applied for. The debt was on a business which has since closed down. At the time of the ccj I was advised to get help using a debt company which I did and they offered monthly payments on my behalf which was really too much plus my financial problems have got worse (if that's possible) and I am unable to keep up the monthly payments hence I have now a charging order I need to deal with which is coming up very soon. I feel annoyed with myself for getting in this state and annoyed with the creditor as the business loan was from a government backed business centre to help my business grow. I am not saying I shouldn't pay it back but feel let down by a system which was intended to help.

 

 

Can anyone advise what would be the best way or only way I can deal with this?

The thought of attending court is scary!

 

 

I will appreciate any help thank you.

 

 

IOU24

[mjt2013]

In terms of the CO application specifically the first thing to consider is whether you actually oppose the application and, if so, why. The creditor holds a CCJ and is entitled to seek to enforce it, a charging order is frankly one of the least invasive methods of doing that. To be clear, a CO is simply a method of securing the debt and is not an application for the property to be sold although that application can follow in rare cases.

 

If you aren't opposing the CO then you don't really need to attend the hearing but if you are then you do and you should write to the court and the creditor at least 7 days before stating your objections.

 

There is also a halfway option of not opposing the CO itself but seeking to limit its effect by asking the court to impose conditions. A very common one is that there canbe no application for sale if £X per month is paid towards the debt.

 

Have a think and then post back. When exactly is the hearing?

[IOU24]

Thank you so much for your advise I wasn't expecting a reply from anyone, you have been very informative and helpful.

 

You have given me options I didn't know anything about I will go over them and work out what is best for me.

 

Just a couple of qusetion if i dont attend and let the CO go through what happens next? do I still have to make monthly payments? And how can they then force the sale after this .

 

If I decide to take the last option what sort of condition can I ask for to safe guard myself from a forced sale?

 

The hearing is the 15th for the amount of £13,000

Thank you so much.

 

Iou24

[citizenB]

If you can afford to make monthly payments then you should do this - take along an income and expenditure form with you showing your financial circumstances.

 

I appreciate what mjt is saying that if you are not opposing then you neednt attend court, however I believe it is always in the defendant's interest to show up.

 

Was the business a Limited company ?

 

Did you go to a fee charging Debt counselling company or one of the free services, such as National Debtline, StepChange.

 

Is the debt in your name only - is the property ownership in joint names ?

 

Were there any default / penalty charges added to the debt. Was there any Payment protection Insurance that might have been mis sold ?

[citizenB]

I don't think there is anything you can do about the charging order. Almost certainly it will remain until the order is repaid.

 

 

I have posted some information regarding COs below for you. This was taken from a thread where someone thought to object to the CO. Where there is a joint mortgage/ownership only a restriction can be placed and that is the subject of the attachment. There is also a link at the bottom of the attached which will take you to more information.

 

 

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]43942[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HTH

 

Posts # 11 and 12 in the link below have some information regarding charging orders and objections. The attachment in the post above, is from the same source.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?391582-Charging-Order-Link-Financial-Help!&p=4236646&viewfull=1#post4236646

[mjt2013]

I appreciate what mjt is saying that if you are not opposing then you neednt attend court, however I believe it is always in the defendant's interest to show up.

 

I agree with this, I only mentioned the option of not attending because the OP specifically said he was scared at the thought and, as we all know, unless some fairly compelling objection is going to be raised then COs are usually granted as a matter of course whether the Defendant is there or not.

 

The OP should also note that there will probably be an application for costs if the CO is granted, usually in the region of £254.00.

[citizenB]

I missed that statement re scared of attending court, mjt.. my apologies

 

Ouch, so if the defendant attends, do they get stung for the costs and if they dont attend, the applicant has to fund themselves ?

[mjt2013]

No, sorry I may have misled you. There'll be a costs application in either case I was just putting the OP on notice.

[Ganymede]

No, sorry I may have misled you. There'll be a costs application in either case I was just putting the OP on notice.

 

 

 

Yup.

 

They are fixed recoverable costs so will be award if the FCO is granted regardless of whether the Defendant attends or not.

[citizenB]

No, sorry I may have misled you. There'll be a costs application in either case I was just putting the OP on notice.

 

Not at all.. I just reread it and you said what you meant.. I just didnt understand it

[Desperate Daniella]

Personally I think you should attend Court and ask for conditions on the Charging Order as mjt suggested in post 2, in particular that they cannot attempt to force a sale if payments are kept up. Also, if you have children you can ask the judge to order that they don't attempt to force a sale until the youngest child leaves school.

[IOU24]

If you can afford to make monthly payments then you should do this - take along an income and expenditure form with you showing your financial circumstances.

 

I appreciate what mjt is saying that if you are not opposing then you neednt attend court, however I believe it is always in the defendant's interest to show up.

 

Was the business a Limited company ?

 

Did you go to a fee charging Debt counselling company or one of the free services, such as National Debtline, StepChange.

 

Is the debt in your name only - is the property ownership in joint names ?

 

Were there any default / penalty charges added to the debt. Was there any Payment protection Insurance that might have been mis sold ?

 

Answer to your questions

 

1. Not a limited company

2. A charity debit service

3. The debt in my name only property in joint names

4. No insurance or penalty charges just added interest

 

Thank you

[mjt2013]

It sounds as though you're not in a position to offer monthly payments in any event (although you should if you can). I think this is probably something to take on the chin to be honest, most creditors with a CO take no further enforcement action and they could have done a lot worse such as making you bankrupt or sending in bailiffs.

 

I am a bit concerned about that balance though, £13,000 is a lot of money and if nothing is being paid I can imagine the creditor seriously thinking about applying for an order for sale. I just don't think there's much you can do at this stage unfortunately.

[citizenB]

Answer to your questions

 

1. Not a limited company -

2. A charity debit service

3. The debt in my name only property in joint names

4. No insurance or penalty charges just added interest

 

Thank you

 

 

1: Oh shoot

2: Righto.

3: It is my understanding that they would only be able to register against your interest in the property.

4: and is interest still being added to the outstanding debt ?

[IOU24]

1: Oh shoot

2: Righto.

3: It is my understanding that they would only be able to register against your interest in the property.

4: and is interest still being added to the outstanding debt ?

 

 

The answer to the last point I am not sure but I think when the ccj went through they added the regular amount of Interest they where allowed to apply .

 

 

It doesn't look like I have a lot of options to choose from.

What I don't understand is if I do not contests it and a charge is applied to my part of the property does this mean that when I do eventually sell they well be paid, or does this open up the process for the creditor to false me to sell so they can get there money sooner?

 

 

This is all so confusing

 

Many thanks I do really appreciate your time

 

Iou24

[mjt2013]

It's sort of both really, if the CO is granted then when you sell the creditor will receive any surplus before you do and they could make an application to force you to sell but such an application is very rare and there's much more you can say to oppose it, it's a very different beast to this application you're currently dealing with.

 

FYI, there are some posters on CAG who seem to have an obsession with the perceived difference between charges and restrictions and you can end up going down a real rabbit hole trying to understand how conveyancing law, equity and the Land Registry work. It's up to you of course how interested you are in that but I suggest you ignore it and just see the effects of a CO as being what I have described.

[IOU24]

It's sort of both really, if the CO is granted then when you sell the creditor will receive any surplus before you do and they could make an application to force you to sell but such an application is very rare and there's much more you can say to oppose it, it's a very different beast to this application you're currently dealing with.

 

FYI, there are some posters on CAG who seem to have an obsession with the perceived difference between charges and restrictions and you can end up going down a real rabbit hole trying to understand how conveyancing law, equity and the Land Registry work. It's up to you of course how interested you are in that but I suggest you ignore it and just see the effects of a CO as being what I have described.

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I am interested in always of defending if I can understand it that's the problem ?

 

If i go along this route and dont object how can I guarantee that after the charge has been put on my house that they don't false me to sell just after. What is stopping them doing that ? Also one of the other post mentioned they could of gone down the route to false me into bankruptcy wonder why they did not choose that route ?

 

Also is it possible to ask for more time ?

 

Thanks once again

 

Iou24

[Ganymede]

You don't need to pay off Restriction when you sell the house, you only need to give notice to the Claimant.

 

However, in theory the Claimant can try and force the sale of your house but this is very rare especially if you have children living there. It is also expensive for the Claimant.

 

The way to stop a forced sale of your house is to attend the hearing with an offer of monthly payments and ask the Judge to stipulate in the Order that no Order for Sale application to be made whilst you maintain payments of £XX.XX per month.

[IOU24]

You don't need to pay off Restriction when you sell the house, you only need to give notice to the Claimant.

 

However, in theory the Claimant can try and force the sale of your house but this is very rare especially if you have children living there. It is also expensive for the Claimant.

 

The way to stop a forced sale of your house is to attend the hearing with an offer of monthly payments and ask the Judge to stipulate in the Order that no Order for Sale application to be made whilst you maintain payments of £XX.XX per month.

 

So if I don't attened the hearing or make an offer of a monthly payment they wiil go for a forced sale?

 

What if the creditor doesn't except the offer is this possible who decides the creditor or the judge on the offer?

 

Thanks for your help

 

Iou24

[Ganymede]

So if I don't attened the hearing or make an offer of a monthly payment they wiil go for a forced sale?

 

What if the creditor doesn't except the offer is this possible who decides the creditor or the judge on the offer?

 

Thanks for your help

 

Iou24

 

 

 

I'm afraid nobody here has a crystal ball so cannot tell you what the Claimant will do in the future.

 

However, that being said it is very unlikely an application for an Order for Sale would be made for the above reasons.

 

If you don't attend Court and don't make a suitable offer then it is likely you won't get the Order you want.

[caro]

If you don't go to court you have the opportunity to hear what is said and argue against anything the claimant comes up with.

 

It may be scary, but better than getting a nasty surprise after the hearing that you could have prevented by attending,

 

To my mind cag is about empowering people to take control of their situation and you won't do that if you bury your head and don't go to court. I don't mean to be harsh but just want you to understand how important it is that you attend.

[IOU24]

It is clear from all the information I have received on here its in my interest to attend the hearing.

 

 

I know I have left it late but I have had more important things going on and my time has been taken up at hospital, things has eased up so I can focus on this now. I have read the letter again which I received from the creditor with the enclosed interim charging order and it states

 

 

" evidence will be presented to the court to support the charging order application. If you require sight of this, please write to me advising how you wish to receive the evidence."

 

 

What information will this be? and is it too late to ask for it now? Will It help me in anyway?

 

 

What a good start to the new year.

 

 

iou24

.

[mjt2013]

I imagine it would be the register of title from the Land Registry proving you own the property but there's no harm in asking for whatever they have.

[IOU24]

I can not offer any money to the creditor at present can I still ask the judge to put restrictions on the charge so as I am not forced to sell and offer payment when I find work?

 

 

many thanks

 

 

iou24

[Desperate Daniella]

Just one other point: As the house is in joint names your wife can of course object if they try to force a sale. You could ask the judge for a time restriction before they can force a sale to allow you to find a job and start making payments. Be sure to offer a realistic time frame.