court papers in my sons name for my debt!!!

[unclebulgaria67]

an admissoin of guilt would in theory allow for the son to have his credit history cleared.

 

With evidence they were told by the true owner of the debt he might be able to claim compensation regaridng inaccurate entries to cras

 

Someone claiming guilt for taking out an account fraudulently might not lead to this debt being cleared. They may never be prosecuted for fraud and the original creditor may not accept the guilty plea of the person concerned.

 

There have been a few cases on CAG about family members taking out accounts in another family members name and it always seems to end up with the person named on the debt account having to sort it out.

[ajjars]

Thanks guys for your advice so far .....

 

 

I have another question - what if I pay the debt off now before it goes to court? If I pay what they want on the POC minus the interest (as it hasn't been ordered by the court), and the court costs and fee's - just pay the actual debt - what would happen then? Obviously there would be no debt to take to court ...... what do you think?

 

 

Thanks, Stupid mum!

[citizenB]

If you were to pay the debt now, then that would be the end of it - Although you might have to speak with the solicitor regarding not paying the court fees.

[ajjars]

My husband has some money put by for a new boiler - was hoping to finally get some heat in this house, but hey ho! A good nights sleep is what I really need right now, and until this is sorted I won't be getting any!

 

 

CitizenB, who would I need to pay? Go direct to Lowell or to the solicitors? I really have only 20 quid more available than the actual debt so I can't pay the court costs so really don't want to go the solicitors route if I don't have to. Then if it were paid would I then inform the court of this and if so how? Sorry, I used to be quite au fait with the processes, but medication sends my brain into a complete fog!

 

 

Thanks

[citizenB]

I think you need to communicate with the solicitor. I will ask others on the site team for you.

[citizenB]

I am advised that Bryan Carter is unlikely to drop the court fees - it is suggested that you ask if they will draw up a Tomlin Order with affordable instalment repayments !

 

You must deal with this urgently and don't forget to keep an eye on the date by which you need to acknowledge the claim - you should acknowledge (or your Son should) if you have not got this sorted by that date.

[ajjars]

Ok - so if they don't drop the court costs - what about the interest? They can't ask for that can they?

 

 

I just thought that if the debt was paid before the court papers were acknowledged, they couldn't ask for the court costs. They decided to file the claim, but the debt is now cleared before it has come before the court, so how can they enforce any costs relating to the claim?! The debt is owing, but surely the costs don't come into effect unless the court have had to enforce the debt? Or have I got entirely wrong?!!

[caro]

The fact is that they have paid the court costs which is what has made you deal with it now. They still have the option to reject your offer and see what a judge says about it and you risk a CCJ.

 

A Tomlin Order is a good option as you can negotiate an affordable repayment plan and as long as you stick to the payments you avoid a CCJ for your son.

[steampowered]

It is important to remember that this claim is against your son, not against you. I imagine that Bryan Carter will refuse to deal with you because you are not the Defendant in this case.

 

I think you need to fess up to your son. He needs to understand that filing a Defence is his responsibility. Also, if this gets to a court hearing he must attend. If he does not then he will end up with a CCJ against him and it will be very difficult to get rid of that.

 

The best way of dealing with this would be to pay the claim. If you can't do that you can try to negotiate a repayment plan. However, since the claim is against your son, it would have to be your son who agrees to make the repayments. As your son is the defendant he would have to sign the Tomlin order. The creditor may also want to see evidence of his income and outgoings. Your son would be trusting you to make the repayments for him and he would be left in the mud if you failed to make the payments. This obviously complicates things.

 

In an ideal world the creditor would withdraw their claim against your son and make a claim against you instead. You and your son should write to the creditor explaining the situation. If the creditor is not willing to withdraw and you can't sort out the repayments then your son will have to enter a defence on the basis that he did not take out the account, because you took out the account without his permission. You would need to go to court as a witness to confirm that story.

[WelshMam2009]

Hi Ajjars...you seem to be getting yourself in a real pickle here!

 

Have you spoken to your son about this yet? Timing is critical as HE only has a limited amount of time to acknowledge the claim.

 

As has already been suggested, I would advise YOUR SON, to do the following:

 

1. File AOS online stating his intention to defend the claim

2. CCA request to Lowells

3. CPR 31.14 request to Carter's

 

In stating that the claim will be defended, it may strengthen your son's negotiating position. Going to court, or issuing new proceedings, will only result in additional costs for the claimant, on what is a relatively small sum of money.

 

The worst scenario (ignoring your relationship with your son) is that the claimant wins, and a CCJ is awarded. However, if this is settled within 30 days, and you use your boiler money to pay, then this won't be registered against your son.

 

By the way, your son's credit history will not be 'perfect' as I am sure that the catalogue debt will be recorded on his file.

 

Best of luck with this and keep calm!

[citizenB]

There is a timeline that you are required to adhere to (or your Son is), otherwise the claimant will obtain a Judgment by default - so the sooner you tell your son about this the better.

 

Issue date 30.12.2014 + 5 days for service = 03.01.2015 + 14 days for acknowledging = 17.01.2015 + 14 days to submit a defence = 31.01.2015

 

I have brought forward the timeline. Your Son, MUST acknowledge the claim by the date highlighted, else the claimant will obtain a judgment by default.

[ajjars]

Ok, so I broke the news to my son - and as you can imagine he is very much less than happy - to say the least ......

 

 

So, the papers were signed saying he will defend it in full, obviously. My husband posted the acknowledgement on Saturday morning, but stupidly I forgot to ask him to send it with proof of posting - so let's just hope it gets there in time.

 

 

My son has told me I have to sort it out for him, that I have to do all the letter writing - he will just sign them. (He works nights) He doesn't want me to pay it straight up because he wants his credit file cleared, so he wants his day in court.

 

 

Thank you to all you guys in advance for your help = I think I'm gonna need it :S

[Bandit127]

He will not get his credit file cleared by "having his day in court". He will possibly avoid a CCJ and having that subsequently put on his credit file but that is all. Although there is a risk that he will not appear as a credible witness if you have written his defence for him and he may loose.

 

I thought it was 14 days - however there is certainly a grace period after judgement where payment in full will avoid it being registered.

 

The debt will then be marked as fully settled on his file, that will improve his credit rating somewhat.

 

Bryan Carter usually backs down from a decent defense, but be prepared to pay in full plus costs to make it go away if it gets tricky. Or if a decent night's kip is worth more than the stress.

[ajjars]

Thanks for you reply Bandit, I do appreciate it - however, can I sense a bit of an undertone in your reply?!

 

 

Can I ask why you think my son may not appear as a credible witness if I write his defence? What would be the difference of him coming on here and getting the advice to write up his defence himself, as opposed to me doing it with the same facts?! Who would know he hadn't written it? Most people who come on here do so to gain the advice and help of others, and most use the letters and templates on here not written by them - is that not the same thing?!! I am hoping that with the help and advice of the people on here willing to help me that I can in fact mount a credible defence for him - or do you think that is that something that is beyond the realms of my capabilities?

 

 

Is the fact that my son knew nothing of this not a decent defence then? It is 100% my fault so why should I not do my very best to help him? Even if that means putting myself up for judgement on here? And anyway, doesn't everyone want their "day in court"?

 

 

I have been advised by others on here that if a CCJ is in fact put on his file, if it is paid within 28 days then it will not show on his file - however the default still will and this is why he wants "his day in court". He wants it removed.

 

 

I understand what you are saying about being prepared to pay up if it gets tricky - and I am prepared for this, but I have in fact had a decent nights sleep since I have received some very good advice on here

[caro]

The way I read bandit's reply is that your son will have to represent himself in court, and if he's prepared his own defence he may be in a better position to present it and respond to questions. If he's unsure if any of it, it won't look so good.

 

Has he acknowledged the claim yet?

[steampowered]

Hi, I think you are doing a great job trying to resolve this.

 

When was the default? If it was more than six years ago the default might have dropped off his credit report already. You should encourage him to get a copy of his credit report to see what is on there (try noddle).

 

If there is a default, you might need to write to the organisation that placed it there to try and have it removed - that won't be Bryan Carter.

 

I think it is fine for you to prepare the Defence for your son, and get him to sign it. But you need to make sure that he reads and agrees with the contents, he can't just sign it blindly. It is important that the story your son tells to the court in a hearing is consistent with what is written in the Defence.

 

Most importantly of all, make sure that your son does not miss the deadlines for filing the acknowledgement and the service. If deadlines are missed that will result in an automatic CCJ.

[ajjars]

Thank you steampowered for your reply. I AM doing my best to sort it

 

 

I really did have genuine questions for Bandit. If I will be doing my son some sort of dis-service in trying to sort this out for him then I would appreciate knowing why so I can change things.

 

 

Obviously my son is going to read and understand everything. He won't be going in blind - he is an intelligent man, but he doesn't want or need the hassle of sorting this out. He will be going in with all the facts, he will just tell the truth. The truth is the absolute facts - he knew nothing of this. That will be his defence. it's up to the court whether they rule in his favour, but he can't change the facts.

 

 

If they don't find in his favour then the debt will be paid straight away, but I feel I have to at least try and get this off his credit file.

 

 

I will be filling in the defence this weekend for him, ready for him to look over and sign - the deadline I believe is 30th Jan, so we have to get it sorted this weekend.

 

 

Thanks for all your replies

[steampowered]

I agree with everything you have said. Where I have seen cases like this go badly wrong in the past, is where someone has signed a defence or witness statement, and then contradict it in court. That shouldn't be a problem if you make sure he is on board with the documents he signs.

[caro]

Any update on how this is going/went?

[ajjars]

An update .....

 

 

Hearing was scheduled for 2nd July. We received court bundle from claimant and submitted our bundle by the deadline.

Claimants bundle consisted of all statements for the account, an unsigned copy of the credit agreement and the default notice.

Son's bundle consisted of a statement from my son - the defendant, a statement from me - the witness and a copy of an email received back from the original creditor's fraud dept replying to an email I sent back in 2012 telling them that the account was not my son's, but mine.

There was also a letter with the claimants bundle saying that they would not be attending court and that the court had been notified of this.

My son included a letter with his bundle to say that he could not attend court on the day either.

 

 

So today my son received this letter from the court:

 

 

Upon the non attendance by either party

 

 

IT IS ORDERED THAT

 

 

1. The trial is adjourned to the first available date after 30 July 2015, time estimate 30 minutes, to enable the Claimant, if so advised, to comment in writing on the documents submitted by the Defendant as received by the court on 18 June 2015.

 

 

2. The court office must send the Defendant documents to the Claimants solicitors as soon as practically possible.

 

 

3. The Claimant (by itself or its solicitors) must file and serve it's comments on those documents by 4.00pm on 23 July 2015.

 

 

Dated 2 July 2015

 

 

 

 

Any thoughts? ............ Thanks

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, I received an email last week saying that someone had attempted to access my account on here, but as they submitted the wrong password 3 times they were locked out - why would someone do that?!!

[citizenB]

 

 

Incidentally, I received an email last week saying that someone had attempted to access my account on here, but as they submitted the wrong password 3 times they were locked out - why would someone do that?!!

 

What, someone trying to access your CAG account ?

[citizenB]

As for the rest of the post with respect to the Court Order, I think it is self explanatory.

 

The Claimant has been ordered to respond to the documents that You/Son submitted to the court, if need be.

 

There is to be a new hearing date soon as possible after 30th July and you will be advised of that from the court.

 

Also, if the Claimant is going to comment on the documents that you/Son submitted, then they must file this at court and also serve you with a copy of their response by the 23rd July 2015.

 

Interesting that the Claimant wasn't going to attend court either ?

 

I would suggest that your Son and you really do need to try and attend on the next hearing date... if it goes ahead.

[ajjars]

Hiya,

 

 

Need a bit of advice on what we should do next ......

The new hearing date was set for early September, but this morning my son received a "Notice of discontinuance". So obviously they are not going to proceed with the case - but does my son have to do anything now? And does this mean that he can apply to have this removed from his credit file?

That is really all I'm concerned about now is getting this off my son's file.

 

 

Thank you btw to everyone who commented on this and offered me advice .... it was very helpful

[AndyOrch]

Hiya,

 

 

Need a bit of advice on what we should do next ......

The new hearing date was set for early September, but this morning my son received a "Notice of discontinuance". So obviously they are not going to proceed with the case Correct- but does my son have to do anything now? No And does this mean that he can apply to have this removed from his credit file? No...its a separate matter and not connected to the court claim

 

That is really all I'm concerned about now is getting this off my son's file.

 

 

Thank you btw to everyone who commented on this and offered me advice .... it was very helpful

 

Andy

[steampowered]

If you have any more court hearing on this you really must make sure that you attend court on the given date. A letter with the bundle isn't enough. If the claimant had attended court it is likely that they would have won there and then!

 

The Notice of Discontinuance should mean that the claim has been withdrawn. It is worth checking with the court that this has gone through.

 

It doesn't mean he can automatically have the default removed from his credit file unfortunately. He can however raise a dispute with the credit rating agencies.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Andyorch
Discontinuance