CCJ from insurance claim

[poker_mad]

After appliying for my credit history for bank charges etc I have discovered a CCJ from an insurance company.:o

 

I had a accident in Nov 2003 and my insurance company still hadnt paid up in July 2006 so they take me to court not my insurance company. I new nothing about this untill last year when I recieved a letter demanding over £13000 or court. I forwarded it to my broker who said it would sort it. Now this.:?

 

I think it has been paid, how can I get this removed from my credit history and who pays the costs?

 

Any help would be great as ive never heard of this before.

[buzby]

Oh dear this IS a mess! IT will be to your insurer that you pass this to, however they often manage to get out of rectifying the CCJ error by saying you didn't pass on the documentation received. Does your CCJ show up as 'satisfied'? If so, the insurance company did pay the claim, but you need to get them to resolve the CCJ and have it resolved, or you sue THEM for their error!

[poker_mad]

Thanks, they say it was paid but the court have said that it's still active. I'm waiting to find out if it had been paid within 30 days. I'm sure they would have to pay costs, should be compo as well as they must be in breach of the aggrement?

[buzby]

Looks as though you're the casualty here. If the Court says it is active, then your Insurers simply paid the claim, and the pursuer did not advise the court that payment was made, so you don;t even get the 'satisfaction' flag. This is a major cock-up, as your Credit Record is blemished and you have suffered the stigma of a CCJ needlessly for X number of months.

 

Ensure you let them know this and you demand they resolve the issue and the problems caused by their delayed settlement. There may even be room for some reasonable compensation to you, so don't overlook it.

[100%WHU]

had the same problem myself with NUD, just received £400 compensation and my cancellation fee waivered.

 

Mind you I wasn't informed of the CCJ, and tbh I had to do all the leg work to get it all sorted, phoning the court, the 3rd party solicitors and the insurance company on a daily basis.

 

Call credit still showing it on my files, and they are not helpful at all, unlike equifax, who were good to deal with

[poker_mad]

An update, managed to get conferation from 3rd party solicitors the ccj was paid in october 2006, nearly 4 months after ccj was issued and 3 years after accedent. Sent everything off to the court and today recived a sattisfied cirtificate, So it still wont be removed full. Any advise would be greatly recieved.

[buzby]

Under the circumstances, it was your insurance company who got you into this mess, so I'd be inclined to pursue them to resolve the matter. Explain that having the matter described as 'satisfied' is not satisfactory and your reputation is being affected as a result of their errors.

[Yorkyclaims]

From my experience of CCJ's you are unable to have it removed. A CCJ can only be removed if it is settled within 1 month of enforcement. However, as stated above you can have the CCJ marked as satisfied. I think there is a £15 admin fee for this!

[buzby]

Agreed. It is a matter-of-fact, the issue is what damages the OP can obtain due to his insurance companies lack of diligence. In the current climate, a 4-digit sum would be reasonable.

[poker_mad]

I have recieved the notification from the court that the ccj is now satisfied. After speaking to the court the only other option I have is to apply to have it set aside which will involve a court hearing. As it is satisfied I cant see any problems for finance in the future so my aim is compo.

The oridinal insurance policy was with tradex, it was a motor traders policy costing about £3500 a year. The claim was in november 2003 and my vehicle was repaired and paid for in jan 2004(they would not release it until tradex paid as they have a rep as slow to pay) In may 2006 i recieved a letter from the third party solicitors giving me 30 days to pay or court action. I was shocked that (a) it hadent been paid (b) why had they left it so late to contact me. I forwarded the letter to my broker and told them to sort it. Never herd another thing until last month when I tried to open a new bank account(incase hsbc close my account for reclaiming those bank charges) and was turned down. Applied for credit file and found ccj.

 

I have herd a story that the 3rd party didnt cash the check so the date ran out and when they asked for another the talks broke down, but could just be an excuse. I have insider knowlage as my mother works at the broker, but dont want to cause her any problems.

 

I think my first job will be to start a complaint with tradex, ask them to carry out an investigation into what happened then go from there.

How much compo do you think I should go for?

[poker_mad]

By the way the ccj was for £13500 and my vehice cost £3500 to repair so not bad for a premium of£3500.

[buzby]

It is because the CCJ shows as 'satisfied' you are seeking compensation. YOU may not think it matters showing on your file as it is 'satisfied' but I can assure you it does. The online services show it as a CCJ, and the disposition of it doesn't really matter. Only you can estimate the true cost, but I'd - if it was me - look for a minimum of £2k as this will sit on my file for SIX years.

[100%WHU]

I received £400 from Norwich union for having a CCJ put against my name which was removed a few months after(as they had paid within the 28 days). So I would say that any compensation you receive for having a CCJ which will show for 6 years, should go into the thousands

[poker_mad]

100%WHU , did they pay up or did you have to take them to court?

[100%WHU]

I complained and they paid up. To be fair, they didn't fight it at all

[poker_mad]

I have been looking on the websites of the credit reference agencies. They will remove an insurance related ccj if you supply a letter from the insurance company giving all the required details. You still have a ccj but they will remove it from your file. The court and the registry trust will still show it. It will be worth a try.

[poker_mad]

Update,

I have complained to the isurance company and they have replied. They have taken full responsability and apolagised. They also say a cheque for £500 is on it's way.

The cheque will be going back of course, as it doesnt even scratch the surface of what its going to cost me.

Does anyone have any advise on how to handle the insurance company? I dont want to get into letter tennis as I would like thousands. What if they say tough, take it or leave it? Could I take them to court?

I would be happy for that years premium back which was about £3500

 

Any thoughts would be great.

[Rob S]

I think that pushing for your years premium back is pushing things a bit. You need to work out exactly what their mistake has cost you and then claim for that. For example, has the CCJ affected your ability to get loans in the last few years, have you been told you have to pay a higher rate of interest, and if so how much extra has the loan cost you because of the erroneous CCJ being on your credit file?

[buzby]

I Disagree - whilst £3,500 is a whopping amount to pay for insurance (what was the insured value on this?) it approaches the stain on your credit record, you were blameless and they dropped the ball. The CCJ will stay as satisfied on Registry Trust's database IRRESPECTIVE of what the CRA's do, unless court action is instigated to remove it. Since that will probably cost more than £2.5k in solicitor and court fees, I'd be inclined to accept this as settlement. Your don't have to prove the injustice if it stays on your record for 6 years!

[Rob S]

But to just say "I want my years premium back" is not going to get him very far. As I said above, it needs to be properly quantified to give the OP a reasonable chance of success.

[poker_mad]

The premium was for commercial insurance, it covered 3 vehicles, public liability e.t.c

 

With regard to the cost to me, I have just started topen a new business as my last one closed down due to 3 companies going bankrupt on me in 2 years. I have tried to open a personal and business acount, both turned down. I need a small start up loan to buy a van and some tools etc. Most of my parts will be from the internet but no credit cards so thats out the window. I can't ask for credit at local suppliers as a credit check will get me turned down and my reputation will a joke.

 

As for my personal finances, The discount on my mortgage ends in less than 12 months which means it'll be going up £80 a month if I'm lucky. If I change it I will have to cope with embarrasment of going into banks and begging and pleading my case or pay high fees from non high street lenders.

 

So I think it's safe to say that £3500 doesnt even scratch the surface.

 

I will write back and ask them to reconcider and take it from there. Then maybe report them to the Financial Ombudsman.