Charge on your home...

[thereshope!]

Hiya all.

 

Just to be clear and so you do not worry unduly - I am NOT in this situation at present. I would just like to know more about it, in case it arises or is threatened by "you know who".

 

Can someone advise or point me to an external website that explains the circumstances, procedures, controls that relate to the possibilty of a charge being placed on a home relating to an unpaid debt.

 

Examples of questions I have:

 

Legally WHO can request this of the courts?

A creditor can apply for a CCJ.This is the first step in the application for a charging order.

Does the subject have to be advised in advance or can it be done without their knowledge?

Before a CCJ is applied for, I belive the creditor has to issue a default notice,but many of the creditors break the law by not doing so.

Can it be opposed / defended by the subject / debtor in court?

YES. When the ccj is applied for the court will send you a response pack asking if you admit/dispute the debt.If the creditor has charged unlawful penalties to your account,then dispute the amount of the debt.

What criteria does the court consider in granting or not, this penalty?

If it gets as far as a final charging order hearing,it is very difficult to not have the order made final.You need to fight it at the first hurdle really,ie the ccj.I had a final charging order hearing 2 weeks ago and I managed to persuade the judge to give me 28 days so I could counter-claim against the creditor and ask for the CCJ to be set aside.The judge was sympathetic but he basically said that his hands were tied as I had admitted the debt !

t are the implications for the subject / debtor if a charge is place on your home?

Worst case scenario is that an order for sale can be made.Thankfully this doesnt appear to happen very much.Stick to the payment plan ordered by the court and I dont think an order for sale would be granted.

I don't expect all the answers from one post, but I would like to be able to fill in the gaps with some of your help and a bit of my own research.

Hopefully this has helped you gain a little understanding of the process.I am not an expert so do a bit of research yourself in case I've missed any thing, but I am going through the process at the moment,and the above is what I have learnt on my journey lol !

Thanks in advance.

 

Cheers

 

Wobbles

 

 

 

Good luck !

 

Hope xx

[thereshope!]

Crossed posts with you there priority !

 

Looks like we are singing from the same hymn sheet though !

 

Hope xx

[thereshope!]

That's roughly the process. CCJ comes first. If they get a CCJ then a Charging order is 1 way they can secure the debt against the equity in a property. I found some useful background at Charging Orders - What is a Charging Order? & Guide to credit control and debt recovery: Clifton Ingram - Solicitors

 

Process starts with an Interim Charging order which you probably will not know about until after is granted when you receive a copy of the order which will tell you when a hearing will be held for the Final Charging Order. The links above give some ideas on what Court will consider.

 

From a creditors point of view the CCJ is best if it orders full payment as if it orders a payment plan and you keep to the payment plan it would/should prevent them going for a charging order.

 

I had to do research on this for my daughter a while back when Egg/DLC went for a Charging Order against her then partner. Attended court for the Final Charging Order but Judge wasn't that sympathetic as they had followed all correct process.

 

Good Luck - Defend the CCJ is possible. if you have to admit then offer payment plan. If CCJ is granted try to ensure payment plan rather than full payment.

 

Come back for further advice if it does start to go down this route.

 

S

 

 

 

 

The above is all correct except the paragraph in red .

I was paying 1st Credit through my debt management plan with the CCCS. I had been in the plan paying every month for about a year when 1st Credit applied for the Charging Order.

 

If 1st Credit dont bring to the courts attention that a payment plan has been adhered too,and ask for a forthwith judgement,its a fair bet that the court will grant it.

 

Hope xx

[thereshope!]

1st Credit are just about the worst dca I have come across.

 

The ccj,followed by charging order route is one that they tend to follow as a rule,and when I contacted the CCCS about the charging order ,it didnt surprise them in the slightest that 1st Credit had applied.

 

Sadly,they seem to follow up on their threats....

 

So, if with like me they dont comply with cca request,slap an N1 in and seek remedy by way of a court order lol !

 

Its to be hoped that their paperwork is in order;)

 

Hope xx

[thereshope!]

Hi halfax1:)

 

TBH i dont think it would have made any difference whether you turned up or did anything differently.

 

I went into the hearing very well prepared(BA RHIA + INKOGNEETOH ALL HELPED ME LOADS !).The judge actually said" my hands are tied,young lady.All I can do today is make the order final or give you time to submit a counter claim"

 

Because the CCJ had beeen granted, nothing else could really be taken into account,despite the dca not complying with cca request.The judge basically ignored what I said as it wasnt admissable !

 

If you get to the point of a final charging order hearing,it is very difficult to have it struck out.

 

I have taken legal advice on this too, and the general consensus is to get the ccj set aside before they apply for final charging order !

 

Get good advice from the guys and gals on here and also phone the National Debtline, they really know their stuff !

 

On the 20th April I have my ccj set aside hearing,followed by my final charging order hearing.

 

I will post my experience and the outcome on my thread:shock:

 

Hope xx

[thereshope!]

Sorry for hijack wobbles

 

Yep,in court on apr 20th for set aside hearing

 

Hope xx