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Original poster

FFS. CCJ I knew nothing about.

56 replies

TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:21

Letter from solicitor in the post this morning.

Apparently I was served a CCJ in January and they are commencing enforcement proceedings.

This is the very first letter I have had regarding the matter, and of course now it's too late!

A reference copy of the County Court claim form was enclosed, my old address is on it (moved in 2021). Frustrating that they clearly have my correct address NOW (solicitor letter) yet clearly every other communication on this has gone to my old address, so I've had no idea!!!

It's for a vet bill totalling £300 originally. We had Royal Mail redirection for a year after we moved so no idea why we didn't get the original invoice. We also saw the same vet last year, and no mention was made when we paid that invoice!

Thankfully we have healthy savings so can pay whatever costs (£1k on court claim papers but guessing more now solicitors commencing enforcement proceedings) but I'm so frustrated that they have only just sent to the correct address!

I am meticulous about updating new addresses too- this vet is different to our usual one (which I updated!) but shares out of hours vet cover. Obviously a mistake on my part not to let them know our new address but a) we had Mail redirection and b) assumed invoicing/records were shared between the two anyway... clearly not 😓

Ready to pay whatever but rang the solicitors as soon as I opened the letter and no one has been available to talk to me, despite calling and chasing via email today like a madwoman.

Any advice? Google seems to say I need to settle the debt and then have a terrifying and embarrassing day in court to try and get it set aside on the basis that the court paperwork went to the wrong address?

OP posts:
Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:27

Also, noticed that on the claim form I'm down as Miss rather than Mrs, and the town is spelt incorrectly- would this affect Royal Mail redirection services? I'm CERTAIN we didn't get any invoices (as they would have been paid immediately) but we SHOULD have got them given RM redirect was in place!

OP posts:
LividHouse · 14/04/2023 15:29

Ah. No useful knowledge but sorry.

This is the sort of thing that causes nightmares when you’ve had no idea and seemingly done everything right. Good luck!

eurochick · 14/04/2023 15:33

Do you accept the original £300 is owed?

Yes, you can apply to have the judgment set aside so it is not on your credit file.

Floralnomad · 14/04/2023 15:36

I can’t understand why it didn’t flag as outstanding when you went to the vets . Do they not have a computerised system

Nimbostratus100 · 14/04/2023 15:37

are you sure it is genuine, not a scam?

StormTreader · 14/04/2023 15:38

Have you tried contacting the vet to get them to confirm if you have this outstanding amount and what its for? That would at least tell you if its a legit debt or not.
Honestly it sounds a little scammy to me so best to get your facts down first.

tailinthejam · 14/04/2023 15:40

I'd be inclined to go into the vets and ask them what's going on. Tell them that you paid for something last time, and no mention was made about anything owing from a previous occasion. Go in there with your 'really worried and upset and want to sort it out asap' face.

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:44

Thanks for the kind reply @LividHouse.

I feel disproportionately upset about it.

Our dog has a LOT of health issues and vet trips, much of which go through insurance, or paid on the day... should have kept closer track, I'm pretty on it with our finances generally ☹️

OP posts:
Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:47

I think the original debt is genuine (unless the vet cocked up the billing- I need to check our pet insurance claims, we make lots!).

OP posts:
Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:48

Floralnomad · 14/04/2023 15:36

I can’t understand why it didn’t flag as outstanding when you went to the vets . Do they not have a computerised system

Yes, computerised system. We have raised this with the vets and await their reply.

OP posts:
Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 15:51

We are taking it up with the vets, but the solicitor letter says the CCJ was entered by the court in January, so fucked on that front either way and and the CCJ will have to be dealt with separately.

OP posts:
TheMarsian · 14/04/2023 15:55

Surely if you gave seen the vet many other times after the time the bill was due, they know your new address and would have sent the invoice reminder to your new address too??

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 16:04

TheMarsian · 14/04/2023 15:55

Surely if you gave seen the vet many other times after the time the bill was due, they know your new address and would have sent the invoice reminder to your new address too??

I think we have only seen this vet once since, 5 months later. As above, odd out of hours cover agreement between different vet practices.

OP posts:
StPaulandTheBrokenBones · 14/04/2023 16:22

I have posted about this firm of solicitors before, because they helped me a few years ago. I found them to be very good and my CCJ was set aside (because the address that the papers had gone to a previous address). I was awarded costs as well so I didn't have to pay the solicitors fees. It's not cheap but having a CCJ on my credit report was not a good option either.

There is a link to their Trustpilot page here if it helps you OP https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/masonbullock.co.uk

I understand that a CCJ can only be set aside by a court, see here https://www.registry-trust.org.uk/rt-learn-ew/remove-ccj/

Mason Bullock Solicitors is rated "Excellent" with 4.9 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Mason Bullock Solicitors's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 342 customers have already said.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/masonbullock.co.uk

filka · 14/04/2023 16:25

My story - I was photographed in a bus lane in Reading on 1 January 2020 and returned home abroad on 4 January. They sent out the fine about 2 weeks later. Just after that COVID hit and we were unable to travel to the UK for another 20 months, so we did not see any post that arrived at our UK home. Meantime Reading BC sent the claim to the County Court (didn't see that either), and of course I lost. But the first I knew of any of this was when my neighbours told me that someone was hanging around outside my house, and it turned out they were a bailiff.

I discovered that it was possible to file an appeal against the CCJ on the basis that I had never received the fine, or the reminders, or the summons. I submitted a form called Application to File a Statutory Declaration Out of Time. The main content of this was "My reasons for filing the Statutory Declaration outside the given time are....". The important part was that I wasn't appealing against the original fine, only against the CCJ, claimants court costs and the bailiffs fees.

Although my case was a road traffic offence, the rest of the story is similar to yours - I just didn't receive any notices at all - in my case because I couldn't come to the UK, in yours that everything was sent to the wrong address. And you did have a redirection order so you had taken reasonable and normal precautions.

So...the first thing I would do is to contact the court. Not the plaintiff, not the bailiff and not the solicitor. They will tell you if you have a cats chance in hell, and what to do.

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 17:33

Thank you all, some great advice. I'll contact the court on Monday and look forward to a weekend of strewing over it as solicitors and courts are now closed.

OP posts:
moggerhanger · 14/04/2023 17:37

Years ago DH had a CCJ for unpaid student hall of residence fees. He got it set aside on the basis that he'd never received any of the papers (only found out, like you, when the collection agency got involved). He represented himself with advice from the Internet. The judge was unimpressed that the applicant hadn't managed to serve the original claim properly, but then magically managed to track DH down once they had a judgement to enforce!

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 18:52

moggerhanger · 14/04/2023 17:37

Years ago DH had a CCJ for unpaid student hall of residence fees. He got it set aside on the basis that he'd never received any of the papers (only found out, like you, when the collection agency got involved). He represented himself with advice from the Internet. The judge was unimpressed that the applicant hadn't managed to serve the original claim properly, but then magically managed to track DH down once they had a judgement to enforce!

This is my primary frustration, that NOW they are contacting me at my address.

Glad your DH got sorted.

OP posts:
moggerhanger · 14/04/2023 19:40

@TryingNotToFreak hopefully that will work in your favour!

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 14/04/2023 19:42

Hopefully! Absolute shitshow.

OP posts:
Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 15/04/2023 11:40

@StPaulandTheBrokenBones I have filled a form in on your solicitors website so will see what they come back with. Nervous about their costs though if we did use them and scared of paying this bill plus potentially thousands of their fees on top Sad

OP posts:
StPaulandTheBrokenBones · 15/04/2023 11:48

@TryingNotToFreak I’m not going to lie, the legal cost of this worried me too. But at the same time I didn’t want a CCJ on my file for six years. Financially it would have ended up costing me more over that six year period - higher interest rates or not being able to access credit at all.

In my case though the Judge awarded costs in my favour so I had to pay legal fees upfront but then I got them all back from the company who originally applied for the CCJ. The Judge was not at all happy with them.

Original poster
TryingNotToFreak · 15/04/2023 11:51

Yes, you are right about the long term cost.

Hopefully they think I have a case and we can go from there.

OP posts:
whatyoulookingfor · 16/04/2023 19:40

@TryingNotToFreak ypu don't need a solicitor to do this. I had an £11k CCJ set aside that HMRC had against me after sending demands to an old address. I went to court, asked to do a statutory declaration, explained that I had moved, and that HMRC had my new address on file (they had sent tax demands - which I'd paid-to it) and the judge removed the CCJ. Hwas very unimpressed with HMRC and said that if they tried to persue it again it would be looked on unfavourably. Got a letter 2 weeks later saying HMRC were wiping the debt!!

It was nerve wracking but easy to do and I had no solicitor even though they had a barrister.