County Court Summonses

Callers to our helpline are often involved in, or at least threatened with, court action for the recovery of a debt, which can involve charges on property and eventual repossession orders; or with repossession under a mortgage agreement.

If you have never been involved with a court before, the idea of being dragged before a judge may be terrifying.

A court summons is serious, and you MUST get professional advice if you receive court papers of any kind; but it is not the end of the world if you act sensibly.

These notes will help to explain what goes on.

If you receive a County Court Summons or any other court documents - GET PROFESSIONAL HELP.

You may or may not qualify for legal aid, but any good local solicitor will be able to help you find out.

There are schemes such as the 'Lawyers For Your Business' scheme run by the Law Society which will provide some basic help without charge on business related matters.

Call NABC for more information - or visit the Law Society site http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/

You MUST respond to the court documents within the time limits, or you will have lost the case by default.

You might respond by paying the amount claimed - in which case, consider the summons an extreme form of last reminder letter.

You will not be shown in the County Court Register as having lost the case, and this will not in itself affect your credit rating.

If you otherwise lose the case but cannot pay the sum claimed, YOU MUST MAKE SOME ATTEMPT TO PAY even if you only pay £5 per month.

Use a form N245 from the County Court office to list your income and outgoings and work out what, if anything, you can pay. Do not offer more than you can afford - otherwise you will be subject to further court action if you fail to keep up your payments.

If your circumstances change you can fill in another form. If you make no attempt to pay, the bank can obtain a charge on your property which might lead to repossession. You will be shown in the County Court Register.

This may have an affect on your credit status. Otherwise, a debt action is relatively quick and painless. In a debt case a repossession goes through several stages with various levels of Charging Order being applied to the property. You MUST defend each application by the bank - or you will lose the property.

County Court Judges will be as sympathetic as they can be within the law, and if you have good reasons for resisting the application for possession, you should succeed.

Repossession under a mortgage agreement is simpler for the bank, but you must again get professional advice.

It may be possible to enter into agreements which will avoid repossession for the time being.

When you have paid off your debt(s) you should always ask for a Certificate of Satisfaction from the creditor.

Presenting this to the County Court will amend the Register to show that the debt has been paid. This is less damaging to your credit than having an unsatisfied CCJ shown against your name.

If you are in any doubt about the entries on the County Court Register, send £1 to one of the credit reference agencies (see DataSheet 3) to check the entry. If it is incorrect, complain to the Court and to the credit reference agency.

BEWARE that various firms have from time to time advertised services to 'remove' adverse credit reference information from the County Court Register. They charge a heavy fee, but so far as we have been able to establish they CANNOT legally provide the service they promise.



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