Ccj And High Court Enforcement

[ChippyCraft]

I hope I can get some help here please. I am a Sole Trader and last year (2020) I was unable to carry out my work due to the lockdown because I am a domestic carpenter. I owed my creditor £900 to which I contacted and offered to make 3 instalments over 3 months to clear the debt. The creditor gave me a month's grace and told me they would contact me to arrange the payment plan. O never was contacted, instead I was issued a County Court judgement to which I did not respond to the court but instead contacted the creditor to ask what had happened. They told me that the person who was supposed to call me on the date arranged was on leave so the process for a ccj had been issued instead. I had no warning and due to the current climate I did not have the full amount payable.
The creditor have now raised a high court writ to the value of £2200.00
Is there anything I can do to get this over turned or set aside so I can pay the original amount?
TIA

[bobbinwales]

all you can do is see what the crediter accepts but otherwise you after pay the amount which includes all fees/costs before the bailiffs call. You might be able to negotiate a phased payment. Its unlikely the crediter will accept anything less than is being demanded tho because they;ve incurred court costs

[bobbinwales]

If you can get some free legal advice though, maybe on here, there may be some way of challenging it but its probly to late to avoid some costs now

[Buenchico]

My understanding of the law is that you can't directly challenge the High Court writ of control, as the Court acted correctly in granting the writ based upon the fact that you'd not complied with the terms of the original County Court Judgement.

However, if the CCJ was issued without you ever being notified that it was being applied for (and thus giving you no chance to have your say in the County Court), you might be able to apply to the court which issued the CCJ to have the judgement set aside pending a fresh hearing. That would then enable you to challenge the writ of control in the High Court.

If I've got that right, you'll need to make TWO court applications. The first one needs to be to the High Court, in order to obtain a 'stay of execution' (preventing bailiffs from seizing your goods while the matter is being sorted out). Then you need to apply to the County Court to get the CCJ set aside.

See here
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/high-court-enforcement-ew/
and here
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/setting-aside-a-ccj-ew/
(Those links go to the website of a charity helping people with debt problems and so, unlike many other 'debt assistance' websites, they're not trying to make money out of you. You might find further useful advice on their site , on the phone lines or through their email support: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/ )

[Peter Pedant]

// However, if the CCJ was issued without you ever being notified that it was being applied for (and thus giving you no chance to have your say in the County Court),//

yes I think you can do this - you ring the ct and ask to have the judgement set aside on this grounds and see what they say - it used to be call around - pay a fee and fill out a form

THEN you see what there is to do about the writ of control and for gods sake dont - do nothing and assume this and that - - you know what happens

you first need to get the CCJ set aside which should be straightforward