County court claims

A County Court Claim can be issued against you in the County or High Court when your Creditors are unable to recover a debt from you by other means, and depending upon whether or not you have assets which can be pursued.

If you receive a “summons”, or Claim Form from any Court, it is important to act immediately as you will have a time limit of 14 days to return the “Acknowledgement of Service” form. If you fail to do so, a County Court Judgement (CCJ) can be obtained in default against you, which means that the Court may set a repayment figure which you cannot realistically afford.

After the Acknowledgment of Service form has been returned, you will have a further 14 days to submit any Defence to the Court, giving you 28 days in total to do so via completing the “Defence” form.

If you do not receive either an Acknowledgement of Service or Defence Form with a Claim Form or summons, you should inform the Court immediately, as the Claim Form may not have been validly served.

If you do not intend to defend a claim which is issued against you, you should complete the “Admission” Form and provide details of your income and expenditure, which should include details of everything which you have to pay out as well as whatever income you receive. You should then be left with a figure which can be paid to your Creditor.

Once you have filed an admission, you will not be required to attend court, instead, the Court will write to you to inform you of the payment plan that has been set for you. If you do have any circumstances which you would like the Court to take into account when setting out your payment plan, you should make the Court aware of them as soon as possible.

If a CCJ has been obtained against you where the Court has set payments which are too high, you can then apply for the order to be varied to reduce the amount which you will have to pay.

The important thing is not to panic if you receive a Claim Form, and ensure that you return the appropriate form within the time allowed so that you are not ordered to repay more than you can afford. If you take no action, you will be forced to either comply with the Court’s order or incur legal costs in applying for the Order to be varied.

Call our specialist debt team on 08000 915 004 to find out how we could help you.