I had some building/redecoration work done several years ago which was covered by the insurance company.

There were issues with the work and eventually, after a lot of dragging out, the loss adjusters asked me to provide 3 quotes to get the repair work done.

I provided these but the loss adjusters have been dragging it out again, not replying at first and eventually saying they will get back to me "soon".

I fear they may be trying to drag it out so that the statute of limitation period will pass and I will not be able to take legal action against them.

Could anyone please advise what the law is around this (e.g. does the statute of limitations still come into play if a claim is still current?)?

Any advice on how to proceed with the claim gratefully received.

Ah, I see. My claim is not in regard to PPI.

Sorry, what's the difference between the two? I think they are one and the same in my case (other than them using a form of solicitors working on their behalf).

If I did not apply for the judgement to be set aside and just paid it would I later be able to make a new claim against the claimant for the charges they claimed against me or would it not be allowed?

Could the 'judgement' not be set aside?

Maybe I am looking at it incorrectly but the way I saw it was that a judgement has been made in default and that a set aside would quash that judgement (regardless of whether the amount involved was paid or not).

I thought the case would then start again from the beginning giving me the opportunity to have my side of the story listened to and then a final judgement made and if it was found I was not liable then the claimant would have to refund me the amount I had paid.

It's a risk because there is no guarantee the judge will set it aside.

I am wondering whether I could pay the judgement amount under protest (to avoid the ccj being recorded) while also applying for set aside. I would hope that if the judge did then agree to set it aside then the claimant would refund the amount I paid (or if the claimant refused to refund me then if I could sue them for it).

I'm not sure of the legalities of this though. Someone told me that paying the judgement would be an admission that I owed it while someone else advised that it would not be admitting it but just following the orders of the default judgement and I could still apply for the judgement to be set aside.

I am really confused now I wrote to National Debt Line this evening asking about this and they replied saying the following:

"I'm afraid that the month time limit does not get suspended & applying to set aside the CCJ will mean that if you are unsuccessful & the month is up. The CCJ will be registered."

I hope this does not come across as rude, but you absolutely sure of this?

The reason I ask is that I spoke to two solicitors on the phone (they'll speak to you for free for 5 mins)

and I said how frustrating it is that the court said the application takes 6 weeks which would put me out of time to pay

and avoid the ccj and neither of them said the time gets stopped until the case is heard.

If it is definitely the case that the time would be stopped until the judge decides on the set aside

and I get another 28 days to pay then I think it would be worth the risk of losing the court fee.

It's the ccj on my record that I don't want to risk.

Ah yes, I see what you mean.

Thanks

The amount of the judgement is over £2k. If I was allowed to defend it then I think the most I would owe would be around £500 because most of the costs are for admin and late fees which I am pretty sure are not allowed according to my lease.

I don't know how much of an issue it would be really, depends what the future holds.

I don't really see myself getting any loans but you never know what's round the corner.

I would probably want to remortgage for a better rate as I have noticed rates have reduced below the rate I have.

I would prefer not to have a ccj just in case but I did check my credit score on the free credit score site Clear Score

and it already has the judgement on my file but still shows my score as better than average in the area surprisingly.

This might not mean much though and I would still just get declined automatically for having a ccj

What do you mean by apply for set aside and then reverse it if set aside?

The court told me it would take 6 weeks so that would take it outside of the month allowed to pay to avoid the CCJ going on my record.

In hindsight I should have done but too late now.

So you think my chances are slim to no chance?

My options are pay it to avoid a CCJ on my credit file or wait to see if I get the set aside

- but by then it will be too late to prevent the CCJ on my credit file.

There is no way I can prove it. What if I have a good defence?

Yes, I posted it in a post box the evening I received it. No certificate of posting - I just assumed it would get there.

I spoke to a solicitor about it and he said it was more likely that it was misplaced in the court as it happens more frequently than you would imagine.

Your evidence in support of the set a side would be a summary of the main reasons for defence

 

Andy

So no need to go into too much depth at this stage? Will I have the opportunity to go into more depth and provide documents, etc. at the hearing?

Hi Andy,

I sent back the acknowledgement of service to get the extra 14 days to submit my defence

but the court says they did not receive it.

They then would not accept a defence from me as a judgement was already given in default.

Am I correct in assuming that the defence I give in N244 should be a summary of the defence rather than a detailed one?

Then a more detailed defence and evidence be provided at the hearing?

I refer to my lease in the defence and wondering if I need to make copies of this large document to send with Form N244 or leave it for the hearing?

Thanks

Thanks Andy. Do I just send one copy to the court or do I have to send 2 or 3 copies? Do I have to send a copy to the claimant or does the court do that?

Thanks for the speedy and comprehensive reply...much appreciated!

I had started filling in the form on MCOL but the form differs and doesn't ask about the draft order but after progressing a few pages into it, it then kept giving an error code whenever I tried to save the Supporting Evidence and I couldn't continue.

I'm not sure if there is the facility to attach the documents I want to attach or not on MCOL anyway.

Thanks again Andy!

On form N244 there is a question (4) which asks "Have you attached a draft of the order you are applying for?"

What is a draft order?

Question 3 asks "What orders are you asking the court to make and why?" and I have written that I want the default judgement set aside and given the reasons I think it should be set aside. Does question 4 relate to this? Is it just a more in depth expansion of this or is it something completely different?

I have searched on the internet and found conflicting answers to this. Some legal websites I have read say a draft order should be attached while others (e.g. NationalDebtline) say tick NO and leave it to the court to fill in. None of the websites actually explain what the draft order is though.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can help. Thanks!