DWP court forms recieved

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hello all I have recieved this morning court forms from DWP. It says they are for loans taken out with them. I do not recall any loans taken in the last 3 years apart from 3 crisis loans taken last year. As I am a single parent student I have claimed JSA during the summer periods. I did receive a letter saying I owed money a while before Christmas and told I was to pay a certain amount but I have had many personal problems and forget to get round to dealing with it. However I have not received from them any letters saying they were going to issue court proceedings. The amount they are claiming is far more than the crisis loans I have had. Can anyone advise how I should deal with this please.

 

What specifically are the particulars of claim??

There is always a considerable amount of

correspondence prior to the issue of a claim.

Has this been issued direct by DWP debt management

or is a third party acting for them???

 

the particulars of claim are "The plaintiffs claim is for the sum of monies loaned by the plaintiff to the defendant pursuant to part VIII of the social security contributions & benefits Act 1992. Full particulars whereof have already been given." I have had only one letter from them like I said before Christmas and nothing since.

 

Ok, your best way forward is to talk to

DWP debt management about this and

see if you can come to an arrangement

to pay, if you are still on benefits a court

would probably only award minimum payments

anyway.

You may be able to avoid a CCJ this way.

 

I think through DWP debt management

[oblivious]

thanks Brigadier. I am still a student in my final year. Will there be a seperate number for them or should I ring the normal benefits number? I do not even know what the other amounts they are claiming for are. The crisis loans I had were only £50 each and I only took them because they messed up my claim and then sanctioned me and refused me hardship.

[oblivious]

As I am a student living off just student finance is there a minimum I can offer?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The address on the letter received or on the court claim form

usually have a contact number.

It would I think be the Mitchedean in Goucestershire

office dealing with this.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

As I am a student living off just student finance is there a minimum I can offer?

 

Discuss it with them you will be able to tell them what

you can afford I would suggest £5 per month and see

waht they say.

[oblivious]

thanks again I have just seen it now it is salford that are dealing with it. I will give them a call and keep you updated.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

OK just be upfront with them on your finances

it'll be cheaper for them to negotiate than to

follow this through the court.

[oblivious]

ok I have just spoken to the salford branch who have said there is nothing they can do and just fill the forms in, however I said that there must be someone who can stop the claim and they have said that I need to speak to the legal team. they do not work on Saturday so I have requested a call back for Monday. Hopefully then this can be sorted without the need for a CCJ. Will update on Monday.

[lee100]

Hi oblivious,

 

Call the Debt Management Team again on Monday morning, as they are definitely able to put things on hold.

 

I speak from personal experience, as the DWP Debt Management Dpt were about to take deductions from my ESA, for both an ESA Overpayment and Crisis Loan Repayments.

 

When I called them, they were able to go through all of my finances (make sure you have a full budget / all of your income / outgoings / debts before you call).

 

They then agreed to put all deductions on hold for six months.

 

This was the second time that they have done this for me, so effectively the have put both my Crisis Loan Repayments and my ESA Overpayment Repayments on hold for twelve months.

 

So, it can be done.

 

Don't let them fob you off.

 

Good Luck.

[lee100]

PS -

 

If you contact the DWP Debt Management Team first thing Monday, you should be able to avoid further action (CCJ).

 

If you can't afford to pay anything each month, then say so.

 

Don't be bullied into paying anything, if you can't afford it!

 

It'll be ok.

 

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

In basic terms the DWP cannot take

any amount in deductions or court

enforced repayments that take your

income below the level the law says

you must have to live on,I have seen

payments of 50 pence a month accepted.

[oblivious]

thanks guys for your replies, especially lee100 for the info i will certainly call again on monday and be more forceful in trying to get them to stop the claim. will let you know the outcome.

[oblivious]

ok an update guys spoken to a lady from the litigation team and they are adament that they will not stop court action, although I have made an offer of payment. They said they have written to me twice but I have only ever received one letter. I wish to defend this on the grounds of suffering from personal problems which has led to being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I have not been able to deal with everyday things and my college work has suffered also as a result. Do I have a chance of defending that I do not deserve a CCJ or should i just accept it?

[oblivious]

also I would like to add that the majority of the debt stemms from 2009 and had no correspondance from before until before Christmas 2011.

[oblivious]

can anyone please advise if I have a good chance of defending this claim.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

It will be difficult to put together a powerful

defence without proper medical evidence to

convince the court that you were/are incapeable

of managing your affairs, so you would need to

ask your GP/Consultant to provide this.

Were there no repayment terms / conditions made

when the loans were granted.

[oblivious]

thanks for the reply. At the time the loans were taken out I was on benefits so they were taking the repayments out of my benefits. I then started college and thought they would get in touch to sort out an alternative way to pay, but that never happened. I do have a letter from my doctor which says that I have been suffering from anxiety and low mood which was given to the college as I had missed two exams because of the stress with my teenage daughter. However I do believe that they have not given me a proper chance to come to an agreement as they have only sent two letters of which I have only recieved one.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

thanks for the reply. At the time the loans were taken out I was on benefits so they were taking the repayments out of my benefits. I then started college and thought they would get in touch to sort out an alternative way to pay, but that never happened. I do have a letter from my doctor which says that I have been suffering from anxiety and low mood which was given to the college as I had missed two exams because of the stress with my teenage daughter. However I do believe that they have not given me a proper chance to come to an agreement as they have only sent two letters of which I have only recieved one.

 

Hi we have some very expert users on CAG who may be able to help

as well, I will alert them to your thread.

What ever the out come of a court case maybe you will not

be ordered to repay more than you can reasonably afford so

that repaying does not cause hardship.

Are you receiving any DWP benefits at all?

[oblivious]

They told me they would have accepted £5 pm but will not put the court proceedings on hold. The whole purpose of them taking it to court is to get repayment, but I have offered £10.00 pm and asked not to go ahead but they said they could not stop it. I do not see what the point is in going ahead when I am willing to pay it back. I will end up with a CCJ plus extra £55 of court costs to pay. Thanks for your help Brigadier.

[oblivious]

I do not receive benefits I live off student finance.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

They told me they would have accepted £5 pm but will not put the court proceedings on hold. The whole purpose of them taking it to court is to get repayment, but I have offered £10.00 pm and asked not to go ahead but they said they could not stop it. I do n

ot see what the point is in going ahead when I am willing to pay it back. I will end up with a CCJ plus extra £55 of court costs to pay. Thanks for your help Brigadier.

 

I think that you will find if you put in your defence that you have

made these offers, and their stubborn instance that the matter must

go to court I think we can stop you gettin a CCJ.

Have you acknowledged the claim yet??

[oblivious]

thanks brigadier no I have acknowledged it yet as I wanted to see which route I would be going down.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

thanks brigadier no I have acknowledged it yet as I wanted to see which route I would be going down.

OK, there is I think no way of saying you do not

owe the money, so a defence to avoid getting a CCJ is

what is needed.

1. you recieved only one notification, a were not

given the opportunity to negotiate is a valid point.

2.DWP state that the would accept £ 5 per month

but insist on going forward.

3. YOU have offered £10 per month any way.

 

So when you file your defence these and any thing

else including your state of health are the Bullet Points

of the defence.

When you get the allocations questionaire, it will

be on the ''small Claims '' track less than 5K.

Which gives you then the option to take this

to HMRC Small Claims Mediation Service, this

is a Court hosted mediation process which can

result in a ''Tomlin Order'' this is an order agreed

by the 2 parties and is binding on both, this can

be done ''by a telephone appointment'' no court

no judge just the mediator, you and the DWP

representative.

You put forward your ''case'' the mediator tells

DWP, they reply etc. you state what you are

offering if accepted ( they have little or no reason to turn

down your offer.

You will be asked if you agree to a Tomlin order stating

what you and the DWP have agreed.

The order is written up by the DWP and sent to you

to approve and return, once done it is ''Sealed''

by the court and is binding on both parties,

All you will need to do is set up an SO for the

agrred amount monthly and you will here no

more as long as the payments are ontime.

The BIG benefit is NO CCJ IS RECORDED.

I've done these for others on CC debts and

negotiated payments of£5 a month in one

case for 40 years.

[oblivious]

thats briiliant thanks brigadier. So When I acknowledge is it a part defense I pick

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

OK get the aknowledgment off saying

intend to defend, it'l give you more#

time, are the forms fro Northampton

CCBC?