after following numerous advice off your website i unfortunatley got no where i then received paperwork from the court (claim form) i was unsure how to go about filling this in etc so made an appointment to see my local cab office as i couldn't afford a solicitor.

the cab office filled in the paperwork for me & i have now handed it into the courts however i was wondering if anyone can shed some light onto what will happen next please. the cab money advisor stated that there was no point in fighting the case as on visiting her i did take details of my defence/counterclaim but she totally disregarded them stating that i would only get the judges back up by doing this & would end up in a worse situation. she stated that because i had actually entered into this joint mortgage & signed for it then because there was a shortfall i was liable whether i liked it or not & would have to accept some form of responsibility. i took with me various pieces i had printed off your site & i was told that whilst alot of the stuff was correct alot was also incorrect as legislation does not stand with regards to the 6 year rule & infact they can chase for 12 years & there is nothing you can do about this & the judge will not take into account the fact that 6 years have passed. therefore in filling in paperwork she has stated that i do accept that there is a shortfall however i do not agree with the figure they are asking for & have had no documentation to show how they have come to this amount. she has also done a statement of my income/outgoings which i am left with nothing anyway as on a benefit she has then gone on to fill in the part which says i will pay a £1 a month. I don't think for a moment they will accept that but what happens next court now has paperwork as 14 day period is up. can someone please put me in the picture as i am extremley lost.

thankyou

si.

-- simon hall (si119354@aol.com), October 04, 2001

Answers

The normal procedure when a claim form has been issued (by any creditor, not just a lender) and you put in a defence - then there is normally a hearing and a judge will give directions - instructions to both parties about what they are to do. Its at this point that your lender will have to justify their claim.

The judge makes a decision and will either grant judgement for the full amount claimed, or part of the amount or could even throw it out. Even if you offer a £1 a month, the lender, after getting a judgement could get an attachment of earnings order to force you to pay more, or in some cases, get a charging order on any property you might own or jointly own. You can get leaflets from your local court about the options open to you. The court also has leaflets on how court hearings work - they are very helpful.

Even though your defence is already filed, you can still see a solicitor. A lot of CABs do have links with local firms if your case requires more than the CAB can do, and I am surprised that your CAB didn't do this.

Solicitors needn't be as expensive as you think, and I would strongly suggest that you see one. This shortfall claim isn't just an inconvenience you know, it could affect you for many years if you let the lender get away with their claim.

Some solicitors give a free first interview, check out the Yellow Pages or ring a few of them up. Some firms will even let you pay in instalments if you tell them up front that you're strapped for cash.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), October 04, 2001.