Warrant of control

Afternoon folks.
Well, this might be a long one... To start, the debt (I presume) is from around 2010. My partner of the time went through period of setting up as many credit accounts as she could with catalogues, loan companies and the such. She had at least 4 different accounts with Very, 3 with another similar (the name escapes me) and quite a few other various accounts under differing variations of her name and our daughters (our daughters were 3 years old and 6 months at the time).
Needless to say I wasn't best pleased when I discovered what she'd been up too which happened When I visited my aunt one day and discovered a credit card had arrived in my name.
We split up not long after and as far as I knew the only thing in my name was this one credit card (set up and used by my ex).
After a year or so I was sent letters from various creditors demanding money for stuff I had no idea about as well as for the credit card but I just ignored them (wasn't in a very good place mentally or emotionally). They eventually became less frequent and I moved on from the place I was staying.
Fast forward a few more years and now I've received in the past week or two first a notice of issue and today a final demand informing me the warrant has been issued and I have 24 hours to make payment.
Now I've no idea how they've got my address or why after I've been here this long they've not sent any other correspondence before now but I'm assuming they sent the notice for the CCJ to another previous address as I was never informed of it.
The creditor is Lowell Portfolio Ltd. I have made zero payments for any of these, as I mentioned they were set up by my ex in my name and are not mine to pay although I have no idea how to even start to prove this is the case.
Now there is a slight possibility I could have kept some of the older letters sent back in 2012, they could be in a bag of some of my old stuff I've never gotten around to unpacking yet but it's a long shot so I really don't know where this particular debt is from originally.
Any advice on how to proceed?
Thanks.

First of all this is all B/S because it would be Statute Barred in around 2016 or six years from the date of judgement or 5 years in Scotland and if she set things up in your name she has committed numerous criminal offences and she is liable for the alleged debts and NOT YOU.

First you need to establish the events, how they occured, their timeline, and other appropriate information as where the credit was registered to and on what date and you need all the paperwork and this has to come from the original creditor and not Lowlife as they buy huge blocks of debt and try to enforce them and this is through fear and intimidation and you have to stand your ground and know your rights and enforce them.

Do you get on with your ex. are you still in contact with your ex, and do you know where she lives? you have excellent grounds to repel them and the most obvious is the police as theft and fraud has been committed and potentially identity theft and hese are criminal matters.

You need to contact the court to get the judgement set aside (form N244)

https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgments-ccj-for-debt/cancel-the-judgment

Bailiffs must give you 7 days notice of visit date (sundays is not included)

However keep front and back door locked at all times, they cannot force
entry as its a civil matter ,talk to them through the door if you like but on
no account open it ,keep curtains drawn as well. Record everything.If you
let them in once they will then have automatic right of entry anytime.
Important keep any vehicle in your name either
in a garage or well away from your address ( they will always go for a vehicle
as its easy prey)

I am sure Waylander will give you good advice on this.

assassin wrote:First of all this is all B/S because it would be Statute Barred in around 2016 or six years from the date of judgement or 5 years in Scotland

Not sure what you mean by this. I'm aware of the time allotted until statute barred, I just assumed the OC/DP/DCA applied for the CCJ around 2016 hence why they're still chasing me for the debt and it's reached the point of warrant of control now.
At the time these credit accounts were opened me and my ex were still together, after we split (in no small part due to her behaviour on this) I never thought of reporting any of this as fraud for a number of reasons. Seeing my daughters on the regular without being shut out and being able to prove any of the accounts were set up by her rather than me.
As it turned out she ended up doing a runner on her debts an moved from up north down to London with both my daughters. I don't get on with her, I've no idea where she or my daughters are and haven't seen nor heard from them in over 10 years.
In hindsight I should of taken a visit to the fraud office and given it a go but the fear of losing ones children really will screw up your thinking.
Getting in touch with the OC is going to be quite hard as I've no clue who they are. I will try and find some old letters in storage that I've not unpacked yet but I'm unsure if I even packed any. As I said I ignored most them at the time so it's a long shot at best.

I would strongly advise you do not admit that you had knowledge
of what she had done,it could well be taken that you were complicit
due to your silence.
You need to make it clear ,you have never had any agreement with these
companies and have no knowledge of any alledged accounts with them.

B/S because if they are statute barred they can do nothing and know it and they chase a spouse because they can claim they are liable for half their partners debts and they hope you will fall for their B/S and pay up; remember they pay pennies on thje pound for these debts (around 5p on the £) so anything gained is actually a profit.

As Dave has said you deny any knowledge of any debts and as there is no agreement with them they may well be chasing you for your ex wives alleged debts.

Well I've had a look and can't find any old letters.
@daveiron, I certainly won't be telling any of the creditors or the courts any of this, It's impossible to prove. The accounts she set up that they're chasing me for now are in my name, it's just how it all started not anything I want to address.
@assassin, a warrant of control has been issued, can this happen even if the debt is statute barred? I mean do they grant CCJ's at all after the 6 years very often? I just assumed they got the CCJ just before they became statute barred hence why they're still chasing me now.

Anyway, from what I can gather my first course of action would be to try and get the judgement set aside correct? Then challenge Lowell to prove that I owe them the money?
Forgive me I'm, just starting to get in to it all.
Also, out of curiosity can anyone hazard a guess as to how they found my address, I'm not on the electoral register and certainly haven't applied for credit. When I received the first letter few weeks ago I was assuming it was just a fishing attempt.
Anyhoo, will do some more reading on this see if I can get the jist of it all. Cheers.

The important thing at this stage is to get the set aside in place.
Also send a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to Lowells.
They must provide within 1 month ALL the infomation they hold on you.
That should also show how they located you.
It may be handy if you can dig out anything from around that time that
has your signature on it. driving licence ,passport etc.

Also watch this video & download the sheets mentioned
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5666-utilities-ct-debts-case-law#38485

Our Notice of Withdrawl of implied Rights of Access ;
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t264-removal-of-implied-right-of-access

download the attchment and send to lowells (you only need to enter your
address in the notice.)

We don't yet know if these are statute barred or if any other time limit has passed, although give the original date it's well worth checking out.  

Do you know the date on which the accounts went into default (expiry of the default notice)?  That starts the statute barred clock, which as said runs for six years and they should no commence proceedings after that time.  However it is possible that a court granted judgement on a statute barred debt if there was nobody making a defence and pointing this out.

The second time limit runs from the date of judgement and is the time limit for taking enforcement action to collect the judgement debt.  In England that's also six years.

So we also need to know the date of the CCJ, that will allow you to see (1) whether the debt was statute barred at that time, and (2) whether they are now out of time to pursue it.

Ok folks so some news.
I've actually managed to dig up some old letters from my previous address which tell me the CCJ was granted in Dec 2016. As for when they went in to default, well that's still unknown and I have no more old stuff to go through. Are there any other routes to get this info bar the DSAR to Lowells?
Also I have a Solicitors called Overdales now acting on behalf of Lowell instead of Lowells Solicitors but the DSAR would be sent only to Lowell Portfolio correct?
One more question folks, what would be the best way to find out if I have any more CCJ's against me, ways that don't cost as I'm completely brassic, I mean I know I can use one of the many credit score checks but are they a wise idea?
Thanks for the advice so far it's really appreciated

This now makes more sense as it will be statute barred in December 2022 and this is a few months away and they know it and are rushing to act before it becomes statute barred and hoping you will acknowledge the alleged debt so they can restart the clock.

Hi ,get that DSAR sent asap, its important as FF stated when the default
notice was issued & expired ,Obviously that was before the ccj was issued
so may be SB already ( the default notice may have given perhaps 30 days
to comply ,that is when the clock starts).

Make it clear to lowells ,this is the first you have heard of any CCJ and you
certainly do not have any outstanding debts with anyone.

You can if you wish deal with Overdales with this;
https://goodf.forumotion.com/t5505-solicitors-debt-collectors
Overdaes are part of the Lowell Group,they even have the same address.

assassin wrote:This now makes more sense as it will be statute barred in December 2022 and this is a few months away and they know it and are rushing to act before it becomes statute barred and hoping you will acknowledge the alleged debt so they can restart the clock.

While we're speaking about statute barred dates, remember that the Warrant of Control is valid for 12 months which could take it beyond the six years from date of CCJ. So date of the Warrant of Control needs to be checked.

I don't actually think acknowledgment of the alleged debt is relevant any more. The critical factor is the CCJ which once granted means the system sees the debt as proven.

When exactly did you become aware of the CCJ? There was same suggestion about applying for a set aside, but that's obviously not going to fly if you were aware in 2016.

assassin wrote:This now makes more sense as it will be statute barred in December 2022 and this is a few months away and they know it and are rushing to act before it becomes statute barred and hoping you will acknowledge the alleged debt so they can restart the clock.

Forgive me but do CCJ's become statute barred? I've read they are unenforceable after 6 years (+ 12 months for Warrant Of Control) In most cases but I thought the term statute barred was used only for time limit on debts that haven't gone through the court and been granted a CCJ.

flyingfish wrote:While we're speaking about statute barred dates, remember that the Warrant of Control is valid for 12 months which could take it beyond the six years from date of CCJ. So date of the Warrant of Control needs to be checked.

I don't actually think acknowledgment of the alleged debt is relevant any more. The critical factor is the CCJ which once granted means the system sees the debt as proven.

When exactly did you become aware of the CCJ? There was same suggestion about applying for a set aside, but that's obviously not going to fly if you were aware in 2016.

The date for the Warrant Of Control was 4th of this month so well within the time limit. I had no idea there was a CCJ against me until I received the Notice then. I mean I was aware I was being chased for debts 7-8 years ago but the demands died out and I was just ignoring them anyway.
I won't be acknowledging any debts with anyone as I would obviously like to have the CCJ set aside and dispute the debts.

Pictured are the only 2 letters I've received at my current address.

DM1701 wrote:Forgive me but do CCJ's become statute barred? I've read they are unenforceable after 6 years (+ 12 months for Warrant Of Control) In most cases but I thought the term statute barred was used only for time limit on debts that haven't gone through the court and been granted a CCJ.

Yes and no really. Normally we say "Statute Barred" to refer to the alleged debt, meaning that the creditor is barred from starting proceedings.  However in England the time limit on enforcement of a CCJ is set in the same act (Limitation Act 1980) and by coincidence it is also six years (20 in Scotland).  

Limitation Act 1980 s24 wrote:24 Time limit for actions to enforce judgments.
(1) An action shall not be brought upon any judgment after the expiration of six years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.
(2) No arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from the date on which the interest became due.

Are you considering applying to have the judgement set aside? To do so you would need to show good reason why the original claim was not acknowledged or not defended, and also that you have an "arguable" defence. It sounds like you would certainly have the latter, if these alleged accounts were set up fraudulently and not by your self. I am not sure whether the elapsed time rules out such a set aside. There's a fee unless you qualify for fee exemption, otherwise I'd be saying there's no harm in applying. Really judgement should not have been made against you in the first place.

flyingfish wrote:Are you considering applying to have the judgement set aside? To do so you would need to show good reason why the original claim was not acknowledged or not defended, and also that you have an "arguable" defence. It sounds like you would certainly have the latter, if these alleged accounts were set up fraudulently and not by your self. I am not sure whether the elapsed time rules out such a set aside. There's a fee unless you qualify for fee exemption, otherwise I'd be saying there's no harm in applying. Really judgement should not have been made against you in the first place.

Well I'm starting to think having it set aside is the best way to deal with it but I'm here asking for advice as I'm pretty much a total noob with these matters.
They were all set up by my ex while we were still together (living together), I've obviously not contested the debts until now and I'm at a loss as to how to prove this is the case (not set up by myself) or how to explain why I've left it this long since the debts weren't accrued by me and as mentioned above by daveiron it's possible it could be construed as me being complicit. So this wouldn't be my first idea of defence.
Quite frankly I buried my head in the sand after we'd split and they started chasing me for them. Last thing on my mind was sorting out debts. I was living in a hostel, she'd moved away with my daughters and when I got my own place sorted eventually I became quite ill for a long time, hence I just ignored the letters till they stopped coming through.
That's the reasons why it's got to this point now and Prolly how I'd try and get it set aside unless anyone has any suggestions for an better alternative. As for an arguable defence for the debts, isn't that where we move the burden of proof to the claimant? Contest the alleged debt is mine at all?

Have you sent the DSAR yet ? that should produce the credit agreement
she entered into ,this will carry a signature. Thats why i asked if you have
any docs from that period with your signature on it. It may show its not
yours .Of course it could be forged ,but its worth a shot.

this is  what I have done with those corrupt, bent, fookers known as 'Lowell Portfolio 1', having sent numerous requested info for proof a 'debt is owed' they stated to me over 1 yr back 'sorry we don't have the documents listed as......'.

I wrote back; well thank you for admitting you don't have a claim.

Not heard a peep since.

How many have actually read this paperwork and noted it is from the Bulk Centre and they are addressed to "the debtor" and no mention of who the debtor actually is, and to "Sir" and still no mention of a named person so who is the named person this paperwork is applicable to?

assassin wrote:How many have actually read this paperwork and noted it is from the Bulk Centre and they are addressed to "the debtor" and no mention of who the debtor actually is, and to "Sir" and still no mention of a named person so who is the named person this paperwork is applicable to?

That's because he's blanked out those details, as he should.

In any case I reckon nit picking over paperwork of this nature can only give a short term relief, if that. I there actually was an error in the letter informing of the issue of the warrant, that doesn't make the warrant invalid, and a corrected letter can be drawn up purely as an administrative task.  The reality is the OP has three options (1) go for the set-aside and defend the claim (2) try to settle or (3) live under siege as some on here seem quite happy to do.

Well folks, I've been and sorted out a print of the n244 and EX160 forms and have them in front of me now.
Heard nothing from anyone about this warrant since the notice dated 22nd April came through.
Part of me can't help think they're not 100% sure they have the right address for the person named on the CCJ although I'm not sure what that matters now at this stage.
They've never had any communication from me at all although it's possible my landlord (social housing) has passed on the address.
Anyway I just wanted to ask if there is anything to pay attention to on these forms as in certain ways to fill them out I should be aware of, if there is a write up somewhere on this possibly someone could point me to?
Maybe some tips as to how I should word my explanation for the set aside as to improve the outcome? Any advice really would be much appreciated.

Also I have a template DSAR letter in my Doc's I've had from another group somewhere and if anyone would like to take a look at it to give it the once over I'll post it in here.
Can I also ask, I know the bailiffs have no right to force entry since they've never gained access and I certainly won't be bullied in to letting them in but in reality how likely is it that they won't try their luck and force entry anyway?
Not that I'm thinking of going that route, I'd much rather have the whole thing dealt with tbh.
Cheers.

Regarding the Set Aside application, you need to have a clear explanation as to why you did not receive the original claim, and were therefore unable to respond or defend. Regarding your defence, at this stage you need to show you have an "arguable" defence, meaning one that may be valid in law and therefore justifying a hearing to determine the case.

The elapsed time will be an issue. There's no specific time limit but application for set aside is supposed to be made "promptly", which in this case means promptly after you became aware of the CCJ in default.

You can look at the rules here, they are reasonably readable ..
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part13

With regard to bailiffs forceing their way in , Never open the door anyway,
also video if they should turn up ,there is very recent case law regarding
the police doing that .

And guess who advised on bringing the cases?