If you receive a Claim Form from a County Court through the post you need to respond rapidly.
Ignoring court papers is a bad idea, even if you think the debt is too old or you are worried you can’t pay the money.
- If you agree you owe the money you will get a County Court Judgment (CCJ) but if you complete the Claim Form papers properly you will be able to make monthly payments and won’t get visits from bailiffs.
- If you don’t agree you owe the money, you need to defend the Claim.
Contents
Check this really is a court form
Some debt collectors send letters designed to make you think you are being taken to court when you aren’t! If you get one of these, read Threats of CCJs and bailiffs – are debt collectors bluffing?
If you get a letter headed something like Letter Before Claim or Letter Before Action, a court case has not yet been started. But don’t ignore this – it is much easier to dispute a debt at this stage than fight a court case in a month or two. So read this: How to reply to a Letter before Claim.
A real N1 Court Form may be on white paper or on blue and white paper. It will have something like this at the top:
and a court stamp something like this:
There should be a court name (usually this is Northampton County Court) and a claim number. If you aren’t sure, you can phone the court to check or phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask them.
In the same pack, you also get other blank forms: N1 – Claim form; N9 – Response pack; N9A – Admission (specified amount); N9B – Defence and counterclaim.
Check you are named as the Defendant on the form. If your name is slightly wrong (a typo? your maiden name?) you should treat this as though it is correctly addressed to you.
But if it’s obviously meant for someone else, read this about debt letters for other people coming to your house.
Don’t panic!
This article looks at your options. for what to do, now you know the form is real.
But first, don’t panic! Some worries you may have:
- you can’t be sent to prison for not paying the utility bills, loans, credit cards and other debts that lead to this type of court action.
- if the court decides you owe the money, you will get a County Court Judgment (CCJ) – this isn’t a criminal conviction.
- if you get a CCJ, you can get an affordable monthly payment agreed, you won’t have to pay it all at once if you can’t afford to.
- you won’t get bailiffs coming round to your house unless you try to ignore these papers and then the CCJ.
- don’t worry if the court is listed as Northampton County Court – if there has to be a court hearing you can ask for this to be in your local County Court.
Reasons to dispute the debt – READ THIS
You may not realise you have a reason you can defend this case and not get a CCJ. So read this even if you know you owe the money.
It’s not your debt!
Often you know immediately which debt the form is referring to.
But sometimes a debt may have been assigned to someone else – this is legal jargon for selling your debt. The new owner of the debt is entitled to sue you for the money – you don’t have to have agreed to the debt being sold.
If you don’t recognise the debt at all, call up the claimant and ask about it.
If you are called Jane Bloggs, the debt may belong to a different Jane Bloggs. Or this could be identity theft – someone pretended to be you.
You may feel nervous about being pressurised to agree to something, but make it clear you just want to know more details of the debt, then end the call when you get them.
After talking to the creditor, if you still don’t think the debt is yours, you must reply to the Claim, see How to dispute the Debt below.
The only exception here is if you have convinced the creditor that the debt isn’t yours. Here you want the creditor to tell you in writing that they are going to stop the court case and withdraw the Claim. If they say this on the phone, that’s not good enough, ask them to put it in writing.
If you aren’t sure what to do, telephone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
You recognise the debt – but is the amount right?
The debt may have been yours, but the amount may be wrong:
- perhaps you paid some money recently which hasn’t been taken into account;
- you may have already paid the debt off – possibly several years ago, possibly to a different debt collector;
- you may have had a partial settlement, also called a full and final settlement, accepted.
- the amount may be right, but there is some reason why the claimant owes you money. This means that you have a counterclaim against the claimant, which can be decided by the court at the same time as the claim against you.
Other reasons to defend the case and not get a CCJ
It’s not just whether you owe this money, what is important here is if the creditor can win the case.
There is a lot of legal protection for consumers, especially for old debts.
Here are some reasons you may be able to defend the case:
- for credit cards (including store cards and catalogues) and loans (including HP and payday loans) the creditor has to be able to produce a copy of the written agreement for the debt. See National Debtline’s Getting information about a debt for details. That tells you how to ask for this information and you should do this asap, BUT ALSO reply to the Claim within the short time limit, see How to dispute the debt below for details;
- the money was for some goods or services where there was something wrong and it’s not right that you should pay;
- you have gone bankrupt and the debt should have been wiped out by that, or the debt was included in a DRO or an IVA;
- the debt is statute-barred so the claimant can’t go to court about it because it is so old, see Questions about Statute-Barred Debt for more information;
How to dispute the debt
What to put on a defence form
If you don’t recognise the debt or you don’t agree you owe the money or you have a counterclaim, or you have some other possible defence you must complete the Defence Form (N9B) and say why you are disputing the debt.
The words you use matter here. Although it may be possible to add other reasons later in your defence, it is simpler to try to list all the possible reasons you have now. Don’t just put what you think is your “best reason”, if there are several reasons to defend the case, list them all.
National Debtline have a good factsheet on Disputing a debt. Read that, but unless you are very confident, I suggest that you then phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask for their help. You can also post about your case on the Legal Beagles forum.
Reply within the time limit
You need to send the Defence Form back within 14 days. Send the paper form to the court, and send it recorded delivery and keep a copy. Or, if the claim was made using an online service, you can respond online.
If you would like more time to sort this out you should complete and send back the Acknowledgement of Service form ( N9CPC) within the 14 days. You then have 28 days from when you received the forms to return the Defence Form.
It is essential you put in your defence within the given time. If you don’t reply in time you get a CCJ “in default” – because the rules assume that you will only not reply if you owed the money.
So don’t assume you will win the case because the debt isn’t yours or it’s very old. If you don’t reply in time, using the court forms and defend the case, you are going to get a CCJ.
And things won’t wait if you have talked to the creditor on the phone or written to them… For example you may have asked the creditor for the CCA agreement and they haven’t replied. You still have to use the forms to reply in time and defend the case.
What to do if you don’t dispute the debt
If you can pay it all now – you won’t get a CCJ
If you can pay the full amount, then you should complete the Admission Form (N9A) but you don’t need to give details about your income and expenses. You should fill in:
- the box which says How much of the claim do you admit
- Section 1 Personal details
- the box which says Section 11 Offer of Payment
- Section 12 Declaration – sign and date this
You should send the paper form back to the Address for sending documents on the N1 Claim form. Send this recorded delivery and keep a copy of what you send.
If you do this, you will not get a CCJ on your credit record.
NB This is not a reason to pay up and keep quiet if you have good grounds for disputing the debt. If you defend the case and lose, you still have the option then of paying the money in full within 30 days and the CCJ will then be removed from your record.
Offer to pay in monthly instalments
Here you need to complete the Admission Form (N9A):
- the box which says How much of the claim do you admit,
- Section 1 Personal details
- Section 2,3,4,5 about your family and financial situation
- Section 6,7,8,9,10 about your income, expenditure and other debts (make sure that all your incomes and expenses are quoted as per month or per week, so that you can add them up)
- the box which says Section 11 Offer of Payment
- Section 12 Declaration – sign and date this.
For more information see How much should I offer to a CCJ?and talk to National Debtline if you are unsure what to offer or what what to put on the form.
It is common for courts to accept your offer of payment, especially if you have taken advice about how much to offer and how to complete the form.
If the creditor accepts your offer, you will get a notice that you have a CCJ and should make the monthly payment that you have proposed.
If the creditor refuses your offer, it gets sent to the court to determine how much you should pay. This is usually done without a hearing. Talk to National Debtline if you are uncertain what is happening or what you should do, or if a repayment is set that you can’t afford.
Do you have other debts?
If you have been avoiding tackling a larger debt situation then getting these court papers is a warning that you should have a rethink. Read up about possible debt options here first, try to list all your debts and have a first stab at doing a budget, then ring National Debtline.
If you are in a DMP, then it might also be wise to think if it is going well. Is your debt dropping? How long will the DMP last? If the debt is large and you have equity in your house, it is possible the creditor is using a CCJ as the first step to try to get a charge over your house.
What happens next if I do get a CCJ?
I’ve done another article on this, see link below. For now the important thing is to complete and return the forms correctly, as this will minimise your problems later on.
What your options are if you get a CCJ
How to stop a debt being sent to bailiffs
How & why to reply to a Letter Before Claim
Tan says
I & a friend of mine lived in a place on 6 month contract. I left uk at end of 5th month. I have just come back after 8 months & understand there was a payment of 100£ that was missed & case went to Bailiff. Additional 97£ were added by council & 300£ more by bailiff! I have replayed the council amount 197£ but the bailiff is sending messages threatening court judgement. Checked with council they said they got their money & so won’t have nothin to do with what bailiff is mentioning. Any inputs highly appreciated as I am not uk citizen & having tough time dealing this. many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you actually been sent a Claim Form by the court yet? Or is the bailiffs firm just threatening to go to court?
Michelle Cameron says
I received a Court Form dated 7 June received 8 June. In Northampton. Without it being stamped and signed. I made an appointment with citizens advice bureau. Who phoned the courts up to see if real or Fake. Yes it is real but the courts were baffled as to why this hasn’t been stamped as it has been issued. So left it as that. Took citizens advice bureau advice and sent it back with stamp and signed then I will fill it in and sign it myself as itrequests your signature, as then it will be Legal.
Sent it back recorded delivery signed for with proof as sent back on the 13th day which they would received on the 14 day deadline.
Now am just waiting for it to come back, it’s a waiting game now.
Janet says
My husband received a ccj from a notorious no win no fee accident claim solicitors referring to an accident last Dec 17 where he scuffed a rear side bumper the woman was perfectly fine now claiming alsorts injuries! We strongly dispute the claim as she’s lying about being rear hit. We’ve never had a letter of claim or anything else. we’ve sent the pack to our insurance company. Any thoughts or advice pls?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you just found out about this? Have you moved, so the Claim Form went to a previous address?
Maxine says
I’m having trouble with [a claims firm] they said I used them to get a payday loan back never heard of them and never signed anything what do I do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you ever used a payday lender or made an affordability complaint?
Maxine says
Yes I did make a complaint but did it myself never sign anything all even new the name what do I do keep phoneing me for payment
DAVID HASTE says
All the letters I have had from the claim guys have not been signed it just says from the claim guys
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s pretty normal and not against any rules.
Clare says
Hi Sara, thanks very much for this article.
I’ve had an email from “Asset Collections & Investigations” that says unless I repay an old payday loan debt from 2014, they will start CCJ proceedings.
I do intend to pay this as they have been calling / emailing for around 6 months now and I have had enough. I wanted to check though, should I worry that they are threatening CCJ action or should I just pay it? I’ve not received any court letter etc but I am just unsure.
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you haven’t had a Claim Form, but have they sent you a letter Before Action/Claim? Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ which describes what this letter looks like – the cover letter doesn’t have a set format, but it has to include certain attachments, including a Reply Form.
This old payday loan – who was the lender? Had you borrowed from them before? If you had, you may want to make an affordability complaint to the lender (not to Asset Collections) and ask Asset Collections to put a hold on any enforcement action until your complaint has been resolved. If you win a complaint like this, interest is removed from the outstanding balance. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/
Ryhan says
I am in desperate need of help as I have been wrongly issued a county court claim form and then judgement.
My debt was with Zopa and then went to Cabot and then Mortimer Clarke Solicitors. They asked me to send an income & expenditure form within 14 days of their letter which I did but they actually issued the court claim on a date within that time frame so the.cost went from £665 to £795. I disputed this with them and they didn’t respond to my emails except to say to fill in the county claim form and make my offer through them! And now I have just received a judgement for £835 which needs to be paid within a month or I’ll be totally screwed for the next 6 years!
I’ve spoken to Stepchange just now and they said to speak to Civil Legal Advice and I’ve also rang National Debtline but everyone is now closed until Tuesday. If anyone here could help in the meantime it would be very much appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you didn’t file a defence to the court Claim in time, then they may be little you can do now to get the judgment removed. I think talking to National debtline on Tuesday would be a good idea.
You have a few payday loan complaints in progress, have any of them been settled?
How much do you owe to all lenders except the payday lenders? You have mentioned a defaulted credit card, this Zopa loan, what else?
Ryhan says
Hi,
Yes QQ paid me £3600 after I had advice from this site so my outstanding £2000 debt was wiped out and I received £1600 in January 2019. It was a good result and one I never reported back on here which I should have. Safety Net Credit also refunded me interest and deleted negative info from my credit record. My affordability complaint with Wonga also remains until January 2020 as recently announced.
I have a case with the FOS for MyJar as they were absolutely disgusting to deal with and denied having made the majority of the loans and even after sending them my bank statements showing the loans they did not change their decision. I chased that up today via email as I have not heard back for about 3 months since it was lodged. Lending Stream rejected my complaint as my loans were all paid back on time apparently even though I repeatedly borrowed.
I owe £3600 to Capital One which I haven’t started making any payments towards yet since defaulting about a year ago and all the rest are payday loans which remain with Satsuma, Sunny, Uncle Buck., Wizzcash and WDA. I have payment plans in place for 2 of them but not the others as there are just too many to afford at once. These were taken out in more recent years when I didnt have a history of repeated borrowing so I didn’t lodge affordability complaints with them and they were all 1 time loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What has WDA offered you for the outstanding balance?
And has the debt been sold to a debt collector? It is odd if you haven’t had an email from them when you had made a complaint – check your spam folders. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/wageday-advance-wda-administration-sale-morses-club/
Ryha says
£105 but haven’t heard from them for a long time now. I only recently found out they went bust.
I’m not sure but have had no correspondence from them for many months and I didnt make a complaint against them as it was just the 1 loan. I’m more worried about the fact Mortimer Clark have issued me with cc claim when I sent them back the i&e form within their time frame.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well they don’t have to accept an offer you make. It’s not clear there were any grounds to defend the CCJ, but do talk to National Debtline about this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is a lot of creditors. I suggest you get a debt management plan set up to cover them all, including the ones you have payment arrangements with. Talk to StepChange about this, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
This won’t harm your affordability complaints. But it makes it MUCH less likely that another creditor will go for a CCJ. If the Zopa debt had been in a DMP they probably wouldn’t have gone to court.
Your approach of setting up a couple of payment arrangements “because it’s all you can afford” isn’t treating the other creditors fairly. And it’s not working very well.
John smith says
Hello i recieved a parking charge notice for £100 parking outside my own house, but i hadent parked inside of there sign boards so in my eyes its the public highway, and i was jot going to entertain such a rediculous fine so i ignored it for 2 years and recieved a letter from the dcbl saying to pay them £160, i never got the letter in time so i got another one saying i failed to pay them and they have instructed the private parking crooks to take legal action, with intimidating “as seen on channel 5” logos stamped all over it, is this just another bluff from a group leaches trying to take good hard working peoples money?
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. Or you could go to your local Citizens Advice.
You should ignore the “advice” that crops up all over the internet saying that letters about private parking problems are just bluffing – people can and do get CCJs if they ignore problems,
Matthew says
Hi I have received a courts claim form and a letter from dca saying I might be able to avoid the ccj if get in touch with them and fill in the i&e form and a box for settlement offer and monthly offer.
I owe £14000 from £5000 loan. However when ringing them few days ago they said because I’m not working only way to not get ccj I’d pay full balance of over 3 months which I obviously can’t do.
I have offered a full and final settlement offer of £4000 and filled in my i&e and emailed them It I’m currently unemployed. Do I have any chance? Has it gone too far with the courts for them to accept a f&f offer now? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I owe £14000 from £5000 loan” that sounds like an expensive loan… who was the original creditor? how old is this debt?
do you have other debts that you haven’t been paying? do you know what they add up to?
If you are unemployed, where would you get 4k from to settle this?
Matthew says
Original creditor was bamboo loans now with lantern. The debt is only 1 year old. I was working at the time but my credit still wasn’t great my total other debt is about 20k between 12creditors ranging from 5k credit card 3k credit card 5k overdraft the rest payday loans. A family member is offering to pay the 4K I only need to wait another year then I get quite a bit of money so can pay them all off but really want to avoid a ccj at all costs I haven’t paid anything towards these debts for 1 year and most of them have gone to dca
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ah. You can’t ignore debts or you may end up with CCJs. I suggest you think about making token payments of £1 a month to your other debts.
Your F&F offer may well have been accepted if you had made it earlier. But if it isn’t now and you get a CCJ, get some debt advice about bankruptcy and whether that would work better for you.
Matthew says
Can I offer a defence to the claim form for interest been high even though I signed and accepted it at the time?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is complicated. Your best option may be to put in an affordability complaint to Bamboo asap and try to get the Lantern court case stayed until there is a decision on your complaint. Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about how you could do this, or go to your local Citizens Advice.
Kuba says
Sarah, I have received a Claim Form which I believe to be real. Now I have 3 questions and I would appreciate any and all help.
Basically my ex used my very account and maxed it out. I moved out and had no idea this has happened. The debt is £461.05 and its been defaulted in August last year. I spoke to a friend that works for the police and he said I’m fully liable as I’m responsible for my own account.
1. Can I settle this out of court for a full and final with Lowells and ask them to drop the court case?
2. If they agree do I still have to return the court documents?
3. If I can’t and I have to pay in instalments do I still get a CCJ on my credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If it’s in your name, yes you are liable. You can report your ex for fraud to the police, but that can be hard to prove.
Yes you can offer a settlement, but having started a court case Lowell may not be prepared to accept a low one. this would have been better done earlier.
When did you open the account? When was a payment last made to it?
Stuart Alford says
Hi after some advice – I had a letter from Moriarty law stating they are looking at obtaining a CCJ – I’ve issues a defense on moneyclaim online today I received a letter saying they are still going ahead – it was an old internet bill I disputed the bill with supplier as I wasn’t getting speed advertised – will the court wrote to me with a date ? As im informed Moriarty law don’t have the deed of assignment as it was bought in bulk
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t help you with a court case in progress. phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 or post on the legal beagles forum https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues. Good luck!
Rango says
Hi Sara,
Today I have received a claim form for a debt some time ago;
~ It relates to a period between 04/2009 – 10/2013,
~ It was at an old address that I lived at with my ex husband, who is a co-defendant, he is also listed as living at my current address which he is not,
~ This if the first time I have heard of the debt as all other correspondence was sent to a different address, at the front of the pack it has an application notice with an approval to send it to my current address, there is also an inaccuracy with the evidence as it states the first claim was served on a future date.
The amount is more than I can afford easily and come with a heft amount of interest, I am unlikely to get any cooperation from my ex partner, he is homeless.
I am trying desperately to improve my credit score and this has absolutely sucker punched me!
Do you have any initial advice for me please?
Thank you,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you saying you know nothing about this joint debt and do not recognise it? Or that you remember but haven’t heard from them since October 2013?
Rango says
Thanks for the response,
Yes, I remember the debt, I just haven’t heard anything since 2013.
Tori says
Hi I received a county court claim for £ 285 for a payday loan which I failed to pay as I had an accident and couldn’t work . I only had one loan therefore cant claim unaffordability. The particulars of the claim state the that 260 outstanding and 25 court fees – BUT i paid £74 to the loan and the default notice issued in April stated I owed £194 . Am I right that the particulars of claim are wrong and I can defend on the fact the amount is wrong . Also they did not send a letter before action
I am not disputing I owe the money , I am disputing the amount. Thankfully I am now in a position to pay but don’t want to pay any more than I have to !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Tori, can I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 0808 4000 about this. Or post on Legal Beagles Forum https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues. Or both…
Tori says
Thanks for your help
David says
Hi Sara. I have a question about court/ legal fees. If I recieve a court claim form for an old small credit card debt and offer the full amount so I don’t get a ccj, will I also have to pay court/ other fees on top of the debt as well? And/ or be chased afterwards for legal costs by the creditors solicitors?
I’m planning on asking for CCA first if I get a letter before claim but considering options.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you know, if the creditor intends to go to court for a CCJ, they should first send you a letter before action/claim. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/. You should view that as your last opportunity to make a settlement offer without the cout fees being incurred.
Do they have your current address? Do you think the debt is close to being statute barred?
David says
Thank you for your reply. Yes they do. No as I have been making £1 token payments for about 10 years until recently. I would pay it off as its a low amount but I have other defaulted accounts from that time that are larger and worried flood gates will open as I have never replied only made token payments. I want to find out if any are enforceable now so I can move on and not have possible ccjs hanging over me for the next 10+ years.
Can they start a court claim before they get the CCA themselves?.. or do they need to show the court the CCA before they can apply for a ccj against me? As I’m aware they use tricks/ grey areas to get their way.
Also at the letter before claim stage do you think a 40% settlement other would close the account or just pay it in full.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So there is no chance of the debt becoming statute barred. Wht don’t you ask for the CCA agreement now? Not wait until you get a letter before claim?
Once you have asked for this – use the correct words and enclose £1, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt/ they should not start court action until they have produced it. I would do that and leave worrying about what % to offer as a settlement until you see if they can find the CCA.
Kate Glinsman says
Hi, I recived a CCJ from an electrician who worked on my home. He is asking for £15000 for a job he didn’t even finish. Do I need to put in a total defence with all text messages and witness statements? How do I properly defend myself?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need help with this. There are strict timescales to respond with a defence and you need to get that first defence as good as possible, not planning to mention a lot of extra points later on.
Places to get help with this:
– your local Citizens Advice
– National Debtline on 0808 808 4000
– the Legal Beagles forum https://legalbeagles.info/forums/forum/legal-forums/court-claims-and-issues
Natalie says
Could really do with some help please
So in February of this year I recieved a court judgement for an old catalogue account I had back in 2011 that lowell had filed for, I have been paying off this debt since…but I have just learnt about the statue barred information (which I wasnt aware of at the time or I would have disputed it when I got the letter) so in theory that debt should have been statue barred when lowell applied for the court order is there anything I can do about it now?? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, sorry there isn’t.
Michelle says
Hi,
I have been chased by Lowell for 2 debts that were with the same catalogue. I was about to put in an affordability complaint (2 accounts in my name, with MULTIPLE buy now pay a year later deals on, which I anticipated paying off in time but didn’t and the interest built up to uncontrollable amounts) with the original company Very. However I received a court claim form this morning, and now not sure what to do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large is the debt alleged on the Claim form? What are the rest of your finances like?