Cabot/belgard solicitors NOTICE OF JUDGEMENT

joyboy1103

HI guys..hoping someone can give me some advice on this..I got a car back in 2008 which was financed by GE MONEY finance..during the next few years my employment status changed from a permanent job (closed down)to a job now and again..im currently employed full time..anyways a few years ago I had missed a few payments to ge money and rang and told them to take the car i couldnt pay for it..they agreed eventually but i never heard anything back from them..then i found out they had ceased trading..the car has not been driven taxed ensured since then but i still have it..anyways 4 or 5 years passed and i get a letter from cabot sayin i owe them over 5000..i asked for the ge money agreement which they provided..I decided as i had no contract with them I would not be paying them as ge money agreed to take the car back..anyways 2 days ago i recieved a letter from belgard solicitors..It was a NOTICE OF JUDGEMENT from a district court and they had added 430 euros to it..they are threatening to take my goods and bring me to court..thing is im currently back with my parents as i was unemployed untill a few months ago and im afraid they will come and take my parents belongings..they want me to fill out a statement of means but they want my employers name address etc which i am afraid to give as they will ring my job..can anybody help ..im at my witts end..cheers

Tzardine

A judgement has been issued against you. You owe the money. There is no two ways about it.

You need to complete the statement of means and enter into a payment agreement.

A sheriff can turn up to your house and take any goods belonging to you in order to clear the debt. If you are living at home this is a nightmare as they can take items belonging to your parents unless you can provide proof that they are not yours.

You need to own up to the debt and sort it out.

joyboy1103

Tzardine wrote: »

A judgement has been issued against you. You owe the money. There is no two ways about it.

You need to complete the statement of means and enter into a payment agreement.

A sheriff can turn up to your house and take any goods belonging to you in order to clear the debt. If you are living at home this is a nightmare as they can take items belonging to your parents unless you can provide proof that they are not yours.

You need to own up to the debt and sort it out.

Hi..thanks for your advice.I understand that money was owed but had it not for GE MONEY closing then the car would have been returned...also I am moving from my parents house next week and i was living in my own place for the last ten years..if i give my new address do they have any right to then go to my parents home..cheers..also i think the debt may be status barred as i hadnt heard anything for 5/6 years..cheers

joyboy1103

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Hi..thanks for your advice.I understand that money was owed but had it not for GE MONEY closing then the car would have been returned...also I am moving from my parents house next week and i was living in my own place for the last ten years..if i give my new address do they have any right to then go to my parents home..cheers..also i think the debt may be status barred as i hadnt heard anything for 5/6 years..cheers

Also im only back in my parents house the last month

Tzardine

When GE money closed the debt was taken over by a new company. You will have received tonnes of correspondence before it went to court. You have chosen to ignore it until this point.

Stop trying to put the blame elsewhere. The reality is that you took a car loan and defaulted on it. (A car which you still have)

5 grand is not that much in fairness. Fill in the statement of means, enter into a payment plan and sort it out.

Sell the car for a start and put that money towards it.

L1011

Statute barring has to be used as a defence, the judgement has been granted now. You would need to seek legal advice if you wish to overturn it - from an actual legal professional

If the car was bought under a form of HP the title won't be sellable (as itll be GEs) so selling it without communication with them is useless

Ten Pin

It was a NOTICE OF JUDGEMENT from a district court and they had added 430 euros to it..they are threatening to take my goods and bring me to court

This is a little confusing, if the judgement has been made then the court must have already heard the case. Have you received any other documentation from the district court directly, either before or since the hearing

joyboy1103

Ten Pin wrote: »

This is a little confusing, if the judgement has already been made then the court has already heard the case. Have you received any other documentation from the district court directly, either before or since the hearing

Hi..no I have only ever recieved letters from belgard solicitors..I have had nothing from anyone else to date

my3cents

Ten Pin wrote: »

This is a little confusing, if the judgement has been made then the court must have already heard the case. Have you received any other documentation from the district court directly, either before or since the hearing

Sounds fishy to me. Its not unknown for this crowd to make its documentation look like it has more weight than it actually does.

Reread exactly what was sent out to you, it is unusual for money to be added on which on one hand makes it sound real but on another is a small amount comparatively and I would have imagined their costs would have been higher than that.

Ten Pin

If the court made a judgement, then the notice would be on official court headed paper (probably photocopied) and it would be an attachment to a cover letter from Cabot. A court judgement notice would also give the date the judgement was issued, the name of the judge etc

joyboy1103

my3cents wrote: »

Sounds fishy to me. Its not unknown for this crowd to make its documentation look like it has more weight than it actually does.

Reread exactly what was sent out to you, it is unusual for money to be added on which on one hand makes it sound real but on another is a small amount comparatively and I would have imagined their costs would have been higher than that.

Thank you for your reply..I would have thought in order to get a court ruling then I would have to be present to state my side of the case.It may be dodgy..it just says that judgement has been made against me in the district court that I have 14 days to return the statement means sheet and then it just says that they will use methods such as sherriff of execution against my goods..district court for installments etc

my3cents

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply..I would have thought in order to get a court ruling then I would have to be present to state my side of the case.It may be dodgy..it just says that judgement has been made against me in the district court that I have 14 days to return the statement means sheet and then it just says that they will use methods such as sherriff of execution against my goods..district court for installments etc

What district court? Contact the court on Monday to check. It may be that they haven't been to court yet?

joyboy1103

Ten Pin wrote: »

If the court made a judgement, then the notice would be on official court headed paper (probably photocopied) and it would be an attachment to a cover letter from Cabot.

No all i recieved was the letter from Belgard solicitors stating Notice of Judgement against me in the distrct court

my3cents

joyboy1103 wrote: »

No all i recieved was the letter from Belgard solicitors stating Notice of Judgement against me in the distrct court

Is there any chance they said something like they were Applying for a Notice of Judgement?

When exactly was the judgment made and in what court?

joyboy1103

my3cents wrote: »

What district court? Contact the court on Monday to check. It may be that they haven't been to court yet?

Hi it dosent even say what court in dublin it was..i will defo be ringing around tomorrow..ty

joyboy1103

my3cents wrote: »

Is there any chance they said something like they were Applying for a Notice of Judgement?

When exactly was the judgment made and in what court?

It says that judgement has been marked against me in the district court..details below..below it just gives the debt and the cost and the threats..ty

goldenhoarde

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Hi it dosent even say what court in dublin it was..i will defo be ringing around tomorrow..ty

If you can post up some images of the letter but remove/blank out your details as these guys can be clever with the wording

Check out the details/dates of your last Comms with GE

koutoubia

Happened me some time ago with a small credit card debt. Received notice like yours about District Court. Rang the clerk the next working day and they knew nothing about it and asked me to send on the document. I eventually came to an arrangement with the CREDIT CARD company not the 'solicitors'. The document you received is a tactic they use.

katiek102010

For starters you would need to have got documentation fro. The court outlining the date and time of the hearing.

Did you get any court paperwork?

If you did not, contact the courts and try and find out if there has been any court judgments against you. If you find there is notify the courts that you did not know about the case or the judgment and take it from there. The judgment can be removed, set aside or vacated you can then file a defence of the debt being statute barred.

If there is no judgment I would contact the financial ombudsman and notify them that there is a company falsely claiming they have secured one

Boxcar_Willie

This crowd are known to send out a "Draft" document as a scare tactic to provoke a response from you .

joyboy1103

my3cents wrote: »

Is there any chance they said something like they were Applying for a Notice of Judgement?

When exactly was the judgment made and in what court?

It says the judgement was made on the 13th of June..the letter is dated the 19th of june

TheMilkyPirate

It's a load of balls OP. I've gotten one or two of these notice of judgement letters in the past. I just threw them in the bin and ignored them. Never heard another word. They're not real

kev1.3s

I would be making sure before I'd throw anything away and forget about it. The last thing you want is the sheriff calling to you or especially you're parents door.

JustAThought

kev1.3s wrote: »

I would be making sure before I'd throw anything away and forget about it. The last thing you want is the sheriff calling to you or especially you're parents door.

Plus a judgement against you in court can mean you will be barred from ever holding or apllying for types of jobs /working in many areas in certain industries and could be refused visas for Australia/USA - its serious. It all sounds a bit opportunist and dogey from your part.Debt and Loans can be sold and transfered - go down ro free legal advice and bring or remember all the documentation - if you got notice of a court date and ignored it/paniced they need to know that . You are in deep water & your parents are involved or will find out when the bailif in his marked van or privately employed debt collectors/heavies start to turn up at their door. It will not be pleasant for them. You need legal advice and act on it quickly.

joyboy1103

JustAThought wrote: »

Plus a judgement against you in court can mean you will be barred from ever holding or apllying for types of jobs /working in many areas in certain industries and could be refused visas for Australia/USA - its serious. It all sounds a bit opportunist and dogey from your part.Debt and Loans can be sold and transfered - go down ro free legal advice and bring or remember all the documentation - if you got notice of a court date and ignored it/paniced they need to know that . You are in deep water & your parents are involved or will find out when the bailif in his marked van or privately employed debt collectors/heavies start to turn up at their door. It will not be pleasant for them. You need legal advice and act on it quickly.

Hi I did not get any notice of a court date as i would have went as i would rather an court installment plan because I heard this crowd are constantly tormenting people for more money..i will ring the courts today to see if an actual judgement has been made against me..if not ill be going to a solicitor..ty

dudara

Ask them to provide you with details of the court hearing and subsequent judgment. You need to know the date of the hearing, the presiding judge and the courthouse/courtroom. If genuine, you can validate it with the Courts Service.

Icepick

You have a relatively cheap opportunity to become an adult. So far you have been ignoring it.

endacl

If you’ve acknowledged that the debt exists, OP, you’ve reset the clock on it being status barred.

Oops.

joyboy1103

endacl wrote: »

If you’ve acknowledged that the debt exists, OP, you’ve reset the clock on it being status barred.

Oops.

Luckily I did not..in a letter all i asked was for the original aggreement to the ALLEDGED debt..i admitted nothing as i didnt even know who cabot were at the time

joyboy1103

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Luckily I did not..in a letter all i asked was for the original aggreement to the ALLEDGED debt..i admitted nothing as i didnt even know who cabot were at the time

I could be wrong, but by communicating with them you restarted the clock. You both might contest the validity of the debt, but by replying you have acknowledged their correspondence.

Also OP, a quick google shows GE Capital loans were transferred to PepperIreland, both companies appear to be registered with the Central Bank so a judgement will effect your Credit Rating if that is the case. Cabot may be working for Pepper to recover the debt.

Hannibal_Smith

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Luckily I did not..in a letter all i asked was for the original aggreement to the ALLEDGED debt..i admitted nothing as i didnt even know who cabot were at the time

Did they send you anything showing change of ownership of the debt?

joyboy1103

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Did they send you anything showing change of ownership of the debt?

No just a letter saying i owed them money

godtabh

joyboy1103 wrote: »

No just a letter saying i owed them money

I find that hard to believe. Its likely they sent it to the last known address they had for you.

Plumbthedepths

OP I suggest you get proper legal advice, this company is known for its less than honest behaviour. I would also ignore the high horse brigade on here aswell.

Darc19

GE money didn't close. They stopped taking new business and hived the management of the loans off to Pepper.
It would be very usual that a clause in the contract would permit this.
Correspondence would have gone to the address they had on file for you and they probably sent summons to you as well.

If you don't enter a defence within a specific time (15 days?) then judgement is entered in default of a defence. In such a case it would not even have appeared on a court list.

Even with a judgement you can enter a payment plan.

Ten Pin

Correspondence would have gone to the address they had on file for you and they probably sent summons to you as well.

Maybe OP could clarify the address mix up possibility. If the summons went to an old address, which address have Cabot sent this judgement notice letter to and which address was the initial correspondance sent to.

Anyway the District Court office for each of the possible addresses should be able to clarify the status of the case.

my3cents

Darc19 wrote: »

GE money didn't close. They stopped taking new business and hived the management of the loans off to Pepper.
It would be very usual that a clause in the contract would permit this.
Correspondence would have gone to the address they had on file for you and they probably sent summons to you as well.

If you don't enter a defence within a specific time (15 days?) then judgement is entered in default of a defence. In such a case it would not even have appeared on a court list.

Even with a judgement you can enter a payment plan.

But you would think that Cabot would send proof of the Judgement in their favour which according to the OP they do not seem to have done in anyway I'd associate with a company that claims to be solicitors.

Then how come they couldn't find the OP when it came to getting a Judgement yet they can now?

Lujan

my3cents wrote: »

But you would think that Cabot would send proof of the Judgement in their favour which according to the OP they do not seem to have done in anyway I'd associate with a company that claims to be solicitors.

Then how come they couldn't find the OP when it came to getting a Judgement yet they can now?

In my experience, and I worked in pre legal and legal mortgage arrears, the company have 3rd party agents they send out to run a trace on the borrower.
They more than likely had this done in this case

notharrypotter

I wonder if the OP is trolling.

The timelines in the OP seem off.
Baught a car on finance in 2008.
Made payments for several years.
Approximately 5 by reading the OP.
Entered an agreement to "hand back" the car but did not follow through.
Car has been "lying up" for the last 5 years, not taxed or insured.
Moved back with parent several months ago.
But still seems to be getting post from his "last known/old" address.
And is about to move out again.
So where is the car at the moment.

dudara

@notharrypotter - if you suspect someone of trolling, please use Report post rather than raise it in thread.

I will say from experience though that it’s not uncommon for people in stressful situations to be confused or mixed up in their details.

dudara

EKRIUQ

How could there be a court judgement without a summons being served.

Don't hese have to be hand delivered to the plaintiff and signed for?

Tzardine

EKRIUQ wrote: »

How could there be a court judgement without a summons being served.

Don't hese have to be hand delivered to the plaintiff and signed for?

I am open to correction, but I think in a civil case such as this you are notified of the court date by letter. It is not a summons like in a criminal case.

If you do not turn up the case proceeds anyway. You can have a judgement against you without you being present.

Darc19

Tzardine wrote: »

I am open to correction, but I think in a civil case such as this you are notified of the court date by letter. It is not a summons like in a criminal case.

If you do not turn up the case proceeds anyway. You can have a judgement against you without you being present.

Yep. Usually about 4 or 5 pages including one for you to complete saying that you want to put in a defense.
If it can't be served by registered post, they can get permission to send by standard mail.
If you don't respond, judgement is automatically given. Timeline op gives is about right and seems they were hoping it would just go away or past the 6 year statute barred limit (which you must state as your defense), ignoring it means automatically went against the op. So only option is to come to an agreement. Good news, interest rate is now just 2% on court order.

my3cents

Darc19 wrote: »

Yep. Usually about 4 or 5 pages including one for you to complete saying that you want to put in a defense.
If it can't be served by registered post, they can get permission to send by standard mail.
If you don't respond, judgement is automatically given. Timeline op gives is about right and seems they were hoping it would just go away or past the 6 year statute barred limit (which you must state as your defense), ignoring it means automatically went against the op. So only option is to come to an agreement. Good news, interest rate is now just 2% on court order.

I'm still not convinced that the OP has an order made against them. Its all to vague and very Cabot.

joyboy1103

my3cents wrote: »

I'm still not convinced that the OP has an order made against them. Its all to vague and very Cabot.

Hi im goin to see flac this evening ..if I have to make an installment plan with cabot then I will but I was just a bit weary that the moment I make 1 payment then I have a contract with them and I believe they are a hard crowd to deal with..also I dont want to fill in the means form as they are looking for my employment details etc..I believe they ring peoples jobs if they decide they want more money monthly which I have heard they do regular...if im been honest I know nothing about legal matters and just felt I was been bullied into payment...heard nothing for years then a letter saying pay full amount in 7 days or face court by a company I had never even heard off...thanks for your help

Hannibal_Smith

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Hi im goin to see flac this evening ..if I have to make an installment plan with cabot then I will but I was just a bit weary that the moment I make 1 payment then I have a contract with them and I believe they are a hard crowd to deal with..also I dont want to fill in the means form as they are looking for my employment details etc..I believe they ring peoples jobs if they decide they want more money monthly which I have heard they do regular...if im been honest I know nothing about legal matters and just felt I was been bullied into payment...heard nothing for years then a letter saying pay full amount in 7 days or face court by a company I had never even heard off...thanks for your help

They won't accept any kind of arrangement without the statement of means. I've never known them to ring people's jobs though.

That's the whole idea regarding the letter, to startle you into action. Go get your legal advice and start from there.

joyboy1103

notharrypotter wrote: »

I wonder if the OP is trolling.

The timelines in the OP seem off.
Baught a car on finance in 2008.
Made payments for several years.
Approximately 5 by reading the OP.
Entered an agreement to "hand back" the car but did not follow through.
Car has been "lying up" for the last 5 years, not taxed or insured.
Moved back with parent several months ago.
But still seems to be getting post from his "last known/old" address.
And is about to move out again.
So where is the car at the moment.

Hi im not trolling..all post is coming to my mothers as I lived here when I got the car origianally.I never stated I was recieveing post at my old address..car is still in my parents garden as once i said i wanted to return it i never ..im working now so im going to rent my own place which up untill a couple of months ago I was doing for 9 years..also the car was origianally 12.000 so I paid off 7000

lawred2

Can you put up a picture of the letters with any identifying details covered up?

joyboy1103

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

They won't accept any kind of arrangement without the statement of means. I've never known them to ring people's jobs though.

That's the whole idea regarding the letter, to startle you into action. Go get your legal advice and start from there.

Will do..I spoke to a solicitor briefly over the phone yesterday who wrekons if the judgement ends up been real then I should just ring them and make them an offer of an installment plan and they should accept but im not so sure..im seeing a flac solicitor this evening so hopefully should know more by then..cheers

Hannibal_Smith

joyboy1103 wrote: »

Will do..I spoke to a solicitor briefly over the phone yesterday who wrekons if the judgement ends up been real then I should just ring them and make them an offer of an installment plan and they should accept but im not so sure..im seeing a flac solicitor this evening so hopefully should know more by then..cheers

I'm sure you know this, but make sure to bring all the letters with you.

joyboy1103

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

I'm sure you know this, but make sure to bring all the letters with you.

Will do..thanks for your help