County Court Claim against me

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Igor
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PostCounty Court Claim against me
by Igor » Mon Aug 22, 2016 12:59 am

My old uni have issued a County Court claim against me for unpaid tuition fees. It was for an academic year in which I was able to attend very little due to health issues that my school in particular were aware of. SFE informed me part way through the year that they would not be funding that year as I'd used up my funding allocated to an undergraduate degree, and I left the university without having completed my final year.

The uni now seem to be taking me to court over £4500, for a year I was rarely present for, having left precisely because I couldn't pay the fee in the first place.

I'm calling the CAB in the morning, I just wondered if anyone had any ideas.

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Haribo
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Haribo » Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:20 am

I have an idea, a hairdressers cape with a transparent part by your lap so you can go on your phone while having your hair cut, and show them your erection.

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gaminglegend
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by gaminglegend » Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:23 am

Did you begin Uni without funding? I didn't even know that was possible I thought you had to confirm funds with student loans or pay a deposit or something. How is it they decided half way not to pay you surely you should of known this beforehand?

Tbh though sounds like barring contacting the uni again and asking to cancel the debt you'll have to pay. You registered and failed to pay them for the year you were there and then left. Other people drop out for other reasons and pay. I imagine you'd have to do some research for your own case - have they ever sent you letters asking for payment and have you ignored them? Jumping straight to county court sounds extreme unless they've never heard from you. Sucks man :(

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Lagamorph
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Lagamorph » Mon Aug 22, 2016 1:28 am

The fact they haven't just farmed it out to some Debt Collection Agency means the University think they have a legitimate case for this. Companies normally just sell of to a Debt Collection Agency when they know it's hopeless.

Normally though, as gaminglegend said, they should have tried to contact you directly first. Any court would look quite dimly on someone jumping to court action straight away. Of course this would be dependent on the address they have for you. Presumably they must have a current address to have served a summons, but they may have previously tried writing to old addresses you lived in at the time.

When you left, what was done/said? Was there any paperwork with the University to end your course? Did you just leave without a word and never go back? Were there any signed agreements/contracts between you and the University, or you and the funding company, which said you would be liable for the full years fees even if you dropped out for any reason?


Certainly contact the CAB, and possibly get all your paperwork together and see if you can get a free 30 minute consultation with a solicitor just to see if they can give you any further advice. Definitely contact the University too, see if you can come to any kind of arrangement with them directly. Even if you do this though, even if they say "Ok we'll sort it, just ignore any more letters", if you get a court date, go to it anyway. The last thing you need is to be thinking it's all sorted, then not turn up to court and have a default CCJ granted against you that you then have to get Set Aside.

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Kezzer
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Kezzer » Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:15 pm

Haribo wrote:I have an idea, a hairdressers cape with a transparent part by your lap so you can go on your phone while having your hair cut, and show them your erection.


:lol: :lol:

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Shadow
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Shadow » Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:48 pm

Say you don't remember the debt and ask that they prove it.

The court will tell them to do this prior to going to court. If it's long enough ago, they may not have adequate paperwork.

If they do have paperwork then they'll have to provide it to you and at least you'll have a better idea of what you're eligible to pay.

DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU OWE THEM ANY MONEY.

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Dblock
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Dblock » Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:53 am

Shadow wrote:Say you don't remember the debt and ask that they prove it.

The court will tell them to do this prior to going to court. If it's long enough ago, they may not have adequate paperwork.

If they do have paperwork then they'll have to provide it to you and at least you'll have a better idea of what you're eligible to pay.

DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU OWE THEM ANY MONEY.


Yeah because someone is going to take you to a court without any proof......brah!

What he can do is he can say he is partially retarded (im serious) and has no idea how debts work.

''Saying it's because I was controlling you and making you sad when actually I just asked you to wear some trousers'' :lol: :lol:
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Zellery
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Zellery » Tue Aug 23, 2016 7:55 am

Imagine Dblock being your lawyer.

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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Moggy » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:14 am

Zellery wrote:Imagine Dblock being your lawyer.


Imagine being Dblock's lawyer.

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Eighthours
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Eighthours » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:49 am

This sounds a bit open and shut to me. Unfair maybe, but...

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Hypes
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Hypes » Tue Aug 23, 2016 11:24 am

Yeah, the main question here is did you tell them you'd left?

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Green Gecko
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Green Gecko » Tue Aug 23, 2016 7:13 pm

The reason you may have had the loan cancelled half way though the year is that student loans are actually paid in 2 parts each year to give you the opportunity to get the 2nd part refunded if you decide to leave.

However, the only way to be granted an exemption of fees is to formally agree with the University via academic appeals process to defer because of mitigating circumstances during the year and have no fees payable for that year you don't attend because the university agreed for some reason it was not your fault or their fault, or for any other reason before the date you are inducted into that year

If you do agree to attend, but don't, you have to pay half or all the fees for that year, whether or not you had a loan from the slc, which is a separate agreement.

If you enrolled and did not tell the university what was happening you have to pay the full fee. It is too late to pay the 1st part of the fee. You might be able to get it reduced or written off if you can explain what happened with things like medical evidence but you would also have to prove that you were incapable of managing your own affairs at that time.

It doesn't matter whether or not you attended the classes because the resources and places were still allocated to you. You would simply fail the course and still have to pay under normal circumstances.

That will be the black and white of it. The best thing you can probably do now is pull together any communication you had with the University at that time and medical records and you might be able to get a retroactive diagnosis in a long and complicated process probably paying a psychologist or physiologist to testify about your health at the time. However it will be difficult to prove why you did not settle the amount after that time in dialogue with the University as all of these things get stipulated in the student regulations you sign when you go to university.

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Shadow
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Shadow » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:25 pm

Dblock wrote:
Shadow wrote:Say you don't remember the debt and ask that they prove it.

The court will tell them to do this prior to going to court. If it's long enough ago, they may not have adequate paperwork.

If they do have paperwork then they'll have to provide it to you and at least you'll have a better idea of what you're eligible to pay.

DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU OWE THEM ANY MONEY.


Yeah because someone is going to take you to a court without any proof......brah!

What he can do is he can say he is partially retarded (im serious) and has no idea how debts work.


Ok.

I actually have quite a bit of experience in this scenario. But whatever, you're the expert, I guess.

I literally "got away" with £2400 debt because I challenged and asked them to prove I owed the money.

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Qikz
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Qikz » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:28 pm

Wear this disguise, claim Igor has fled the country.

Resume normal life.

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Seriously though this sucks. I'd say the only thing you can really do is contact the university after seeking legal advice.

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Lagamorph
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Lagamorph » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:28 pm

Shadow wrote:
Dblock wrote:
Shadow wrote:Say you don't remember the debt and ask that they prove it.

The court will tell them to do this prior to going to court. If it's long enough ago, they may not have adequate paperwork.

If they do have paperwork then they'll have to provide it to you and at least you'll have a better idea of what you're eligible to pay.

DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU OWE THEM ANY MONEY.


Yeah because someone is going to take you to a court without any proof......brah!

What he can do is he can say he is partially retarded (im serious) and has no idea how debts work.


Ok.

I actually have quite a bit of experience in this scenario. But whatever, you're the expert, I guess.

I literally "got away" with £2400 debt because I challenged and asked them to prove I owed the money.

If the University haven't farmed it out to a Debt Collection Agency I'd suspect they probably have some kind of documentation. Certainly worth a try asking them, but I'd expect them to have it from the way this scenario sounds.

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Shadow
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Shadow » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:29 pm

Has it been 6 years? Has it nearly been 6 years?

I don't know if there's exemption for tuition based debt, but you could try and statute bar it.

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Venom
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Venom » Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:09 pm

Igor wrote:My old uni have issued a County Court claim against me for unpaid tuition fees....

I'm calling the CAB in the morning, I just wondered if anyone had any ideas.


Shadow wrote:I literally "got away" with £2400 debt because I challenged and asked them to prove I owed the money.


I don't know if you your case is like Shadow's where you will be able to challenge them, but look into it. Regardless of whether you had a legitimate health reason, if it goes to the County Court and your old Uni are able to prove you owe the debt and the case is found in their favour then you will have to pay it. Even if you come to an agreement to pay in small instalments you will have a CCJ. Worst than that there will be a County Court Judgement against you which will stay on your credit record for SIX YEARS. I don't know what stage you are in life but this will affect your credit records, your ability to get a phone contract, loans, mortgage and even jobs in the financial or banking sector.

My suggestion is that you try and set up a meeting with the finance department of the uni. Go and explain about your health, tell them about your financial situation being bad. Explain what happened and see if you can settle the debt for half the amount. If you don't have the money than use a credit card or get a loan to pay it. Believe me a CCJ is not a good thing to have.

https://www.gov.uk/county-court-judgmen ... t/overview

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Green Gecko
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PostRe: County Court Claim against me
by Green Gecko » Thu Aug 25, 2016 5:26 pm

Yeah, you want to go around the court process as much as possible. Most organisations would much rather settle amicably what you owe than have to go through the courts, which is expensive.

As they always say about debt things. Do not ignore the problem. Act now.

Re CCJ, it's basically the worst thing on your credit file to have besides bankruptcy and insolvency. For my last tenancy, it included a credit check as well. On the other hand, 6 years and it is gone completely. 6 years is not that long if you are basically coasting through youth. But it is a shitty obstacle to have towards general financial (in)dependence. Future loans you would be unlikely to get will be more expensive, so if you have to pay, pay it with the cheapest form of borrowing you can get (such as a loan from family or good bank history) before you get a judgement. As long as some kind of payment plan is in place, that's good, but don't ignore the debt - it will get worse (especially if it's sold off with interest).

The financial conduct authority (FCA) makes sure you're not allowed to be coerced into paying more than you can afford per month, for example. Your essential living costs, including rent, utility, council tax by law have to come first. Even if it takes 10, 20, 40 years (like most student loans and mortgages for proper money) if you remain within that commitment it's fine.

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