When you receive notification that a creditor is pursuing legal action against you it can be a stressful time. There is a short response period and it is important that all of the paperwork is filled out correctly. If you have never received court papers before it can be daunting and confusing. Here we have put together a brief guide to help you through the process.

A creditor will always have a ‘chase’ procedure in place to try all possible avenues to retrieve the money before they seek legal action against you. It is extremely important that as soon as you find yourself in financial difficulty, and unable to meet the minimum repayments, that you seek help from Payplan, Citizens Advice Bureau or National Debtline. We will be able to negotiate with each of your creditors and offer a payment plan that is affordable to you. If your creditors then decide to pursue legal action, despite you being in a plan, we have a legal document handling team who are able to handle the court paperwork.

If you do not have the support of a debt management company, and need to respond to court action on your own, it is important that you act as quickly as possible and do not delay sending the completed forms back. When filling out the court forms it is important to do so as accurately as possible. You will need to provide the following details:

  • Income and expenditure
  • Creditors, including all borrowing
  • Assets
  • An amount that you can reasonably afford to make each month

The first form that you will receive will be a N1 Claim Form. Once you receive this you must reply by filing out the information stated above. If you fail to send the form back in time you will be issued with a Default N30 Notice meaning that the court and your creditor will decide the amount you should be paying.

If you need assistance with your county court forms you can visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau. If you are a Payplan client then please call your case officer as soon as possible.

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