Statutory Demand in Bankruptcy

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We have just received a letter today(Saturday) from DLA threatening if we don't send a cheque in settlement within three days of the date of the letter(Friday) they intend to serve a Statutory Demand in Bankruptcy and will petition for a personal bankruptcy in court. What is my next step? I feel this is totally unreasonable, it is physically impossible to file an application to set aside before Monday!! Can I complain to anybody about this? Should I be worried about this?

-- Keith Norton (RNorton398@aol.com), September 29, 2001

Answers

From the post immediately before yours on this Q&A board:

Your first port of call is the document here: http://www.home- repo.org/dos/statdemand.htm. You should then read the Do's and Don'ts section or at least those bits of it that apply to people who have already been repossessed. It is in the "Repossession" part of the site.

Insolvency demands move quickly - more quickly than the tactics that the rest of this site deals with - so it is important to familiarise yourself with the forms you will need to fill in and the answers you will give before the demand actually arrives. So I'd advise that make a trip to your local court to get copies of them.

Then start the questioning process that is so heavily detailed in this site.

Lee

-- Lee (repossession@home-repo.org), September 29, 2001.


Regards to the above, the is no Money Judgement Order.

-- Keith Norton (RNorton398@aol.com), September 29, 2001.

Statutory Demands are for where the debt is due and the amount is not generally under dispute. If you are served with a SD, you have 18 days to file a set aside application at the court, or 21 days to settle it or secure for it. You ought to succeed in a set aside application if you disagree with the amount demanded and the district judge ought to make the claimant goe throug the Civil Procedure Rules, i.e. issue a summons and get judgment before they try to enforce payment by a SD and Bankruptcy.

The best advice I can give you apart from the above is go and see a solicitor when you get the SD Incidentally, you have no need to worry about getting into court before Monday because you need the SD in your hands in order to file the set aside application.

You could obstruct the service of the SD (refuse any recorded deliveries, dont answer door to unknowns etc.) but you are really only playing the system here and the end result could be substituted service by advert in the local paper.

-- David J. Button (davidjohnbutton@supanet.com), September 29, 2001.


I'd add to the previous answer that you should write to DLA next week, doesn't have to be within their three days, stating that you would defend any SD they choose to issue. This may be enough to deter them, but if not, it stands you in good stead to recover any costs you incur in having it set aside.

-- (bluemoon_andy@hotmail.com), September 29, 2001.

I had two letters stating exactly the same dated 10/02/00 and 15/03/00 and a further 6 letters since the latter all following the same pattern but I have never received the SD. Another blatant attempt to panick you into negotiations. Take the advice given by the others but I don't think you have to panic -yet!

-- Gerry (gerry7000@skynow.net), September 30, 2001.


Hi Keith,I myself was in the same unfortunate position of recieving SD from Eversheds/Nationwide back in February 2000, although nothing came of it due to me offering a monthly payment of which i have not missed a payment. they are now taking me to court claiming the full amount they say i owe + interest + costs.I wished i had known about this truly excellent website back then as i would have done things completely different, and not gone through all the stress and worry that i had incurred from feb 2000 to feb 2oo1.The point i'm getting at is don't worry they must have proof you owe the debt,follow all the good advice on this site and also seek some good proper legal advice (Although the latter being very hard to find!!!). Goodluck. Regards Daren.

-- Daren Otsay (darenotsay@blueyonder.co.uk), October 01, 2001.

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