Hello All

I have just recieved the 'Allocation Questionnaire' from the County Courts. I have already 'Aknowlaged Service' and submitted my 'Defense and Counter claim'. This part is a bit daunting for the un-initiated the questionnaire is fill of questions like "how long do you expect the hearing to last", well as I have never attended a hearing before this is quite tricky ( could be 1/2 hour unless they have chocolate Hob Nobs and I can drag it out to 3 hours). But seriously this is a daunting form as I want to appear as professional as possible, and without the experience its tricky to fill in. The only saving grace is that I rang the opposing solicitors to try to settle before trial (read get them to drop the case) to be told that they had mislaid their copy of my defense !!!!!!!!!!!!!. Bit cruel but I had to have a wry smile at that one, I sugested that they gave the Courts a bell and asked for a copy (this was after I declined a request from them to fax a copy over to them. ha ha ha ha ). The almost pleasant lady on the phone informed me that "they had issued a summons" and "it will go all the way to court no matter what I said". I guess this means that they arn't rearly getting into the spirit of the game and trying to save time and court costs ( as CPR thinks it is supposed to work). Still I will keep you posted as to how its going, I hope that some people facing this situation will see that its not the end of the world to be summonsed. And to stand your ground whatever they throw at you.

See You

Jon S

-- Jon S (jks_uk2001@yahoo.co.uk), October 18, 2001

Answers

I back Pendle's advice.

Good luck Jon.

Lee

-- Lee (repossession@home-repo.org), October 20, 2001.

If you are having problems with the Allocation Questionnaire, then go to your local court and get some help. The court staff are very friendly and will help with form completions, although obviously they cannot give legal advice. The courts also have some very useful leaflets about procedures which are also available from their website.

Most judges are sympathetic to persons acting on their own and will give guidance where appropriate.

But failing that, get yourself a half hour free advice session with a solicitor and get an idea of what is going to happen next.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), October 20, 2001.

I also found the staff at the courts and the judge were very understanding about someone acting on their own behalf. I successfully prevented a Halif*x repossession a few years ago.

The court staff helped me fill in the forms and the hearing was very informal in the judges chambers. The judge slung the case out as it was clear I had tried to settle matters without resort to the courts and it was clear I was in a position to pay back my arrears.

All in all it did restore my faith in the legal system quite a bit !

Good Luck

-- Chris (chrsh@hotmail.com), October 21, 2001.