Possession Claim On Line (PCOL)- help re procedure

[Ericthelobster]

In my AST I have stated late payments are charged at £15.00 per late payment. Should this be included in the ‘Amount Due’? If not where do I list this?

In my recent PCOL case, I did add in two such charges; my AST allows for a £15 admin fee for writing to chase uplate rent. They simply appear on the PCOL online entry as an "amount due", ie same as rent. The witness statement which I included in my court bundle included a rent statement in which they are entered as "Admin fee". Judge didn't question this and allowed it; having said that T didn't show up to question it. But I think the worst that could have happened is that the judge might just have said no?

Last question, where could I write any charges for my actual time doing this process and not using a solicitor, if I could?

I asked the judge this, and he said that given the effort I'd evidently put into preparing the case it would be perfectly legitimate, however I'd have needed to include the amount claimed in the bundle and presented that to the court and defendant beforehand, so they would have had a chance to object. (I didn't submit the bundle in advance of the court hearing, which I was advised by the judge would have been preferable despite being PCOL).

By the way - search the forum for "PCOL" for loads of useful advice on the process - helped me enormously.

[Poppy35]

also make sure that on the date of the hearing you take with you 2 up to date statement of accounts as of that day - one to give the tenant should they make an appearance and another for the judge to see.

I am in court tomorrow but luckily the tenant left 3 days ago so fingers crossed will award an attachment of earnings - and tenant works in a bank too!!

[havensRus]

I submit a Witness Pack, which comprises a Witness Statement, and copies of all relevant paperwork, eg. AST, S8, letters etc.

the last item of the witness statement is something like this:

"I hereby request the Court to order the Defendant to vacate the property immediately, and to order the Defendant to pay all the rent arrears to date, and rent due at £XX per day from now up to the date s/he vacates the property, and to pay my court costs of £100 and legal costs of £YYY immediately"

The statements of account both in the PCOL submission and the rental account include any fees charged, and so far so good, I've not been called up on it yet.

My most recent S8 hearing was mid september, and I requested £150 for my court costs, and judge awarded it without so much as a blink. Infact, his statement pronouncing the judgement was pretty much as I'd written it. And because I'd submitted the pack before the hearing, and served T a copy, I was in and out in 5 minutes. T attended, but had no defence.

HTH

[rizwany84]

PCOL withdrew???

Hi

Tenancy began in Nov 08. Tenant paid fine until Jan 09 when he lost his job. Since then he is self employed and earns very little. Consistently late payments with rent. Deposit was deferred till April 09 but still none given. Issued section 8 as rent arrears was £2040 to date. Submitted PCOL today. Tenant came round this evening and gave a cheque for £2010, and stated he can give minimum £100 a fortnight.

Timescale
14-11-08 Tenancy commenced. Rent £270 fortnight.
20-02-09 Deposit Due Date. None given.
17-04-09 Deposit Not Given
22-09-09 Issued section 8, grounds 8, 10, 11. Rent arrears £2040
09-10-09 13:00 Submitted PCOL
09-10-09 18:00 Tenant gave cheque for £2010,
09-10-09 19:00 Withdrew PCOL


1. I withdraw my PCOL this evening. Will my £100 fee be refunded?
2. Assuming the cheque the tenant gave clears, can I put some of it towards the deposit, or do I have to put it all towards the rent?
3. Tenant is consistently late with payments and is going to be in the future as well.He is also not going to be paying he full rent. Can I still continue with PCOL on grounds 10 and 11, (as the cheque he gave will bring home to less than 2 months rents arrears)?
4. In the future, when he get to more than 2 months in arrears do I have to issue a new section 8 or can the one issued on 22-09-09 be sufficient?


Thanks in advance.

[Esio Trot]

Why did you withdraw? This was not the best thing to have done - so you need to see if you can get it reinstated.

Once it is reinstated and you have a hearing date, attend the hearing.

If there are no arrears, ask that the case be "adjourned generally, with liberty to restore". You may not quite get this, as there is no end date, but you should at least get a liberty to restore for at least a year.

This means that if the tenant again goes into arrears you can restore the action without needing to pay another fee.

If you can't get your action reinstated, then sadly you have lost the money (though your tenancy agreement if comprehensive should allow you to recover this from your tenant as if it was rent).

[rizwany84]

Asssuming I can get the PCOL 'reinstated' (can I do this by ringing them?) can I go ahead on the following grounds:

1. ground 10 - the tenant still has rent arrears, but less than 2 months?
2. ground 11 - persistant late payment for rent, which the tenant admits?
3. ground 12 - the tenant hasnt paid a deposit?
4. Do I have to issue a new section 8, or is the other one still valid (which shows ground 8,10,11) ?
5. shall i allocate some of the payment made by the tenant towards the deposit or all towards the rent arrears?

[havensRus]

apportionment depends on your arrangement/agreement with T.

I believe you can add further grounds to a S8 after its been issued, but not sure how.

However, 10-12 are discretionary grounds and you may/may not get possession. You could follow advice given by Esio above.

Never, ever again accept a cheque from a T, and base your actions on it before the funds have cleared. Its asking for trouble.

If I were at the door of the courthouse and the T gave me a cheque, I'd tell him where to stick it. Now if T gave me a bankers draft or cash, I'd take it, and let the judge know, but still ask for a suspended order. You never know....

[rizwany84]

I rang the PCOL customer service help desk. They informed me i have to get the case 're instated' from the local court as i withrew it. I rang the local courts and they said i have to fill in form N244 and pay £40. Is this correct?


If i do get my case re instated, as the tenant is now less than 2 months in arrears, can i get the case to be '"adjourned generally, with liberty to restore' ?

[Esio Trot]

I rang the PCOL customer service help desk. They informed me I have to get the case 're instated' from the local court as I withrew it. I rang the local courts and they said I have to fill in form N244 and pay £40. Is this correct?

Sounds about right. The court has a fee for almost everything they do. Looking on the bright side, £40 is cheaper than starting again from scratch.

If I do get my case re instated, as the tenant is now less than 2 months in arrears, can I get the case to be '"adjourned generally, with liberty to restore' ?

This has to be done at a hearing - which will no doubt be at least six weeks in the future. By the time of the hearing there might or might not be two months of unpaid rent, or it might be that rent is fully paid up. It is in the days before the hearing that you decide on your strategy, not now.

[davidjohnbutton]

Frankly I would not bother making a N244 application.

Either you get the fee back from the court, if you don't, then charge it to the tenant.

You are working on the assumption that the court judge will grant your N244 application - if it is not granted because for example the arrears are less than 2 months or for some other procedural reason, you will have lost £40 and gained nothing.

If the tenant becomes two months in arrears again, just reissue the S8 notice and do another fresh PCOL claim.

[Poppy35]

Good luck for tomorrow.

You'd have to apply for AofE separately after the judgement.

yes realised that once I got in there!!

Judge awarded court costs and £150.00 for my clients time off work.

just waiting for judgement to come through and can then get attachment of earnings.

Anyone know how that will affect her employment as she works for v large bank in customer services??

[Esio Trot]

Anyone know how that will affect her employment as she works for v large bank in customer services??

When you apply for an AoE, they first write to the debtor for a statement of means. When your debtor gets this, in view of her position, I am confident that she will contact you forthwith to arrange payments direct. That way her employer wont get to know.

This has happened to me quite a few times.

Get her to put in writing what she proposes, then write to her accepting her offer. State that if she reneges you will refer the matter back to court without notice. Next write to the court telling them what you have agreed. The court will then 'suspend' the attachment of earnings order while the debtor maintains the agreement you have made.

[rizwany84]

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice given.

When tenant becomes in arrears again of more than two months I will issues a section 8 and start a fresh claim for PCOL.

I rang up my local courts requesting a refund for my PCOL claim. They informed me to write a letter asking for the refund. Will do this later on today and let you guys know if i get a refund.

[jeffrey]

Not two months' rent 'in arrears' but merely owing. There is a big difference.

[rizwany84]

In my tenancy agreement I have stated "1.7.4 Late Payments will be charged at £15.00 per payment."

Is this legal?

The tenant has given me some money for rent arrears (cheque which was cleared today) and I just wanted to know can I allocate some of this towards late payment fees, or not?