Getting Ready for Court

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Getting Ready for Court

Before the court hearing you need to:

try to pay as much as you can off the arrears
Continue trying to negotiate with your lender. If you can reach an agreement before the hearing, the case might not go ahead
get advice or contact a solicitor.
complete the defence/reply form you received from the court
collect together relevant documents that you think the judge might want to see. For example pay slips, bank statements, evidence of any lump sum payments due to you which you could use to reduce or clear the arrears
prepare a detailed breakdown of your household income and expenditure
find out where the court hearing is taking place
prepare notes of what you want to say at the hearing
arrange for a friend, adviser or solicitor to come to the hearing to help you.

If you need more time to prepare for the hearing, you must still attend the hearing, and can ask the court to put back the date of the hearing. This is called an adjournment. You might be able to adjourn the hearing if you:

have been ill and therefore unable to prepare for court
were on holiday when the summons arrived and have only had a few days to prepare for the hearing
need more time to get legal advice
have had a change of circumstances which will improve, or even resolve, the situation

If you are in arrears and you cannot clear the arrears in full, or if your lender won't accept an offer to repay the arrears in instalments, the court hearing will go ahead. You can continue to negotiate with your lender right up until the date of the court hearing.

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Home Repossession >> How Repossession Works >> Getting Ready for Court

Getting Ready for Court