Unknown CCJ discovered - court summons "signed for" by someone else

RM1985
RM1985 Posts: 16 Forumite
edited 16 May 2017 at 2:57PM in Credit file & ratings
Hi all,

Wondering if anybody can offer some advice.

My friend has just found out when doing a credit check that she's got a CCJ - she knew nothing about this.

It transpires it was due to parking fines. (On private land - at her workplace; a NHS hospital).

The CCJ was filed on 30th November. My friend moved out of her house beginning of October. Therefore it would appear that the papers went to her old address when she was no longer living there.

Upon investigating, the papers and court summons were sent recorded delivery, and have been signed for - so the people who moved into the property after her must have signed for it. They have made no attempts (it would seem) to return the letter, or forward it to the landlord or make attempts to trace my friend.

I am going to help her to see if we can ask for the judgement to be set aside - but where would we stand with the fact that the papers were signed for?

I am under the impression that if a company is taking you to court, they need to prove that they made reasonable efforts to serve the papers at an address they thought was yours or had good reason to believe was yours.

But if a completely different person has signed for it, with a completely different name? I have searched forums and online but can't find anything in this area.


Thanks in advance

RM

Comments

  • MEM62
    MEM62 Posts: 4,732
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    Unfortunately, last known address is sufficient for the service of a summons. Although parking companies are known to abuse the system. You friend should have addressed this when she first had the ticket..... sorry - invoice.
  • RM1985
    RM1985 Posts: 16 Forumite
    Thanks for your advice. It's much appreciated.

    On their online advice about setting aside CCJs the National Debtline's website says:

    "...The court will usually agree to set aside a judgment if:
    the creditor should have known that you had moved, and did not try to find your current address or consider another way of sending the claim to you..."

    what if we could argue they had good reason to know she was no longer at this address? And that they deliberately served anyway?

    She had changed her address on her driving license - although I note from reading other threads you'd have to change the address for the V5 for companies to trace?

    Or is this clutching at straws?

    Hospital staff were given incorrect, and informal advice that private companies are powerless to pursue parking fines on private land. So when she got a ticket on her windscreen she (like many others) threw it in the bin. She didn't receive any invoices or letters by post.

    Talk about learning a lesson the hard way...
  • pappa_golf
    pappa_golf Posts: 8,895
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    court summons and papers are NOT sent by recorded delivery , I would suggest you go to the parking ticket forum which is a sub forum of the motoring one and search for "setaside" this is being discussed by at least 4 different people today (different threads ) all info is there
    Save a Rachael

    buy a share in crapita
  • MEM62
    MEM62 Posts: 4,732
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    Remember that, if you are going to apply for a set-aside, you also have to demonstrate that you would have a reasonable chance of defending the claim when it is heard again. In this case, if the ticket was thrown away and all previous communication from the parking company ignored then how would you defend the claim?
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852
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    You need to get yourself into the Parking Tickets subform in Motoring here - There you will find plenty of excellent help and advice on getting the CCJ set aside and putting together an effective defence against a PPC.

    It will cost her a bit of money for the set aside itself but that should comeback if she's successful, which TBH, most motorists are.

    PPCs tend to go for the soft targets and rely on default judgement against people who have followed outdated (pre- late 2012) advice to ignore or missed their demands for other reasons. Which is a shame as most are pretty straightforward to challenge and dispose of long before they get to court. :(
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852
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    MEM62 wrote: »
    Although parking companies are known to abuse the system. You friend should have addressed this when she first had the ticket..... sorry - invoice.

    Are known....?

    Please point us at one that doesn't abuse the system mercilessly! :rotfl:
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