Can i avoid a county court Judgement?

talah

Hi, i have just received a county court judgement. I was given it quite recently on the 7th of June via post. The situation was my younger brother had used my driving licence details without my consent to drive a car around. He then hit another person’s car and gave my details to the other driver. Eventually 1 year later i received a letter saying i owed the sum of £3000 due to costs which the other driver had picked up because of the collision which my brother was involved in. I was confused about this as I had no idea of hitting a car at that time and date because i knew i was not at that place and had clear evidence that i wasn't, however i did ask my brother if he had used my details because i knew he had done on a few occasions before, again without my consent. He was confident he didn’t do it this time. Eventually i replied to the letter mentioning i was not aware of this and then got a reply back saying i had to go to court. I went to court and sat with the claimant and judge they showed me a picture of who had hit the car which the claimant took at the incident. When seeing the picture i was shocked to see it was my brother after all. They assumed it was not me but so the similarities between our looks and eventually believed it was me and that i had changed my appearance. I explained to the judge it was my brother and he stated that we should have another court date so i can give evidence it was my brother. Now this is where i made a mistake unintentionally which i believe was because i did not have legal advice.

I RECEIVED A LETTER STATING i HAD TO SEND IN EVIDENCE BEFORE A CERTAIN DATE TO CLEAR MY NAME but because i had spoken to my brother now and he then admitted it was him he also agreed to give testimony that he caused the accident and he used my details. Under the impression that i could just walk into the curt on the day of my hearing with my brother and have him admit his fault i did not reply to that letter. I then went to court on the day of my hearing only to find there was no case. I asked the lady at reception and she checked the claim number and advised me that a County court judgement was made against my name because i did not reply to a letter and that the court assumed i excepted the fault. I now have a ccj against my name for something i did not do but unintentionally made a mistake by not replying to the letter. My brother is still willing to admit his fault so i can be clear. But i don’t know what to do i still cannot get legal advice as i cannot afford it. I work fulltime and get paid 16000 a year 1118 per month. I pay for the rent at home along with the council tax and many other utility bills including travel to work leaving me with just enough to get through the month. I need to know if i can get the ccj removed from my name and sort this out. How long do i have to sort it out? that if i do. Please can you help me? Thank you.

triple_choc_chip

I'm not an expert but this will bump you back up to the top!

You can get free legal advice at the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). Contact them asap because you may have to wait for an appointment and you are time limited. I know of two options:

1) Find some way to settle the debt in full within 28 days of the judgement. It will then not be permanent and you can totally forget it.

2) Enquire if you have grounds to have the judgement set aside. I have no idea if you will have grounds, someone else may have but definitely ask at CAB

Mostly if you contact a solicitor you can see them for a free 1/2 hour which may be enough time for you to find out what you can do - I've had a solicitor give me free advice over the phone before now without even having to make the journey to their office.

Good luck

talah

Thankyou for your reply, i will visit my CAB tmrw hoping to get the correct advice.

Can i approach the claimant and speak to them about anything?

triple_choc_chip

Hi

I suppose that you can talk with them but it won't affect the fact that the court judgement will become 'visible' after 28 days unless it is paid in full or set aside before that date.

Even if you paid it in full in 30 days, for instance, it would show as settled but would be there for all the world to see (if they were looking!) This is why you must act fast because if you can sort it within the 28 days it will be invisible / non existent.

talah

Thankyou very much i appreciate your help.

Johnhowell

If I was you I would "kill" your brother - may be not...;-)

Say to your brother that for the next 6 years he will pay you all additional costs incurred by you for having the CCJ on your record.

Good luck

datlex

I would appeal the CCJ if you have evidence it was not you who was at fault.

Your brother is guilty of theft, fraud as well as multiple driving offences. I guess the question though is whether you are prepared to have a CCJ as the alternative is possibly a custodial sentence for your brother.

dacouch

Whose car was he driving ?