Having a CCJ set aside

pie2k1

Hi there, I'm looking for some advice from anybody who may have had experience of having a CCJ set aside...

Brief outline -
My wife carried out a credit check and found a CCJ on her a otherwise faultless file. This was the first we knew of it. We found out it was from a parking company who had issued a fine in Dec. 2015. They claim to have sent paperwork to our previous address and in her maiden name (we married in Aug 14 and moved out in Jan 15) and so we hadn't received it. Of course without seeing it we couldn't respond and as such the matter went to County Court resulting in the CCJ, all without us having any inclination this was going on.

Now, they had obtained the address from the DVLA. My wife updated her name details with the DVLA as soon as we married, and our new address details with them as soon as we moved in the new place in order to keep her driving licence current and up to date. We had mail redirection running from the old property for 12 months to ensure we didn't miss any mail. However we didn't update the keeper/address details on the vehicle log book as we weren't aware that was required. No question this is an oversight on our behalf, but the DVLA looks after both V5C and driving licence, so we had informed them in a roundabout way.

What I need to find out is, if we choose to appeal to have the CCJ set aside and go back to the original opportunity of paying the parking fine (which we would have done immediately if we'd had the notification) how likely are we to be successful? Given that we made the effort to keep everything in order during the name changes and house moves, but missed on the point of the log book, would a judge see us favourably or simply revert to the facts?

It was a small and genuine mistake on our part, especially when we thought we had informed everybody we needed to of the changes, and it does seem extravagant that this could now affect us for the next 6 years, especially when we would be happy to settle the debt.

Just when you think you have it all straight one small detail intervenes and causes a load of mither!

Thanks in advance for your advice,
Simon

rizla_king

is it parkingeye?

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/do-you-have-ccj-from-parkingeye-casehub.html

National_Debtline

Hi Simon and welcome to MSE,


You will probably need some legal advice on this matter. When you apply to set aside a CCJ the court will normally assess 3 things: -


(1). How quickly have you made the application to set aside from the judgement
(2). Why didn't you respond to the original claim forms
(3). Do you have a realistic prospect of a defence.

From your post you may struggle if you are accepting liability as this means you have no defence, but as I say, legal advice is key. This application will cost you £255 plus your legal advice. If you win then the judgement will be taken back to the beginning and the CCJ should be removed from the credit file. But, if you lose, the debt could increase through legal costs of the other side. You need to weigh up how much it will cost you to challenge it versus how much it is at the moment. We do have a factsheet about this that may help you, good luck


Laura
@natdebtline

pie2k1

Thanks for the response so far. It is indeed parking eye.

The galling part is that we didn't have the opportunity to set this straight when it happened which is why we would like to have the CCJ set aside and start again. I appreciate that mistake was on our part which is why I don't feel like we're on steady ground for an appeal. Even though the DVLA had correct details on their system, it was probably only for the licence and not the vehicle. Having never been involved with the courts before do the judges account for personal statements and defence at a hearing, or simply look at the facts? (ie. do we get the chance to explain why it all came about and that we simply, genuinely, missed updating a log book? ) Key thing would be, as you say, a credible defence. Would our efforts to play by the rules and provide correct details be enough to show we didn't intentionally ignore any warnings or letters but that this happened by mistake and for the ruling to be set aside?

Currently the CCJ stands at c.£180. With legal fees and the court appeal cost we're looking upwards of £500 with no guarantee of the CCJ being removed. Booked in for some legal advice tomorrow so we'll see what comes of that.

If the CCJ is paid and marked as satisfied what are the real world effects likely to be. Credit score is showing as good even with the CCJ on there?

And how does our legal system make it possible for 10mins over in a car park to escalate into £500+ costs, stark financial future in the short term and untold stress to come about?! Common sense and proportionality take leave...

Any further advice, perhaps somebody has been through this before?

Many thanks!
Simon

pogofish

OK! - As well as the advice given here, you need to get yourself into the Parking Tickets subforum in Motoring and have a look at the various recent PE set aside threads, as well as the threads on mounting a court defence against them - Also read the Newbies Sticky, which will give you a good and up to date overview of the whole private parking situation and help you understand what works and what doesn't when fighting these guys.

You should not be thinking about paying them in any way - You do have some hoops to jump through but otherwise, PE are amongst the more easy PPCs to beat completely with a solid defence.

pie2k1

Thanks again for all of your excellent advice, it's so much easier to understand with a bit of help.

I've had a look through some of the parking forum posts and other Web based cases and came across the notion of a consent order. It seems this may be a good way to attempt in our case to have the CCJ set aside. Of course it means admitting to the charge for alleged breach of the parking contract but, if Parking Eye are willing (and we haven't paid them a penny so potentially have some leverage there) it would mean a sturdier and cheaper way to resolve the CCJ than taking it through an appeal. Not guaranteed but in our circumstances a better chance I think.

Still going to take some legal advice this pm to find out more.

Thanks again, Simon.

Quentin

If you have read the parking forum you look to have missed that PE can be beaten! (Obviously not a possibility if you do get them to consent to a set aside!)


In which case not only would you not have to pay them anything but may be able to include the cost of the set aside hearing in your allowable costs following you beating them at the hearing following you winning the set aside


Check the parking ticket forum again before spending more money on a solicitor

pie2k1

Okay, so last week I emailed parkingeye to see if they would agree to a consent order if we pay the money. I think they misunderstood my email as they sent back a more or less generic message stating that we need to pay up and can appeal at a cost of £255 to the court.

I called them to discuss and it seems that yes, when paid up they wouldn't stand in the way of having the CCJ set aside from our credit file (don't have anything in writing though). I asked them to walk me through the process and they explained:

Once paid they contact court to mark claim as satisfied. Court update records.

I need to submit an N244 asking for CCJ to be set aside now it is satisfied. They must agree to this forum it to go in front of a judge (although they have said, in principal, that they would).

Fee would be £255.

I also spoke with the County Court (Northampton) for Advie on what I'd need to provide and they said the same, N244 plus £255.

I questioned about a consent order. Parkingeye said one would not be required (?) - not sure on this.

The court said that if parkingeye ask for the CCJ to be removed the form is N244 and fee is £100, but it has to come from them (again, ?).

Nobody mentioned the consent order which, to my limited knowledge, details an agreement between claimant and defendant that the payment is satisfied and the original claim is dropped, thus the judge can decide if CCJ can be set aside from the records.

Am I going loopy or does anybody know ow the theoretical process I would need to go through?

Any help greatly appreciated!
Thanks

romeo21

I think if you pay the fine then fill out the N244 the judge might think that you only want the CCJ removed to enable you to get credit so he may reject it.

What i would do either

A) try and get parking eye draw up a consent order and both of you sign it with a fee and send it to the court.

you get the consent order draw up and get them to sign it.

C) fill out the N244 and dispute charges on the grounds that you moved address and which you will be ask to attend court and hopefully you can pay the fine and ccj will come off