CCJ satisfy or set aside

Amh11

Hi People,
I am seeking a bit of advice re next steps regarding a CCJ. I received in May 17 for £197. I only became aware of this when i recently checked my credit history. It turns out it was due to a fine for overstaying in a retail car park..
Stupidly, I gave this to my former partner to pay, we broke up shortly after. I never received any notification from the Court or a judgment letter. so had no idea this was out there.
I have now paid this but i am fuming at the damage to my credit rating. Is it worth applying for a set aside? To do this would cost more than the debt itself & I am sure the Courts hear 'I never got the letter' practically hourly.
Do I just suck it up for the next 5 years or would I be throwing good money after bad trying to set this aside?
Apart from this I have no late or missed payments on my file, the only negative i have is that I have been over my credit card limit for the past few months. I intend to clear this very shortly (thanks for the PPI advice MSE). :beer:
Advice & suggestions much apprecatied.

sourcrates

Hi,

You cannot easily set aside a judgement that has already been paid.

The whole idea of a set aside application is because you have some kind of dispute about the debt, either its not your debt, or you disagree with the amount of the judgement order, or you were denied a proper defence the first time round.

By paying the judgement, you have accepted liability, that the debt is yours and correctly owed, therefore a set aside would be very difficult under these circumstances.

GM1880

Sorry can!!!8217;t but that!!!8217;s not accurate. Of course you can set aside a CCJ that!!!8217;s been paid. I!!!8217;ve just had a set aside for something I had paid off.

Granted there are specific circumstances in which you could, but to say iu!!!8217;s impossible is just not accurate.

The question is, is there a reason why you didn!!!8217;t reply to the original fine or more importantly the notice of a CCJ application from the claimant. Or if the original fine unwarranted?

System

You received the penalty charge from the parking company so the address they had for you was correct. Unless you moved you would have received letters. There would have been at least three, possibly four by the time this was all done with with some sent from the parking ticket company, some from the court so claiming none arrived in the post is going to be stretching things a bit far.

Your only defence for a set aside would be if you had moved house between first contact and the court sending out paperwork notifying you of a hearing and asking for your defence.

Wizardly18

A satisfied CCJ looks better than a unsatisfied one, but either way it will remain on your credit report now for 6 years from the date of judgement.

National_Debtline

Hi Amh11


I agree applying for a set aside in these circumstances could be very difficult. The court usually expects you to have a dispute over the debt to agree to this, although they can consider 'other good reasons'. Paying the debt implies you do not dispute it and the court wouldn't usually agree to a set aside just to improve your credit file.


Not receiving court papers can be grounds for a set aside if you can show the claimant knowingly sent court papers to the wrong address and could not reasonably have traced you to a new address.


Ultimately the choice is yours but as you point out the application fee is high (£255 unless you qualify for a remission because you are on a low income) and you can incur further costs if your application is not successful.


Susie
@natdebtline