Wording to use when applying to set aside a CCJ

meehsms

Hi i have just found out from my car insurance company that I have a CCJ against me from May 2017. i knew nothing about it. My insurance company said it's probably from a parking ticket.

So I paid £10 on Registry Trust Limited's website and I got the details of the CCJ which was for £348. But the document I got only shows the case number and my old address from which I moved in August 2016 so almost a year before the CCJ. I also changed my address with DVLA and I have the V5s from DVLA which has my new address on it and is dated September 2016.

I have done some online research and I found that I have to fill out a N244 form to ask for the CCJ to be set aside. But i have to pay a court fee of £255 which is ridiculous.

So my questions are

1) how can I find out the details of my CCJ from the case number that's on the document from Registry Trust Limited... I don't even know which court it is. It only says County Court Business Centre. I used to live in Guildford, so is it the Guildford Court??

2) what should I say on the N244 form. What's the exact wording I should use. I've read the Newbies thread and it says I have to convince the judge that I had a chance of successfully defending the case. Or is it enough to just show my V5s which shows my address had changed to my new address in September 2016 while the CCJ was issued against me in May 2017.

3) Do I really have to pay £255 just to submit my N244 Form? And will I get this £255 back?

Many thanks for any help you can give me

Umkomaas

It only says County Court Business Centre

Northampton.

Phone them tomorrow (Google CCBC Northampton) - be prepared for a long wait on the phone, they are swamped!

By the size of the cost order on the CCJ, this is Civil Enforcement Ltd?

It's £255 (like it or not) - whether you get it back depends on if the set aside is first of all granted (normally it is if the claim was served on an old address), and the Judge requires the claimant to serve new proceedings, and they do, and you can defend them successfully.

the CCJ was issued against me in May 2017.

Whatever you do - do not pay the claimant the cost order. It will not repair your credit rating, the PPC will be laughing all the way to the bank with your money, you're just left in the same shiit that you are currently in - and for 6 years from the date of the CCJ.

meehsms

Thanks Umkomaas for the advice and the quick response. I will do that tomorrow. And I will definitely not pay the claimant the cost order.

Does the judge always require the claimant to serve new proceedings? And if they don't serve new proceedings when the judge asks them, do i automatically get my £255 back?

I really appreciate your help.

Coupon-mad

Does the judge always require the claimant to serve new proceedings?

No, sometimes posters here convince a Judge to strike the entire claim out.

And if they don't serve new proceedings when the judge asks them, do i automatically get my £255 back?

No, but that's why we suggest a draft order that seeks to protect the £255 in the event of the Claimant discontinuing.

Search the forum for CEL set aside draft order £255 refunded and copy what others have done, and show us your draft order and Witness Statement.

meehsms

Thank you so much "Coupon Mad".

Can i use the same statement made by "Saggi1975" in her thread, provided of course that I find out that the claimant is CEL.

"Umkomaas" thinks the company that sued me is CEL based on the £348 amount of the judgement that was awarded to them. So if I find out, when I call the court tomorrow, that it is indeed CEL, can I use Saggi1975's argument that they have no right to claim against me as the Keeper because they don't know who the driver is and can't prove who the driver is? I don't remember ever having not paid for parking.

Coupon Mad, you had previously provided this advice to Saggi1975: Be careful - do take a defence along as well, to the set aside hearing. Take Schedule 4 too, and Henry Greenslade's words 'Understanding Keeper Liability' from the 2015 POPLA Annual Report. Look at 9(2)f of Schedule 4 and when you finally get shown their 'Notice to Keeper (Postal PCN) you will see that CEL do not use that mandatory wording, nor do they serve it within 14 days. No possibility of 'keeper liability' for them, so DO NOT admit or suggest who might have been driving, could have been anyone able to use your car (even me!).

So is it confirmed as a fact that CEL do not use the mandatory wording that you are referring to? And therefore I can use this fact as a defence?

Coupon-mad

Can i use the same statement made by "Saggi1975" in her thread, provided of course that I find out that the claimant is CEL.

Yes and no, it's too old to include the draft order we now use.

Which is why I encourage you to learn how to search the forum, a skill you will need later.

So is it confirmed as a fact that CEL do not use the mandatory wording that you are referring to? And therefore I can use this fact as a defence?

Of course they don't, never have.

meehsms

Thank you Coupon Mad. I've followed your advice and I found a thread by MFTaylor3. This thread has the most recent draft order. I will base my draft order on that.

Just so that I don't make any mistakes, do I write my draft order on a blank piece of paper with the header DRAFT ORDER and attach it to my N244 form? Or is there a separate form for a Draft Order?

Coupon-mad

The separate sheet(s) attached to the N244 should be your DRAFT ORDER and your WITNESS STATEMENT (two things).

Obviously the dates on the Draft Order are left blank for the Judge to put in if they agree with the proposed order.

meehsms

The problem is I'm in the same boat as Saggi1975 was in! I don't know what this whole thing is about. So how can I give a witness statement about what happened when I don't know what it's all about? And even if they give me a date of whatever the violation that was committed was, how will I remember if my wife was driving or if I was driving, as both of us are always on the insurance policy as drivers but me as keeper.

Coupon-mad

Everyone is in the same boat. This is the norm.

And even if they give me a date of whatever the violation that was committed was, how will I remember if my wife was driving or if I was driving, as both of us are always on the insurance policy as drivers but me as keeper.

Good. Guess whose burden that is? Clue - not yours!!

meehsms

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Everyone is in the same boat. This is the norm.

Good. Guess whose burden that is? Clue - not yours!!

So in my witness statement is it ok to say that i don't know who was driving at that time? is that enough?

or do I have to be specific and say "i don't know who was driving at that time, it could have been either me or my wife" ... but I feel that if i say me or my wife, then they will then go after my wife!!