Parking Eye CCJ

StanString

Hi all, I've had a good browse through the forums over the last week or so before deciding to bite the bullet and creating an account to ask for your views on this.

Long story short, I was in a toxic relationship back in 2015 based in Carlisle. I made a swift exit due to mental health reasons and I returned to Blackpool to live with my relatives.

During this time I was suffering with depression and not in a great way. I am now much better!

My issue begins here.. When I moved back to Blackpool in October 2015, I packed a small van with a few belongings and not much else. When I settled back in Blackpool, I began making arrangements for post to be diverted to my new address. Unknowingly, during my time in Carlisle and since being in Blackpool, my ex partner would hide and dispose of my mail without me knowing until I was able to divert my mail to my new address.

Since leaving Carlisle I have never really looked back due to the nature of the relationship I left behind. Now I am in a position to purchase a house, I have checked my credit report to find I have a CCJ issued in my name from October 2015! The CCJ has not been settled as I have literally only just found out about it! The Court say that the CCJ was issued by Parking Eye.

Please can somebody advise me what the best case scenario would be here? I can afford to pay and settle the CCJ, but would I still be able to purchase a house with this on my credit report? How do I contact Parking Eye to settle the CCJ?

I am sorry for the lengthy post however, I have tried to condense this as much as possible! Any help is massively appreciated!

D

Le_Kirk

Have a search of the forum using the "Search this forum only" "Go Advanced" and change threads to posts. Your search term is "set aside" and you will find plenty of posters who have failed to change address. You need to act quickly now that you have discovered the CCJ.

StanString

Thank you for the information.

I have looked through the forums as advised and I have decided that I will be best to complete a draft order, witness statement and and N244 form.

I have amended them as follows. Please may someone advise who I send these to? Do I need to contact Parking Eye prior to send these forms to the correct place?

Draft order -

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT: Northampton

Parking Eye (Claimant)

And

Mr **************Defendant)

CLAIM No:**********

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. The default judgment dated 27/12/2015 be set aside.

2. Costs to be reserved.

3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the claim form on the Defendant by 4pm on XX/XX/18 paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 and the claim shall be struck out.

4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on XX/XX/2018.

5. Should the Claimant discontinue the Claim after the CCJ is set aside, paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 plus the Defendant's costs for attending the hearing.

6. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.





Signed…………………



Date…………………….

Witness Statment

I am ********* and I am the Defendant in this matter.
This my supporting Statement in support of my application dated 03/12/2018 to:
· Set aside the Default Judgement dated 27/12/2015 as it was not properly served at my current address;
· Order for the Claimant to pay the Defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee;
· Order for the original claim to be dismissed.

1. Default Judgement
1.1. I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against me as the Defendant in October 2015. However, this claim form has not been served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement unit 03/12/2018 when I was doing a routine check on my credit file. I understand that this Claim was served at an OLD ADDRESS (*************************)However, I moved to a new address in September 2015. In addition to this, I spent time living between a relative’s house and a friend’s house due to an unpleasant relationship breakdown.

1.2. I have also never received any previous documentation from the Claimant in this matter and I thus was never able to properly challenge the Claimant’s claim.

1.3. On the 04/12/2018 I contacted Northampton County Court to find out details of the Default Judgement. The court papers were able to inform me that the Default Judgement was issued by the Claimant known as ‘Parking Eye’.

1.4. On 03/12/2018 I attempted to contact the Claimant using information given to me by Northampton County Court. I was not able to get through to a member of the Claimant’s staff to discuss the matter. This means as the Defendant, I still do not have any details of the incident the Claimant alleges has taken place, other than the summary of charges now owed, which is shown on the Court papers.

1.5. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendant’s current and correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The Claimant’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.

1.6. On the basis provided above I would suggest that the Claimant did not fulfil their duty to use the Defendant’s current address when bringing the claim.

1.7. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim properly. I thus believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside.



2. Order dismissing the Claim

2.1. I further believe that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for “Parking Charge Notices” which the Claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a motorist.

2.2. If the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, and used those details to make a claim for a “Parking Charge Notice’’, I thus dispute the claim in its entirety as I do not know the wording of the contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to come into force.

2.3. If the Claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to a vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant would have needed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the Claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the Claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the Claimant does not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording on the Parking Charge Notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the Defendant automatically liable for the alleged incident merely for being the Registered Keeper of a vehicle.

2.4. A requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is that this any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to finding out about the Default Judgement, I submit the Claimant will not have complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case.

2.5. I further submit that the Claimant’s claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:
2.5.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question, and will have no proprietary interest in it. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder, and only they would have been able sue for any damages or trespass.
2.5.2. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so, they must demonstrate their actual, or genuine, pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the Claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any motorist of the vehicle of which I am the Registered Keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landholder (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be at most a few pounds.
2.5.3. Claimed charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the Parking Charge that the Claimant claimed, given it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged breach, is nothing but an unenforceable penalty.
2.5.4. No contract with the claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance and consideration both ways. There would not have been consideration from the Claimant to the motorist; the fee for parking benefits the landowners, not the Claimant. Therefore, there is no consideration from the motorist to [name of claimant].

2.6. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety.
2.7. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as keeper of the a vehicle, I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the Claimant.




Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Full name: ***********

Dated: 03/12/2018

Signed: ________________________________

Any help/feedback greatly accepted. Please may someone advise on next steps, thanks

D

waamo

Do you have a defence to the original ticket? The judge will want a defence with a realistic prospect of winning to grant a set aside.

If you have no defence a set aside with consent may be an option for you.
This is cheaper to apply for at £100. The bad news is you will need to agree to pay PE. Not only that they need to agree to it. Luckily they often do.

Have a think about things. Don't take too long though.

If you have a defence I would go for a straight set aside but if you don't have a defence there are options.

StanString

I can only presume that my defence would be I did not receive any correspondence given the fact I was between address and that my ex partner would hide/destroy mail. I wouldnt have ever know if PE sent any correspondence if I'm totally honest. Would this suffice?

waamo

StanString wrote: »

I can only presume that my defence would be I did not receive any correspondence given the fact I was between address and that my ex partner would hide/destroy mail. I wouldnt have ever know if PE sent any correspondence if I'm totally honest. Would this suffice?

Unlikely. Were you aware of parking restrictions?

StanString

I don't even recall the offence if I'm totally honest, I have no way of proving if it was me or not me. As for the parking restrictions I don't even know what car park the offence was committed

Redx

so send PE a SAR to their DPO and find out asap

StanString

Thanks for the reply Red, what do you mean by SAR and DPO? Sorry

Le_Kirk

StanString wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Red, what do you mean by SAR and DPO? Sorry

Check the NEWBIE thread for a list of acronyms.

KeithP

Whilst SAR - Subject Access Request - is in post #5 of the NEWBIES thread, DPO is not.

DPO = Data Protection Officer.