Starting from a point of CCJ being issued

pumpkinman

Hi guys, I've read the guides and the FAQs but I still have a question trying to help someone I know. They apparently stayed too long in a private car park four years ago - genuinely didn't realise it was timed. They've had letters about this since then, not done anything about them, but had quite a few in the last few weeks, while they were on a 10 week holiday. Anyway according to letters from the debt collection company who is now handling the case, they have apparently "recently obtained a CCJ"against them. What is their best course of action starting from this point? It's probably time for them to start taking this seriously. Of course something should have been done before now, but it wasn't. Thank you.

Le_Kirk

If they genuinely have a CCJ against them, they need to contact the court where it was issued (presumably the debt collection company - who cannot actually take anyone to court) will know which court it was and ask for a copy of the judgment as it has mysteriously failed to pop through their letter box. I suspect this is debt collector bluster. The time to start taking this seriously was when they received the first letter!

pumpkinman

Thanks for the reply. OK, there is indeed a CCJ against them and so the two options at this point are to pay the fee or to make an application to set the judgement aside (with a fee of its own). While understanding this should have been dealth with far earlier, the CCJ literally couldn't have come at a worse time - when the person was 3 days into a 10 week holiday and so not at home to check post. This means that at this point the unpaid CCJ has been noted on their credit score, and even if the fee was paid in full at this point, the mark would remain. From what I understand the only way to get rid of it is to get the judgement reversed. In your opinion should they just pay the fee and accept the mark on the credit score, or challenge it on grounds of inadequate signage at the car park etc?

The_Deep

In your opinion should they just pay the fee and accept the mark on the credit score, or challenge it on grounds of inadequate signage at the car park etc?

They cannot challenge it on those grounds. Read the stickies/google it to learn which grounds it can be challenged. Tell you friend that, imo this is a mater that they should take ownership of.

Le_Kirk

pumpkinman wrote: »

From what I understand the only way to get rid of it is to get the judgement reversed. In your opinion should they just pay the fee and accept the mark on the credit score, or challenge it on grounds of inadequate signage at the car park etc?

Depends upon whether or not they mind their credit score/rating being trashed for six years. If they ever need credit, bank account, mortgage, mobile phone contract, HP they should seriously consider applying for a set-aside BUT they should do it quickly as time is of the essence once the CCJ is discovered. They need GOOD reasons why the CCJ should be set aside (and "because I don't want my credit rating trashed" is not good enough) and then start filling in the claim form - it does cost £255. Read the NEWBIE sticky post # 2 for help on set-aside and search the forum for six-point draft order.

pumpkinman

I think we might go for that. Hoping that the fact they were on holiday and so didn't see the CCJ till two months later will be a good enough reason. I read we might be able to claim the £255 back?

pumpkinman

The_Deep wrote: »

They cannot challenge it on those grounds. Read the stickies/google it to learn which grounds it can be challenged. Tell you friend that, imo this is a mater that they should take ownership of.

I've seen others challenge it with reasons such as: "I am aware that the claim is for an unpaid Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). I contend that I am not liable for the parking charge and the grounds for this are laid out below in in further detail, and in summary are:
• Unclear, ambiguous, inadequate and lack of International Parking Community (IPC) compliant signage
• No contractual agreement with the driver"


Can this not be done here?

KeithP

But you are challenging a County Court Judgment, not a parking charge.

pumpkinman

OK, sorry for the confusion. Yes, this was thinking ahead to an eventual reason for not paying the fee if the set aside is granted.


For the set-aside we'd be going with the fact that the person was not in the country to open/read/act on the CCJ.

KeithP

pumpkinman wrote: »

For the set-aside we'd be going with the fact that the person was not in the country to open/read/act on the [STRIKE]CCJ[/STRIKE] County Court Claim.

Corrected that for you.

You really do need to use the right terminology.

pumpkinman

KeithP wrote: »

Corrected that for you.

You really do need to use the right terminology.

Thanks. All this is very new to us. After speaking to the County Court again this morning, my friend did have a claim form (I think this is the right terminology) sent out to their address in June while they were still in the country, but has no recollection of receiving this. The later Judgment for Claimant (again, I think this is the right terminology) then came through a month later in July. This letter they have in their possession now but it came through the post when they were away. We were considering the set-aside route, but I imagine it would be lost as the judge will surely just ask why the original claim form wasn't dealt with?



All in all, it seems paying the debt may just be the most sensible thing to do at this point. Of course, this should have all been handled better at an earlier stage to avoid all this.