Need Help for CCJ issued for a PCN issue in 2015 which i was not aware of.

sha09

Dear All,
I hope I am posting this time in the correct way as i previously posted my issue on someone's thread. Apologies.
I am just stuck in a  situation. I came to know on 17th February 2020 that I have CCJ default judgment on 26th November 2019. The claimant is ____ Legal on the behalf of Premier Parking Limited. I contacted the court same day (17th February 2020) and the court provides the brief details, including claimant name, their legal representative name, the amount, the date, place and time of the PCN. 

I contact the ______ legal and found that they sent all the documents to my previous address. I told them this is not my current address, they said they got it from credit reference agency Equifax. Well, I contacted the Equifax and they said that's not my current address which BW Legal is claiming to have as a most known current address. 

I want to apply for a set-aside. The grounds are, I did not receive the claim form from the court as it was sent to my previous address and the parking charge notice they served should be dismissed as I can recall that was the issue to unauthorized parking at my friend's place where private parking monitoring was active. However, it was allowed to stay 15 minutes for loading and if you want to stay more you have to take permission from the reception that my friend took. Otherwise, I could not enter the premises as it was a gated premise. 

I filled up my N244 form, drafted my statement and acquired the Equifax report showing my recent address from the last 4 years.

However, I received a call from BW this morning and they said they will send me a copy of all the correspondence at my new address but they did not confirm that they will send me the evidence that they got my previous address details from Equifax where they kept sending the letters and the Claim was served. 

I was to ask if I should wait for their document to receive and apply for Set aside after that OR apply for set aside today? I also sent them an email this morning saying that I need the evidence that you guys got my previous address as my current address from Equifax and asked them to supply that evidence within 4 days.  

Below is my Supporting Statment for Set aside.

Kindly suggest your expert opinion ASAP 

I am _________ and I am the Defendant for the in this matter reference number _______. This is my supporting Statement in support of my application dated _____February 2020 to:

· Set aside the Default Judgement dated 26th November 2019 as it was not properly served at my current address;

· Order for the original claim to be dismissed, or to be re-heard at a new hearing.

1. Default Judgement
1.1. I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against me on 26th November 2019. However, the claim form has not been served at my current address ’____________________’ and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement until I performed the credit search for myself on ____ February 2020. I understand that this Judgement was served at an old address ’_____________________’. However, I have not lived at this address since 2015.

1.2. At the time of County Court Judgement, I was on the electoral roll at my new address ’____________________’. This address is also registered for council tax, banking, bills, my driving license and with the HMRC since 2016. As ___ had received no correspondence from me at any point and I had not responded to the court summons, I believe they had reasonable cause to question whether they were using an accurate address and that simple and correct searches could have provided them with the correct address.

 

1.3. 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. This is despite my best efforts as explained above.

1.4. On the 17th of February 2020, I contacted Northampton County Court to find out details of the Default Judgement and they emailed me the case details that include the claimant’s name (Premier Park Limited), Claimant’s legal Representative’s name (_______).

1.5. On the basis of details provided by County Court, I contacted the _____ legal and requested the information about the case. They informed me over the phone that they sent out all the correspondence about this case to ’________________________’ which they obtained from the credit search company ‘Equifax’ in 2019. However, When I contacted the Equifax to know about what address they held as my recent known address in 2019, they confirmed that ’____________________________’is my recent known address in their records since 2016. Equifax report attached for address confirmation.

 

The above situation would suggest that the Claimant did not fulfill their duty to rightly acquire the Defendant’s current address when bringing the claim.

1.6. 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 Dismissed the Claim
2.1. I understand that the claimant issued the PCN on the 28th May 2016 at __________ at ________ Court due to unauthorized parking. I can recall, that I was helping my friend to move out of her luggage from ___________ Court to another friend’s house. _________ Court is the gated premises and you cannot enter the premises without informing the reception and request them to open the gate. My friend informed the reception to open the gate for me and also informed them that she is moving her luggage so the car might stay longer in the parking as we need time to put stuff in the car. The reception staff allowed her and opened the gate for me to enter the car, otherwise, there is no way to enter the ________ Court without permission. Picture of the restrictions attached blow showing if you want to stay more than 15 minutes for loading then request from the reception. I can also recall that I raised a written appeal to against this PCN and also informed the Premier parking limited about my new address, but I never heard anything back from at my new address, assuming the matter is resolved. Rather they kept sending a letter to my previous address.

2.2. I believe this was the incident for which Claimant issued the PCN which they shouldn’t as my friend already informed the reception.

2.3 I request the County Court the please consider my application and set aside the default judgment that was made without me being informed correctly by the claimant and also give me the right to appeal against this Claim to dismiss.

2.4 I also request the County Court for any enforcement action to be stopped or ‘stayed’ until your application is heard.

2.5. In addition, 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.

2.6. I further submit that the Claimant’s claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:
2.6.1. 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 to sue for any damages or trespass.
2.6.2. 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.
2.6.3. The 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.
2.6.4. No contract with the claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance, and consideration both ways. There would not have been a 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 Civil Enforcement Ltd.
2.7. 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.
2.8. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as keeper of a vehicle, I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the Claimant.

Kindly advise your expert opinion.
Many thanks. 

nosferatu1001

OK so to be clear:
- the CCJ went to an "old" address. How old?
- was the vehicle registered at the "old" address?
- when they did a trace on you they returned the SAME old address? Or are there two or more address in play (Old address 1, where the vehicle was registered to AT THE TIME in 2015, and Old address 2 where Equifax incorrectly stated you were)
You need to get your head clear on this. 
If thye traced to an address that was NOT valid, then service was NOT effected and your time to acknowledge the claim never expired. As such you should gete an AUTOMATIC set aside granted under CPR13.2. HOWEVER you AS WELL go for the *discretionary* set aside ground under CPR13.3, which is you have a good chance of defending the claim
WHEN YOU CALLED - did you tell them who drove? SIMPLE yes or no. If NO, then edit the post above. NOW. THE DRIVER parked....

sha09

Thanks for your reply:
- The CCJ went to an "old" address. How old?
CCJ went on my 2nd old address where I use to live in 2014. Then I moved to another address in 2015, and where I live now is my address since 2016. 
- was the vehicle registered at the "old" address?
Yes, the vehicle was registered at the "old" address where I lived until 2014.
- when they did a trace on you they returned the SAME old address?
Yes
Or are there two or more address in play (Old address 1, where the vehicle was registered to AT THE TIME in 2015, and Old address 2 where Equifax incorrectly stated you were)
According to solicitors, Equifax gave them Old address 1 (Where I use to live in 2014) where the vehicle was registered to at the time in 2015. However, I had Old address 2 afterwards and now my current address since 2016.
-------------------------
You need to get your head clear on this. 
If thye traced to an address that was NOT valid, then service was NOT effected and your time to acknowledge the claim never expired. As such you should gete an AUTOMATIC set aside granted under CPR13.2. HOWEVER you AS WELL go for the *discretionary* set aside ground under CPR13.3, which is you have a good chance of defending the claim

My worry is that will court allow me for hearing for set aside based on the grounds I explained in the statement above? secondly, V5C was not updated at the time when the PCN was issued because I was living temporarily with my friend and looking for my own place to rent. However, I have update the V5C late in 2015. 
WHEN YOU CALLED - did you tell them who drove? SIMPLE yes or no. If NO, then edit the post above. NOW. THE DRIVER parked....
No, Where should i add "The Driver Parked"? and in what sense? Please refer to the paragraph number in my post.

Many thanks 

nosferatu1001

It has nothing to do with the para you have numbered, but where you talk about the circumstances of the event - you tell the wolrd who parked. 
Use numbering or something, as I am still unclear
Old address ONE - where car was registered at time of incident. This was valid until MONTH/YEAR. V5 changed MONTH/YEAR to address.....
Old address TWO - where you were at the time of incident. Valid until MONTH/YEAR. V5 changed month year to address...
Current address - moved in... V5 changed to this address....
Then fill out, using same numbering, what address Equifax gave, where CLaim form and CCJ went, etc. Do it simply. All in a single timeline. No wafle. No explanation. Just bare facts. 

sha09

Old address ONE - where car was registered at time of incident. This was valid until MONTH/YEAR. V5 changed MONTH/YEAR to address.....
I exactly don't remember when did I change the V5C to Old address TWO.
Old address TWO - where you were at the time of incident. Valid until MONTH/YEAR. V5 changed month year to address...
I don't remember when did i update my V5C for old address TWO.
Current address - moved in... V5 changed to this address...
I remember that I update my V5C for this address in 2016.
However, Equifax gave the solicitor's my old address ONE as my recent know address in 2019. When I contact Equifax myself, they gave me my credit report and my Current address was there from 2016 to 2020 as per electoral records.

My worry is that PCN was served at my old address ONE and it was served as per V5C records. My V5C was not updated to my old address TWO at the time of conviction.  I am worried that the court can refuse my application for set aside by saying that you were served PCN rightly and you did not update your V5C. 

Please advise some solutions for this. 

nosferatu1001

Youve surely found by now that, where they have waited literal YEARS to raise a claim, they are required to confirm your last known good address.
So
The claimant was given an old address. This sounds like a mistake on Equifax part.
I would suggest you contact the claimant and sugegst a set aside with consent, with costs reserved to teh final hearing, as their AGENT (Equifax) made a mistake, and you should not be penalised for this. As you will get an AUTOMATIC set aside under CPR13.2 this *limits their costs* potential. 
YOU DO NOT IDENTIFY WHO DROVE when you contact them. You are dealing with them as the keeper of the car. 
Also: you must have a rough idea when you changed V5. Seriously, something!

KeithP

Para 2.4 in your opening post tells us who the driver is, as does the para starting with the sentence "I want to apply for a set-aside".

sha09

If I ask the Claimant and suggest a set aside with consent and If they agree to that then the CCJ will be removed from the register immediately?
If yes, then how should I ask them to set aside with consent? by email or call? 
A rough idea when i changed V5 was last 2015 I guess. 

sha09

KeithP said:

Para 2.4 in your opening post tells us who the driver is, as does the para starting with the sentence "I want to apply for a set-aside".

Para 2.4 is "I also request the County Court for any enforcement action to be stopped or ‘stayed’ until your application is heard."
"I want to apply for a set-aside" is not included in may Supporting statement. My supporting statement starts from "I am _________" in my opening post. 

nosferatu1001

No
You were not told that.
You cannot magically make it disappear. You HAVE to apply to the court. Its just WITH CONSENT means
- no hearing
- much more likely to be "rubber stamped"
- only costs £100 to apply
Shockingly written documents are much better than a call. Especially as IF THEY REFUSE you want a paper trail, because either way - you must get this done within 3 WEEKS of knowing about the CCJ. No longer than that. 
When you chanegd the V5 and to what address. Youve got TWO changes to deal with. 

sha09

nosferatu1001 said:

No
You were not told that.
You cannot magically make it disappear. You HAVE to apply to the court. Its just WITH CONSENT means
- no hearing
- much more likely to be "rubber stamped"
- only costs £100 to apply
Shockingly written documents are much better than a call. Especially as IF THEY REFUSE you want a paper trail, because either way - you must get this done within 3 WEEKS of knowing about the CCJ. No longer than that. 
When you chanegd the V5 and to what address. Youve got TWO changes to deal with. 

I have applied to Help With Fee as I am on a low income. I have the application reference number which I have entered in the N244 Form. 
I got to know about this CCJ on 17th February 2020. Until now I have filled up the N244 Form, made the statement as given in the opening post, Collected my credit report from Equifax showing current address since 2016.
I addition, I also arrange the picture of the parking sign form where the PCN was issued. which clearly shows that loading is for 15 minutes and if you want more time please contact the reception. And I remember my friend told the reception to open the gate for me and my car may remain at the premises for more than 15 minutes as we need to put her stuff in the car. 

Will all these documents and statements should I straight away apply for set aside or wait for solicitors to send me the letters they sent me at my previous address as they told me this morning?