CEL CCJ - Trying to appeal. Please help

Sjay0207

Hi All,
I just found out a few hours ago, that there is an active CCJ in my name on my Experian report. I checked my experian report a few days back and found a pending CCJ.  I got mixed it up with a Notice of Enforcement I had earlier and a cancelled county court judgement for the NOE. After many emails and phone calls to Experian and County Court, found out that the two cases are totally unrelated and the existing CCJ is something which I am completely unaware of.

I got the details finally from the County court Business Team and found it was related to Civil Enforcement Ltd (CEL). It has happened in Dec 2017 and the CCJ has been issued in  October 2018.  I definitely could not recall if I made a payment for the parking (14 mins).  Also, I do not remember who was driving the car - the registered keeper or the other insured driver.

I had moved to a new address and completely forgot to update my V5C. I did change my  V5C address in 2018. All the correspondence from CEL and the Court  order has been sent to my old address. I still do not have any images or letter related to the PCN. As a result, I did not get a chance to address the PCN.
I would like to dispute the CCJ in County Court by paying £255/-. But, I have no idea how to start with. 
The forum helped me to know what should be done but really have no clue what immediate step should I take next. Also, is there any way I could get the images and the letter related to the PCN.
Kindly advice as I would really really need some help.

Thanks in advance.

Umkomaas

The NEWBIES FAQ sticky, second post, takes you through the CCJ set aside process. Also check out posts made by @henrik777 who has considerable knowledge on set asides. 

Also, is there any way I could get the images and the letter related to the PCN.

You can obtain any personal information the PPC holds about you and your vehicle's VRM by sending them a SAR request. Once again the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, second post, takes you through this process, including a link to a template for you to use. 

I'm afraid there is no magic dust to sprinkle on this for you, success will be down to the research and work you put into getting this resolved. 

Le_Kirk

Search the forum for six-point draft order and also read loads of thread/posts by @henrik777.  You need a N244 form, witness statement (WS) in support of your application, the six-point draft order and a realistic possibility of defending the original claim.  You will also need (within your WS) to explain why it took so long to claim after the CCJ was issued.  If you want info about the original PCN you submit a SAR to the DPO of the PPC.  All acronyms are in the NEWBIE sticky along with advice about set-asides and SARs.  You should also send a DATA RECTIFICATION NOTICE to the DPO of the PPC informing them of your address for service and requiring them to ERASE your old data.

Redx

Bear in mind that you cannot appeal , not at all , lose that word from your head , it's not relevant

You can follow the advice above , the SAR , the set aside , then defend the original court claim , none of which is an appeal , you need to get your head around the process , try reading other set aside threads on here , there are dozens of them

D_P_Dance

I would like to dispute the CCJ in County Court by paying £255/-. But, I have no idea how to start

Have you read the newbies, google?

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully, when life gets back to normal, it will become impossible for those scammers who are left to continue their vile trade, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

Sjay0207

Hi All

Thanks for all your comments. I have emailed CEL for SAR request. Can I start the process of submitting N244 form + others before receiving the SAR?? Please advice.

Thanks

Redx

I would , because you have to act fast and a SAR can take up to 30 days

just so you know, no appeal is possible , its a set aside with consent, or a contested set aside with no consent

nosferatu1001

As above. You have no choice but to do so. 
You must either get their consent to set aside, as you will be granted one automatically and so it is in CEL best interests to mitigate costs because they are on the hook for those costs you incur OR you set aside without their consent, at a higher cost
I would give them 5 days to agree to set aside with consent, with them paying your costs as part of the consent order, else you will file a contested set aside and will note their refusal to cooperate with a set aside you believe mandatory under CPR13.2 

Sjay0207

Thanks for your reply.
I requested for SAR on 21st Jun. Do I have to wait 5 working days before sending out the N244 form?

Sjay0207

Hi All,

I have drafted a six point draft order and witness statement referring to the forum.
It would be very helpful if someone could proofread and let me know if it looks good. Thanks in advance,

DRAFT ORDER
IN THE COUNTY COURT AT: XXXX
CLAIM No: XXXXXXXXXX
BETWEEN:
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
-- and --
XXXXXXXXXX (Defendant)
______________________________________________
DRAFT ORDER
______________________________________________

IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. The default judgement dated on xxxxxxx 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/XX 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 following XXX on XX/XX/XX.
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.
6. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.

--------- What should I fill in for the dates in point 3 and 4. Should it be 14 days from the day I send my application ?? Kindly advice.

WITNESS STATEMENT
IN THE COUNTY COURT AT: XXXXX
CLAIM No: XXXXXXX
BETWEEN:
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
-- and --
XXXXXXXX (Defendant)
______________________________________________
WITNESS STATEMENT
______________________________________________
1. I am XXXXX and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated <<<<>>>>> 2020 requesting to:
a. Set aside the default judgement dated XXXXXX as it was not properly served at my address at that time.
b. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.
c. Order for the original claim to be set aside.

2. Default Judgement
2.1 I understand that the claimant obtained a default judgment against me as the defendant on 28 October 2018. However, this default judgment has not been served at my address at that time. Therefore, I was not aware of the County Court Judgment until a loan application got rejected on 28 May 2020.
2.2 I checked my credit report then and noticed an active CCJ. I got in touch with Experian on <<<<>>>>> regarding the same. I previously had a County Court Judgement for cancellation of a Notice of Enforcement related to a Penalty Charge No. XXXXXXX(for Dart charge) and on checking with Experian they also let me know (email on 6th Jun 2020 – EVIDENCE A) that the active CCJ is related to the Dart charge Notice of Enforcement. So, I sent them all the necessary documents to set my credit report right.

2.3. On 10 June 2020, I received an email confirming that the two cases are not related (EVIDENCE and I have an active CCJ with a case number XXXXXXX. I immediately emailed the Northampton County court admin, on 10 Jun 2020, requesting for the details with the case reference number, as I did not have any information regarding the case. The Admin forwarded the mail to the family court division, who in turn requested us to contact the County Court Business centre. We forwarded the email to the County court business centre on 12 Jun 2020.

2.4. I waited for a few days and on no response, I called the County court Business centre on 17 June 2020 and requested them to share the details of the case. The email from them finally let me know the PCN number and the amount that had to be paid (EVIDENCE C). Still, it did not give any details on the place where the parking ticket was issued. So, I had to enter the PCN details with the vehicle details on the Civil Enforcement Limited (Claimant) website to find out to which location / parking space the PCN was related to.

2.5. I called the County Court Business Centre on 19 Jun 2020, to let them know that I have not received the parking ticket, notices and other documents related to this case. My V5C was not updated with my new address when the PCN was issued. However, it was updated to the new address I was living then, when the CCJ has been issued, I also mentioned that I received the County Court cancellation order for the Dart charge to my address at that time then but not this CCJ. He then explained to me the process to set aside the CCJ and sent me the relevant information through email.

I, then submitted Subject Access Request to the Claimant (Civil Enforcement Limited) on 21 Jun 2020.

2.6 I have not ever received any previous documentation from the Claimant in this matter and I thus was never able to properly challenge the Claimant’s claim.
2.7 Although all my details had been changed to my address at that time, including my driving licence, I overlooked my V5C and was not aware (assuming change of address on Driving License will hold good for the vehicle as well), I received a letter from Marston Holdings regarding a Dart charge pending payment (which I had paid but it failed to get reflected in their system), I immediately updated the V5C. I received a County Court Cancelled Charge certificate for Marston’s Notice of Enforcement to the updated address I was living then. This serves as further evidence that I acted in good faith and have not attempted to avoid any debt or contact. SEE EVIDENCE D.
2.8 I suggest the claimant did not make reasonable enquiries as to my current address before pursuing the court order especially considering they had good reason to believe they did not hold my current contact details. As stated in the Civil Procedure Rules CPR 6.9(3) where a claimant has reason to believe that the address of the defendant referred is an address at which the defendant no longer resides or carries on business, the claimant must take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of the defendant’s current residence or place of business . At the time of the County Court Judgment, driving license and HMRC records were registered at my new address so I was there to be found by a simple trace SEE EVIDENCE D. Furthermore, considering they received no response from me to their correspondence I believe the Claimant had reasonable cause to question whether they were using an accurate address and that simple searches could have provided them with the correct address.

2.9 I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held my correct contact details. According to publicly available information, my circumstances are far from being unique. The Claimant appears to have consistently failed to reasonably pursue the claim, as has been referred to as the practice of ‘Credit Clamping’, which several members of the Government have strongly condemned. Prime Minister Theresa May had pledged to investigate the ‘abuse’ of the CCJ system, while The Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald QC MP has been quoted as saying on 23rd December 2016: "It cannot be right that people who are unaware of debts can see their lives and finances ruined by county court judgments. In the digital age, we must ensure companies pursuing unpaid debts make every reasonable effort to contact individuals, rather than simply relying on a letter to an old address." and "announced a crackdown on unresolved debts which can damage people’s credit ratings without them knowing. The action comes after concerns were raised that companies were issuing claims to consumers using incorrect addresses."

2.91. 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.

2.92. Considering the above I as the Defendant 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.

3. Order dismissing the Claim

3.1 I further believe that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand the Claimant to be a Private Parking Company that uses ANPR in order to issue “Parking Charge Notices” which the Claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a motorist.

3.2. It appears that the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which I was the Registered Keeper and used those details to make a claim for a ‘Parking Charge Notice’. Any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This includes the requirement to issue the Notice to Keeper within 14 days of the alleged incident. If the Claimant has not complied with the requirements of the Act they cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case. 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.

3.3 If the Notice to Keeper was not issued within 14 days, then the Claimant is required to prove who the driver of the vehicle was at the time of the alleged incident. The vehicle to which I was the Registered Keeper was at the time insured to be driven by two adults, I submit that the Claimant cannot provide such evidence to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident.
3.4  Research I have undertaken states that the Claimant does not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording on the Parking Charge Notices they issue. As stated at 2.6, I have not ever received any previous documentation from the Claimant about this matter so await full disclosure of the Penalty Charge Notice issued that I have requested via a Subject Access Request (please see EVIDENCE E). If the Parking Charge Notice in this matter did not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording, the Claimant cannot hold myself as the Defendant automatically liable for the alleged incident merely for being the Registered Keeper of a vehicle.

3.5. If the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which I was 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.
3.6. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and absent the above being produced in short order, I ask the court of its own volition to strike out this claim and to order the Claimant to refund the Defendant's costs for attending, namely the £255 Court fee in bringing this set aside case.

3.7 If required to defend at a further hearing, I will require all copies of paperwork, letters and other documentation including pictures of all signage from the Claimant in order to make informed decisions and statements in a comprehensive defence as keeper of a vehicle.

Statement of Truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Full name: XXXXXXXXXXX
Signed: ______________________

Evidence enclosed:

 

Thanks again!!!

 

KeithP

What should I fill in for the dates in point 3 and 4. Should it be 14 days from the day I send my application ?? Kindly advice.

Leave them as DD/MM/YYYY. you are supplying a template. The Judge/Court will decide what to put there.

I do wonder what "following XXX" in 4 is supposed to signify though.