CCJ from Excel Parking

Jabley

Hello,
I received a CCJ from Excel Parking for overstaying in a car park in Swansea back in 2016. I checked my credit score in 2018 and noticed the CCJ had been lodged, however I didn't act upon it due to stressful living situation and lack of financial resource. I emailed Northampton County Court where the CCJ was served back in 2018 to request details of the case, however I decided not to fight it and left it, which I believe may be a mistake now, as reading the forums, you have to apply for a set-aside promptly. The CCJ was served on 29/01/2018.

I really want to apply for a set-aside, as I want to buy a house at some point in the near future and will be unable to do so for obvious reasons and I'm trying to get advice for what the best approach should be. I lost the email response from the court back in 2018, and I ideally want to contact the court again to request all the details regarding the claim, however I'm currently living in New Zealand and am unsure when I'll be able to return to attend the court hearing, due to Covid. I don't want to contact the court again and leave more time before applying for the set-aside, but I need the details to start preparing my defence and working out what to do. Would the time taken for me to apply for the set-aside after contacting the court matter at this stage, or has all the damage already been done here?

I ideally want to set-aside without consent, but I've read that asking Excel to agree to the set-aside may be the best approach to take at this stage, due to the time involved here. I'm really keen to fight this, particularly as I was no longer living at the address and don't remember receiving any paperwork through. Would I also be able to argue that Excel cannot prove I was the driver? I don't have any Notice to keeper or the original ticket or photos of the signage and so am unsure if the documentation/visual contract is PoFA compliant.. are Excel usually tight with the PoFA side of things? Could I just deny I was the driver and say I can't remember who the driver was?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Redx

You seem to be ?looking for an easy get out here , but failed to act in good time , especially when yo obtained paperwork 2 years ago and failed to act promptly , so I think you would have difficulty convincing a judge to set it aside and also they need to see you acted promptly and have a reasonable defence

If you were the driver then do not perjure yourself , the judge may ask you directly , they could decide that it's likely you were driving so they would proceed on that basis

A set aside with consent seems to be the best option here , but means that you pay everything , so costly

Or you wait 6 years until it disappears from your record

D_P_Dance

Lack of financial resources will not fly, means tested help with court fees is available.   If you can prove mental illness  a judge might be sympathetic, but it would have to be genuine, psychiatric reports, prescription, doctors letters etc.  Telling porkies is devoutly to be avaided.

bargepole

You have two chances with this - slim and none. The facts of the case, such as whether the keeper can be held liable if the driver is not identified, are completely irrelevant. It's a matter of procedure, and you've left it far too late.

And Slim already left the building.

nosferatu1001

Was there a reason you didnt know about the claim? Did they serve on the address you were living at at the time? 

Coupon-mad

bargepole said:

You have two chances with this - slim and none. The facts of the case, such as whether the keeper can be held liable if the driver is not identified, are completely irrelevant. It's a matter of procedure, and you've left it far too late.

And Slim already left the building.

@henrik777 will soon be along to tell us that's not true, if the claim was not served to the right address, because a mandatory set aside doesn't require a person to at promptly.

bargepole

Coupon-mad said:

@henrik777 will soon be along to tell us that's not true, if the claim was not served to the right address, because a mandatory set aside doesn't require a person to at promptly.

Yes, but if the claim form was sent to the OP's last known address (obtained from the DVLA), and he didn't update his V5C when he moved, then the claim form would be deemed to be properly served, so it wouldn't be a mandatory set aside.

Coupon-mad

But it still could be allowed by a Judge - we see them on MSE all the time! 

Relying on the old DVLA address is not enough if it's argued right, as @henrik777 says all the time and the proof is in the fact no set asides have been refused for about 3 or 4 years here.  It doesn't help one bit, that the OP didn't act promptly but that doesn't stop them trying to either get a set aside with consent or a mandatory or discretionary set aside.

nosferatu1001

We have inded seen them, but e nee dthe OP to actually post, before we add yet more posts...

henrik777

bargepole said:

Coupon-mad said:

@henrik777 will soon be along to tell us that's not true, if the claim was not served to the right address, because a mandatory set aside doesn't require a person to at promptly.

Yes, but if the claim form was sent to the OP's last known address (obtained from the DVLA), and he didn't update his V5C when he moved, then the claim form would be deemed to be properly served, so it wouldn't be a mandatory set aside.

It all depends on "reason to believe".

Is total non response enough ? Or does it depend on time ?

It's actually a minor grumble that most people generally can't explain why their set aside is granted because that lets you see what is/isn't effective.

I would say time alone, can be enough if it's a huge time between DVLA access and lodging the claim. Default judgment in under 2 months would be a tough argument to make but when you start counting in years with zero response then i think the pendulum has swung in your favour.

 It would however be much more helpful if people returned to sender any post for folks who've moved.

Jabley

As this was back in 2016 and I was uneducated on the litigious nature of parking firms, I was following pre-Beavis advice of "ignore". As fair as I can remember I received the Notice to Keeper within required time-frames and just threw it in the bin. I moved property and was possibly late in updating the V5C. Regardless, the court papers were sent to the address they got from the DVLA when they sent the NTK, so they didn't check if I'd moved.

So, are people recommending I go with set-aside with consent, or should I argue on the two points:
1) Deny I was the driver and say I can't remember who was, but risk perjury, or at least it appearing so;
2) The court papers were sent to an old address and Excel should have exercised better due diligence when they had no response and the time between the NTK and the delivery of court papers.

Should I argue on the above points anyway with set-aside with consent? Surely, doesn't set-aside with consent mean admitting responsibility and meaning the above arguments are not valid though?

I need to check with the court when the initial claim was lodged by Excel, but I still don't have dates when the NTK was served and subsequent letters, by BW Legal I assume.

Should I contact Excel/BW Legal to obtain these documents, and would they send them? I do remember receiving letters from BW Legal at one stage, but I could't remember if this was relating to this or another parking ticket, as these were served to my new address, but I don't remember receiving court papers to that address. I'm going to contact the court to see what address the court papers were sent to. 

Am I better going with set-aside with consent, and working with BW Legal to get to the bottom of things? I wish I had kept more documentation.