Fighting a UKCPM CCJ Help

sofa_searcher

IN THE NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT BUSINESS CENTRE (CCBC)

CLAIM NO. #######

BETWEEN:

UK CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LIMITED (the ‘Claimant’)

and

JOE BLOGGS (the ‘Defendant’)

 

 

WITNESS STATEMENT OF JOE BLOGGS

 

Dated 28th August 2020

I am JOE BLOGGS of [CURRENT ADDRESS HERE] and I am the Defendant in this matter. I am unrepresented with no legal background in county court procedures. I trust that the court will excuse my inexperience, if need be, and if any of the documentation is not presented correctly. This is my supporting witness statement to my application dated 28th August 2020 requesting to:

a.       Set aside the default judgment dated XX November 2019 as it was defectively served using an old address.

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 dismissed.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

1.       I was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.

2.       I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against me as the Defendant on XX November 2019. I am aware that the Claimant is UK CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LIMITED represented by GLADSTONES SOLICITORS LIMITED, and that the assumed claim is in respect to an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from XX July 2018 at [WORK ADDRESS HERE]. I contest this charge for the reasons outlined in my attached Draft Defence.

3.       The claim form was not served at my current address therefore I was not aware of the Default Judgement until XX August 2020 following a decline for a mortgage application and subsequent check of my credit report as found in Schedule A.

4.       The address on the claim is [PREVIOUS ADDRESS HERE]. I moved to my current address at [CURRENT ADDRESS HERE] on the XX October 2018. In support of this I have attached a scanned copy of my tenancy agreement, Schedule (B), alongside my 2018/19 council tax bill, Schedule (C), and recent utility bill, Schedule (D).

5.       In addition to the above, the integrity and law-abiding intention of the Defendant should emphasised and be taken into consideration on the basis that;

5.1.     I discovered a CCJ was lodged onto my credit file on the XX August 2020.

5.2.     On XX August 2020 and XX August 2020, I contacted the County Court Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgement, Schedule (E).

5.3.    The particulars of the claim suggests that detailed information would follow within 14 days of the claim being served, but the court has confirmed that no particulars have been filed with the court, contrary to Practice Direction 7E, rule 5.2(2)(a). So, in any event, they should not have filed for default judgment since they were in breach themselves thus no default judgment should have been requested (confirm if this is true).

5.4.     On XX August 2020, I notified the Claimant of my intention to seek a set aside of the default judgement dated XX November 2019, and requested further details of the PCN, the alleged contravention which took place, and asked whether they would consent to set aside the default judgment as it was defectively served using an old address (Schedule F).

5.5.    Following the failure to come to an agreement on terms for the Consent Order, on XX August 2020 I submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgement and fairly present my case.

6.       I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendant’s correct contact details at the time of the claim.

7.       On that basis, I believe the Claimant has failed to show due diligence by using an address that the Defendant no longer resides and in doing so not adhering to CPR 6.9 (3). The claimant did not take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of my current residence despite having some 12 months to establish an address. For example, the Claimant could have queried my credit file, Schedule G, or electoral roll, Schedule H, at the time of filing for the default judgment. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgement.

7.1.    This is substantiated in Schedule I with the Claimant’s solicitors, GLADSTONES SOLICITORS LIMITED, agreeing to removing the Judgment given they had sent the claim forms, using an address provided by the DVLA, to an outdated address for the Defendant. However, the Claimant refused to pay the £100 Count Court fee for filing the consent order despite admitting they had not taken reasonable steps to ascertain the address of the Defendant’s current residence or place of business (‘current address’) as stipulated in CPR 6.9.

7.2.    Furthermore, the Claimant stated they had obtained my address, the Defendant, from DVLA as evidenced in Schedule I. When challenged, and proven not to be true, GLADSTONES SOLICITORS LIMITED proceeded to change their narrative. This, in my opinion, demonstrates their dishonesty and speculative nature of their original default judgment application and claim of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice.

8.       According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The industry’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.

Furthermore, Prime Minister May publicly pledged to investigate ‘abuse’ of the CCJ System and so called ‘Credit Clamping’ as reported in the Daily Mail article dated 12th September 2016. The Right Honourable Sir Oliver Heald on 23rd December 2016 "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."

The Minister added "It cannot be right that people who are unaware of debts can see their lives and finances ruined by county court judgments. That 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.” Furtherance to points raised in 1.3 above.

9.       Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. I believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside and I ask the Court to kindly consider the reimbursement of the fee of £255 from the claimant should this request be successful.

 

STATEMENT OF TRUTH

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

 

Signed by ……………………………….……… JOE BLOGGS

sofa_searcher

I'd appreciate any feedback on my witness statement. In my final draft, addresses and names are all in CAPS. To follow;

• Draft Order
• Draft Defence

Coupon-mad

Please can you answer henrik's question? He is the CCJ set aside expert poster here and he asked for a reason (twice!).

sofa_searcher

henrik777 said:

sofa_searcher said:

henrik777 said:

at the address you provided on both of your appeals direct to our Client

Is there any truth in their claim ?

The tickets were issue in July and the last contact I had with them, was in August.

Gladstones first agreed they had defectively served the papers and obtained the address from DVLA. Now they are trying to change their story. They are crooked. I'll be putting my witness statement and draft defence for review so I can sent it off by Friday

You didn't answer what i thought i was asking ?

They said you provided that address during your appeals, i'm asking if you did.

The original PCN was sent to my previous address. This previous address was not provided by myself. Additionally this is not the address that is on my v5c so they couldn't have obtained it from DVLA.
I responded to the PCN via post using a letter header that contained my previous address. This was sent in August 2018 and I did not receive a response to my appeal. 
In October 2018 I moved out of my previous address to my current address.
Does this constitute as me providing a contact address?

nosferatu1001

You provided them with the contact addresss "Previous address" by using such a letterhead. Bloody obviously. 
Who could have given them your previous address? Who was the RK at the time? Where was it sent? Its a really o bvious question you need to have asked by now!
Because they didnt arrive at the correct Keepers name by accident. Somehow they were told. So who did!?

sofa_searcher

nosferatu1001 said:

You provided them with the contact addresss "Previous address" by using such a letterhead. Bloody obviously. 
Who could have given them your previous address? Who was the RK at the time? Where was it sent? Its a really o bvious question you need to have asked by now!
Because they didnt arrive at the correct Keepers name by accident. Somehow they were told. So who did!?

I am the registered keeper. The car is registered to my parent's address and still does till today.
The PCN was sent to my previous address that I was renting. It's a HMO so the letter is posted into a communal hallway.
I mentioned already I do not who provided my previous address and when I asked they said DVLA. I said that can't be true as DVLA would have provided my parents address if they enquired with them. 

Le_Kirk

Search the forum for a six-point draft order to replace the one you have used, although given that your date of application is today, it might be too late to change it.

sofa_searcher

Le_Kirk said:

Search the forum for a six-point draft order to replace the one you have used, although given that your date of application is today, it might be too late to change it.

I haven't paid the £255 yet. My personal target was to get it done for today but it seems I won't make that deadline. 

nosferatu1001

Did you SAR the DVLA to find out who requested and what address was returned?
They didnt guess it. Someone told them. 

sofa_searcher

Le_Kirk said:

Search the forum for a six-point draft order to replace the one you have used, although given that your date of application is today, it might be too late to change it.

Please see below for my draft order. In paragraph/point 3 and 4 am I correct in that the Judge will fill the dotted underline section with the date for which the actions are to be completed? Additionally is the format correct or should I insert "_____/_____/2020".

IN THE NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT BUSINESS CENTRE (CCBC)

CLAIM NO. ########

BETWEEN:

UK CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LIMITED (the ‘Claimant’)

and

JOE BLOGSS (the ‘Defendant’)

 DRAFT ORDER

UPON reading the Defendant's application dated XX August 2020 and the annexed witness statement of JOE BLOGSS dated XX August 2020.

It is ordered that:

1.       The default judgment dated XX November 2019 be set aside.

2.       Costs to be reserved.

3.       Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the Claim Form on the Defendant by 4 pm on …………………………….…………………. 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 …………………………….…………………..

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.       That all enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.