CCJ N244 Application to set aside judgement advice

Dougsboy32

I sent an N244 to the County Court with a WS attached (below) It is the Notice of Hearing of Application that I received, believing incorrectly that I had been successful in setting aside the judgement, but was now going to need to defend the PCN. All wrong of course and I am stupid. I could not understand why the NHA was stating that the Claimant (PPC) had to prepare and bring 8 documents, yet there was no instruction as to what the Defendant (me) had to prepare/bring. I am still confused.

WITNESS STATEMENT 

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

1.2. I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against me as the Defendant in July xxxx.  I am aware that the Claimant is xxxxx, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from the xx December xxx at xxxx. I contest this charge for the reasons outlined below.

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement until date xxxx following a notification of an automated credit report update.

As I have not seen it I can only assume that the address on the claim is xxxx my former address. I moved to my current address xxxx on the xx January xxxx after purchasing the property in September xxxx. In support of this I can provide a scanned copy of my mortgage agreement, council tax & utility bills, and removal company invoice if desired.

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

1.4.1 I discovered a CCJ was lodged onto my credit file in February xxxx.

1.4.2 I contacted the County Court Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgement

1.4.3 On date xxxx I have wilfully submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgement and fairly present my case. I appreciate there is a not insubstantial gap between me discovering the CCJ and my application to have it set aside. The arrival of covid 19 and all the associated troubles I had with my elderly mother, and having two little children at home 24/7 took precedence, which I trust the court will show understanding towards.

1.5. 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. This week I received a letter from xxxx essentially threatening me with bailiffs for non payment of my 'Sundry Debt owed to xxxx'  which clearly indicates that the claimant is fully aware of my address.

1.6. On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to CPR 6.9 (3) where they had failed to show due diligence in using an address at which the Defendant no longer resides. The claimant did not take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of my current residence. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgement.

1.7. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The industry’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results in 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.

1.8. 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.

 

 

 

nosferatu1001

OK so to be clear
- you have not yet had a set aside hearing
- you are preparing for a set aside hearing

As such you have already filed a WS, exhibits and N244 when you applied/ Dd you supply any exhibits?
What draft order did you supply the court, as the newbies thread instructs?
What did the Order from the court say the claimant had to supply?

Dougsboy32

Yes you are correct. I filed the WS above plus N244 with the application but no exhibits. Nor did I supply a draft order. 
The Court Order requested the claimant supply...
1. a case summary and chronology
2. the parties' position statements
3. the previous orders that are relevant to the remote hearing
4. the application relevant to the remote hearing
5. all essential documents that the court requires to determine the issues that fall for determination at the remote hearing
6. a draft order
7. the claim form
8. any defence and counterclaim if filed
...all to be delivered to the court and each party no later than 5 days before the hearing.
Thus far I have received nothing.

Dougsboy32

As it looks like I have really messed this up should I just try and settle out of court to avoid further loss?

nosferatu1001

Why have ytou "really messed up"? What makes you jump to that conclusion? Also - there is nothing to settle. You lost. You have no ability to bargain with the claimant right now - as they have a JUDGMENT saying you owe them money. You are committed to this ONE path to getting the CCJ removed. 
We have stopped you making a mistake with the place it matters - court

Well if it isnt 5 days before, then they are not in breach of that Order!
Are you sure it says claimant? Usually in these matters it would refer to respondent and applicant.  Please take a photo of the order, suitably redacted of YOUR data. 

Exhibits - have the se to hand for the hearing. Ideally you want to show you were there to be found at your address, so think about how you would do that. Bills, council tax, electoral roll
You could supply a drtaft Order now, oir again - know what a draft Order should have in it. Luckily its written for you - 6 point draft order. 
The MAIN thing is that if the claim is sert aside, but is not dismissed entirely (the likely outcome) you need to make sure your costs of filing the N244 are either PAID IMMEDIATELY or are RESERVED. Nothing else will do. 
You do this after you find out if the set aside has been granted, and you make sure this is discussed. 

Dougsboy32

Please see Hearing application notice attached.

Dougsboy32

second page

Dougsboy32

This is why I was saying there is no instruction to the Defendant, only Claimant

Le_Kirk

chrissage said:

This is why I was saying there is no instruction to the Defendant, only Claimant

That presupposes that the claimant has a copy of all your documents, which they should as you will have sent them a copy (served) of everything that you sent (filed) to the court.

nosferatu1001

OK so you can see that there is work for yuou to do
(b) (d) (d) again (sigh court...) (g) are all things you have, and this order is expecting you to to work with the claimant. If you sent them a copy already - as you would usually be expected to, when making your applciation tot he court - then you dont need to do so again. But if you didnt, then I would suggest you do.