County Court Business Centre - "Judgement for Claimant (in Default)"

Celt83

Hi All,

This is my first post so apologies in advance if I do/say something wrong. After reading the Newbies FAQ Thread (absorbing as much as humanly possible!), and a few other threads regarding the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) and still not being 100% clear where I stand or what to do, I thought I'd create a new thread detailing my circumstances and see if any of you knowledgeable people can help.

Basically, I attended a Speed Awareness Course on 16th November 2019 at a hotel owned by Compass Hospitality. I parked in the car park (which in turn is owned and/or managed by Creative Car Park Ltd) for the duration of the course. I thought I'd entered my vehicle registration into the unattended machine in the hotel foyer which validates the parking, but can't explicitly remember if I did it correctly. After completing the course I received an email from my local police-affiliated organisation confirming my attendance on that day.

A few months later (22nd Jan 2020) I received a letter from Civil Enforcement Ltd stating I needed to pay £140 for "parking in breach of Terms and Conditions on Notice" with a PCN reference, and the date/location of the breach matching my attendance to the above course. It's worth noting that this may not have been the first letter I received regarding this, but it's the earliest letter I have retained - I can't remember if there were any before this one .I called the Hotel to ask about the charge, and the less-than-helpful person working there stated as long as I entered my vehicle registration I should be fine and to ignore it (I think she was a receptionist).

6 weeks later (2nd March 2020) I received a letter from ZZPS Ltd on behalf of Civil Enforcement Ltd detailing a "Notice of Intended Legal Collections" for £170 for the incident. At this point I did some very brief online research and found some vague reference to it being a scam and that (perhaps stupidly) I could ignore it.

On 22nd Sept 2020, I received another letter from Civil Enforcement Ltd - titled ON - CLAIM FOR DEBT noting an outstanding balance owed of £182. This letter referenced Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims (PAP) and Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and  included many ANNEX'es (Information Sheet / Reply Form / Standard Financial Statement) and a couple of Press Summary sheets detailing previous unsuccessful cases against parking breaches. The letter advises: "If you do not pay or respond within 30 days..."...we will commence proceedings..."...which may lead to a Court Judgement..." Again, I ignored this letter.

On 21st December 2020 (issue date) I received another letter - this time a Claim Form from the CCBC. The total now was £272.88 as it had added Court Fees and Legal Representative's costs. I did some more research at this point and surmised that this wasn't a proper court so assumed it was just trying to force me to pay with an official looking letter.

This week, I received a letter dated 25th January 2021. This letter is again from CCBC, and is titled Judgement for Claimant (in Default). This states that I didn't reply to the claim form and I am due to pay £296.24 immediately. At this point I did even more research and am now of the opinion that this needs to be sorted - and so here I am posting on this forum.

I have not responded to ANY communications at all or spoke to anyone at all apart from the receptionist at the Hotel where the incident happened originally.

I'm guessing my question's are:
Have I got a CCJ against me at this point that will affect my credit rating?
If not, how do I resolve this with the least possibility of me receiving a CCJ?

Thanks in advance guys

KeithP

Celt83 said:

On 21st December 2020 (issue date) I received another letter - this time a Claim Form from the CCBC. The total now was £272.88 as it had added Court Fees and Legal Representative's costs. I did some more research at this point and surmised that this wasn't a proper court so assumed it was just trying to force me to pay with an official looking letter.

That was your biggest mistake.

Celt83 said:

I'm guessing my question's are:
Have I got a CCJ against me at this point that will affect my credit rating?
If not, how do I resolve this with the least possibility of me receiving a CCJ?

Yes, you now have a County Court Judgment against you.

Having ignored everything you may have difficulty getting that Judgment set aside.

But if you want to try, perhaps you now should be reading the second post of the NEWBIES thread - that bit following the heading:

HAVE YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT A CCJ (JUDGMENT FOR CLAIMANT) AND NEED IT SET ASIDE?

BrownTrout

oh dear another one of those who probably looked on a facebook page and was told it a was a "fake court"

Celt83

Thanks for the clarification BrownTrout.

I've read a lot of the info you advised regarding the set aside and am thinking it may not be worth me trying.

Based on what the info I've provided, do you think it's worth me attempting?

If I dont go for the set aside...what would be the best move regarding the outstanding amount due (to keep the impact to my credit score to a minimum)?

Redx

Your best option is to pay it off in full if the CCJ date is less than 30 days old , if not it will affect your credit rating for 6 years !!

A set aside is very unlikely if you ignored a valid court claim , almost impossible , like trying to extract sugar from a cup of coffee after you mistakenly added it

Celt83

Thanks Redx...I love a good analogy - really cements the point 🙂.

I'm sorry to ask stupid questions but I want to be 100% clear. How do I find out the date of the CCJ so I know if I'm within 30 days?

Redx

It should be on this judgment for claimant letter

KeithP

This, from your opening post, probably answers your question:

This week, I received a letter dated 25th January 2021. This letter is again from CCBC, and is titled Judgement for Claimant (in Default).

Redx

It also told you to pay it in full immediately , the latter being the important word

It is likely to be a date on or after the 10th January 2021 , so possibly that date you mentioned

You should have come here for assistance a month ago , or very early this month , too late now , you snooze , you lose

KeithP

So pay it in full immediately and there will be no lasting County Court Judgment against you.

Celt83

Told you it was a stupid question 😉.

Ok, I will pay immediately. Once I've paid, is there anything I can/need to do to stop this appearing on my credit file?