What is my best option with CCJ for an MCOL case which I acknowledged and then failed to defend?

Riddler1982

Hi All,
I have read the newbie threads and belatedly understand a lot of the options I would have had if I had dealt with this situation more promptly but most of those options are now gone so I would be greatful for some advice on how to proceed.
I was driving my sister's car in November 2018 and received a letter from UK CPM alleging that I was liable for a parking charge. My sister wrote them a letter explaining that she was not the driver but they failed to respond and continued to send letters in her name.
I advised her to ignore any subsequent letters from UK CPM, on the false understanding that they had no legal standing and were simply conducting a 'fishing' expedition which they hoped would result in her paying out of fear.
Eventually, this escalated to Gladstones threatening and proceeding with a county court claim.
I responded with an online AoS but then failed to provide a defence and this led to a CCJ being issued in my sister's name in January 2020.
My plan is to contact Gladstones, offer to pay the outstanding amount if they send me the bill in my own name, then go for a set aside with consent on the basis that Gladstones agree I was the driver and have satisfied the debt, leaving my sister in the clear.
Is this my best option or is there something I have missed?
I am fully aware of how badly I have handled all of this and have learnt a lot for any similar situations in future but for now my priority is to get the CCJ removed as my sister wishes to apply for a mortgage in the next 12 months or so.
Many thanks in advance,
Riddler.

henrik777

If you pay in advance then you lose any leverage you have. The credit record of your sister is damaged and the only way to deal with it is to get a set aside.

Write to them asking for consent, stating if they agree then the draft order will bind you to paying them. 

I cant see a good way to fight it on merit as although your sister may have a good prospect of defending it's not guaranteed and potentially would cost as much as just paying (which doesn't remove the credit mark)

nosferatu1001

Your plan has zero chance of success.
Yoiur sister was responsible for defending, not you. She is the only one who can apply for a set aside, and she will struggle to do so. 
Why did you not defend? Give adamn good reason to us, because you will needd to give it to the court anyway

Riddler1982

henrik777 said:

If you pay in advance then you lose any leverage you have. The credit record of your sister is damaged and the only way to deal with it is to get a set aside.

Write to them asking for consent, stating if they agree then the draft order will bind you to paying them. 

I cant see a good way to fight it on merit as although your sister may have a good prospect of defending it's not guaranteed and potentially would cost as much as just paying (which doesn't remove the credit mark)

Thank you. I think your idea about the draft order binding me to pay might be my best shot at this.

Riddler1982

nosferatu1001 said:

Your plan has zero chance of success.
Yoiur sister was responsible for defending, not you. She is the only one who can apply for a set aside, and she will struggle to do so. 
Why did you not defend? Give adamn good reason to us, because you will needd to give it to the court anyway

Upheaval in my personal life led to this issue being left on the backburner. Also, me and my sister were estranged for most of 2019 and 2020. The absolute truth is that I even went as far as hiding some of the letters from her because in my mind I was just adding it to the long list of things I would eventually sort out.
My hope is that if the debt is paid off by me and the claimant is satisfied that my sister was not the driver, then a judge may deem it correct to set aside the CCJ.

KeithP

Riddler1982 said:

nosferatu1001 said:

Your plan has zero chance of success.
Yoiur sister was responsible for defending, not you. She is the only one who can apply for a set aside, and she will struggle to do so. 
Why did you not defend? Give adamn good reason to us, because you will needd to give it to the court anyway

My hope is that if the debt is paid off by me and the claimant is satisfied that my sister was not the driver, then a judge may deem it correct to set aside the CCJ.

 A noble aspiration, but keep in mind that the concept of credit cleansing is often frowned upon by the courts.

And it doesn't follow that just because your sister wasn't the driver she has no liability for the claim.

nosferatu1001

Riddler1982 said:

nosferatu1001 said:

Your plan has zero chance of success.
Yoiur sister was responsible for defending, not you. She is the only one who can apply for a set aside, and she will struggle to do so. 
Why did you not defend? Give adamn good reason to us, because you will needd to give it to the court anyway

Upheaval in my personal life led to this issue being left on the backburner. Also, me and my sister were estranged for most of 2019 and 2020. The absolute truth is that I even went as far as hiding some of the letters from her because in my mind I was just adding it to the long list of things I would eventually sort out.
My hope is that if the debt is paid off by me and the claimant is satisfied that my sister was not the driver, then a judge may deem it correct to set aside the CCJ.

Have you now read CPR13.3, as you were told?
You have to understand a set aside flows from the premise that the default judgment was in error not under the Ds control. The problem was at the moment it was. 
Are you saying you hid the claim form, or otherwise your sisteer was unaware of the claim? Yes or No. Give us solid facts to deal wtih.

Look at this from the courts perspective: a claim form was issued to your sister. Your sister acknowledged the claim, meaning th ecourt knows she saw it, yet your sister did not file a defence in time. Why should the court grant your sister a set aside, when she ignored the claim?
They know nothing of the true story, they only know the facts above. 

Your sisters needs "any other good reason" to get a set aside. I fear that "good reason" will be you effectively admitting to deception

nosferatu1001

"My sister wrote them a letter explaining that she was not the driver but they failed to respond and continued to send letters in her name."
Did your sister
- give YOUR name
- give YOUR serviceable address?
Yes or No. Do not guess. Do not elaborate. Yes or No

Johnersh

Novel.

I suppose Miss Piggy may be able to apply with a witness statement declaring that her brother, Kermit, had driven her car to Fraggle Rock, where he'd got a PCN.

Kermit said he'd sort it and instead misled the court by acknowledging the claim (which was not his to do) and then interrupted her mail, so she had no idea what went down.

That statement could append the letter from Kermit declaring that he is, undeniably...... a muppet. 

You'd probably get the set aside, but expect to bear all the costs of the set aside and consequential costs.

If you can agree terms/ fix the costs with the ppc in a consent order and then apply with the mea culpa that might help. 

Coupon-mad

Maybe the D is eligible for help with court fees and the costs wouldn't be £255?  Surely the OP has checked that.

Riddler1982

nosferatu1001 said:

Have you now read CPR13.3, as you were told?
You have to understand a set aside flows from the premise that the default judgment was in error not under the Ds control. The problem was at the moment it was. 
Are you saying you hid the claim form, or otherwise your sisteer was unaware of the claim? Yes or No. Give us solid facts to deal wtih.

Look at this from the courts perspective: a claim form was issued to your sister. Your sister acknowledged the claim, meaning th ecourt knows she saw it, yet your sister did not file a defence in time. Why should the court grant your sister a set aside, when she ignored the claim?
They know nothing of the true story, they only know the facts above. 

Your sisters needs "any other good reason" to get a set aside. I fear that "good reason" will be you effectively admitting to deception

I have read that section and I am hoping to use part 13.3 (1) (b) (i) where there is another good reason a judgement should be set aside or varied. And yes, that good reason is that my sister was unaware of the claim because I had told her I was dealing with the whole issue without going into specifics with her.

I understand there may well be further consequences for this but that's the reality.