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

Riddler1982

"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

Yes, she gave them my full name and serviceable address.

Riddler1982

Johnersh said:

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. 

It seems this is the only feasible way forward and I would be at the mercy of the judge but it's my own fault and I'll just have to learn from it.

Riddler1982

Coupon-mad said:

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

I dont think either of us would be eligible for help with fees but if I can get consent from the claimant then I believe the court fee would only be £100. Of course this would be in addition to me agreeing to pay the fine at it's current level (£300ish) and any further penalty the judge may wish to impose on me. It's going to hurt either way but correcting the situation is more important in the long run.

Coupon-mad

Riddler1982 said:

"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

Yes, she gave them my full name and serviceable address.

If she did this before the court claim was filed, then that plus the fact she was unaware of the claim, might be enough 'good reason' to set aside the CCJ, especially if the Claimant consents.  But I doubt they will so I think this will be a £255 application if she doesn't have a low income/savings to get help with fees (it is not about being on benefits, by the way).

If she transferred liability then she was not liable.  This is the wrong Defendant and the Claimant should have filed the claim against the driver, who tried to acknowledge the claim (thinking that would put it in his name) but never told the Defendant.

Le_Kirk

This might help you decide if you can get help: -

Savings
You usually need to have less than £3,000 in savings and investments if you’re under 61.
You can have up to £16,000 in savings if your fee is between £1,000 and £10,000, or if you or your partner are 61 and over.
Benefits
You need to be on a low income, or on one of the following benefits:

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income Support

• Universal Credit (and you earn less than £6,000 a year)

• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)

• Scottish Civil Legal Aid (not Advice and Assistance, or Advice by Way of Representation)

Income
If you’re not on any of those benefits, you usually need to earn £1,085 or less a month before tax if you’re single. Or £1,245 or less a month if you have a partner.
You can earn an extra £245 on top of that for each child you have.

Riddler1982

Coupon-mad said:

Riddler1982 said:

"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

Yes, she gave them my full name and serviceable address.

If she did this before the court claim was filed, then that plus the fact she was unaware of the claim, might be enough 'good reason' to set aside the CCJ, especially if the Claimant consents (but I doubt they will so I think this will be a £255 application if she doesn't have a low income/savings to get help with fees (it is not about being on benefits, by the way).

If she transferred liability then she was not liable.  This is the wrong Defendant and the Claimant should have filed the claim against the driver, who tried to acknowledge the claim (thinking that would put it in his name) but never told the Defendant.

Do you think it's worth contacting the Claimant and explaining that, at the end of all this, they will still get paid because I'm not contesting the fine? I'll just be creating a draft order which makes me liable for the existing fine, which plays into their self-interest.

Riddler1982

Le_Kirk said:

This might help you decide if you can get help: -

Savings
You usually need to have less than £3,000 in savings and investments if you’re under 61.
You can have up to £16,000 in savings if your fee is between £1,000 and £10,000, or if you or your partner are 61 and over.
Benefits
You need to be on a low income, or on one of the following benefits:

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• Income Support

• Universal Credit (and you earn less than £6,000 a year)

• Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)

• Scottish Civil Legal Aid (not Advice and Assistance, or Advice by Way of Representation)

Income
If you’re not on any of those benefits, you usually need to earn £1,085 or less a month before tax if you’re single. Or £1,245 or less a month if you have a partner.
You can earn an extra £245 on top of that for each child you have.

Thank you but my sister has savings above the £3k threshold so help with fees won't be possible. I'll be paying for it anyway and although I don't have cash to burn, I'd rather be out of pocket than have my sister lose her ability to get a mortgage for the next 6 years for something she had no knowledge of.

Johnersh

This is the wrong Defendant and the Claimant should have filed the claim against the driver,
This. But only if she told them *before* the claim was issued. See the PoFA Sch 4.

Coupon-mad

She did, it seems, but the OP must confirm the dates of her email and the court claim.