Parking final from Civil Enforcement Ltd and resulting CCJ - Help Needed!

djhodgko

Hi Le_Kirk,

Ok point 7 has been removed from the draft order. 

Does everything else look ok in regards to the witness statement and draft order so all I need to do is sign and dates these? 

In regards to point 3 of the N244 form am I to go with this wording as shown above? 

I have found bills including credit accounts/loans from just before the parking charge in 2020 and shows me at my current address for these so hoping these will be good references here as other utility bills are in my partners name as her house I moved into. 

Le_Kirk

Always good to show that you "were there to be found".  I suggest you re-read the comments by @Coupon-mad and @Johnersh and adjust your witness statement and draft order accordingly.  I think @Coupon-mad was suggesting you add the "last bit" of point 7 and ask for a strike out on that basis.

djhodgko

Hi,

Ok I have read back but not sure if I'm getting myself a bit muddled on what should go where and the points for my draft order. I was thinking I was nearly at a place to submit documents and N244 form but now not sure. 

This is currently how I have both parts written as. Advise what parts need adding/removing and where would be highly helpful as want to get it all sent off tomorrow. 

WITNESS STATEMENT

I am NAME, and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated ** November 2021 requesting to:

a. Set aside the default judgment dated ** March 2021 as it was not properly served at my current address.

b. Order for the original claim to be dismissed.

c. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

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 on 23rd March 2021. I am aware that the Claimant is Civil Enforcement Ltd, and that the assumed claim is in respect of unpaid Parking Charge Notices from the 12th March 2020 at the Whitworth Centre Car Park, Darley Dale, Derbyshire. I contest this charge for the reasons outlined in the attached draft defence.

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address, and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgment until 23rd November 2021 following a routine Experian credit check before looking to apply for a credit card.

1.4 The address on the claim is ADDRESS. I moved out of this property April 2018. I then moved into my partners house, which is my current address at ADDRESS in May 2019. In support of this I can provide a scanned copies of bills/credit accounts in my name dated before Charge Notice issued before the ** March 2020; Schedule A, B, C attached.

1.5 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;

1.5.1 I discovered a CCJ was lodged onto my credit file on the ** November 2021.

1.5.2 On** November I contacted the County Court Business Centre via phone to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment.

1.5.3 On ** November 2021 I have wilfully submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

1.6 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. The defendant 'there to be found' for the sake of a 29 pence bulk Experian trace or similar very inexpensive and immediate CRA address check, but despite having an in-house legal team headed by a barrister, this Claimant took no steps whatsoever to check the address. 

1.7 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 that the Defendant no longer resides. The claimant did not take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of my current residence despite having some 12 months to establish an address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment.

1.8 Given that more than 4 months has passed from issue of proceedings and service of the claim was defective (i.e., it was never served) the Defendant submits that this particular claim is dead and the period for service cannot be extended by this application process.  The Defendant has no details of this claim, nor the 'parking charge' that it presumably relates to, therefore, if the Claimant believes there is a cause of action then the correct procedure would be to file a claim afresh and to the right address, after furnishing the Defendant with the information required under the pre-action protocol for debt claims, issued this time to the correct address for service for this Defendant, which is ADDRESS

1.9 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 12 September 2016. The Right Honourable Sir Oliver Heald on 23 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.

There are several authorities for this, including the judgment in Boxwood Leisure Ltd v Gleeson Costruction Services Ltd & Anor [2021] EWHC 947 (TCC), which is a reminder of the strictness of the requirements of CPR 7.6 and how difficult it is to use other parts of the Civil Procedure Rules to rectify a failure to serve the claim form within the requisite period: “A claimant is not entitled to rely on the wide, general powers under CPR 3.10 or CPR 3.9 to circumvent the specific conditions set out in CPR 7.6(3) for extending the period for service of a claim form…”

2.0 Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. I believe that the Default Judgment 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, NAME , the Defendant, believe the facts stated within this Witness Statement to be true.

DRAFT ORDER
_________________________________


Upon reading the defendant’s application dated 29/11/2021

It is ordered that:

1. The judgment dated 23/03/2021 be set aside.

2. The Claimant do pay the Defendant’s costs of this application on an indemnity basis.

3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the Claim Form on the Defendant by 4pm on dd/mm/yyyy the claim will be struck out without further order.

4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on dd/mm/yyyy.

5. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.

6. that this claim was defectively served and having noted that the proceedings were issued more than 4 months ago, is hereby struck out. 

KeithP

What's the purpose of the word wilfully in 1.5.3?

djhodgko

Hi Keith,

I am unsure, I had taken the majority from another post and edited to my situation. I will removed from the statement now. 

Coupon-mad

Wilfully doesn't mean that.  Can't stand it that someone used that word and everyone copies it!

This (below) makes no sense, if you think about what @Johnersh is telling you and what I told you:

3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the Claim Form on the Defendant by 4pm on dd/mm/yyyy the claim will be struck out without further order.

4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on dd/mm/yyyy.

Re-read what we both said. 

We were taking the point that the claim is DEAD and there is no lawful Order the Judge can make to let them reinstate or re-serve the dead claim form...

djhodgko

Morning,

So would it take the below part that I added to my witness statement out and add it in my draft order instead of points 3 & 4 that you highlighted above but shortened down into 2 points like below? 

3. Given that more than 4 months has passed from issue of proceedings and service of the claim was defective (i.e. it was never served) the Defendant submits that this particular claim is dead and the period for service cannot be extended by this application process. 

4. The Defendant has no details of this claim, nor the 'parking charge' that it presumably relates to, therefore, if the Claimant believes there is a cause of action then the correct procedure would be to file a claim afresh and to the right address, after furnishing the Defendant with the information required under the pre-action protocol for debt claims, issued this time to the correct address for service for this Defendant, which is (address and postcode).

Le_Kirk

Your statement of truth is out of date; it was changed over a year ago to this: -

I believe that the facts stated in this defence/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.

*Delete which is not applicable.

djhodgko

Hi Le_Kirk,

Thanks for you feedback here. 

I have amended my witness statement on my word copy so reads - 

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 - 

Date - 

djhodgko

djhodgko said:

Morning,

So would it take the below part that I added to my witness statement out and add it in my draft order instead of points 3 & 4 that you highlighted above but shortened down into 2 points like below? 

3. Given that more than 4 months has passed from issue of proceedings and service of the claim was defective (i.e. it was never served) the Defendant submits that this particular claim is dead and the period for service cannot be extended by this application process. 

4. The Defendant has no details of this claim, nor the 'parking charge' that it presumably relates to, therefore, if the Claimant believes there is a cause of action then the correct procedure would be to file a claim afresh and to the right address, after furnishing the Defendant with the information required under the pre-action protocol for debt claims, issued this time to the correct address for service for this Defendant, which is (address and postcode).

Would what i put in this post be correct?

I am getting conscious on the time scale here as a week now since found out about the CCJ through calling the court and was hoping to get it all sent off today.