CCJ Set Aside Guidance

rbceurope

Hi,

This is the first time I am posting in this forum to get some guidance to "Set Aside" a CCJ against me which was defaulted as the claimant has wrong address and I didn’t know about the existence of a PCN since Aug 2018 till 14/03/2022.

This is my story

On 11/03/2022 we were trying to re-mortgage and credit checks came as decline with a lender, we thought its an issue with the lender system and on 14/03/2022 we tried with another lender and again got a decline suspecting something has happened I tried to get my credit report from Experian which was clean and my mortgage adviser said the lender used Equifax so got the report from them and to my surprise saw "1 Court Judgement but no Insolvencies" and got to know that there has been a County Court hearing against me on 27/01/2022 with an address xxxxxxaddr1xxxxxx which is NOT my current address since Sep 2018, meaning I didn’t receive the claim form for the proceeding that happened on 27/01/2022, the case reference number and the amount was £338. 

Tried to reach the County Court Buss Cen but it was after 18:00 so couldn’t reach them. Spoke to them today morning and got to know

1. The address to which the claim form was posted : xxxxxxaddr1xxxxxx

2. The identity of the claimant : Civil Enforcement Limited

3. The date of service of the claim form : 21/08/2018

4. The identity of the claimant’s solicitors (if any) : None

5. The particulars of claim : CLAIM FOR MONEY RELATING TO A PARKING CHARGE FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT TERMS/CONDITIONS(TCS) FOR PARKING IN PRIVATE CAR PARK (CP) MANAGED BY CLAIMANT. DRIVERS MAY ONLY PARK PURSUANT TO TCS OF USE DISPLAYED IN CP AND AGREED UPONENTRY/PARKING. ANPR CAMERAS OR MANUAL PATROLSMONITOR VEHICLES ENTERING/EXITING THE CP AND TC BREACHES. CHARGES OF GBP182.00 CLAIMED. VIOLATION DATE: 21/08/2018 PAYMENT DUE DATE: 19/09/2018 TIME IN: 12:02 TIME OUT: 15:11 PCN: REFxxxxxxx VEHICLE REG MARK: xxxxx CAR PARK:- XXXXXXXXX TOTAL DUE- GBP182.00 (PAY:WWW.CE-SERVICE.CO.UK OR 01158225020) THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS THE SUM OF GBP230.63 FOR THE UNPAID PARKING CHARGE INC GBP48.63 INTEREST UNDER S.69 OF THE CCA 1984 RATE: 8.00% PA FROM DUE DATE TO- 22/12/21 SAME RATE TO JUDGMENT OR SOONER PAYMENT AT DAILY RATE OF- GBP0.04 TOTAL DEBT AND INTEREST DUE- GBP230.63

I tried to get some help from solicitors as I have no idea how the law works, what are my rights and options. Called almost 12 solicitors requesting them to give me legal advise on CCJ and the moment I say CCJ they say they don’t deal with it.

With no idea tried to troll though the internet and landed up with this forum with some of the post having detailed support on how to proceed so taking a punt to get some guidance here.

Now the actual story on the PCN itself.

As per the particulars of the Claim : On 21/08/2018 my car entered a parking lot @ 12:02 and exited @ 15:11 which is right and I have paid £2.00 (inc vat) for 12:05 to 14:05 and got a notification as SMS saying my car park as ended and to extend the parking call the phone line, as I didn’t know what the location code was I had to walk all the way to the car park which took me 10 mins, read the T&C for extension, then dialled the number and got the extension from 14:25 to 15:25 by paying £1.00 (inc Vat). I did exit the car park @ 15:11 (14 mins before the expiry time). There has been a Gap of 20 mins between 14:05 and 14:25 for which I didn’t have a parking ticket and even if the Claimant thinks that I did breach the terms, the Claimant is obliged by the compulsory Code of Practice of its own Accredited Trade Association to apply separate and distinct consideration and grace periods of a minimum 10 minutes at the start and end of each parking period to allow for potential delays in finding a space, exiting the car park and to allow time for drivers to find and read the terms and conditions offered. I would argue that the alleged 20 minute overstay is within tolerance.

The issues I got is

1. re-mortgage where I am not able to switch to better deal due to CCJ on my credit history

2. I am switching job and they usually do a Credit Check which might lead to situation where I might not be offered a job.

I have understood I got 3 options now

1. Leave the CCJ which will vanish after 6 year (Jan 2028) but this is not ideal due to above reasons and strongly believe that I haven’t done anything wrong in the first place to get a PCN.

2. N244 to get my CCJ set aside on the basis that I didn’t receive the claim form and couldn’t respond to it and I also have the proof of parking tickets that I purchased meaning PCN was wrongly served.

3. Talk with the claimant and settle the amount followed by consent form sent to court and cancel the CCJ as per mutual agreement with Claimant and Defendant, which I am not happy to do as I don’t deserve to get a PCN.

Option 2 is what I am trying to achieve, but have no clue where or how to go about now. I also read in this forum that if I intend to file a N244 I need to hurry up as the Judge will look for signs of urgency as soon as I come to know about CCJ. 

Can someone help me with the sequences of things I should do now, the below is what my understanding is

1. Call the CCBC and pay £275 for request to set aside the CCJ.

2. email the filled N244 with WS (Witness Statement + evidence documents) to ccbcfees@justice.gov.uk (within how many days after paying the fee should these documents be emailed).

3. Wait for the court to give a hearing date 

4. Attend the hearing in person 

The above are all just to set aside the CCJ, if I am successful then my CCJ will be removed and then we enter the next phase where the outstanding debt needs to be addressed, have no idea what is required to do this.

Many thanks for your support in advance and any guidance/directions is very much appreciated. 

PS : Need some support to create a effective Witness Statement.

Coupon-mad

3. The date of service of the claim form : 21/08/2018

That's the date of PCN.

Anyway, you are in the right place, you don't need a solicitor and yes, we help people set aside CEL CCJs all the time.  Literally every month we see one or more CCJ from CEL, and they are appalling at not bothering to trace an address before suing people.  The worst offender parking firm.

We agree with you - option 2.

You have grounds under Civil Procedure Rules 13.2 and 13.3.

Can someone help me with the sequences of things I should do now, the below is what my understanding is

1. Call the CCBC and pay £275 for request to set aside the CCJ.

2. email the filled N244 with WS (Witness Statement + evidence documents) to ccbcfees@justice.gov.uk

3. Wait for the court to give a hearing date 

4. Attend the hearing in person. 

Yes, that's right, apart from we say also send a Draft Order and push for the entire claim to be struck out for failure to serve it within 4 months of filing it.

Oh, and you only ring to pay the fee after emailing your application.

We now argue the claim is 'dead' if not properly served (saves you having to defend it at a second hearing.  If they reckon they want to claim they can issue it afresh to you at the right address after the CCJ is set aside, but you'd likely win!).

But what is the correct date of issue of the claim please, as the above was a typo?

We also suggest you immediately email CEL and ask for a SAR because you will then see all their photos and evidence and proof they failed to carry out any enquiries, searches or (from just 29 pence) credit reference agency 'soft trace' to try to find you.

This breaches the CPRs for filing claims and the pre-action protocol, as well as the BPA Code of Practice.  You certainly have grounds to set this CCJ aside and can sleep easy!  You can do this.

Did you read other CEL CCJ set aside threads and find out their so-called 'Head of Legal' barrister Scott Wilson is ex-Wonga?  Look what happened to them.

rbceurope

@Coupon-mad that was the fastest response, many thanks.

I will double check the date of service of the claim form with CCBC tomorrow and confirm. 

I have gone through newbee pages but not CEL CCJ threads yet. 

As you suggested will start the communication with CEL by asking for SAR.

This forum has weath of information and many helpful suggestions and people. I will search for any latest template relating to CEL for WS and will try to post my draft 

Coupon-mad

Search '4 months dead draft order' and change to 'newest' discussions and filter your search to this board only.

Not on a phone, I'd suggest.  Easier on a laptop.

rbceurope

Took me a while to get to CCBC and it looks like CEL has made the appeal on 23/12/2021 and Claim Form was served to me on 28/12/2021 to my old address.

Have spoken to CEL @ 0870 919 5577 (CEL Legal Team) and asked them where or how to send the SAR request. They suggested me to send the request to dataprotectionofficer@ce-service.co.uk with the Driving license copy. 

As per the SAR Request template found in legal beagles this is what I have planned to send

=====
<<My Full Name>>,<<My Current Address>>
Date : XX/XX/XXXX
Data Protection Officer, <<address as per ce-service.co.uk>>
Dear Sir/Madam,
Subject access request (Data Protection Act 2018 / General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)) regarding
<<Full Name>><<My Current Address>><<My Contact Number>>
<<My Previous Address>>
Please supply the data about me that I am entitled to under data protection law  relating to myself.
- ALL photos/videos taken- all letters/emails sent and received, including any appeal correspondence earlier- all data held, all evidence you will rely on, and a full copy of the PCN, NTK- and a list of all PCNs outstanding against me.
If you need any more data from me to confirm my identity please let me know as soon as possible. It may be helpful for you to know that data protection law requires you to respond to a request for data within one calendar month.
If you do not normally deal with these requests, please pass this letter to your Data Protection Officer, or relevant staff member. If you need advice on dealing with this request, the Information Commissioner’s Office can assist you. Its website is ico.org.uk or it can be contacted on 0303 123 1113.
Yours faithfully,<<My Full Name>>Attachment : V5C scanned copy.
=====

Is the above ok??

Request for SAR will usually take 1 month to come back provided the V5C is sufficient to prove my identify, should I be waiting for it or should I push on sending the 

1. Order for N244
2. Witness Statement for N244

to CCBC and pay the £275 immediately.  

jaycee31

Hi.  I would crack on with the N244 in my experience, you want that off your credit history asap.  I did it without a SAR and won.

Le_Kirk

If you need any more data from me to confirm my identity please let me know as soon as possible.

I would not be offering them any opportunity to delay matters; they only need a copy of your V5C (providing it is up-to-date with your correct address on it) and maybe a copy of ay letter they sent to you with your address on it.  I would not be sending a copy of a driving licence or passport.  Anything that comes back as a result of the SAR will be useful at the witness statement stage when defending the underlying claim once the judgment has been successfully set aside.  You have a need to "act promptly" once you have discovered a CCJ against your name.

rbceurope

Redacted mail for SAR

==

<<My Full Name>>,

<<My Current Address>>

Date : XX/XX/XXXX

Data Protection Officer, 

<<address as per ce-service.co.uk>>

Dear Sir/Madam,

Subject access request (Data Protection Act 2018 / General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)) regarding

<<Full Name>>

<<My Current Address>>, <<My Contact Number>>

<<My Previous Address>>

Please supply the data about me that I am entitled to under data protection law  relating to myself.

- ALL photos/videos taken

- all letters/emails sent and received, including any appeal correspondence earlier

- all data held, all evidence you will rely on, and a full copy of the PCN, NTK

- and a list of all PCNs outstanding against me.

To confirm my identity I have attached my up-to date V5C. It may be helpful for you to know that data protection law requires you to respond to a request for data within one calendar month.

If you do not normally deal with these requests, please pass this letter to your Data Protection Officer, or relevant staff member. If you need advice on dealing with this request, the Information Commissioner’s Office can assist you. Its website is ico.org.uk or it can be contacted on 0303 123 1113.

Yours faithfully,

<<My Full Name>>

Attachment : V5C scanned copy.
==

rbceurope

@jaycee31 I will crack on with draft Order & Witness statement while the SAR request gets progressed parallel. I will post the draft Order & WS here tonight to set aside my CCJ.
I guess I should be able to get the latest template for WS and Order on the newbies post. 

@Le_Kirk
Tomorrow will be the 4th day where I came aware of a CCJ on me and I am trying to file my N244 on coming Monday (21/03/2022), will that be ok or I should be fast tracking it and try to send it by tomorrow (Friday).

Le_Kirk

Your timescale is fine, I have seen 14 days suggested.

Coupon-mad

Don't send your driving licence copy.