Help please - CCJ & Debt Recovery – from unknown Parking fine

Castle

Jack5656 said:

I agree Coupon. I have noted the last letter from ZZPS was dated in Janaury 2021 - how on earth can ZZPS (on behalf of CEL) justify being unable to trace my address after all that time when I moved in 2018 and notified every bank and utility company of my move within 2 weeks of moving address?!

I hope the judge will see this is totally unrreasonable. Of course CEL will argue ZZPS do make traces and didn't find me, but that can't be true as I was there to be found. I wonder if CEL can produce proof of ZZPS trace actions?

Any traces whether by ZZPS or anybody else would have had to be disclosed in CEL's SAR reply to you, since CEL signed the court claim.

Jack5656

Coupon-mad said:

Maybe do the SAR to ZZPS first as proof that they never did a soft trace would be more compelling to add.

A good idea but what chance they will reply in time - I have only 10 days before the hearing now.

Coupon-mad

Do it anyway, by email today. Your hearing might get postponed, or ZZPS might reply quickly.

I believe CEL would not return any info held by ZZPS in CEL's SAR so this is worth doing.

Jack5656

OK worth a try - SAR request now sent to ZZPS. If I don't get any reply in time would you still recommend I send the CEL SAR to the judge?

Coupon-mad

If it's just supplying a link to a zip file and makes a point that supports your application then yes.

You could also point out that CEL has provided no evidence at all that they or their agents ever bothered to do a 29 pence bulk 'soft trace', and clearly they didn't, despite this being a requirement of the BPA CoP, the pre-action protocol for debt claims, the FCA and CSA rules for debt collection and the CPRs about reasonable steps to take before filing claims.

This has been further clarified in the new incoming statutory Code of Practice for private parking, which re-states best practice about checking addresses if no response to letters arrives, and in fact says that if new addresses are found, the consumer must be sent a new PCN and offered appeal from scratch. Not sued at the notoriously unreliable DVLA car registration address that AOS members cannot assume is good for service months or years later, or even that it was over good for service of court papers because it is not provided on that basis.

Jack5656

Thanks again Coupon - I had another thought - The Electoral Roll - does being on this make any difference to the soft trace finding you?

I ask as I know I have been on the reigster at my curent address for quite some time, but I can't confirm when I was added and wondered if that could be an arguement for CEL or ZZPS not locating me before going to court in 2018?

Coupon-mad

Depends if they even looked.  That's all part of 'soft trace' work.

Jack5656

Just wondered if you had not gotten round to registering at the new address for a few months if that would mean a soft trace can't find you or is that is only part of trace action?

Coupon-mad

It's only a small part.  It should involve some human checks, such as research of social media to try to find a way to contact the person - but mainly doing a 'soft trace' using Experian or similar, that returns addresses held by utilities, your bank, etc., without showing on your credit file as a 'hard search' would.

Jack5656

OK thank you - I was researching online to see how important the electoral roll is within a soft trace but came up without anything to help. I just want to be prepaered in case CEL claim that if I was not on electoral roll in 2018 that a soft trace would not find my address. But from what you say a soft trace should pick up the current address as long as banks and utilities, council are updated?