Help CCJ PCN Set Aside - Have I left it too late?

popiu44

Help CCJ PCN Set Aside - Have I left it too late?

I have read through the Newbies section and many of the recommended posts.

I found out on 29 March and made the mistake of calling the BW Legal to discuss the matter.

My Question - Some people are saying on here I need to file N224 within 14 days. Have I left it too late?

Thank you 

Coupon-mad

Nope - NOT TOO LATE - but do it THIS week (tomorrow!) so your application is dated April, which looks better than May.

Follow the worked example by @Jack5656

popiu44

I will - many thanks for your reply and work against the parking forces of evil.

popiu44

Hello Forum 

I have followed the kind advice on this forum and followed the advice of Joneresh  to set aside two judgements (his advice is found in the Newbies thread). I basically followed his N244 Application example with some small changes, paid the fee and the court gave a hearing date for the 19th July 2022. I understand that I need to show at the Hearing that I was not served properly AND that I have a reasonable prospect of defending the claim.

The original 'parking tickets' were from a long time ago and I seem to recall that someone else was using the car at the time. Is this as a possible defence or should I use other defences? 

Or should I just get the court proceedings reissued and pay - the benefit here being that I can pay the parking companies but avoid the CCJs ruining my credit record?

Coupon-mad

Or should I just get the court proceedings reissued and pay - the benefit here being that I can pay the parking companies but avoid the CCJs ruining my credit record?

That isn't an option - and nor would that give any benefit to you that's not already well in your grasp, without paying them.

You don't get a CCJ again, once these are wiped and if you are following Jack5656's case, the Judge should dismiss both claims for want of service (the 4 months dead argument, citing the Boxwood and Marks & Spencer cases as authorities).

You do need to supply those authorities before the hearing. Read the CCJ thread by @eb2345 which names both cases in full which will make it easy for you to Google and find the court transcripts you need to  file and serve - this week, ideally.

After seeing your CCJ wiped and their claim dismissed and having to pay your £275 fee back, they then could start again with a fresh claim, but most won't.  

And if they did you don't PAY! You defend and win and pay nothing. Like we almost always do. No CCJ risked.

Which two parking firms are involved?

Have you got a SAR from both? You need to email for a SAR (see newbies thread).

Have either of them responded or opposed your application and supplied any witness statement? Are either of them using a solicitor? Which roboclaim firm?

popiu44

Hi Coupon-mad!

Thanks for replying so quickly. So, I have two court hearings that will happen 19th July at the same telephone hearing.

Case 1
BRISTOL PARKING SERVICES LTD
Who are being represented by BW Legal and I have received a pre-hearing pack in the post today

Case 2
HIGHVIEW PARKING LIMITED
Who may be represented by DCBL but I have not received anything in relation to this hearing

More to follow...

popiu44

NOTE: I have not made any SAR request from anyone at this stage.

I have received the pre-hearing pack from BW Legal. They have raised points which I need help with. I would be grateful with brief advice on how I should proceed.

The conclusion from BW Legal is that 

a. The application has not been made promptly
b. The defendant did not engage with the court process
c.There are no mandatory reasons to set judgement aside
d. The application discloses no facts that give the defendant a real prospect of defending the claim and has failed to provide the mandatory evidence

I'm not sure what steps to take at this stage of the process. 

popiu44

Also, they have enclosed TRACES by Equifax and are saying that they carried out the necessary checks before issuing.

popiu44

I've just gone back to read the Jack5656 thread about setting aside. This is a great thread which I did read some while ago but I think due to the volume of new information some of it only sinks in after reading it again.

popiu44

So, in summary:

I have filed the N244 Application (see my example) and my witness statemernt (my example similar to that of @Jack5656) and Draft Order and have the  two Application hearings 19 July after sending them to the court via email and paying the fees by phone.

I have not carried out a SARs request so have no information here.

I have received some papers from DCBL as outlined above who contest my application as mentioned above

DCBL have provided proof of some Equifax searches a month before they issued proceedings. Does this undermine my Application - I am assuming that I will say they should have done more to locate me as I had swapped my bills, mortgage and bank etc so there check was inadequate. 

This is how I plan to proceed:

Create a bundle to send to the court and other sides with:

1: Original N244 Application, accompanying witness statement and Draft Order
2. A second witness statement stating that I wish to rely on Dubai Financial case law argue defective service.
3. An outline defence in case I have to show I can defend the claim

Will this do the trick?

Coupon-mad

Were both claims sent to the wrong address but BW Legal have shown a 'soft trace' (in full, not cropped) that shows no other addresses for you?

And they did that just before filing the claim?  Is it dated?  Why do you think it wouldn't have returned your new address? 

Why are they saying you failed to act promptly? Surely you moved quickly as soon as you learned about the CCJ? You couldn't have acted any faster...? That would be your answer to that criticism. You can't act to set aside a CCJ until you find out!

Also some Judges get fixated on the DVLA rk address and wrongly blame consumers and assume that, had you updated it then the PPC would have been able to see it. WRONG.

You need to counter that if it is suggested.  Under the DVLA KADOE rules, parking firms can only ask for DVLA data once.

After that, if there is reason to believe the address might not be current & suitable for proper service of a court claim (an example might be if there is silence, or letters are being retuned 'gone away') then a PPC must carry out checks and take reasonable steps to locate the right address.

You need to show you were there to be found. On the voter's electoral roll? Registered for Council tax? Moved all your bank accounts and insurances to show the new address months/years before the claim therefore the supposed soft trace looks like it failed or wasn't done properly...if your financials were at a new address, a thorough trace would show it!

Maybe BW did two (they only cost pence) and are only showing the court the one that returned nothing.  Either way, you were not hiding and were easy to find and should have been properly served with the Claims.