CCJ sent to my old address

chriscctw

Does the witness statement make sense?

Witness statement

 

I am xxxx and I am the defendant in this matter.  This is my supporting statement to my application dated xxxx requesting to:

 

a.       Set aside the default judgment dated 26th July 2018 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 £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee along with any other associated costs.

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 Judgment against me as the Defendant on 26th July 2018.  I am aware that the Claimant is Civil Enforcement Ltd, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from xxxx at xxxx

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address and thus I was not aware of the Default Judgment until 20th June 2022 following a check of my credit report.

1.4. The address on the claim is xxx. I moved from this address to my current address of xxxx on 14th September 2017.  In support of this I have attached a scanned copy of my mortgage summary dated 17th September 2017 sent to the new address (Appendix 1) I have also attached a scanned copy of the Official copy of register of title dated 15th September 2017 (Appendix 2) that was sent to the new address.

1.5. My partner was issued with a Late Licensing Penalty Issue from Pastdue Credit Solutions that was sent to the current address on 13th April 2018 that proves it was possible to track down the new address at that time.

1.6.1 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;

1.6.2 I discovered a County Court Judgement (CCJ) was lodged onto my credit file on the 20th June 2022.

1.6.3 On 22nd June 2022 I contacted the County Court Business Centre via telephone to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment.

1.6.4. On xxxx I have submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

 1.6.5 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.

1.7.1 On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to Civil Procedural Rules (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 and use the address of my current residence. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment.

 

1.7.2 Under CPR 13.2 The court must set aside a judgment entered under part 12 if judgment was wrongly entered.  Given that CPR 6.9 (3) was not met, CPR 13.2 applies and the CCJ should be set aside.

 

1.7.3 The defendant was 'there to be found' for the sake of a 29pence bulk Experian trace or similar very inexpensive and immediate credit reference agency address check.

 

1.7.4 The Claimant in fact had access to the defendant’s current address through their commissioned agents Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (Appendix 5) but instead used an address obtained over 3 years ago which is evidence that the Claimant acted in direct contradiction of CPR 6.9 (4)(a) which states that a claim must be served at the Defendant’s current address

 

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, 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 xxx.

 

1.9 There are several authorities for this, including the judgment in Boxwood [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 In Vinos v Marks & Spencer plc *URL* the Court of Appeal considered whether any extension of time should be granted under CPR 7.6 in circumstances where the defendant had been notified of the issue of a claim form but the claim form had not been served within four months as required by CPR 7.5 and the application was made after expiry of that period. The court refused to grant relief on the basis that it did not have power to do so.

2.1. 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.

2.2 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 £275 from the claimant and any associated costs should this request be successful.

 

Coupon-mad

You should quote the BPA Code of Practice (old version for 2018) found easily on the BPA website.  The bit about checking details before filing a claim. You should state that just relying on old and unreliable car registration data from the DVLA as if it can later be presumed to be an address for service for a court claim is unlawful and in breach of the BPA CoP.

Now I've read this, I've changed my mind and think you shouldn't use it.  Looks bad to have a late licence penalty:

1.5. My partner was issued with a Late Licensing Penalty Issue from Pastdue Credit Solutions that was sent to the current address on 13th April 2018 that proves it was possible to track down the new address at that time.

chriscctw

Thanks, I will take out the Late Licencing info. Unfortunately the BPA website doesn't appear to be working at the moment but I'll keep going on it.

Just a quick question, I first got a DCBL letter on 31st March, but I ignored it assuming it was a scam. Should I include this info?

chriscctw

1.5 The BPA Approved Operator Code of Practice 2012 - Version 7, January 2018 states that 'Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the person being written to is the correct party.' I believe that the reasonable endeavours threshold was not achieved in this case.

Coupon-mad

You could add that this vaguely-worded requirement is better explained by the Government in the new Code of Practice which is currently temporarily delayed but says (then quote the bit about this from the 7th Feb DLUHC Code even tho it's temporarily withdrawn).

1505grandad

"1.5 The BPA Approved Operator Code of Practice 2012 - Version 7, January 2018....."

There is no "2012" in BPA CoP.  

chriscctw

How does this look now?

Witness statement

 

 

I am xxxx and I am the defendant in this matter.  This is my supporting statement to my application dated xxxx requesting to:

 

a.       Set aside the default judgment dated 26th July 2018 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 £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee along with any other associated costs.

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 Judgment against me as the Defendant on 26th July 2018.  I am aware that the Claimant is Civil Enforcement Ltd, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from xxxx at xxxx

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address and thus I was not aware of the Default Judgment until 20th June 2022 following a check of my credit report.

1.4.1. The address on the claim is xxx. I moved from this address to my current address of xxxx on 14th September 2017.  In support of this I have attached a scanned copy of my mortgage summary dated 17th September 2017 sent to the new address (Appendix 1) I have also attached a scanned copy of the Official copy of register of title dated 15th September 2017 (Appendix 2) that was sent to the new address.

1.5.1 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;

1.5.2 I discovered a County Court Judgement (CCJ) was lodged onto my credit file on the 20th June 2022.

1.5.3 On 22nd June 2022 I contacted the County Court Business Centre via telephone to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment.

  1.5.4. On xxxx I have submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

 

1.5.5 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.

1.5.6 The BPA Approved Operator Code of Practice - Version 7, January 2018 states that 'Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the person being written to is the correct party.’  This vaguely-worded requirement is better explained by the Government in the new Code of Practice which is currently temporarily delayed but says ‘If a driver, keeper or hire company does not respond to a notice of parking charge or subsequent correspondence, or a parking charge has not been paid in full, reasonable endeavours - including contacting credit reference agencies to undertake a ‘soft trace’ - must be undertaken by the parking operator and/or its appointed debt recovery agent to establish the correct correspondence details of the driver, keeper or hire company before commencing enforcement action. Where a new address is discovered the notice of parking charge should be re-issued at the original rate but with a further 28 days from service for a response (payment or appeal).’

 

 

1.6.1 On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to Civil Procedural Rules (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 and use the address of my current residence. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment.

Coupon-mad

Where's the compelling case law and quoting of the May Government's position that you had (from 1.65 onwards in your previous draft)?

chriscctw

Sorry, it is still in there, I just copied the small part that I'd changed. 

Here it is in entirety -

Witness statement

 

 

I am xxxx and I am the defendant in this matter.  This is my supporting statement to my application dated xxxx requesting to:

 

a.       Set aside the default judgment dated 26th July 2018 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 £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee along with any other associated costs.

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 Judgment against me as the Defendant on 26th July 2018.  I am aware that the Claimant is Civil Enforcement Ltd, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from xxxx at xxxx

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address and thus I was not aware of the Default Judgment until 20th June 2022 following a check of my credit report.

1.4.1. The address on the claim is xxx. I moved from this address to my current address of xxxx on 14th September 2017.  In support of this I have attached a scanned copy of my mortgage summary dated 17th September 2017 sent to the new address (Appendix 1) I have also attached a scanned copy of the Official copy of register of title dated 15th September 2017 (Appendix 2) that was sent to the new address.

1.5.1 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;

1.5.2 I discovered a County Court Judgement (CCJ) was lodged onto my credit file on the 20th June 2022.

1.5.3 On 22nd June 2022 I contacted the County Court Business Centre via telephone to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment.

  1.5.4. On xxxx I have submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

 

1.5.5 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.

1.5.6 The BPA Approved Operator Code of Practice - Version 7, January 2018 states that 'Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the person being written to is the correct party.’  This vaguely-worded requirement is better explained by the Government in the new Code of Practice which is currently temporarily delayed but says ‘If a driver, keeper or hire company does not respond to a notice of parking charge or subsequent correspondence, or a parking charge has not been paid in full, reasonable endeavours - including contacting credit reference agencies to undertake a ‘soft trace’ - must be undertaken by the parking operator and/or its appointed debt recovery agent to establish the correct correspondence details of the driver, keeper or hire company before commencing enforcement action. Where a new address is discovered the notice of parking charge should be re-issued at the original rate but with a further 28 days from service for a response (payment or appeal).’

 

 

1.6.1 On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to Civil Procedural Rules (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 and use the address of my current residence. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment.

 

1.6.2 Under CPR 13.2 The court must set aside a judgment entered under part 12 if judgment was wrongly entered.  Given that CPR 6.9 (3) was not met, CPR 13.2 applies and the CCJ should be set aside.

 

1.6.3 The defendant was 'there to be found' for the sake of a 29pence bulk Experian trace or similar very inexpensive and immediate credit reference agency address check.

 

1.6.4 The Claimant in fact had access to the defendant’s current address through their commissioned agents Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (Appendix 5) but instead used an address obtained over 3 years ago which is evidence that the Claimant acted in direct contradiction of CPR 6.9 (4)(a) which states that a claim must be served at the Defendant’s current address

 

1.7 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, 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 xxx.

 

1.8 There are several authorities for this, including the judgment in Boxwood [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.

 

1.9 In Vinos v Marks & Spencer plc [2001] 3 All ER 784 the Court of Appeal considered whether any extension of time should be granted under CPR 7.6 in circumstances where the defendant had been notified of the issue of a claim form but the claim form had not been served within four months as required by CPR 7.5 and the application was made after expiry of that period. The court refused to grant relief on the basis that it did not have power to do so.

2.0 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.

2.1 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 £275 from the claimant and any associated costs should this request be successful.

Coupon-mad

Very good, as long as this has a statement of truth and signature/date at the end, of course.