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CCJ served at wrong address - SORN vehicle

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Hi, 

I wondered if anyone could help. 

My husband discovered a CCJ via Experian a couple of weeks ago which was filed by DBC Legal on 31st December 2021 (representing UKPC). The letters were sent to our previous address, which we moved out of on 22 January 2021, so were never received by us. The PCN was from a private car park at my work address in 2017 (additionally, I was driving the car, rather than my husband).

We sent a request for a SAR to UKPC (yet to hear back on the SAR) and have also sent a Consent to Set Aside email to UKPC and DCB Legal. We have heard back from UKPC re: the Consent to Set Aside this morning and they have said the following: 

-----

Good morning,
 
Thank you for your email.
 
As a member of the British Parking Association, UKPC obtains all its Registered Keeper information from the DVLA. If UKPC’s correspondence has been sent to an outdated address, this is because the Defendant has failed to update the DVLA with their change of address, which would include the V5 form  and UKPC cannot reasonably have been expected to know that this was the case.
 
At this stage, the case is no longer with UKPC and as such, we are unable to advise further. We therefore would advise that you contact DCB Legal with any queries moving forward.
 
DCB Legal can be reached directly on 0203 434 0433 or by emailing   info@dcblegal.co.uk
 
Kind regards
Complaints Department

-----

The car which we received the ticket on was SORN in December 2017 after a crash, when we were living at another address (Address #1), which we moved out of in December 2018. 

Subsequently we received reminder letters at our new address (Address #2) from UKPC, so they must have traced us to that address. UKPC have referenced the V5 in their above correspondence. When we moved from Address #2 to our new address in (Address #3) in Jan 2021 we updated all details (driving license, council tax, utilities etc so would have been easily traced), however, we have realised we didn't update the v5 on our new vehicle. 

Is the correspondence from UKPC relevant (do they have a leg to stand on)? Should we move straight ahead to submitting a N244?

Many thanks in advance.
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Comments

  • Hi @Johnersh

    Thanks so much for your reply. Do you think it's worth replying to UKPC with something along these lines, or just going ahead with the N244 straight away? 

    Thanks again
  • Mars28
    Mars28 Posts: 69 Forumite
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    edited 15 September 2022 at 4:49PM
    I'm not one of the experts on here, but my case is very similar to yours and from all the help I've been given so far, I think it's very winnable.

    The NTK you received will not have been Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 compliant - which basically means your husband cannot legally be held liable as the keeper, and it kills the claim dead.

    You need to get the CCJ set aside (submit the application ASAP, days/weeks not longer, especially if you've known about the CCJ already for a couple of weeks). Rationale: Default judgment failed to meet Civil Procedural Rule 6.9 which requires them to take reasonable steps to find you before serving the Letter of Claim (mandatory set-aside), and the claim is unenforceable in law because the NTK fails to meet POFA conditions (discretionary set-side due to reasonable/guaranteed chances of defence).

    Read the newbies thread - a very useful start point.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 151,354 Forumite
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    edited 15 September 2022 at 6:58PM
    The NTK you received will not have been Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 compliant - which basically means your husband cannot legally be held liable as the keeper, and it kills the claim dead.
    It may have been a POFA one.  UKPC are hit and miss.



    "Subsequently we received reminder letters at our new address (Address #2) from UKPC, so they must have traced us to that address. "

    Send a copy if those letters (if you kept any of them) to DCBLegal and state that their client was using the right address in 2021 but for no valid reason they/DCBLegal reverted back to the (known to be out of date) DVLA address for the court claim.  

    This clearly breaches both Civil Procedural Rule 6.9 which requires them to take reasonable steps to find you before serving the Letter of Claim AND is a flagrant breach of the BPA Code of Practice para 24.1.c:

    "24.1c Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to the issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the contact details for the person you are writing to are correct."

    The above means a 'soft trace' must be carried out (obviously it wasn't) and in this case, given that two possible addresses were already held by UKPC, a reasonable and inexpensive step would have been to send a LBC to each address.

    This case will clearly meet the bar for a mandatory set-aside, and the Defendant will seek full costs if UKPC cause the Defendant to have to file a N244 for a contested hearing.  Minimum cost £275 court fee plus £95 to attend the hearing, therefore the following alternative has value to UKPC:

    The Defendant suggests UKPC consent to the set aside and pay the £108 fee required for the matter to be dealt with without a hearing, and DCBLegal to provide a Consent Order including dismissing the claim.  The Defendant was not the driver and there are a number of solid grounds of defence, so the claim will get nowhere.

    If a suitable Consent Order is not forthcoming within seven days, the Defendant will proceed with a N244 application (with a hearing, £275 court fee) and the D will provide evidence that UKPC held the right address all along and the D will hold UKPC fully liable for all associated costs.

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  • "Subsequently we received reminder letters at our new address (Address #2) from UKPC, so they must have traced us to that address. "

    Send a copy if those letters (if you kept any of them) to DCBLegal and state that their client was using the right address in 2021 but for no valid reason they/DCBLegal reverted back to the (known to be out of date) DVLA address for the court claim.  

    @Coupon-mad - sorry, I think my initial post was unclear. The Letter of Claim (we presume) would have been sent to address #2, but as the CCJ was filed in December 2021 we would have been long gone, as we moved to address #3 in Jan 2021.

    The car that received the parking ticket was never registered at address #2 or #3 as it was SORN while we were living at address #1.

    It sounds like they traced us using DVLA to address #1 initially, then perhaps by some other means to address #2?

    Thanks again!

  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 151,354 Forumite
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    edited 17 September 2022 at 11:28PM
    Ok - so it's the usual argument then, that they failed to re-check the address late in 2021 before litigation commenced.

    They also had two old addresses already, so there was already doubt about the address and evidence that you were someone whose address was somewhat transient; they should have considered that you may have moved again, as many tenants do, or people moving due to work.

    Where is the evidence that they took steps to comply with the Code of Practice and check?
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  • @Coupon-mad
    Thanks again. Do we continue with correspondence with UKPC and ask them which steps they took to comply with the Code of Practice check, or just move straight to the N224, which we've been preparing?

    (DCB Legal still haven't responded to either our request to set aside or our SAR request)

    Sorry for so many questions, finding it all very confusing!
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 151,354 Forumite
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    Just do the N244 this week, having read and followed the leads (and wording) of the threads by @Brokenchief and @Jack5656
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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  • @Coupon-mad
    Thanks for the above. 

    Would you mind looking over this witness statement to let me know if I've missed anything (which I've taken a lot of from the threads you suggested)?

    I can't work out if I can submit this online (and call to make payment tomorrow) or if it has to be sent etc, any advice would be gratefully received!

    -----------------

    WITNESS STATEMENT

    I am XXXXX of XXXXX, and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated 21st September requesting to:

    a. Set aside the default judgment dated 31 December 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 £275 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 31 December 2021. I am aware that the Claimant is XXXXX, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge from 4th May 2017 at my wife’s workplace XXXXXXX. 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 Judgement until 24th August 2022 following a check of my Experian credit report; as found in Schedule (X)

    The address on the claim is XXXXXXXX. I moved to my current address at XXXXXXXX on the 22nd January 2021. In support of this I can provide a scanned copy of my mortgage agreement, alongside a council tax and utility bill; Schedule (X)

    1.4. 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;

    1.4.1 I discovered a CCJ was lodged onto my credit file on the 24th August 2022.

    1.4.2 On 24th August 2022 I contacted the Northampton County Court to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgement; Schedule (X). I was informed that Northampton County Court had limited information and that the CCJ had been filed by XXXXX, who I also contacted on 24th August 2022.

    1.4.3 On 8th September 2022 I submitted a subject access request to XXXXX via email. DO I MENTION HERE THAT THEY NEVER REPLIED TO THE SAR?

    1.4.4 On 13th September 2022 I made a written request to XXXXXX and XXXXXX (Solicitors) inviting them to consent to set aside the judgment due to the reasons in paragraph 1.3. I informed them that if there was no agreement by 20th September 2022 I would be filing a N244 set aside application.

    1.4.5 The Claimant turned down my request.

    1.4.6  On 22nd September I have wilfully submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgement and fairly present my case.

    1.5. 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.

    1.6. 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 11 months to establish an address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgement.

    1.7. 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.

    1.8. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. I believe that the Default Judgement 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 should this request be successful.

    I believe that the facts stated in this defence 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.


    ------------------

    DRAFT ORDER

    IN THE COUNTY COURT AT


    XXXXXX (Claimant)

    And


    (Defendant)


    District Judge


    UPON reading the Defendant's application dated 21st September 2022 and the annexed witness statement of dated 21 September 2022 IT IS ORDERED that:

    1. The default judgment dated 31st December 2021 be set aside.

    2. Costs to be reserved.

    3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the Claim Form on the Defendant by 4 pm on [date] paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £275 and the claim shall be struck out.

    4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on [date].

    5. Should the Claimant discontinue the Claim after the CCJ is set aside, paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £275 plus the Defendant's costs for attending the hearing.

    6. That all enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.




  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 151,354 Forumite
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    "2. Costs to be reserved"

    No, that's not what @Brokenchief's version says and it conflicts with your top headings.  You want your costs BACK!
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
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