QDR CCJ help please

Mrs_C__2

Evening all, complete newbie here. 

I've read some related posts but I'm still lost as to what is the best thing to do and would love some advice/support please. 

Back in 2020 my son broke down in a McDonald's car park. He overstayed whilst waiting for recovery and was issued a fine. He spoke to the McDonald's manager, explained the situation and the manager said he would get the fine cancelled. It was not cancelled and my son began ignoring the debt letters, unbeknownst to me.

The fine was transferred to DCBL and more letters came. I finally realised what was going on, by this time the debt was £170 and DCBL were threatening to pass him over to their solicitors to start court action. 

At this point I paid up for him as I didn't want it going any further and their threatening letters worked, I'm a worrier. I think I made payment via DCBL's website. My bank statement shows the payment going out to them in August 2021. 

Fast forward to Feb/Mar 2022 and numerous letters start coming from DCBL's solicitors, QDR. We write back saying the debt has been paid and sent a screen shot of my bank as proof. The letters keep coming, saying that the bank statement is not enough proof, they need more. 

I got snotty with them and basically told them to check with DCBL themselves and not to contact us again as the barrage of threatening letters was paramount to harassment. I may have said we would seek legal advice in regards to harassment if they sent any more letters. We heard nothing more and I thought that maybe they had checked and seen that the payment had been made. 

Yesterday my son received a one page letter from Northampton County Court saying that because he had not replied to the claim form he is now ordered to pay £289. The claimant is UK Parking Control Limited with the name and address for payment being QDR Solicitors. 

My son never received a claim form, whether its been sent, or got lost due to postal strikes, who knows. The last letter he received from QDR was from May 2022.

I know we can apply to have this set aside for £275. We contacted DCBL through their website last night asking for a receipt for the payment which they sent today. So we have proof it's been paid. 

But the debt is £289...£14 more than the cost to set aside. Should we just pay? If we pay to get it set aside could we claim the £275 back from QDR? 

Any advice would be greatly received. TIA 

Fruitcake

If the judgment is paid within the prescribed time, (I'm not sure if it is 28 or 30 days) then no CCJ will be registered. The problem with that is if you then apply for a set aside you are out of pocket by double the amount before you start.

If the date for payment has passed then there is no point in paying because it will be marked as satisfied but will still be recorded. It will still affect the victim's ability to obtain credit.

I can't advise you, but if it was me I would apply for a set aside straight away and not pay, citing failure to properly serve the claim according to the CPR. There is advice on how to apply for a set aside in the NEWBIES. 
I would start by asking UKPC for a set aside with consent because it is considerably cheaper, including proof/reasons why the claim was never properly served. You want costs paid by the claimant not reserved. Point out that this will cost the claimant less in the long run when they lose.

Coupon-mad

What's the date of the judgment?

Who is the Defendant, your son?

Can he prove he told UKPC and/or QDR that it had been paid?  I hope you weren't replying to these firms for him...?  This is his case.

You didn't pay for him too and forgot to put his name and reference on the payment?

Similar to another case we had last week and the victim is counterclaiming.

Mrs_C__2

Coupon-mad said:

What's the date of the judgment?

Who is the Defendant, your son?

Can he prove he told UKPC and/or QDR that it had been paid?  I hope you weren't replying to these firms for him...?  This is his case.

You didn't pay for him too and forgot to put his name and reference on the payment?

Similar to another case we had last week and the victim is counterclaiming.

The judgement is dated 5/1/23

Yes, my son. 

He has a copy of the letter he sent to QDR saying it had been paid. He also has an email from DCBL saying it's been paid too.

I honestly can't remember how I paid it. Possibly via DCBL's website where I'm assuming you'd have to input a reference number which would relate to him. 

Thanks you for taking the time to respond guys. 

KeithP

Mrs_C__2 said:

Coupon-mad said:

What's the date of the judgment?

Who is the Defendant, your son?

Can he prove he told UKPC and/or QDR that it had been paid?  I hope you weren't replying to these firms for him...?  This is his case.

You didn't pay for him too and forgot to put his name and reference on the payment?

Similar to another case we had last week and the victim is counterclaiming.

I honestly can't remember how I paid it. Possibly via DCBL's website where I'm assuming you'd have to input a reference number which would relate to him. 

That sounds like a bit of a guess.

If you paid but got the reference number wrong, then the recipient would be rubbing their hands with glee and looking upon it as a bonus payment. That would leave the intended balance outstanding.

There was a case a couple of years ago, can't remember the details, where a firm of solicitors were fined a significant sum for doing just that.

Coupon-mad

He has a copy of the letter he sent to QDR saying it had been paid. He also has an email from DCBL saying it's been paid too.

Do both of those quote the same PCN number?

Mrs_C__2

Coupon-mad said:

He has a copy of the letter he sent to QDR saying it had been paid. He also has an email from DCBL saying it's been paid too.

Do both of those quote the same PCN number?

Yes they do 

Coupon-mad

OK well here is the case like your son's:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79754782#Comment_79754782

They don't have a CCJ (the court claim was received by the daughter in that one) but everything else about the case is similar and they are now being assisted to do a substantial Counterclaim.

I asked @bargepole (who is handling that case and counterclaim now) if he might take a look at your case too, and he says:

"Certainly refer him to me, but I’d need to see all the documents before committing to anything."
 
Read what I said to that person and if you want assistance then your son needs to show all his paperwork to @bargepole - be aware he does this as a business.

This company is nothing to do with me and the decision is up to you, but we can vouch for him being the most knowledgeable person for your son's case and the most likely to get this sorted positively, if he thinks your son's paperwork supports a counterclaim.

Mrs_C__2

@Coupon-mad Thank you so much! Very much appreciated.
Thanks to @KeithP for responding too.

B789

Mrs_C__2 said:

At this point I paid up for him as I didn't want it going any further and their threatening letters worked, I'm a worrier. I think I made payment via DCBL's website. My bank statement shows the payment going out to them in August 2021.

I and many others on here are hoping that you have learned a valuable lesson here and you could have saved yourself/son £170 by not being a "worrier" and defending this properly in the first place. You are not alone in having made the sad mistake of giving in to the threats by these PPCs and their rottweiler lawyers.

Now you have the uphill struggle and time-consuming process of getting this CCJ set aside. As advised by the regulars, you are going to have to pay the CCJ within 30 days of issue if you want to prevent it from going on to your sons' credit file AND pay the £275 set-aside fee. However, if you strictly follow the advice given here and in the Newbies sticky advice thread, you should get the fee and the debt from the CCJ refunded. Unfortunately, I think the fact that you paid the original "debt" of £170 is just going to fund the sewer scum and keep encouraging them to find more gullible victims like yourself.

Please do not let your "worrier" instincts get the better of you.