Suprise CCJ - Civil Enforcement Ltd

amxv

Hi everyone, 

My partner and I drove into the (notorious) Port of Wells car park on a rainy evening in May 2021. We think it must have said it was a pay & display car park, as I stayed in the car whilst my partner went to find cash to pay for the ticket. Unable to find any cash, we left the car park and went elsewhere. I was sat in the car for just 15-20 mins and never left it. 

 

We had moved house the previous month, April 2021, and our former landlord forwarded a parking fine to us from CEL in June 2021. I no longer have the letter, but we recall that it had a photo of us leaving the car park, and stated that we were being fined for being in the car park for longer than 15 mins without buying a ticket. We thought this was ridiculous and following a quick google search decided to ignore it. In hindsight, this was a mistake! 

 

We were not forwarded any further letters from our landlord. 

 

Last Thursday (2 Feb 2023), I received a letter from DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd) alerting me to the fact that I had an Unpaid CCJ (£292.62) and that I had 14 days from the date of the letter (26 Jan) to make the payment otherwise DCBL would pursue the outstanding balance on behalf of the claimant (Civil Enforcement Ltd). 

I paid £5 to find out if the CCJ actually existed using the online records and saw that the court was County Court Business Centre. I rang the court and recorded the phone call following advice that I had read on this forum, and was told it related to a parking ticket issued by Civil Enforcement Ltd from May 2021.

 

The date of the CCJ was 18th July 2022. As stated, I have lived at my current address since April 2021 and updated the electoral register as soon as I moved in. We actually changed the V5C when we received the parking fine in June 2021. 

 

I have also emailed a SAR to CEL on 3 Feb using a template from this forum asking for the data they held in relation to me. 

 

I am confident that I can apply for a Set Aside due to the CCJ being sent to the wrong address. And will post a filled in Witness Statement template on here as soon as possible.  

 

My first question is, do I need to pay to view the Particulars of the Claim in order to fill out the Set Aside, as I don’t have any information about this claim. 

 

Another questions, which may be irrelevant, but my surname is spelt incorrectly on the CCJ so that when I searched my name with the correct spelling no CCJ came up against it. Is the CCJ legally binding if they haven’t used my correct legal name? 

 

I also just want to say thank you for all your help on this forum. You are providing an amazing service to help people fight these awful scammers!

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

Phone the CCBC again and ask them to email the Particulars of Claim to you.

Whilst you were right to update your V5c as soon as you realised it was out of date, the parking company are not in formed of that update and their agreement with the DVLA forbids them from asking for the keeper's details a second time.

Coupon-mad

Have a look at the exemplar CCJ set aside threads by:

 @Jack5656

@Brokenchief

B789

Obviously DCBL didn't have problem finding your correct address after the CCJ was issued. For want of a 29p soft trace, whoever was representing CEL could have done the same before issuing their PoC.

Follow the excellent advice you receive from the regulars on here, read the Newbies thread on setting aside the CCJ and you shouldn't go wrong. You're in the right place to get this sorted.

amxv

Hi all, 

Thanks for your replies. 

I have written the Witness Statement for my N244. If anyone could cast their eyes over it, that would be much appreciated. 

WITNESS STATEMENT OF DEFENDANT

1.         I am xxxx of xxxxx, and I am the Defendant against whom this claim is made. 

2.         This is my supporting statement to my application dated xx February 2023 requesting to:

a.         Set aside the default judgment dated xx July 2022 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

3.         I was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged event.

4.         I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgment against me as the Defendant on xx July 2022. I am aware that the Claimant is Civil Enforcement Ltd and that the assumed claim is in respect of unpaid Parking Charge Notices.

5.         The claim form was not served at my current address, and I was therefore unaware of the Default County Court Judgment until I received a letter from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd dated xx January 2023 to my current address. 

6.         The address on the claim is xxxxx. I moved to my current address xxxxx on xx April 2021. In support of this, I can provide evidence that I registered my current address with the electoral register on xx May 2021. I can also provide evidence of utility bill payments to my current address from April 2021. 

7.         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;

 

SEQUENCE OF RECENT EVENTS

8.         I first discovered there was a default County Court Judgement against me when I received a letter from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd on xx February 2023. The letter was dated xx January 2023. 

9.         On 2 February 2023, I purchased the County Court Judgement report from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales in relation to claim XXXX to confirm that this CCJ was linked to my name. I note that the spelling of my surname in this CCJ is incorrect, and the judgement is registered to my former address.

10.       On 3 February 2023, I contacted the County Court Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment. I was told I would receive an email containing the Particulars of the Claim. 

11.       On 10 February 2023, I contacted the County Court Business Centre again as I had not received the email detailed in point 1.4.3. On this date, I received the relevant email.

12.       On XX February 2023 I submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

13.       I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held my correct contact details at the time of the claim. I was therefore denied the opportunity to defend the claim. 

14.       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 10 months to establish an address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment. 

15.       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.

16.       The Defendant was 'there to be found' for the sake of a 29 pence bulk Experian trace or similar very inexpensive and immediate credit reference agency address check. I would then have been notified of this judgment and could have taken action to prevent it. 

17.       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 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

18.       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.

19.       Furthermore, former 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. 

20.       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.”

21.       In the alternative, CPR 13.3 applies and there are very good reasons to set aside this exaggerated claim, which includes a disproportionate and indeed, false 'debt recovery' sum.  In fact, no debt recovery occurred nor cost the Claimant any money whatsoever, in addition to £100 parking charge.  The Government has described the false fixed 'fee' of £70 as 'designed to extort money from motorists' in the new statutory Code of Practice last February, and has banned it.  The Defendant has good prospects of defending a claim, if served with one, but has seen no evidence, basis nor particulars of claim and the Claimant should be required to file afresh, if they believe they have a cause of action. 

1.8.     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 should this request be successful.

 

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement 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
CLAIM No: XXX
BETWEEN:
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
-- and --
XXX (Defendant)
______________________________________________
DRAFT ORDER
______________________________________________

IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. The default judgment dated on XXX be set aside.
2. Costs to be reserved.
3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the claim form on the Defendant by 4pm on XX/XX/22 paragraph 1.2 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. Should the Claimant discontinue the Claim after the CCJ is set aside, paragraph 1.2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £275
5. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.

amxv

I have a few questions about filling in the N244 as well, if anyone can help? 

What am I expected to write for:

Q3. What order are you asking the court to make and why? The Government guidance sheet says to write "To set aside a judgment against me because..." but I don't know what to put for why.

Q8. What level of Judge does your hearing need?

Q10. What information will you be relying on, in support of your application? Do I need a Statement of Case, in addition to my Witness Statement and Draft Order? Do I need to put any evidence in the box they provide on the form or just attach my Witness Statement and Draft Order? 

Thanks for all your help. 

B789

Your witness statement appears to be well written and covers all the points. However, I am no expert in these matters and will defer to one of the expert regulars to confirm or correct. Likewise for your second question.

Coupon-mad

I think you should add the BPA CoP clause that says AOS members must check details before issuing a LBC.  State that this Claimant did not, and is in breach of the Code of Practice.

Your Draft order doesn't match what your WS is saying. You want the entire claim dismissed for want of service, not an order that allows the claim to continue.

Copy what @Brokenchief had in his final WS and Draft order.

1505grandad

Draft Order  -  you have stated "paragraph 1.2" a couple of times  -  what is "1.2"?

A heads-up  -  you have correctly spelt "Judgment" in this context a few times but also incorrectly included some with a middle "e".

amxv

Thanks so much everyone. 

@Coupon-mad - I have added in the BPA clause and copied Brokenchief's Draft Order. 

Hopefully this is ready to send now. 

WITNESS STATEMENT OF DEFENDANT

1.         I am xxxx of xxxxx, and I am the Defendant in this matter. 

2.         This is my supporting statement to my application dated xx February 2023 requesting to:

a.         Set aside the default judgment dated xx July 2022 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

3.         I was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged event.

4.         I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgment against me as the Defendant on xx July 2022. 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 xx May 2021.

5.         The claim form was not served at my current address, and I was therefore unaware of the Default County Court Judgment against me until I received a letter from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd dated xx January 2023 to my current address. 

6.         The address on the claim is xxxxx. I moved to my current address xxxxx on xx April 2021. In support of this, I have provided evidence that I registered my current address with the electoral register on xx May 2021. I also provide a utility bill registered to my current address dated 1 April 2021.  

7.         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;

  

SEQUENCE OF RECENT EVENTS

8.         I first discovered there was a default County Court Judgment against me when I received a letter from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd on xx February 2023. The letter is dated xx January 2023. 

9.         On 2 February 2023, I purchased the County Court Judgment report from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales in relation to claim XXXX to confirm that this CCJ was linked to my name. I note that the spelling of my surname in this CCJ is incorrect, and the judgment is registered to my former address.

10.      On 3 February 2023, I contacted the County Court Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment. I was told I would receive an email containing the Particulars of the Claim. I never received this email. 

11.      On 10 February 2023, I contacted the County Court Business Centre again as I had not received the email detailed in point 1.4.3. On this date, I received the relevant email.

12.      On XX February 2023 I submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

13.      I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held my correct contact details at the time of the claim. I was therefore denied the opportunity to defend the claim. 

14.      On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to Civil Procedure 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 the address of my current residence despite having over 12 months to establish an address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment.

15.      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.

16.      Under Clause 24.1 C of the BPA Approved Operator Scheme Code of Practice Version 8 (January 2020), “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 Claimant failed to take reasonable endeavours to ascertain my correct current address prior to issuing proceedings and is therefore in breach of the Code of Practice. 

17.       The Defendant was 'there to be found' for the sake of a 29 pence bulk Experian trace or similar very inexpensive and immediate credit reference agency address check. I would then have been notified of this judgment and could have taken action to prevent it. 

18.       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 xxxxxx

19.      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.

20.      Furthermore, former 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.” 

21.      In the alternative, CPR 13.3 applies and there are very good reasons to set aside this exaggerated claim, which includes a disproportionate and indeed, false 'debt recovery' sum.  In fact, no debt recovery occurred nor cost the Claimant any money whatsoever, in addition to £100 parking charge.  The Government has described the false fixed 'fee' of £70 as 'designed to extort money from motorists' in the new statutory Code of Practice last February and has banned it.  The Defendant has good prospects of defending a claim, if served with one, but has seen no evidence, basis nor particulars of claim and the Claimant should be required to file afresh, if they believe they have a cause of action. 

22.      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 should this request be successful.

 

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement 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. 

Signed ________

Date __________

DRAFT ORDER
CLAIM No: XXX
BETWEEN:
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
-- and --
XXX (Defendant)

UPON reading the defendant’s application dated XX February 2023

IT IS ORDERED THAT:

1. The default judgment dated xx July 2022 be set aside. 

2. The claim struck out due to the claim form having not been served within 4 months of issue

3. The Claimant do pay the Defendants costs of this application of £275 on an indemnity basis.

Coupon-mad

Looks good! The Draft Order is attached as a separate Word Document (not a PDF like the WS). 

Maybe add:

15.      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 must be set aside.  In the alternative, CPR 13.3 applies due to the circumstances, which represent good reasons to set the CCJ aside, and in view of the fact that the Defendant acted promptly and has good prospects of defending the claim in the event that the court does not strike it out for want of service within 4 months.