ukpc and dcbl Stay lifted after a year???

dmw959

Coupon-mad said:

dmw959 said:

@LDast I had the same thing for a claim. After filing an AOS and defence, I actually sent an N180 in advance to CCBCAQ (despite having not received anything it in the post), but then didnt receive any further correspondence related to the claim. I was expecting notification of a court date as the next step but this never came. Turns out I had the misfortune of moving address in the period of time when a case stay was applied (at some point) and then lifted a year later when I think DCB legal sensed I was no longer at the address due to non-response on another claim. I cant understand why a case stay was applied to this claim whereas another one with DCB proceeding at more or less exactly the same time didnt?

Is this a tactic used by DCB in the hope that a change of circumstances by the defendant will lead to the kind of situation I described above? 

Probably, IMHO. Did you get a CCJ?

Despicable company in my view and the court service has the cheek to bend over backwards to enable a conveyor belt of poorly-pleaded boilerplate claims by firms like DCB Legal, who are one of a handful of small claims 'Superusers'.

You need to respond to this important Call for Evidence to recount your experience and attach proof of what DCB Legal are doing to people:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81070874/#Comment_81070874

Closes in ten days time.

Please do what you can to answer some questions.

Yes ended up with a CCJ for this one too. I can't believe DCB can just all of a sudden go quiet on a claim without telling you that's what they've done. 

And yes as mentioned in my other reply, I will fill in the call for evidence. 

I thought it was worth at least documenting my experience on this forum so if other people have a similar problem they can find a previous example here! 

dmw959

LDast said:

If a case has been stayed for a significant period (especially over six months), the claimant must apply to the court for the stay to be lifted. The defendant must be notified of the application and given an opportunity to respond or object.

If a stay is lifted without an application from the claimant (or a court-initiated review process), this constitutes an abuse of process.  Under CPR 3.9 (relief from sanctions) and CPR 23 (general applications), a party must apply to the court with notice to the other side if they wish to lift a stay.

If the stay was court-imposed, only the court can lift it—meaning a claimant cannot just proceed as if the stay never existed. If the claim has been stayed for six months or longer, the court will require an explanation from the claimant as to why they delayed seeking to lift the stay. If a claimant attempts to continue proceedings without a formal application, the defendant can apply to strike out the claim on the grounds of procedural impropriety or an abuse of process.

If the stay was court-initiated, it could lift a stay without prior notice, but only if it deems it appropriate under case management powers [CPR 3.1(2)(f)]. However, procedural fairness dictates that both parties should be informed before the stay is lifted, as it affects the defendant’s rights and case strategy.

The Court has discretion to act without notice [CPR 3.3(2)] in urgent cases or where justified. However, CPR 3.3(5) requires the court to send a copy of the order lifting the stay to the defendant, and the defendant has 7 days to apply to set it aside, vary, or appeal it.

So, if a stay is lifted without notifying the defendant and without proper justification, the defendant can argue that this is procedurally unfair and amounts to an abuse of process. The defendant could apply under CPR 3.3(5) to challenge the decision, arguing that they were deprived of an opportunity to object.

There's the possibility then that any documents relating to the lifting of the stay were sent to my old address. I moved out in June, the stay was lifted in August. Thankyou for the legal background however! I'll pursue getting hold of mail from prior address,  see if there's a paper trail related to the stay and go from there.