Unpaid County Court Judgement

Doctor_S

Hello,

I stayed at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford in May 2021. I received a parking charge by ParkingEye at the time. I rang reception to complain and they claimed to have cancelled the charge there and then.

Earlier this year, I received a letter from dcbl (to my current address) saying I have an unpaid county court judgement for £207.00 for the PCN described above. I had not received any other letters prior to this to my current address.

After reading the newbies thread, I decided to email the hotel manager, and asked him to speak to Parkingeye to request that the CCJ be set aside.

This is the response I received: ‘Parking eye have come back to me and unfortunately, they have been unable to set aside the CCj due to the time that elapsed without a defence or appeal before the ccj being added.’

As many others are on this forum, I am also in the process of applying for a mortgage, and this is the only thing standing in the way.

I’d appreciate anyones advice on the steps to take from here.

Thanks

Le_Kirk

Advice on getting a CCJ set aside is contained within the NEWBIE sticky second post, one click back from here.  After you received the original PCN did you not receive a letter before/of claim and then a N1 claim form from CCBC?

Coupon-mad

You can get it set aside easily, if (as we suspect) the claim form went to the wrong address.

Find out what address it went to, by urgently ringing the CCBC in Northampton today.  Also ask them to email you a copy of the Particulars of Claim.  Ring before 4pm.  Stay on the phone till CCBC answer.

You MUST act promptly as soon as you discover a CCJ.  DO NOT PAY IT OFF AS THAT DOESN'T CLEAR IT.

You can get this set aside and I think you might be able to persuade PEye to create and sign a consent order if you tell them you are about to sue the Hotel for causing this by failing to cancel it when they promised  (PEye won't want to annoy the Hotel). 

MothballsWallet

@Doctor_S - just a quick question: are the addresses on your driving licence and V5C logbook current and up to date?
Have you moved at any time and, if so, did you update them at? (You need to update them separately as the DVLA doesn't give you an option to update both from one request, you have to put in separate requests - their website may allow you to do both at the same time now.)

Doctor_S

MothballsWallet said:

@Doctor_S - just a quick question: are the addresses on your driving licence and V5C logbook current and up to date?
Have you moved at any time and, if so, did you update them at? (You need to update them separately as the DVLA doesn't give you an option to update both from one request, you have to put in separate requests - their website may allow you to do both at the same time now.)

I have been updating my driving license with every move of address but not my V5C. I updated the V5C address a few months ago but have moved a few times before then.

Doctor_S

Le_Kirk said:

Advice on getting a CCJ set aside is contained within the NEWBIE sticky second post, one click back from here.  After you received the original PCN did you not receive a letter before/of claim and then a N1 claim form from CCBC?

No, I didn’t receive any letters to my current address

MothballsWallet

Doctor_S said:

MothballsWallet said:

@Doctor_S - just a quick question: are the addresses on your driving licence and V5C logbook current and up to date?
Have you moved at any time and, if so, did you update them at? (You need to update them separately as the DVLA doesn't give you an option to update both from one request, you have to put in separate requests - their website may allow you to do both at the same time now.)

I have been updating my driving license with every move of address but not my V5C. I updated the V5C address a few months ago but have moved a few times before then.

For future reference, you need to ensure that you update both if you move. The PPC and their DRA associates get data from the DVLA, and that comes from the V5C records for keeper data. If that is wrong around the time they go for a LBCCC, then you're in line for a default CCJ unless you catch wind of it and get them to correct their data.

Coupon-mad

You could also get into serious trouble if a speeding ticket went without reply.  But I think you realise that now & learnt from this mistake!

Do exactly as I advised, and act quickly. No paying it off as that does NOT wipe a CCJ entirely.

Doctor_S

Coupon-mad said:

You could also get into serious trouble if a speeding ticket went without reply.  But I think you realise that now & leant from this mistake!

Do exactly as I advised, and act quickly. No paying it off as that does NOT wipe a CCJ entirely.

I did as you advised and got the following response from Parking eye:

Thank you for your correspondence received in relation to the above referenced Parking Charge, which was issued following a parking event that took place on 26 May 2021 at Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford car park.

It is clearly stated on our signs that failure to adhere to parking regulations will result in enforcement action being taken and vehicle keeper details being requested from the DVLA to enable this. The DVLA release the name and address details of a vehicle keeper to registered companies, such as ParkingEye, if ‘reasonable cause’ can be demonstrated; i.e. a breach of parking regulations.

In this instance, 3 letters were issued to the address provided by the DVLA but unfortunately, ParkingEye received no response. Our original notices outlined the appeals procedure offered by ParkingEye and provided a period of 28 days from the date of our initial correspondence to send any documentation you believe would aid an appeal to us directly. ParkingEye run a dedicated appeals team who consider each appeal on a case by case basis but we note that in this instance, no such appeal was lodged.

As no response was received to the letters issued, we also contacted you further at an alternative address provided to ParkingEye by a Credit Reference Agency. We also attached a copy of the original Parking Charge Notice to this letter and reiterated the opportunity to appeal. Again, we received no response to this correspondence.

ParkingEye thereafter issued a county court claim to recover the outstanding amount. However, as no defence was filed, nor was full payment received within the applicable time frame, the court granted a default judgment in ParkingEye’s favour. At this late stage, ParkingEye would be unable to accept an appeal and we require payment of the full outstanding amount.

We can confirm that £207 remains outstanding. Please find our payment information below.

Please be advised that the above Parking Charge has now been passed to Direct Collection Bailiffs and all further correspondence for the above Parking Charge should be directed to them.

If you wish to apply to have the judgment set aside then you can do so by filing an N244 form. Please note that such an application will require the payment of a court fee of £275 (payable to the court) and that there is no guarantee that the judgment will be set aside. This will also involve a hearing in front of a Judge.

In certain circumstances, individuals may not have to pay a fee. A system known as the remission system is available to those who would have difficulty paying a fee and meet the appropriate criteria. It is for you to make the appropriate enquires about this system and details can be found at: ‘govuk site’

Payment can be made by telephoning our offices on 0330 555 4444, by visiting ‘parking eye website’’ or by posting a cheque/postal order to the below address. Please note that you must quote the above Parking Charge reference on the reverse of the cheque or postal order.

Yours sincerely,

Parkingeye Enforcement Team

Coupon-mad

Did you word it like this?

You can get this set aside and I think you might be able to persuade PEye to create and sign a consent order if you tell them you are about to sue the Hotel for causing this by failing to cancel it when they promised  (PEye won't want to annoy the Hotel). 

Now send a LBC to the Hotel (HEAD OFFICE IN ENGLAND) for £482 (£275 plus £207) and email a copy of your Hotel LBC to ParkingEye yelling them they and their client have caused this farce.

Briefly remind them how they both caused it.

Finish by saying in your covering email,  that unless ParkingEye's (or the Hotel's) legal team step in with a suitable Order to remove the CCJ at no cost by the first week in April, you will apply for the CCJ to be set aside for want of service, at a court fee of £275 and will sue the Hotel group for all losses which currently stand at £482.

B789

I think the OP may have a slight problem with this as they state in their first post: 

I rang reception to complain and they claimed to have cancelled the charge there and then.

Is there any proof in writing that the Hotel ever agreed to cancel "there and then" the PCN?