I want to fight 2 get my CCJ set aside (Thanks to you hero's giving me confidence that its possible)

Jazzagi81

Same old story... I'll try to keep it succinct:

- I checked my credit rating as remortgage is due and found a CCJ, my rating has gone from excellent to poor. (My mortgage will double, which alongside the horrendous energy price increases, will likely end in us having to sell our home)

- I contacted the court who told me it was done by Gladstones solicitors and was for a parking ticket that I knew nothing about. Letters have all been sent to my previous address which I moved out of in 2018 but failed to update log book I didn't even know that was a thing so genuine mistake.

- I have figured out it was my partner driving the car at the time, he parked in a disabled spot (he has a badge) outside the entrance of a local tourist spot and assumed he would be ok, however, there is signage saying that the parking isn't actually for the tourist spot, it is for a theatre across the road and you are supposed to go and give them your registration to park there. There was never a ticket put on the car and we didn't receive letters so knew nothing.

- I panicked and paid the amount to Gladstones online the next day. I then emailed them to asked them if there is anything they can do to have the CCJ removed since this was an honest mistake and the punishment is disproportionate IMO. They haven't even responded.

- I subsequently found this forum (thank you to all of you!) and have read through the newbie post and many many other threads, and if I understand correctly I believe I can apply to get it set aside on the basis that I wasn't properly served and I also wasn't the driver of the car.

So, I am ready to fight this! 

I just have a couple of questions:

1. The link to beagles that provides templates seems to be broken, I have found many worked examples which I can probably use, but I'm worried I might miss something they had removed from their examples if I don't see the templates.

2. I've seen mention of people making a request for personal data from the solicitors and/or parking company in some threads but I didn't see anything about that in newbies (that I remember, I could have missed something!?) so I'm unsure what the process is?

3. I see on the N244 form that you can select the type of hearing (telephone/in person) - Is there a better option here or is it just personal preference?

Thanks in advance  

@Coupon-mad @Le_Kirk @henrik777

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

You mention "The link to beagles that provides templates seems to be broken".

I'm not sure what you are talking about, but I've just checked the two links to the LegalBeagles forum mentioned in the second post of the NEWBIES thread and both work as intended.

B789

If you paid off the CCJ more than 30 days after the issue, it will remain on your file for 6 years but marked as "satisfied". Maybe not a wise move but a bit late now. You now have to apply for a set-aside, documented in the Newbies thread.

I am not sure of the status of your money now that you've paid the CCJ as they can just say that having paid it you have forfeited your right to claim it back. One of the experts will be along to advise.

The only way to get the CCJ expunged from your file is to get it set-aside. If you can persuade the claimant of their lawyers to get it done with consent then it will only cost £108. However, they are likely to agree on condition that you cannot claim anything back from them, including the £108 fee.

If you have a good prospect of defending the original claim, then you could go for a set-aside without consent which costs £275. However, the risk with that is that you could fail with your claim, be another £275 out of pocket and down whatever amount you paid to "satisfy" the original CCJ.

However... most of these PCNs are scams that can be defended with advice and guidance on this forum. There are many arguments to use as to the failure of the PPC to try and find the correct address for service, especially if after all their correspondence was never responded to and they have most likely not performed a credit search to get update details of you with would have cost them less than 50p. 

So you have to argue why your set-aside should be ordered and you also have to argue that once it is set-aside, you have a good prospect of defending the original claim.

You want to have a hearing in person/by telephone. Never agree to a hearing on the papers alone.

Jazzagi81

KeithP said:

Hello and welcome.

You mention "The link to beagles that provides templates seems to be broken".

I'm not sure what you are talking about, but I've just checked the two links to the LegalBeagles forum mentioned in the second post of the NEWBIES thread and both work as intended.

Hi Keith… I’ll check again, I think there were 3 links in that section and all of them took me to a screen that said the page didn’t exist. Strange. Will check, thanks. 

Jazzagi81

B789 said:

If you paid off the CCJ more than 30 days after the issue, it will remain on your file for 6 years but marked as "satisfied". Maybe not a wise move but a bit late now. You now have to apply for a set-aside, documented in the Newbies thread.

I am not sure of the status of your money now that you've paid the CCJ as they can just say that having paid it you have forfeited your right to claim it back. One of the experts will be along to advise.

The only way to get the CCJ expunged from your file is to get it set-aside. If you can persuade the claimant of their lawyers to get it done with consent then it will only cost £108. However, they are likely to agree on condition that you cannot claim anything back from them, including the £108 fee.

If you have a good prospect of defending the original claim, then you could go for a set-aside without consent which costs £275. However, the risk with that is that you could fail with your claim, be another £275 out of pocket and down whatever amount you paid to "satisfy" the original CCJ.

However... most of these PCNs are scams that can be defended with advice and guidance on this forum. There are many arguments to use as to the failure of the PPC to try and find the correct address for service, especially if after all their correspondence was never responded to and they have most likely not performed a credit search to get update details of you with would have cost them less than 50p. 

So you have to argue why your set-aside should be ordered and you also have to argue that once it is set-aside, you have a good prospect of defending the original claim.

You want to have a hearing in person/by telephone. Never agree to a hearing on the papers alone.

Hi there… 

Thanks for the reply! I know I am an idiot… but it’s done now. I’m sure I have read other cases where people have paid and then still ffollowrd the process and got a CCJ set aside. 

Honestly, I don’t care about the money I have paid for the charge, I just want the CCJ gone. I don’t even mind if I have to pay another £275 for the set aside as the cost to not get it removed is going to be crippling. 

I wondered about getting a set aside with consent but there doesn’t seem to be much guidance on that route, I saw in another thread that someone said this would be difficult to get and also that they could provide a half arsed consent which might not be accepted.

 I would prefer that option if it’s feasible because the immediate cost is less and I really really do not like the idea of going to court  Any idea how I would pursued Gladstone to do that? I mean, from what I’ve read my chances of getting it set aside are high since I knew nothing about it and I wasn’t the driver, and if it did go to court and I won the they would have to pay the £275, so in theory it’s in their interests to agree to it, right? 

Jazzagi81

@KeithP You're right, the link to their site does work, its the links to the docs on their site that don't work   It says 'This shared file or folder link has been removed or is unavailable to you.'

Coupon-mad

Any idea how I would pursued Gladstone to do that? I mean, from what I’ve read my chances of getting it set aside are high since I knew nothing about it and I wasn’t the driver, and if it did go to court and I won the they would have to pay the £275, so in theory it’s in their interests to agree to it, right? 

Yes.  It is in their client's interests to avoid being later held liable for your £275 court fee due to their (avoidable) failure to comply with the Code of Practice and do a 28 pence 'soft trace' to find your new address, before litigation. 

That is exactly how to ask them for consent to your set aside application that you MUST NOT DELAY and will be filing with the court this month, whether they send a draft consent order to assist the court, or not.

But you should never have paid them because you've lost the leverage you had...but I think you know that now.  This is why they are not rushing to reply to you.

Try one follow up email and give them SEVEN DAYS to send a draft consent or Tomlin Order, given the wrong address issue and the fact that the case has been settled.

Jazzagi81

@Coupon-mad

Thanks so much for replying! I will be telling everyone I know about this once I reach a conclusion, and the first thing i;ll say is DO NOT PAY THE CCJ! I just panicked and assumed it would help my cause, I'm pretty annoyed with myself. Anyway, I found a template email for asking for consent on legalbeagles last night and sent the below email to them:

Dear Sirs

Following my previous email, I have received information from the court regards the particulars of the order and carried out further research to better understand my position. 

It is my belief that the claim form was not correctly served, and it is therefore irregular. My correct address is XXX. The claim form was sent to XXX. I left that address in XXX. Since the claim form has not been served, the conditions required for a default judgment have not been satisfied. In addition, whilst I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, I was not the driver of the vehicle when the event took place. As I understand it, in these circumstances, the court must set the judgment aside. 

If I had been given the opportunity to respond I would have requested further information on the unpaid charge and if appropriate I would have paid the charge in order to avoid having a CCJ on my credit report. On the basis that my application is likely to be successful, and in light of the fact I paid the fee you requested as soon as I was aware, I would like to ask you to consent to judgment being set aside. 

If you could respond within 7 days I would be grateful, otherwise, I'll have no choice but to seek legal advice and apply to the court without consent.

Yours faithfully,
XXX

Why do you say 'MUST NOT DELAY'? Is time a big factor here? I mean, it is for me because of my re-mortgage situation, but does it affect how a judge might view the case?

I've started working on the N244 already, so if I haven't heard back from them by next Wednesday I'll be ready to go down that route. 

Coupon-mad

Yes.  The court requires you to 'act promptly'.

B789

There are other set-aside examples on this forum which actually list the CPRs that are applicable to your claim.

Jazzagi81

@B789 Yeah I wondered if I should have added those but they weren't in the template. I guess they should know which CPR's apply to the reasons I explained, but I agree it might have added something extra to my request if they knew I'd looked into it. Fingers crossed!