CEL and CCJ what to do?

lwhit20

Hello,

So I believe from the beginning I've gone about this whole thing the wrong way. 
01/01/22 went to climping beach. I am the registered keeper but was not driving. The pay machine was not working. There was no signal to download the app to pay. 
The car park was just a mud pit, full of potholes, litter and dog faeces.
Got a PCN from civil enforcement ltd and stupidly appealed on the terms I just stated. Didn't have appeal to popla in time. I ignored all the dcbl letters. Replied to the letter before action asking for more information, using a template that makes it look like I understood what I meant. This was not acknowledged. Probably thrown in the bin. Was hoping it'd all just go away but now have a letter from county court business centre stating I now owe £271.
Really wish I had found this forum a long time ago.
Right now, I don't know if I should start a defence and go through with it all, I don't understand law in the slightest, and in a hearing I feel like I'd just fold. But I really don't want CEL to win. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

Your thread title says you have a CCJ.
Do you really have a County Court Judgment, or do you perhaps have a County Court Claim Form?

If it is a Claim Form that you have, please tell us the Issue Date on it.

lwhit20

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes sorry, I have a claim form. Just me worrying and stressing over possible outcomes.
The issue date on the claim form is 22/03/23.

KeithP

lwhit20 said:

The issue date on the claim form is 22/03/23.

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd March, you have until Tuesday 11th April to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 24th April 2023 to file your Defence.

That's nearly four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service guidance.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

lwhit20

Okay thank you. 
And this will likely lead to a court hearing?
I don't understand much about what's written in the defence templates so I don't know how this would hold up. Nor do I have the time to study it all. I feel like it's a lot of stress to just lose to these scammers.

Coupon-mad

Please don't worry.

It really is as easy as drafting a defence using our Template Defence suggestion linked in the NEWBIES thread. 

And if you are from West Sussex, so am I so I am well aware of Climping Beach:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g504216-d4763228-Reviews-Climping_Beach_Cafe_and_Car_Park-Bognor_Regis_Arun_District_West_Sussex_England.html

Look at the reviews. The word 'scam' features throughout...

lwhit20

Yep looks like I'm not the only one. Infuriating.

Another concern is, I don't have any evidence whatsoever. No pictures, screenshots, nothing. Some letters have been lost, such as the first PCN letter. I can't remember how, what or where I appealed, if it even matters?
I really feel like I'll be grasping at straws. 

Umkomaas

lwhit20 said:

Another concern is, I don't have any evidence whatsoever. No pictures, screenshots, nothing. Some letters have been lost, such as the first PCN letter. I can't remember how, what or where I appealed, if it even matters?
I really feel like I'll be grasping at straws. 

Send a SAR to CEL - that will unearth what personal data they have on you, including all documents they have sent to you. Link to a template to use can be found in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post.

Coupon-mad

lwhit20 said:

Yep looks like I'm not the only one. Infuriating.

Another concern is, I don't have any evidence whatsoever. No pictures, screenshots, nothing. Some letters have been lost, such as the first PCN letter. I can't remember how, what or where I appealed, if it even matters?
I really feel like I'll be grasping at straws. 

You don't need pics from the day. 

No need to panic.  We almost always win court claims defended here (99% win rate reported, including discontinuations - a solid stat for about five years!).  There is also no risk at all.

lwhit20

No risk apart from my sanity maybe haha.

Just wondering also, if once I have put a defense in, can it be retracted at any point do you know? 

Boat_to_Bolivia

Why would you want to do that?..... And it's Defence with a c. Not s!