CCJ to old address despite UPDATING their solicitors

bridgefixer

Have a look at my thread, as there might be something useful. 

You can find my letter to the parking company and their solicitors when I asked for set aside with consent (with no luck), and see also Coupon-mad's and 1505grandad's comments to it. 

There are also versions of other submission along the process. Some specifics are different, so apply with care. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6400408/default-ccj-vcs-used-wrong-address-even-if-i-emailed-them-the-correct-one/p1 

Fightback2

Thank you so much @bridgefixer that's very very very handy!

Before I send off a "with consent" draft order, can anybody help me on the below please?

QUESTIONS:

1)

I do have another question though - would it hurt my prospects of successfully getting the CCJ set aside if I didn't offer DCB the option of a "with consent" set aside and instead just went straight to the N244 (with WS & draft order etc) ?

I am happy to go straight ahead with an N244, because I don't want to delay this any further or allow DCB to try and "hoodwink" me as @B789 kindly pointed out.

2) Going off of what @B789 said I'm lead to believe it means I could also ask the judge to strike out the claim at the set aside hearing? (Obviously helpful as it means I won't also have to then defend after the set aside) but I'm not sure if what @Johnersh said means I can't ask for the claim to be struck out at the set aside hearing, please advise on this

Thank you so much for your help, you have no idea how much I appreciate you guys!

Coupon-mad

You can ask for the whole claim to be struck out at the hearing.  And you can go ahead with a £275 set aside application without trying for consent first. And I don't think you'd be criticised for it.

Fightback2

Thank you @Coupon-mad I really appreciate it. Sorry for the questions, I'm new to this and really worried about the CCJ and I'm trying my best.

I'm going to produce a draft N244 along with a witness statement for everybody here to please critique.

Question:
When should I aim to get all of it sent off to the CCBC? I'm aware of the need to "act promptly" and it's really stressing me out!

Le_Kirk

Fightback2 said:

Question:
When should I aim to get all of it sent off to the CCBC? I'm aware of the need to "act promptly" and it's really stressing me out!

You should aim to "act promptly" probably asap and not leave it a couple of weeks.  There is no official guidance as to what "acting promptly" is but I have read (somewhere) that 14 days is acceptable.  Just get on with your WS using the examples you have been given.  As soon as you start pulling it all together the stress will melt away.

B789

Fightback2 said:

Question:
When should I aim to get all of it sent off to the CCBC? I'm aware of the need to "act promptly" and it's really stressing me out!

There is no definition in the Practice Directions. Common sense should apply. Think "little or no delay".

Fightback2

Hi All,

I have spent some time getting together a Witness Statement which I will post below.

Will be really appreciative if you can proof read and let me know if I need to make any amendments.

Thank you!!!

--------------------------------------------

WITNESS STATEMENT

1.     I am [MY NAME] and the Defendant against whom this claim is made. The facts below are true to the best of my belief and my account has been prepared based upon my own knowledge and research.

2.    This is my supporting statement to my application dated [DATE] requesting:

a)    Mandatory set aside for the default judgment of claim [CLAIM NUMBER] dated [DATE] as it was served using an old address, pursuant to CPR 13.2. The Claimant’s representative received a current address for service and contact details from the Defendant by email.

b)    An order for the original claim to be dismissed as the Claimant has breached PAP 4.2 (failure to allow 30 days for debt advice) and that Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols 13, 14 (b), 15(c) and 16(a) apply.

c)     An order for the Claimant to pay the Defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee, plus the costs to attend the hearing and relevant litigation in person costs.

 

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

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

2.     I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgment against me as the Defendant on [DATE]. I am aware that the Claimant is UK Parking Control Ltd, represented by their solicitors DCB Legal Ltd, and that the assumed claim is related to the alleged parking event on [DATE] at [ADDRESS].

3.     I have not received the claim form relating to this matter, as it was sent to an old address despite me providing UK Parking Control’s representatives with my current address for service and email address in writing on [DATE] (Exhibit A).

4.     In late February 2023 I received a Letter Of Claim from the Claimant’s representatives, this Letter Of Claim was dated 20 February 2023 and asked for a reply within 30 days.

5.     On 1st March 2023 I moved house to my current address at [CURRENT ADDRESS] (Exhibit .

6.     On 17th March 2023 I emailed the Claimant’s representatives (Exhibit A) to reply to their Letter Of Claim (within their 30 day limit) and provided them with my current address for service, pursuant to CPR 6.8 (a), at [CURRENT ADDRESS]. In this email I also indicated I was seeking debt advice and requested the case be put on hold for not less than 30 days under the PAP for debt claims 2017.

7.     On Friday 21st April I read an email from Credit Karma, a personal finance company, informing me that something new had been placed on my credit file (Exhibit C), after investigating this I found out it was a County Court Judgement. Immediately after, I researched who to contact regarding this to verify the CCJ’s existence, as I believed it must have been a mistake because I never received a claim form, nor was I ever aware that a claim had been issued against me. I called the County Court Business Centre who verified the CCJ’s existence and informed me that it had been sent to my old address at [OLD ADDRESS], in clear breach of CPR 6.8 (a).

8.     The County Court Business Centre also confirmed the date of issue of the claim was 24th March 2023, meaning the Claimant has clearly breached PAP 4.2 for debt claims by ignoring my request for a minimum 30 day hold to seek advice as they issued Court Proceedings only 7 days after my request.

8.     On Monday 24th April I called the County Court Business Centre again and requested to be sent the Particulars Of Claim via email.

9.     On 30th April I collected the “Judgement for Claimant (in default)” form from my previous address, after visiting multiple times previously hoping to collect it but either it not having yet arrived, or nobody answering the door.

10.   Upon reading this “Judgement for Claimant (in default)” form, I was able to confirm that the address used by the Claimant for the claim was an old address and not the one I had provided to them for service.

6.     Since the claim form was not served at my current and serviceable address at [CURRENT ADDRESS], I was unaware of the claim against me and therefore was deprived of my rights to defend the claim.

14.  The Claimant’s failure to use the Defendant’s current address for service, as provided by the Defendant, has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment. Thus, they have caused the claim to be improperly served. I.e., they failed to serve it at all.

16.  I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably by negligently or deliberately disregarding the rules whilst pursuing charges by making a claim against the Defendant without using the current address for service that was provided by the Defendant for service or confirming the correctness of the address that they wish to use with the Defendant before initiating the claim and ignoring the Defendant’s request for a 30 day hold to seek advice, thereby breaching PAP 4.2 for debt claims.

17.  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.

24.  Additionally, CPR 13.3 also applies as there are very good reasons to set aside this claim:

a)     The particulars of the claim state that: [PARTICULARS OF CLAIM].

b)     [DEFENCE RELATED TO POOR SIGNAGE].

c)     [DEFENCE RELATED TO SIGNAGE INCAPABLE OF FORMING A CONTRACT – SIGNAGE IS FORBIDDING IN NATURE AND ONLY APPLIES TO "REGISTERED USERS"].

25.  In addition to above, it should be highlighted that the integrity and law-abiding intention of the Defendant should be taken into consideration on the basis that I provided the Claimant’s representatives with a current address for service and that I have quickly obtained the necessary information and submitted this appeal less than a month after discovering the Judgment entered in default.

26.  According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. Private Parking Companies persistently fail to use correct and current addresses and this results in an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.

32.  Considering all the above I submit that the Claimant has not met the requirements of CPR 6.8 and PAP 4.2 respectively:

a)    Service has not been effected at a valid address (that was provided to the Claimant for the purpose of service prior to the Claimant initiating Court Proceedings).

b)    A 30 day hold, pursuant to PAP 4.2, was not given, as the Claimant initiated Court Proceedings only 7 days after the Defendant’s request, this is a clear breach of PAP 4.2 by the Claimant.

33.  Under CPR 13.2 The Court must set aside a judgement entered under part 12 if judgement was wrongly entered. Given that CPR 6.8 (a) was not met, CPR 13.2 applies, requiring the irregular judgement to be set aside.

34.  Considering the above I respectfully request that:

a)     the Court sets aside the Default Judgment against me.

b)     the Court dismisses the claim in its entirety as the Claimant is in clear breach of PAP 4.2 (failure to allow 30 days for debt advice) and that Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols 13, 14 (b), 15(c) and 16(a) apply.

c)     the Court orders the Claimant to pay the Defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee, plus the costs to attend the hearing and relevant litigation in person costs.

 

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.

Full Name:  [MY NAME] (Defendant) 

Dated: [DATE]

Signed: [SIGNATURE]

Fightback2

***I am aware I have forgotten to amend the bullet point numbers, I will do this now. ***

Coupon-mad

Very good.  Also have a look at the final version posted this week by @hallie28 I think it was.  Had some terrific case law quotes about failure to serve claims.

Le_Kirk

This is strange: -

2.    This is my supporting statement to my application dated [DATE] requesting:
a)    Mandatory set aside for the default judgment of claim [CLAIM NUMBER] dated [DATE] as it was served using an old address, pursuant to CPR 13.2. The Claimant’s representative received a current address for service and contact details from the Defendant by email.
b)    An order for the original claim to be dismissed as the Claimant has breached PAP 4.2 (failure to allow 30 days for debt advice) and that Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols 13, 14 (b), 15(c) and 16(a) apply.
c)     An order for the Claimant to pay the Defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee, plus the costs to attend the hearing and relevant litigation in person costs.

if you see what you are actually writing, it is: -

requesting Mandatory set-aside (that's fine)

requesting An order for ....... (but you are not requesting an order, you are submitting or providing  one)

requesting An order for the claimant........ (same comment as above)

In my opinion you should rewrite it as: -

2.    This is my supporting statement to my application dated [DATE] requesting:
a)    Requesting mandatory set aside for the default judgment of claim [CLAIM NUMBER] dated [DATE] as it was served using an old address, pursuant to CPR 13.2. The Claimant’s representative received a current address for service and contact details from the Defendant by email.
b)    An Submitting an order for the original claim to be dismissed as the Claimant has breached PAP 4.2 (failure to allow 30 days for debt advice) and that Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols 13, 14 (b), 15(c) and 16(a) apply.
c)     An Submitting an order for the Claimant to pay the Defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee, plus the costs to attend the hearing and relevant litigation in person costs.

Feel free to ignore me.