VCS issued 3 CCJ’s against me through DCBL

bbdnw1106

Good morning,

Just to let you know I was successful with my hearing this morning.

1. BOTH CCJ”s were set aside and will be removed from the register. 
2. I have 28 days to submit my defence for a small claims track (presume this is for the original PCN”s)
3. VCS solicitor was instructed to as ask the judge for me to pay their costs. The judge said no.

Thank you all so much for all your help. You have all been amazing!

The judge was impressed with my application and said he didn’t even need to hear from me and the hearing was extremely quick.

I couldn't have done it without you @Coupon-mad, I will be forever grateful!

Coupon-mad

That's great!  Did you get your costs though? Or did you qualify for help with those fees?

bbdnw1106

I qualified for help!

I did have my defence ready and to be honest the judge even said  how was I supposed to park with a permit when I never received one.

He also said that I had an AST and paid rent for an apartment that came with an allocated parking bay which was contradicted by VCS ….so will use all of this in my defence.

He touched on the estoppel but VCS solicitor did all in power to prove they were three separate dates and times etc and the contract was for each new 24 hours if the day.

He asked if I had any questions right at the end, thinking about it maybe I should have used that to say I have my defence now but wasn’t sure if that was the time to do it.

Coupon-mad

You did brilliantly!

He touched on the estoppel but VCS solicitor did all in power to prove they were three separate dates and times etc and the contract was for each new 24 hours of the day.

Even so, the facts and basis of claim are duplicated, so this should have been one claim. Not three.

Hmmm so you get help with fees?

IMHO then a counterclaim for 'damages for distress' for the first aggressive claim that ended up with bailiffs and severe distress is WELL WORTH you adding to the defence!

I warn that counterclaims are hard to write and win and must be legally pleaded properly.

But if it is 'fee-free' (no risk to you) and this Judge has already seen your points about permits being unreasonably delayed and this wasn't caused by any fault of yours, it might be well worth you doing this properly, with a 4 figure counterclaim due to data misuse and harassment.

Could be worth making a quick enquiry today to ask @bargepole (his company info is below - I am not connected) if this defence (against 2 VCS claims) and a largish counterclaim is one that he sees as having sufficient merit for him write for you for a small fee:

https://smallclaimsadvisor.co.uk/

Then the Counterclaim would potentially have legs, and he can attend hearings with you in some cases (especially if it turns out to be a virtual hearing).

bbdnw1106

Hi there,

I have received the following letter x 2 for each claim from VCS. I don’t want to and really don’t feel like I should have to with all that I paid initially and also down to the fact I was never sent a permit but should I  just call and ask for a payment plan with them for these costs and forget about court? I really would not be able to afford all there costs on top before Christmas should it go in there favour. The CCJ”s are off my credit report which is amazing but not sure what to do re this.

many thanks 

Le_Kirk

A phone call is worth the paper it is written on; keep everything on paper, e-mail or letters so you have a record.  What they are saying is standard frighteners, they always have a strong case!  If the CCJs are off your credit report that means presumably that you were successful with your set-asides so half the battle won.  You have submitted your defence against the underlying claim(s); have you been allocated a hearing date yet and required to submit witness statements for this defence not for the set-asides? 

Coupon-mad

bbdnw1106 said:

Hi there,

I have received the following letter x 2 for each claim from VCS. I don’t want to and really don’t feel like I should have to with all that I paid initially and also down to the fact I was never sent a permit but should I  just call and ask for a payment plan with them for these costs and forget about court? I really would not be able to afford all there costs on top before Christmas should it go in there favour. The CCJ”s are off my credit report which is amazing but not sure what to do re this.

many thanks 

Wow this rubbish has worked on you...stop!

The truth is you ARE NOT liable for their solicitor's costs.

They are taking advantage of your lack of knowledge and hoping you don't know that.

Even if you lost the case you'd pay less than the claim.  And you won't lose.

Did you send in your defence as ordered by your Judge? Did you ask bargepole about a possible counterclaim?

What did you send as your defence and did you make sure you emailed it to VCS and to the local court hearings email address?

Or haven't you reached that deadline yet?  Did the Judge order VCS to send you a copy of the claim form first then gave you 14 days to defend?  Please confirm.

bbdnw1106

@Coupon-mad thank you

I think I had a wobble because of it getting to this stage and it not just being sorted when we were last there, but knowing that even if they were to I wouldn’t have to pay extra makes me feel much better.

The hearing is the end of October, I received the above from VCS last week and nothing since.

I haven’t done anything yet, but will get on it this week. Do I use the same defence as last time but just focus on the pcn now not the ccj?

I contacted Bargepole but would struggle with the up front fee right now.

many thanks

Coupon-mad

same defence as last time 

What defence? Did you submit one for this case?  That's not normal for set aside applications.  Are you muddling defence up with the WS you put in to support the set aside?  The two submissions are not the same at all.

The hearing is the end of October, I received the above from VCS last week and nothing since.
I haven’t done anything yet, but will get on it this week.

What's your deadline?  Did the first Judge even order you to submit a defence?  They normally do.

bbdnw1106

@Coupon-mad yes I must have been thinking about the WS.

The letter from court says I have to file a completed application and fees by 10th October.

And then by 16th October I have to file at court and serve opponent along with WS and all documentation.

Are there threads for the above you would recommend?

many thanks