DCB Legal Ltd Claim Form delayed in mail redirection abroad

KeithP

neilflah said:

I can't find this NEWBIES thread...?

Does this writing - seen at least five times on this thread - not help?...

Coupon-mad

neilflah said:

I can't find this NEWBIES thread...?

But my signature says where to click and you already read two replies from me?

neilflah

Hi Coupon-mad (and all),

Firstly, thanks for your help here.  After reading through the threads this is what I'm proposing to respond to CCBC with:

WITNESS STATEMENT

I am XXXX and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated 6th September 2023 requesting to:

a. Set aside the default judgment dated 29th August 2023 as the Claim Form was not properly served at my current address thus not allowing me sufficient time to respond and defend myself.  Furthermore, the default judgment should be set aside as there is a good prospect of the defendant being able to defend the claim.  As jurisdiction is disputed, there should also be no claim to defend.

b. Order for the original claim to be dismissed.

c. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee and £750 in harassment compensation.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT

1.1. I was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.

1.2. I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against me as the Defendant on 29th August 2023. I am aware that the Claimant is Highview Parking Limited, and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from 12th September 2019 at my then residence XXXX. I contest this charge on the grounds of jurisdiction.  I emigrated to Poland on 02/08/2023 with my Polish spouse and children and did not receive the Claim Form from DCB Legal Ltd in redirected mail until 30th August 2023.  The claim form has an issue date of 04/08/2023.

1.3. The claim form was not served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement until 30th August 2023 in a batch of received mail from Royal Mail redirection service which has been active since 27thJuly 2023.

The address on the claim is XXXX. I moved to my current address at XXXX on the 2nd August 2023.  In support of this I can provide a scanned copy of our Polish apartment rental agreement in my Polish wife’s name, alongside confirmation of Royal Mail redirection service in both of our names.

1.4. In addition to the above, it should be highlighted that the integrity and law-abiding intention of the Defendant should be taken into consideration on the basis that;

1.4.1 I discovered a CCJ was lodged onto my credit file on the 30th August 2023.

1.4.2 On 31st August 2023 I attempted to contact the County Court Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgement but received an automated telephone response of very long wait times.

1.4.3 On 6th September 2023 I have wilfully submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgement and fairly present my case.

1.5. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendant’s correct contact details at the time of the claim.

1.6. On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to CPR 6.9 (3) where they had failed to show due diligence in using an address that the Defendant no longer resides. The claimant did not take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of my current residence despite having some 12 months to establish an address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgement.

1.7. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The industry’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.

Furthermore, former Prime Minister May publicly pledged to investigate ‘abuse’ of the CCJ System and so called ‘Credit Clamping’ as reported in the Daily Mail article dated 12 September 2016. The Right Honourable Sir Oliver Heald on 23 December 2016 "announced a crackdown on unresolved debts which can damage people’s credit ratings without them knowing. The action comes after concerns were raised that companies were issuing claims to consumers using incorrect addresses."

The Minister added "It cannot be right that people who are unaware of debts can see their lives and finances ruined by county court judgments. That in the digital age, we must ensure companies pursuing unpaid debts make every reasonable effort to contact individuals, rather than simply relying on a letter to an old address.” Furtherance to points raised in 1.3 above.

1.8. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. I believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside and I ask the Court to kindly consider the reimbursement of the fee of £275 from the claimant should this request be successful.

 

1.9. Considering the above I believe the claim also lacks jurisdiction and is therefore invalid making the Default Judgement against me incorrectly issued and thus should be set aside and I ask the Court to kindly consider the reimbursement of the fee of £275 from the claimant should this request be successful.

 

Statement of Truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this defence 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

B789

You still haven't mentioned in your WS that you are requesting the seat aside to be made under CPR 13.2 with a fallback of CPR 13.3. Did you not read the link I provided in my earlier post?

Also, keep the paragraph numbering simple with just an integer instead of the sub-numbering you have used.

1505grandad

"I believe that the facts stated in this defence are true." ?

"DEFAULT JUDGMENT"  -  there are several instances where "Judgment" contains an erroneous "e"

neilflah

Hi 1505grandad,

are you saying replace with:  'The facts  stated in this defence are true.' ?

and correct with 'Judgement'?

neilflah

Hi B789,

Would it be acceptable to summarise at the end of the Default Judgement section explicitly stating that I'm requesting the set-aside to be made under CPR 13.2 with a fallback of CPR 13.3?

Do I have to spell out what these CPR's are verbatim?

Coupon-mad

neilflah said:

Hi 1505grandad,

are you saying replace with:  'The facts  stated in this defence are true.' ?

and correct with 'Judgement'?

Eh? It's not a defence.

And judgement with an 'e' is the wrong spelling.

What's this?  You can't ask for compensation:

c. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £275 as reimbursement for the set aside fee and £750 in harassment compensation.

I'm not sure why you aren't just using all the good examples provided as a resource in the CCJ set aside section of the NEWBIES thread.

neilflah

This is copied and pasted and amended from there Coupon-mad.

So:  'judgment' correct spelling errors

delete compensation ask

change end to:  'I believe the facts stated in this witness statement/set-aside request/??????'

B789

If you're unsure about what a statement of truth is and how it should be worded, have a read of this document:

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part22/pd_part22