Judgement issued. I got Claim acknowledgment dates wrong. Is N244 a good idea?

Volcanologist

 Hi. Have read NEWBIES, links & all posts I can find several times - thank you!

MET Parking Overstay, Stansted Airport BP shop, early 2020
All MET letters went to my Dad's address - he knew not to pay & kept letters - not responding.
Dad was car Owner. I was Keeper. I had moved to a temporary work address. Car sold early 2020. 
Driver not identified
Dad died. I was made aware of a Claim Form recently
I misread dates. Thought I had 28 days to acknowledge the Claim.
Saw 14 days on forum. Too late. When I accessed the MCOL system a Judgement had been issued an hour beforehand. 
Bearing in mind no MET letters were responded to, will an N244 and defending work?
If I pay the £300 plus Claim will the Judgement get cancelled? How much time do I get before I have to pay it?
I want to fight as the lack of signs & 1 tiny hidden sign is deception imo. 
Family, friends and many others have been caught out by this deception. 
Driver waited due to unsafe conditions - heavy rain and not feeling well. 
Items were bought in the BP shop.
Have contacted BP & they have requested an image of the Parking Charge and receipt from their shop. I haven't mentioned the J yet. Cab BP still help as this stage?
Stansted Airport couldn't care less. 
I understand about the "contract" "damages" signs not being up to code & debate in Parliament etc. 

Any advice please? I don't scare easily. Thank you. 

Coupon-mad

If I pay the £300 plus Claim will the Judgement get cancelled? How much time do I get before I have to pay it?

30 days max - from CCJ date.  Yes it is wiped if you pay in full in time.

But:

I like the fact you don't scare easily.

I like the fact the claim went to an old address because that gives you the wriggle room (not 'wiggle' room as tv shows keep wrongly saying...) that you need.

You can do an N244 application asap to apply to set aside the CCJ order and allow you to defend.  Please be aware that this does NOT freeze the CCJ and your credit rating will dip.  And if you fail, the CCJ will remain.  That's the risk you take.

But our parking case CCJ set aside applications almost never fail because you can rely on CPR 13.2 or alternatively 13.3 and genuinely you can say the claim was not served to your current address and you heard about it too late to defend, but you have very good prospects of defending.

Costs you a £275 court fee but if the Judge agrees you were 'there to be found' at your new address and that MET breached the BPA CoP by not bothering to trace you before litigation, you'd likely get the fee ordered against MET (to refund you).

Volcanologist

Coupon-mad said:

If I pay the £300 plus Claim will the Judgement get cancelled? How much time do I get before I have to pay it?

30 days max - from CCJ date.  Yes it is wiped if you pay in full in time.

But:

I like the fact you don't scare easily.

I like the fact the claim went to an old address because that gives you the wriggle room (not 'wiggle' room as tv shows keep wrongly saying...) that you need.

You can do an N244 application asap to apply to set aside the CCJ order and allow you to defend.  Please be aware that this does NOT freeze the CCJ and your credit rating will dip.  And if you fail, the CCJ will remain.  That's the risk you take.

But our parking case CCJ set aside applications almost never fail because you can rely on CPR 13.2 or alternatively 13.3 and genuinely you can say the claim was not served to your current address and you heard about it too late to defend, but you have very good prospects of defending.

Costs you a £275 court fee but if the Judge agrees you were 'there to be found' at your new address and that MET breached the BPA CoP by not bothering to trace you before litigation, you'd likely get the fee ordered against MET (to refund you).

Coupon-mad said:

If I pay the £300 plus Claim will the Judgement get cancelled? How much time do I get before I have to pay it?

30 days max - from CCJ date.  Yes it is wiped if you pay in full in time.

But:

I like the fact you don't scare easily.

I like the fact the claim went to an old address because that gives you the wriggle room (not 'wiggle' room as tv shows keep wrongly saying...) that you need.

You can do an N244 application asap to apply to set aside the CCJ order and allow you to defend.  Please be aware that this does NOT freeze the CCJ and your credit rating will dip.  And if you fail, the CCJ will remain.  That's the risk you take.

But our parking case CCJ set aside applications almost never fail because you can rely on CPR 13.2 or alternatively 13.3 and genuinely you can say the claim was not served to your current address and you heard about it too late to defend, but you have very good prospects of defending.

Costs you a £275 court fee but if the Judge agrees you were 'there to be found' at your new address and that MET breached the BPA CoP by not bothering to trace you before litigation, you'd likely get the fee ordered against MET (to refund you).

Thank you. I'm good a wriggling. The issue is that the temporary work address turned out to be long-term temporary, as I thought I'd be moving to a new permanent address & I will be in 2024.. so I haven't changed my essentials over yet - bank, electoral roll, etc. I'm wondering if that fact, plus the fact that the MET letters weren't responded to will make defending a rough ride? 

JerryJ64

Why did all correspondence go to your dad's address? If he was the "owner", do you mean he was the "registered keeper"and you were the "day to day keeper"? There is no official record of who an "owner" is. The V5C actually states on the front "This document is not proof of ownership".

Was the claim in your dad's name? If so, the CCJ will be in his name. Whilst sorry about your loss, is it going to affect anyone if this CCJ remains in his name? I doubt it is going to affect anyone.

If it is in your name, that is a different matter.

Volcanologist

JerryJ64 said:

Why did all correspondence go to your dad's address? If he was the "owner", do you mean he was the "registered keeper"and you were the "day to day keeper"? There is no official record of who an "owner" is. The V5C actually states on the front "This document is not proof of ownership".

Was the claim in your dad's name? If so, the CCJ will be in his name. Whilst sorry about your loss, is it going to affect anyone if this CCJ remains in his name? I doubt it is going to affect anyone.

If it is in your name, that is a different matter.

Dad bought the car to sell on but allowed me to use it while staying at his house after I returned from abroad. He must have put me down as the Keeper, as the MET Charge was sent to me at his address with me named as the "Keeper or Driver" - MET must have got this info from DVLA - thus the CCJ is in my name. 

JerryJ64

Thanks for that clarification. In this case, follow the advice by @Coupon-mad above.