Unjust CCJ because of an invalid parking ticket that I had no idea about! HELP PLEASE!

ahmedraya92

Hey guys,

So I was casually checking my Experian account yesterday, and found that my credit score that I've been trying to improve for years has been slashed in half! I found that a CCJ was made against me by the Civil National Business Centre. I called the CNBC today and found out that the claim was made by Civil Enforcement Ltd about an "inappropriate parking" at The Plough in Oxford 2 years ago. The claim is for £277.

I was at Oxford looking for houses at that time (22/07/2022). I moved out of my old house a couple of weeks after (09/08/2022). Apparently they have been sending letters to my old address! Even the court had my old address!

Regarding the actual ticket itself, I believe it's completely invalid. When we were at The Plough, we asked the owners of the pub if it was okay to park there, and they said that it was free for paying customers. I have proof of transaction to the plough on the day in question. They even state that in their website (can't post links because i'm new here, but just Google The Plough wolvercote parking, and you'll see what i'm saying). I don't feel like I owe them anything!

I tried calling Civil Enforcement, but their only options are to either pay, or appeal, but I can't appeal on the phone, only online. I tried appealing online, but because this is now a CCJ, they forwarded me to the court appeal process. To appeal a court decision, I'd have to pay £275, £2 LESS THAN THE TICKET!

I called the financial ombudsman, but they said they don't deal with companies not regulated by the FCA. I'm on the waiting list for Citizen's advice bureau to ask for advice. At this point I feel like i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, not knowing who to call or what to do. I don't feel like I owe anyone anything. Am I right? Should I just pay the amount and rid of this CCJ? Or should I fight this? If so, how, and against who? Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks!  

tacpot12

The CCJ will drop off your credit record after six years. Do you need to get it removed? Are you about to apply for a mortgage, or do you have a load of debt you need to refinance? 

Coupon-mad

Yes they will need it removed as most people do.

The good news is this forum does this every day and Judges can't refuse because an old address means the claim was not properly served.  We help people do CEL ones literally all the time.

Mandatory set aside as per CPR 13.2.

As explained in the CCJ set aside section of the NEWBIES thread.

 To appeal a court decision, I'd have to pay £275, £2 LESS THAN THE TICKET!

...yes but that's merely an up front fee, likely to be ordered refunded by CEL, when you ask the Judge for that at the hearing.

These are easy to set aside.  See the NEWBIES thread & read the 5 linked examples.  Act promptly and DO NOT AGREE to CEL's version of a Consent Order.  Stop phoning them.  Send the email suggested by a solicitor poster, first.

Did you find out from the CNBC the date of the judgment?

Did you ask them: did CEL use DCB Legal or was the claim filed by Wonga-man himself?

Did you ask them for a copy of the POC?

ahmedraya92

@Coupon-mad
Thanks for the reply! Really reassuring that this can be handled. Few things:

1. According to CNBC, it was issued on 23rd of April 2024.
2. I did not, but when I asked who made the claim against me, they said it was CEL. Not sure if it's indicative that it is indeed Wonga man who filed it.
3. They sent me an email on how to do a Set Judgement Aside application with a few details on the claim. Not sure what you mean by POC, but i'm assuming you mean proof of claim?

I found the email you're referencing. Should I send that to Applications.CNBC@justice.gov.uk?

So your suggestion is to go through the set judgement aside application, and have the claim dismissed on the basis that it wasn't served properly, and that I would be able to ask the judge to refund the £275 that I paid to make the application?

Thanks again for your advice, massive load off my shoulders to know someone's on my side!

Coupon-mad

Yes that's one option.

Annoyingly it's harder work (takes longer too, and your credit rating will remain ruined over the Summer) but morally setting the CCJ aside is the right thing, compared with the other option still open to you:

(to pay the scam in full within 30 days).  I've whispered it in brackets...but it is a fact that you are still in time to clear it.

KeithP

POC = Particulars of Claim.

Hopefully the 'few details of the claim' that they have sent you are indeed the contents of the Particulars of Claim box.

ahmedraya92

@Coupon-mad
There's that risk that if I go beyond 23rd of May without giving in, that the CCJ would remain on my credit file for 6 years... I'm sure this is an easy win, so I think I'll fight this. I'm quite adamant on not giving them a penny and having THEM pay me back for court fees.

Quick question though, is it an option to pay them for now, and make a new claim against them, or is paying them an "admission of guilt"?

I'm forming the email I need to send along with the N244 form...

@KeithP
Thanks for that, looks like I've got everything I need then

ahmedraya92

I was just reading the email drafted by the solicitor, is this to be sent without the N244 form to Applications.CNBC@justice.gov.uk? Is this meant to invite CEL to pay the Set Aside Judgement fee?
If i'm completely mistaken, and I do need to send an N244 and pay the fee, do i send the edited template in the email body and attach the N244?

Coupon-mad

The email goes to CEL's litigation team if you know from the CNBC that no solicitor was involved.

It is sent inly to CEL, if they filed this claim in-house.  Could have been DCB Legal, who also file claims for CEL sometimes.

You need to ask the CNBC the above question - who filed the claim - and for a copy of the POC (which isn't what you said; it's what KeithP said).

Did you search the forum for 'Wonga-man' ? - please do. Please read about the so-called Head of Legal and his previous job...

Quick question though, is it an option to pay them for now, and make a new claim against them, or is paying them an "admission of guilt"?

Yes and no.  You could but I am not convinced you'd have a cause of action

ahmedraya92

Fair enough. Got a lot of work to do. I'll update this thread with updates. 
Thank you guys so much for your help!

ahmedraya92

Sorry, last question: I've tried searching for an email address for CEL's legal team but couldn't find anything. Anything you can give me? That is assuming that it is indeed CEL themselves who issued the claim. I'll call CNBC tomorrow to double check.