CCJ for parking ticket from 2019 - Met parking / DCB Legal - help please!

RoseBudSup

Hi all, 
I have had a read through the forum and I'm not sure what I should do here. I've never dealt with anything like this before so I would really appreciate any advice.

The situation:
I recently had a credit check run against me when I was applying to rent a flat and found out that I have a CCJ. The CCJ was raised in November 2023.
I spoke to the CNBC and they told me the CCJ is for £334 for a parking ticket from 2019. They told me that met parking services have got DCB legal as their legal rep and gave me reference numbers. I don't know what evidence they have or anything else. The CNBC said I should call DCB legal for this information, I currently have had no contact with DCB legal.

The CNBC gave me the address where the parking ticket was issued so I know it was when I was renting an air bnb for 2 weeks. I was driving my company car at the time and had parked there with the required yellow slip from reception which served as a 'permit' to park there. 

I remember at the time getting a ticket and calling them to have it removed as I had permission to park there and I remember my colleague who was staying in the same place had a similar issue. I no longer work at that company and I can't find any paper trials of any communication for the original parking ticket.

I have not driven since 2019 so my address on my driving licence has not been updated but the company had my up to date address so I think they must have provided it. This is where I know I messed up - I rarely check the post at my current address so I did not see the letter from dcb legal in November about the CCJ.

I'm now well out of the 30 days so I'm not sure what to do and have had conflicting advice...
My partner thinks I should just get a lawyer and have them handle it. My parents think I should just pay it off and then get dcb legal to remove the ccj. It seems as though I could appeal and go through the process myself. 

I'm really worried about the long term impact of this on my credit score. I also know that I had permission to park there so I really don't want to pay for this out of principle but I'd rather pay if I have no other choice to get it removed from my record.

I'd really appreciate any advice on how I should handle this and what the next steps are.

Thank you in advance 

Coupon-mad

My parents think I should just pay it off and then get dcb legal to remove the ccj.

That can't be done, as any payment now will only see the CCJ marked 'satisfied'.  Which still affects your credit for 6 years.  YOU DO NOT WANT A SATISFIED CCJ HANGING OVER YOU IF THERE IS A WAY TO AVOID IT.

Worse: if you pay, you throw away ALL your leverage with DCB Legal if you later wanted to try to get their Consent to set aside the CCJ.  Why would they play ball if there's nothing in it for them?

Definitely do not pay it off. 

It seems as though I could appeal and go through the process myself. 

Yes you can. Costs £275 for an application to be heard at a hearing.  Even if the CCJ is set aside, I doubt you would get that fee awarded against the Claimants unless you argued it very well why they should foot the bill.

But what worries me, is you say that the claim was was properly served to the right address.  

And you didn't open the post, even though you were living there?

That makes this a difficult application because you have to show good reasons why the CCJ should be set aside (and reversing/quashing a properly served claim form isn't something most Judges will do lightly).  Usually on this forum, the argument is that it went to an old address and you don't have that.

A solicitor is not the answer. They don't specialise in parking cases which is quite niche.  Maybe Google Contestor Legal and read their blogs about cases like yours.  I am not connected to them but I reckon they can get this CCJ set aside for you.

It will cost, but I think a fair bit less than most solicitors would charge, for doing a generic job with no parking case knowledge.  Contestor Legal do have that knowledge in spades, as it is all they do, and will will also do it WITHOUT telling you to pay the CCJ off.  Which a clueless solicitor would (wrongly) tell you is necessary.  

Contestor Legal will apply to have the whole claim struck out. They are legally qualified and they do specialise in parking cases including DCB Legal CCJ cases (for a fee).

So if you pay anyone, pay them, IMHO.

Which is your nearest County Court though?  

There are one or two court areas whose Judges are so good that you could do this yourself and not even need a hearing (fee would be £108 not £275) as certain Judges would already be on the same page as you.

So which court would be your nearest?

Half_way

Paying off a CCJ that can be st aside is often a fatal mistake that many people make in the belief that it's an easy (but expensive) way to make it go away, it isn't - as CM has said it will stay there marked as satisfied and having an impact on credit for the next 6 years, a little work now in getting it set aside will save a lot of effort later.

Please follow the advice from Coupon-mad and put a little effort in now to save a lot of hassle later.

As for retribution, personally if i was in your situation i would be looking at going after the landowner to get any money or costs associated with this back,  unless it was a charity/charitable group or single person owned small business and even then i would fire a warning shot over their bows the committees and the committed members  that run scout halls/village halls and other such places tend to be scared of their own shadows if liability for something comes into play

With PPCs in almost all cases the principal, that is the entity or person responsible for letting the PPC operate on their land is jointly and severally liable for the actions of that Parking company ( its agent)

moto50

We have been in your exact position a few years back. A fine had been issued to an address the vehicle was not registered at whilst we owned it, and it had at the time of the 'offence' been exported abroad. We had no knowledge until, like you we moved house and a credit check turned up a CCJ we knew nothing of - always had great credit history. 

We contacted the parking eye who ignored us totally. We had to get the details from the court as Parking Eye just ignored all correspondence. We contacted the BPA and they immediately backed the parking company has they had a CCJ, which they deemed a court had justified it, even adding that it was relating to two fines on the same day. As the CCJ was active we looked into having it appealed. We spoke to the courts, we proved he vehicle had been exported prior - but the cost was too high £680 to appeal with all the costs to start it, could take up to two years and you CANNOT claim it back (that is what the court told us) 

So, you clear your name - or pay the CCJ (ours was the same price as the appeal costs) If, like us you are moving, then you need to have a word with the person who is dealing with it. We were told that parking fine CCJ's are more common than you would think and that it wouldn't effect our move if it were satisfied, however if outstanding it would.

We decided the house was more important. Has it marked our credit history? Likely, but we have not been adversely affected. We still have the credit cards, we still pass financial checks (just recently opened a new bank account) 

You decide what you want to do, what is important to you. If you can call off the move, take however long it takes to clear your name then do that. If moving is priority, then that is the decision made, and the poison chalice you have been handed.

Hope it works out for you.

Coupon-mad

Your case isn't the same because your claim went to an old address @moto50 (and we would say in our experience, that you were wrong to pay it off).

In your case most Judges would have ordered your fees to be paid by the parking firm due to the old address used.

Or ParkingEye would likely have consented to the CCJs being set aside if you'd sent them the solicitor-composed email that we recommend first (not for this OP because it's an email about why they should consent to the CCJ being set aside, because they used an old address).

The OP's case is a harder application (a difficult one to argue because the OP's claim was properly served) but IMHO no-one should be paying off parking CCJs.  Set aside instead.

nopcns

The OP (and @moto50) should note that a CCJ marked as "satisfied" will still cause a world of financial pain. Whilst you may still be able to get credit, you will be paying a much higher fee. Also, you will find that things like insurance renewals jump significantly.

A "satisfied" CCJ is little better than a unsatisfied one. The only way to get it expunged from your record is to have the CCJ set aside.

RoseBudSup

Thank you all for the replies and advice.

@Coupon-mad - I have many 10 courts within a 4 mile radius as I'm London based. The nearest court is showing as Willesden county court on gov uk. Is this any good?

I am looking into Contestor Legal as suggested. I'll also contact the owners where I was parked to see their response

Coupon-mad

Ask Contestor Legal which London court would suit them best.  Let them do the case for you.