CCJ Hearing and Consent Order

Coupon-mad

Defence has no 's' except in the US.

Show us your draft, as I advised earlier.

dnonomore

Thank you for your reply. Spelling error noted.
Heres what ive started with, using some templates i found on here.  This is so overwhelming!!!! 

INTRODUCTION

I, ****** residing at ******,  am the Defendant in the present case. Following the setting aside of the judgement, I hereby submit my comprehensive defence against the claim lodged by Vehicle Control Services Ltd.

RESPONSE TO THE CLAIM AND WITNESS STATEMENT

Circumstances surrounding the PCN

Personal Circumstances:

On 29.1.2024 my daughter *******, parked her scooter in Cloisters P&D Car Park -********

VCS claim to have issued a PCN on 1.2.2022 for   Contravene Reason: 94) PARKED WITHOUT DISPLAYING A VALID TICKET/PERMIT. This was never received, for reasons detailed below:

My daughter,******** is the current registered owner and keeper of the vehicle, registered to our address above.  I was the previous registered owner and keeper, when we lived at the previous address of: *********  We moved house to the address above in July 2020, having living in privately rented accommodation, at the same address for 6 years.  On 15.9.2020 the (green slip) New Keeper section of the V5C was filled in with New Keeper details (*****) and sent via Royal Mail.  A photograph was taken at the time. (see exhibit …..

DVLA claim never to have received the green slip, so consequently the registration document was never updated with new keeper details.  The PCN was never received by the new keeper, at the new address and thus payment was never made.

When I discovered the CCJ on my credit file in February this year, and discovered the cause of it, I was advised that I could update a V5C online (something I was not aware of) and updated the V5C New Keeper details online via DVLA website. The V5C was finally issued to my daughter ****** to our current address on 7.3.24. (see exhibit …..)

 

Failure to Properly Serve the Claim Form

The Defendant disputes the Claimant's assertion that the Claim Form was properly served.

As of 29.6.2022 when the Claimant submitted the Claim Form to the County Court Business Centre, the Defendant had already relocated to a new address some 2 years earlier. This change of address was communicated to the Defendants bank, and the electoral register, to ensure all personal records were up-to-date.  Also, as stated earlier, the V5C was updated via royal Mail. The Defendant has also taken out a credit card, opened a new bank account, and taken a personal loan for which a credit search was necessary.  The Defendant believes they were “there to be found”  and this highlights the necessity for the Claimant to have undertaken additional diligence to ascertain the current address for service, via an inexpensive credit check, thereby ensuring the delivery of the Claim Form to the correct location.

The  Defendant did not received any documentation from the Claimant, thus was never able to properly respond to/challenge the Claimant’s claim.   Indeed the Particulars of Claim were only received by the Defendant, for the first time on 16.8.24.

The Defendant believes the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim without confirming the Defendant’s correct contact details at the time of the claim. They had also failed to explore an ‘alternative place or method’ to inform/enquire the Defendant. The Claimant did not take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of the Defendant’s current residence. Having received no return correspondence from the Defendant whatsoever following their assumed multiple attempts to reach them at an old address, especially considering the PCN was for a relatively small sum of money. If the Claimant had checked any other source than the DVLA, they would have found the Defendant’s correct address. This has led to the claim being incorrectly served to an old address and an irregular judgment. On that basis, I believe the Claimant has not adhered to CPR 6.9 (3):
“Where a claimant has reason to believe that the address of the defendant referred to in entries 1, 2 or 3 in the table in paragraph (2) is an address at which the defendant no longer resides or carries on business, the claimant must take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of the defendant’s current residence or place of business (‘current address’).”

(see exhibits …… bank statements, electoral register)

 

Demonstration of Compliance and Good Faith

As an individual dedicated to legal compliance, I am a single mother, with a child who is registered disabled.  I have dedicated a lot of work to rebuilding my life following a relationship breakdown, as well as rebuilding my finances. The notion of deliberately disregarding the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) is contrary to my principles.

My immediate action in trying to rectify the judgement as soon as I became aware of it in February 2024 stands as evidence of my diligent and conscientious handling of this situation. There was a delay due to a change of email address for CCBC that was never communicated to me. (see exhibit   ……)

On 3.2.2024 I contacted the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) by telephone to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment. After over 1 hour on hold, I was advised to complete an N244 form.  As I am a single parent, working full time, with a registered disabled child, I applied to “Help with Fees”  After submitting the relevant information, I was given a reference number to use alongside my N244 application. (*******).

Within just 2 days. on 5.2.24 I submitted my N244 application for the judgement to be set aside, along with my Help with Fees information and a photograph of the V5C as it was filled in back on 15.9.2020 with details of the new keeper. The email I was advised to use was ccbcfees@justice .gov.uk  and received no response.

Having no idea of timeframes involved in something like this, I awaited a reply, until June 2024, when I tried over 5 times to contact the CCBC by phone, but was unable to get through after being on hold for literally hours each time.

On 19.7.2024 I got through and was advised that the email address had changed and I should resubmit my N244 to a different email address.  I forwarded the original email, along with V5C photograph and original N244 application form. (see exhibit….)

On 19.7.2024 I have submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case.

On 28.8.24 the hearing took place and the Judgement was “set aside by consent”. My understanding is that the claim now reverts to small claims court. For which I am submitting this defence.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Considering the facts that I did indeed inform the DVLA of a change of keeper, as well as the fact that the Claimant did not explore other avenues to attempt to contact me, I earnestly implore the court to consider these significant factors. At no point was my intention to neglect the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) or to act in a manner contrary to responsible norms. My aim remains to achieve a fair resolution in this case.

Reflecting on the circumstances outlined, which notably impaired my ability to engage with the Claimant's communications and procedures, I respectfully request the court's understanding and consideration. My approach throughout this process has been to handle the matter with due regard for legal propriety and responsibility. I contend that the lack of response to the initial PCN was a direct result of circumstances beyond my control, not a deliberate act of non-compliance.

As previously stated, I am a single parent who qualified for some degree of Help With Fees.  I respectfully ask the court to request the Claimant cover the costs of this hearing, as well as the costs from the hearing of  28.8.24 and reimburse the Defendant the £135 I have paid to date.

Coupon-mad

That's a witness statement which is useful - but that isn't a defence.

Use the Template Defence (top of the forum).

dnonomore

Thanks for your advice. I dont know if im using the right one but i found something youd posted in July 23.  ive used a lot of it but im unsure of points 4-28 (maybe theyre specific to a different type of defence?)

Can I also submit my witness statement (previously posted) as this contains more information about the actual event, or do i need to copy it into the defence also?
Heres what ive done so far: 

LIVERPOOL COUNTY COURT 

Claim No. ******

BETWEEN: 

Vehicle Control Services Limited (Claimant) 

– and – 

***** (Defendant) 

_________________

DEFENCE

 

The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.  It is denied that the Claimant took reasonable steps to upon the serving of  the Claim,  as it was not properly served at my current address, pursuant to CPR 13.2.

 

The facts known to the Defendant:

The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  

1.        The Defendant did not believe themselves to be the Registered Keeper of the vehicle at the time of the PCN.

2.        The Claimant did not take reasonable steps to serve the PCN, and furthermore, the Claim Form, to the correct address, taking no measures to verify the correct address, despite the Defendant being “there to be found”.

3.        In the matter of costs, the Defendant requests the Court to kindly consider the reimbursement of the fee of £135 court fees to set aside judgement, plus the cost to attend the hearing and relevant litigation in person costs from the Claimant

Le_Kirk

What are you trying to write; so far you've attempted a WS and then a defence which is not based on the template? Has the CCJ been set aside and you are defending the underlying claim? Have you found the template defence?  Have we seen the POC on the original N1 claim form? 

Coupon-mad

Please use the Template Defence which is pinned at the top of the forum.

Can I also submit my witness statement (previously posted) as this contains more information about the actual event

Yes - and your Exhibits, which are VITAL and are explained (in an a-f list) in the second post of the NEWBIES FAQS thread (also pinned at the top of the forum).

dnonomore

thanks all, im struggling to even find the templates and the forum you refer to ? Im very new to this site. I thought i had found the template butmost of it didnt sound like it was relevant to my situation.
The CCJ has now been set aside and i am now defending the claim (even these phrases are alien to me) 
The POC (so many weird typos in it?) are:  

The Claim is for a breach of contract for

breaching the terms and conditions set on

private land. The Defendant's vehicle,

*****, was identified in the Cloisters P&D

ar ****** on the 29/01/2022 in breach

of the advertised terms and conditions;

namely Parked without displaying a valid

ticet/permit. At all material times the

Defndant was the registered keeper and/or

river. The terms and conditions upon enteing

private land were clearly displayed at te

entrance and in prominent locations. Th sign

was the offer and the act of entering rivate

land was the acceptance of the offer ereby

entering into a contract by conduct. The

signs specifically detail the terms nd

conditions and the consequences of ailure to

comply, namely a parking charge noice will be

issued, and the Defendant has faied to settle

the outstanding liability. The Caimant seeks

the recovery of the parking chage notice,

contractual costs and

interest.

Im seriously starting to wonder if i should have just accepted their offer to pay £195 and have it dropped. 
I dont know what im doing with all this and i have to get it submitted by 4pm wednesday !!!

dnonomore

Im fairly certain i am reading the correct Defence template but much of it appears irrelevant to my situation. eg signage etc. I am unsure which numbered points to omit.  My WS contains all of the information regarding the facts, the chain of events, and some evidence exhibits.  Can i not use this information in the Defence also?  

dnonomore

can someone dumb it down for me and explain the difference between the purpose of a WS and my defence and which  needs to contain which information . Thanks so much. Ive a sinking feeling i cant get this done in time. Ive spent so many hours on it and im going round in circles reading and re reading posts and threads and im getting confused. The example threads ive read dont seem entirely relevant to my situation (basically the DVLA did not receive update New Keeper information and i moved house and never recieved any parking charge or subsequent claim. I literally dont know what points in the Defence template to include and also how it differs to my WS that i have already shared 

Le_Kirk

You are in the forum!  The defence template is on the front page of the forum and you are defending the underlying claim - the POC - parked without a permit.  You just write your paragraph #3 and do NOT adjust or delete the rest.  The witness statement supports your defence with evidence.  Search the forum for some recent WSs.  You are NOT sending the WS that you used for your set-aside.