Judgement for Claimant

doubledotcom

Not necessarily. The court does not have to order the claimant to pay your costs. But it can, even if the claimant did nothing wrong, because:

1. The claimant benefits from the default judgment. If that judgment was entered because of a breakdown in service (even though the claimant used the correct process), it is still fair to put the parties back in the position they were in before.

2. You had to spend money to fix a problem not caused by you. The court has discretion to ensure that an innocent party who was denied the chance to defend is not financially punished for simply trying to put things right.

3. Fairness and discretion. Judges often look at what is fair overall. If you responded to theLoC and acted quickly once you learned about the default judgment, many judges will consider it reasonable to let you recover your costs.

However, the judge may also decide that because the claimant followed the correct procedure and the court handled service, no costs should be awarded. It depends on the facts, how promptly you applied, and how the judge views the situation.

So while costs are not guaranteed, they are possible — and you should still ask for them if you succeed in the application. You should also ask that if the court does not award costs at the set-aside stage, then costs be reserved to the trial. This gives the judge the option to postpone the decision and consider it later, depending on the final outcome of the case.

This is a reasonable and common approach. It shows you are not being opportunistic but want fairness if you ultimately win.

Coupon-mad

You can complain to Royal Mail about the missing postal item and get part compensation towards the fee.

Up to you. Either apply to set it aside promptly and defend the case, or pay it immediately.

IronWolf

I'll have to think about it today and decide what to do. With this PCN, I was driving and did overstay, so I'm not sure how likely it is that I would beat the court case (if they didn't cancel it before the hearing). The details of the claim seem correct unlike in some other cases, correct date of contravention, apart from saying that I'm indebted to them.

IronWolf

I decided to just pay the CCJ given I don't think there's a great chance I will be able to claim back the costs of submitting the form. It was £285, including £107 of court costs and 8% interest

I've written to my MP to complain about this process and how ridiculous it is that only a single letter is required before you can get a default judgment against you, and it isn't even sent recorded delivery. I looked into complaining to Royal Mail but it's very unlikely they would give me anything. I wasn't the one that posted the document and there is no proof of postage or guarantees with standard post.

Now I need to figure out how to get this CCJ removed from my credit record. The Judgement letter says I need to apply to the court, and it's free at least, but then gives absolutely no information about how to do that. Just useless.

Half_way

do you know where this car park is?

IronWolf

Yes I remember parking there and I did overstay due to getting delayed. It was a free car park at a retail park with a 4 hour max stay. Tried complaining to the shops but got nowhere.

I've decided to submit a formal complaint to the court and see what comes from it. I've paid the CCJ to protect my credit record, but if the court offers to waive the form fees etc I might try to get a chargeback on the payment and submit the form. No idea how likely that is but I may as well try, and give the court a piece of my mind.

Gr1pr

DCB legal should inform the MCOL system that the default Judgment is paid in full, so contact them

IronWolf

Gr1pr said:

DCB legal should inform the MCOL system that the default Judgment is paid in full, so contact them

Yeh, I found out I can email the court myself to get it removed if I attach evidence of payment, but think I'll wait until I hear back on my complaint in case I do want to do a chargeback

Coupon-mad

Send your complaint to HMCTS.

On what date did they supposedly post the claim form? I'm wondering if there is a common CNBC issue here with one day's post:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6613377/cnbc-losing-the-plot#latest

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81503487/#Comment_81503487

IronWolf

Interesting that I'm not the only one. I also had it on the back of a standard letter that said I had a claim against me.

I did call them and they confirmed I have a CCJ, not just a claim. I don't actually know the date of the claim as they didn't send me the claim form. The guy I spoke to just copy and pasted the particulars of claim and emailed it to me. They are beyond useless.

I've sent complaints to HMCTS, CNBC and customer service @ justice so will see if I get anywhere with them.