CCJ from parking fine

TrippleGGG

Here are the particulars of the claim:

Claim No: XXXXXXX

 

Claimant: UK PARKING CONTROL LIMITED

 

Claimant solicitor: DCB LEGAL LTD

Telephone: 0203 434 0433

Reference: XXXXXXXXX

 

Judgment amount: 313.80

 

Particulars of claim: 1. THE DEFENDANT(D) IS INDEBTED TO THE       CLAIMANT (C) FOR A PARKING CHARGE(S) ISSUED TO VEHICLE XXXXX AT XXXXX. THE PCN     DETAILS ARE 21/07/2019,XXXXXX 3.THE   PCN(S) WAS ISSUED ON PRIVATE LAND OWNED OR   MANAGED BY C. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN      BREACH OF THE TERMS ON CS SIGNS (THE         CONTRACT), THUS INCURRING THE PCN(S).4. THE  DRIVER AGREED TO PAY WITHIN 28 DAYS BUT DID  NOT. D IS LIABLE AS THE DRIVER OR KEEPER.    DESPITE REQUESTS, THE PCN(S) IS OUTSTANDING. THE CONTRACT ENTITLES C TO DAMAGES.          AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS                      1. £160 BEING THE TOTAL OF THE PCN(S) AND    DAMAGES. 2. INTEREST AT A RATE OF 8% PER     ANNUM PURSUANT TO S.69 OF THE COUNTY COURTS  ACT 1984 FROM THE DATE HEREOF AT A DAILY RATEOF £0.02 UNTIL JUDGMENT OR SOONER PAYMENT. 3.COSTS AND COURT FEES     

Coupon-mad

Good to see.

Your WS cites Chan & Akande correctly. 

TrippleGGG

Final WS below. One other question:
- Do I simply attach the appendices to the email along with the N244 form?

1 WITNESS STATEMENT OF DEFENDANT

1.1        I am xxxx, and I am the Defendant in this matter. 

1.2        This is my supporting statement to my application dated xx July 2025 requesting to:

(a)         Set aside the default judgment dated 03 Nov 2022 as it was not properly served at my current address.

(b)         Order for the original claim to be dismissed.

(c)         Order for the Claimant to pay the Defendant £313 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.

 

2 INTRODUCTION

2.1        I was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the alleged event.

2.2        I understand that the Claimant obtained a Default Judgment against me as the Defendant on 03 Nov 2022. I am aware that the Claimant is UK Parking Control Limited and that the assumed claim is in respect of an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from 21 July 2019.

2.3         The claim form was not served at my current address, and I was therefore unaware of the Default County Court Judgment against me until I signed up to Credit Karma on 08 July 2025 and did a credit history check. I have provided evidence of the ‘welcome’ email (Appendix A) received from Credit Karma when I created an account dated to 08 July 2025. I then contacted the Civil National Business Centre and was informed of the details of the CCJ.

2.4        The address on the claim is Xxxxx. I moved to my current address: xxxxx on 22 June 2022 during which my bank account, council tax and utility bills have been registered to this address. In support of this, I have provided evidence of a bank statement (Appendix registered to my current address and my signed tenancy agreement (Appendix C).

 

3 SEQUENCE OF RECENT EVENTS

3.1         I first discovered there was a default County Court Judgment against me when I noticed my poor credit rating on my Monzo mobile banking account in early July 2025. Further investigation led me to perform a credit history search using Credit Karma which informed me of the CCJ and the court name.

3.2        On 09 July 2025, I contacted the Civil National Business Centre to obtain relevant information relating to this default judgment. I received an email containing the Particulars of the Claim.

3.3        On xx July 2025, I submitted my case in order to set-aside this judgment and fairly present my case. I acted swiftly once I became aware of the CCJ, with the time taken to prepare my witness statement and collect evidence. I believe I acted with sufficient promptness as specified in CPR 13.3(2).

3.4        I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held my correct contact details at the time of the claim. I was therefore denied the opportunity to defend the claim. 

 

4 LEGAL BASIS FOR THE APPLICATION

4.1        Improper Service (CPR 13.2)

4.1.1    The court must set aside the judgment if it was not properly served in accordance with CPR 6.9, which requires that an individual be served at their “usual or last known residence.”

4.1.2    The claim was sent to XXXX, an address where the Defendant no longer resided at the time of service. The Defendant moved to his current address at XXXX, as evidenced by his tenancy agreement.

4.1.3    The Claimant failed to take reasonable steps to verify the Defendant’s current address, as required by CPR 6.9(3) and the BPA Code of Practice 24.1c. A simple and inexpensive “soft trace” (costing 28 pence) would have revealed the Defendant’s current address. The Defendant had 4.5 months to establish my current address.

4.1.4    This failure mirrors the principles established in VCS Ltd v Carr (CA-2024-001179, Court of Appeal, 4 March 2025), where the court held that claimants must take reasonable steps to ensure service is effective. The court emphasised that serving a claim at an outdated address, without reasonable diligence, renders the judgment void. Initial findings from the Court of Appeal hearing are provided separately for the court’s reference.

4.2 Discretionary Set Aside (CPR 13.3)

4.2.1    There are very good reasons to set aside this exaggerated claim, which includes a disproportionate and indeed, false 'debt recovery' sum.  In fact, no debt recovery occurred nor cost the Claimant any money whatsoever, in addition to the alleged £160 parking charge.  The Defendant has good prospects of defending a claim, if served with one, but has seen no evidence, basis nor particulars of claim.

4.2.2    Given that more than 4 months has passed from issue of proceedings and service of the claim was defective (i.e. it was never served) the Defendant submits that this particular claim is dead and the period for service cannot be extended by this application process.  The Defendant has no details of this claim, therefore, if the Claimant believes there is a cause of action then the correct procedure would be to file a claim afresh and to the right address, after furnishing the Defendant with the information required under the pre-action protocol for debt claims, issued this time to the correct address for service for this Defendant, which is xxxxx

 

5 JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS        

 

5.1        VCS v Carr (CA-2024-001179, Court of Appeal, 04 March 2025)

5.1.1    The Court of Appeal in VCS Ltd v Carr held that claimants must take reasonable steps to ensure service is effective. The court emphasised that serving a claim at an outdated address, without reasonable diligence, renders the judgment void.

5.1.2    The court also highlighted the importance of the overriding objective, which requires the court to consider the justice of the case. The Defendant in this case was unable to defend the claim due to improper service, and the judgment should be set aside to avoid injustice.

5.2.3    A transcript of this case has been included in Appendix D and the video link to the court hearing is below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvK6XwAGHcs&ab_channel=RoyalCourtsofJusticeCourt69

 

5.2        Civil Enforcement Ltd v Chan (Luton County Court, August 2023)

5.2.1    In CEL v Chan, the court struck out a claim due to the Claimant’s failure to comply with CPR 16.4 and Practice Direction 16.7.5. The court held that the particulars of claim must specify the conduct constituting the breach, which was not done in that case.

3.2.2    Similarly, in this case, the Claimant has failed to provide sufficient details of the alleged breach, rendering the claim defective and liable to be struck out.

 

5.3        CPMS Ltd v Akande (Manchester County Court, May 2024)

5.3.1    In CPMS v Akande, the court dismissed a parking claim due to the Claimant’s failure to specify the nature of the breach in the particulars of claim. The court held that the Defendant must be able to understand the case against them, which was not possible in that case.

5.3.2    The same applies here. The Claimant has failed to specify the nature of the alleged breach, and the claim should be struck out.

 

6 CONCLUSION

6.1        I was unable to defend this claim. I believe that the Default Judgment against me should be set aside due to improper service, and the claim should be struck out as it is without merit, fails to comply with the CPR and is now expired. 

6.2        In VCS v Carr - which is binding 2025 case law from the Court of Appeal - service was held to be invalid and the claim form had expired. Default judgment was rightly set aside and the claim was struck out as expired (the 4 months service deadline had passed and the courts have no discretion to extend the life of an expired claim).

6.3        The expiry risk was a feature of VCS v Carr: once service is defective, the claim form’s four-month life continues to run; if it expires there is no second bite without a fresh claim or relief under CPR 7.6 (which may be unavailable and which this Claimant has not sought).

6.4        I also ask the Court to order the reimbursement of the set-aside fee of £313 as well as all the Defendant's Court attendance and other costs from the Claimant on the indemnity basis. The claim was not allocated to track, so costs are not dependant upon 'unreasonable conduct' and thus there must be costs in the case for the winning party, as also was the case in VCS v Carr.

 

APPENDICES

Appendix A - Credit Karma Signup Email

Appendix B - xxxxxx July 2022 Bank Statement

Appendix C – xxxxxxx Tenancy Agreement Signed JUN-2022

Appendix D - VCS Ltd v Carr Transcript

 

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth. 

Signed ________________

Date __________________

 

 

 

 

Coupon-mad

Yes, save the appendices as a single merged PDF though, headed up something like:

Exhibits bundle re Claim no xxxxxx - Defendant's CCJ set aside application.

And if you want to be part of the push to change things in future, it's very important that people like you tell the Government NOW that:

a) you have no faith in POPLA or the IAS and that there must be the SINGLE APPEALS SERVICE that the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 *almost* promised. As long as it is independent (and only ONE appeals service, not two involved in a race to the bottom) that will give a real option to resolve disputed cases out of court.

b).  THAT THE ENRICHMENT OF 'DEBT RECOVERY FEES' MUST BE COMPLETELY BANNED. DISPUTED CASES ARE NOT SOLVED BY A RANDOM THIRD PARTY DEBT CRAWLER DEMANDING MORE MONEY AND OFFERING A 'PAYMENT PLAN' (WHICH THE FCA RULES SAY CANNOT BE OFFERED FOR EXTRA MONEY). 

c). Tell them about your experience and how this painful, unfair CCJ has affected you.

Responses are invited to the Consultation now:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-8-weeks-from-11th-july-2025/p1

Do it this month or in August at the latest pleeease! We will discuss it on that thread.