PCN resulting in CCJ against my name – advice needed

Summerstorm25

I recently discovered that I have a CCJ against my name, and my credit score has dropped significantly. This all started when I stopped at a petrol station and received a PCN. I ignored both the PCN and a letter from the solicitor acting on behalf of the parking company. Now I’m unsure what to do next.

What happened

• A PCN Notice to Keeper was issued in mid-June 2024, relating to a contravention a couple of days earlier. The charge was £60.

• The notice included two CCTV images: one of me getting out of the car and one of me driving away. These timestamps were less than 3 minutes apart – I had just gone into the convenience store.

• I believe the PCN is unfair because I was only stopped for under 3 minutes.

• A Final Reminder was issued about a month later, increasing the charge to £140.

At the time, I had moved house (mid-June 2024) but had Royal Mail redirection in place for 3 months, so I still received the PCN. I wrongly assumed that moving address would prevent them from pursuing the matter. I only updated my V5C in September 2024.

The case was later passed to Gladstones Solicitors. They traced my new address and issued a Letter Before Claim. That letter said they had written to me at an alternative address and had then carried out a UK Search trace, which confirmed my new address. It also warned that if I didn’t confirm this was correct, proceedings would be issued to my old address.

A few days ago, I found out that a CCJ was issued against me in mid-September 2025 for £281.

I contacted CNBC, who explained my options:
a) Contact Gladstones Solicitors before mid-October, or
b) Apply to have the judgment set aside using an N244 form (cost: £313).

Clearly, I was naïve in thinking this would just go away.

My questions

1. Can I apply to set aside the CCJ on the basis that I moved house and did not receive the claim form or CCJ paperwork, even though Gladstones traced my new address and sent just one Letter Before Claim (but no claim form to the new address)?

2. What other grounds could I use to support a set-aside application?

3. Do I have strong grounds to ask the judge to order the claimant to reimburse my £313 N244 fee?

4. If the CCJ is set aside, I’ll still need to defend the claim. In this situation, do I have a strong defence (given the stop was under 3 minutes)?

I’ve read a lot of the NEWBIES threads, but my case feels a little different because the claimant’s solicitor did trace my new address and send one letter. However, if they had access to DVLA data, wouldn’t they have known about my address change and sent the claim form there? Am I misunderstanding this?

My concern

This whole process is causing me a lot of stress. I’ve spent the past week researching late at night after work. Preparing for a hearing would involve even more time and cost.

I’m now wondering: is it worth fighting? If I lose, I’ll be out £313 (N244 fee) plus £281 to the claimant. Since the CCJ was issued less than a month ago, I also have the option of paying in full to get it removed from my credit report. But I also don't want them to get this money so easily.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Coupon-mad

1.  Yes.

2.  VCS v Carr as binding case law. And Chan and Akande to get the whole claim dismissed.

3. Yes. VCS v Carr is the authority for that. Gladstones had 'reason to believe' you'd moved & even had the new address!

4. Yes that's a strong defence but you should be asking for the claim to be struck out, per Chan and Akande. You should not have to defend an unserved and improperly pleaded claim.

You won't lose. VCS v Carr (and CPR 13.2) makes it nailed on that the CCJ will be set aside AND you should get costs AND the claim should be struck out.

Summerstorm25

Hi @Coupon-mad , thank you for your reply! I've used ChatGPT to generate questions I have below.

I want to work towards setting aside the CCJ. I have a few questions I’d like to clarify:

1. Timelines – Are there any key deadlines I need to be aware of? For example, is it best to submit the N244 form as soon as possible, or do I effectively have up to one month from the judgment date, given that I understand I should “act promptly”?

2. Notifying Gladstones – Do I need to inform Gladstones that I am filing an N244? Should I do this as a courtesy?

3. Contacting Gladstones – Is it a good idea to call Gladstones and ask whether they are willing to drop the case, explaining that I intend to file an N244?

4. Consistency of my position – Is it contradictory if I state that I didn’t receive any claim forms (which is true) while also admitting that I did receive the Letter Before Claim at my new address? Should I instead say I didn’t receive the Letter Before Claim either?

5. PCN – Should I also say I didn’t receive the original PCN, even though I did?

6. Next steps after set aside – If I successfully set aside the judgment, the case returns to claim stage. Can I defend the claim in the same hearing where the set aside is granted? Or does “struck out” mean the claim is dismissed entirely, so I wouldn’t need to defend it at all?

7. Other considerations – Are there any additional steps or points I should be aware of as I prepare my N244 application and supporting documents?

I've also used ChatGPT to draft my WS. Should I post it here?

Gr1pr

1) ASAP 

2) possibly 

3) too late for that, you need a set aside,  the case already has an outcome,  you need to change that via a set aside 

4) as the LoC went to the new address,  Gladstones should have used it for the claim,  their error

5) definitely not, no lying

6) it's possible that the set aside judge may strike it out,  but usually there are 2 hearings, one for the set aside,  one for the claim,  it is for the judges to decide,  so no point in asking what the score was before the kickoff  !

If you want anything checking,  then post it here,  minus personal information and data,  so no private information 

Coupon-mad

Re contacting Gladstones: yes and that's what the advice says in post 2 of the NEWBIES thread, with a template email for CCJ set aside cases.

Summerstorm25

Thank you both for the replies. I have taken the template from the NEWBIES thread post 2 and written below. I'd be grateful if you could have a look at the below.

1) Should I send the below to the Claimant - Euro Parking Services or Gladstones solicitor?

2) Is the claim reference the CCJ number or Gladstones' claim number in the format of [10XXXX.XXXX\Europarking]?

3) As I did receive the Letter before Claim at the new address, should I change wording from " This came as a tremendous shock as it is the first time I became aware of this claim" to " This came as a tremendous shock as it is the first time I became aware of this CCJ" ?

4) The online template had a sentence regarding not receiving letter before claim. However, I did receive the letter before claim but only at my new address. Hence, I amended the third paragraph "I did not receive the claim form or..." slightly. Is this ok?

5) The template had BPA. Does IPC give voice to the same Code of Practice regarding CPR 6.9(3)?

6) The sentence "and the claim dismissed because it is now too late for the particulars of claim to be re-served." Is this still true?

7) "To give you a reasonable time to take instructions and for us to agree a suite of documents for the Court, I am willing to defer making a unilateral application to set aside the judgment until 4 pm on 5 September 2025."
Is one week enough? I intend to file N244 ASAP as suggested by Gr1pr.

8) "I intend to instruct a solicitor to apply to the Court unilaterally for an order setting the judgment aside"
Do I need to say I am instructing a solicitor?

9) "Please respond by immediate return."
Should I instead say reply to this email or is this sentence ok?

____________________________________________________________________________________

URGENT

Dear Sirs,

Euro Parking Services (THE ‘CLAIMANT’) v [MY NAME] 
CLAIM REFERENCE: [XXX]

On XX September 2025, I discovered that a County Court Judgment had been issued against me dated XX September 2025. This came as a tremendous shock as it is the first time I became aware of this claim. I have not previously received a claim form or particulars of claim from the Claimant or any organisation representing the Claimant in relation to this claim.

I made immediate enquiries of the CNBC from which I was able to establish that:

1. the claim relates to an alleged parking event in June 2024;
2. the claim form was sent to an old address at which I no longer reside; and
3. if I had been given the opportunity to do so, I would have successfully defended the claim.

I did not receive the claim form or any particulars of claim and was thus deprived of the ability to defend the claim. The Claimant is well aware that people move home from time to time. They also know that I did not respond to any communications sent to me at my old address.

Your firm later traced my new address and sent me a Letter Before Claim in May 2025. That letter made clear you had identified my correct address. However, the claim form was nevertheless sent to my old address, and as a result I was deprived of the ability to file a defence.

This situation is explicitly dealt with in the Civil Procedure Rules which provide at CPR 6.9(3):

“(3) Where a claimant has reason to believe that the address of the defendant … 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’).”

The Claimant is a member of the International Parking Community (the ‘IPC’) and is bound by the IPC’s Code of Practice which reflects CPR 6.9(3):

“24.1c Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to the issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the contact details for the person you are writing to are correct.”

 If the Claimant had taken the actions required by the Civil Procedure Rules and the Code of Practice, I would not have been deprived of the ability to defend the claim.

By reason of the Claimant’s breach of the Civil Procedure Rules, which amounts to an abuse of the process of the Court, the claim form was never properly served and the judgment must be set aside at the Claimant’s expense and the claim dismissed because it is now too late for the particulars of claim to be re-served.

In view of the foregoing, I invite the Claimant to join with me in an application to set aside the judgment and dismiss the claim, with the Claimant paying the court fee and no order as to costs.

Please respond to the above offer as soon as possible so that, if the offer is acceptable to the Claimant, we can work together to right the wrong that the Claimant has done to me.

To give you a reasonable time to take instructions and for us to agree a suite of documents for the Court, I am willing to defer making a unilateral application to set aside the judgment until 4 pm on 5 September 2025. If a joint application has not been made by that time, I intend to instruct a solicitor to apply to the Court unilaterally for an order setting the judgment aside, striking out the particulars of claim, dismissing the claim and awarding costs against the Claimant on a full indemnity basis.

Please respond by immediate return.

Yours faithfully,

XXX

Coupon-mad

It goes to Gladstones. Attach proof of when you told their client your correct address.

Obviously remove this (I have no idea why no poster spots it and we keep having to point it out):

 "instruct a solicitor to "

Summerstorm25

Thank you again. I didn't tell them the correct address. I only got the letter before claim because they traced my new address.

I'd appreciate more guidance regarding questions 5 and 7 above.

As IPC do not have the same Code of Practice as BPA, are you aware of something similar regarding serving the right address? I will need to reference that.

Is the end of this week a reasonable notice?

Gr1pr

Summerstorm25 said:

As IPC do not have the same Code of Practice as BPA, are you aware of something similar regarding serving the right address? I will need to reference that.

They brought in a Single Code of Practice late last year,  but were separate before then

Coupon-mad

Summerstorm25 said:

Thank you again. I didn't tell them the correct address. I only got the letter before claim because they traced my new address.

I'd appreciate more guidance regarding questions 5 and 7 above.

As IPC do not have the same Code of Practice as BPA, are you aware of something similar regarding serving the right address? 

Of course. It was in both Codes. Google for the version that applied at the time of the pre-litigation stage, if that wasn't the joint Code.

Just amend the email to make sense. The words aren't set in stone.

Summerstorm25

I managed to find IPC Code of Practice V9 on 1st Jan 2024 which should suit my case as the PCN happened June last year. The only wording I found was under Debt and Debt Collection:

"22.1 Operators must take reasonable steps to ensure that the Motorist’s details are still correct if 12 months have passed from the Parking Event before issuing court proceedings."

Is this what you mean? If so, they did actually issue the letter before claim on 5th May 2025 which showed they took reasonable steps and it was within 12 months.

Any thoughts?