Civil Enforcement Ltd - CCJ at wrong address

starvingmarvin

Hi all,

I've received a letter from DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs) dated 10 March 2026 regarding an unpaid CCJ for a parking charge from Civil Enforcement Ltd. This is the first I've heard of any of this - I never received a PCN, any debt recovery letters, or any court papers.

CCJ Details:

• Court: Civil National Business Centre
• Date of judgment: July 2025
• Amount: £292.38
• Claimant: Civil Enforcement Ltd

The address problem:The CCJ on my credit file shows my OLD address. I updated my V5C registered keeper address to my current address in June 2024 - over a year before the CCJ was issued. I have:

• The new V5C showing the correct address (document dated June 2024)
• The DVLA online confirmation page showing the address change was processed, with a transaction ID
• The DVLA confirmation email

So all correspondence - PCN, debt letters, court claim - went to an address I no longer lived at. My current address is correct with the DVLA and has been since June 2024. The DCBL letter is the first letter to actually reach me, sent to my correct address.

About me:

• I'm a university student
• I don't even know what the original parking event was (location/date)
• I have never seen or received a PCN from Civil Enforcement Ltd
• My parents live at my registered address and confirm nothing was ever received there

What I need help with:

1. I've read the Newbies thread
2. I've seen the template letter from troublemaker22 is that what i need to send?
3. I'm a student on low income so I plan to apply for Help with Fees (EX160) if I need to file an N244.
   

I've read the Newbies thread and Post 2 about CCJ set asides. What should my next steps be?

I am extremely stressed.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Le_Kirk

If you have read the NEWBIE second post about a CCJ and how to get it set aside, the information you need is there. You need a N244 form, which I think you can download, then you need to construct a witness statement.

You could use this to help you: -

If they used an old address then miraculously found you after CCJ, send THIS written by @troublemaker22
(a solicitor poster):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80636476#Comment_80636476

starvingmarvin

Thanks for pointing me to the troublemaker22 letter. I've adapted it for my case below. Is this good?

SUBJECT: URGENT - Civil Enforcement Limited v [MY NAME] - Claim Reference [REDACTED]

Dear Sirs,

CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (THE 'CLAIMANT') V [MY NAME]CLAIM REFERENCE [REDACTED]

On 10 March 2026, I received the attached letter from DirectCollections Bailiffs Limited ('DCBL'). This came as a tremendous shock as it is the first and only communication I have receivedfrom the Claimant or any organisation representing the Claimant in relation to this claim.

I made immediate enquiries from which I was able to establishthat:

1. the claim form was sent to an old address in East Londonat which I no longer reside; and
2. my V5C registered keeper address was updated with the DVLAto my current address in Essex in June 2024, over a yearbefore the judgment was entered on 22 July 2025; and
3. if I had been given the opportunity to do so, I would havesuccessfully defended the claim.

I did not receive any pre-claim correspondence, not even aletter of claim as required by the PAP. Nor did I receive theclaim form or any particulars of claim and was thus deprivedof the ability to defend the claim. The Claimant is well awarethat people move home from time to time. They also know that Idid not respond to any communications sent to me at my oldaddress.

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

"(3) Where a claimant has reason to believe that the address ofthe defendant ... is an address at which the defendant no longerresides or carries on business, the claimant must take reasonablesteps to ascertain the address of the defendant's currentresidence or place of business ('current address')."

The Claimant is a member of the British Parking Association(the 'BPA') and is bound by the BPA's Code of Practice whichgives voice to CPR 6.9(3) in the following terms:

"24.1c Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to theissue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have beenreceived to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonableendeavours to ensure that the contact details for the personyou are writing to are correct."

If the Claimant had taken the actions required by the CivilProcedure Rules and the Code of Practice, my current addresswould have been found easily, which is obviously what DCBL didbefore sending their letter dated 10 March 2026. If thoseactions had been performed at the correct time rather thanafter judgment, I would not have been deprived of the abilityto defend the claim.

By reason of the Claimant's breach of the Civil ProcedureRules, which amounts to an abuse of the process of the Court,the claim form was never properly served and the judgment mustbe set aside at the Claimant's expense and the claim dismissedbecause it is now too late for the particulars of claim to bere-served.

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

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

To give you a reasonable time to respond, I am willing to defermaking a unilateral application to set aside the judgment until4pm on [2 WEEKS FROM SENDING]. If a joint application has notbeen made by that time, I intend to apply to the Courtunilaterally for an order setting the judgment aside, strikingout the particulars of claim, dismissing the claim and awardingcosts against the Claimant on a full indemnity basis.

Please respond by immediate return.

Yours faithfully,

[MY NAME AND ADDRESS]

cc DCBL

A few questions:

1. Is the above OK to send or does anything need changing?
2. Are these the correct email addresses for CEL: legal3@ce-service.co.uk and office@ce-service.co.uk?
3. Should I CC DCBL at enquiries@dcbltd.com?
4. Should I attach the DCBL letter to the email?
5. If they don't respond within the 2 weeks, do I go straight to the N244 and EX160?

Coupon-mad

Do NOT copy in DCB Ltd.

This is purely between you and CEL but don't hold your breath as CEL won't agree. They'll pretend that you should pay the full amount. You won't be paying it so don't be duped by their reply.

Don't wait long either. Presumably because you are a Uni student you might well qualify for Help With Fees? Google it because this application might be fee-free in your case.

Makes it a no-brainer!

My parents live at my registered address and confirm nothing was ever received there.

Sorry but that isn't credible. I'm not saying they are lying but they are badly mistaken. Loads of letters in 2024 and then in 2025 there was a LBC, then a Claim Form and then a 'Judgment for Claimant by Default'.

Those were undoubtedly all sent.

All ignored. One wonders why?

Anyway, ring the CNBC first for a copy of the Particulars.

starvingmarvin

Thanks for the reply

Just to clarify. I think there's been a misunderstanding about the addresses. My parents live at my CURRENT address, which is where my V5C has been registered since June 2024. This is where the DCBL letter arrived in March 2026, the first and only letter any of us have ever received about this.

All the prior correspondence, the PCN, debt recovery letters, court claim was sent to my OLD address. I moved away from that address in July 2023. No family members live there. I have no connection to that address anymore. So the letters weren't received and ignored by my parents. They were sent to a completely different address where nobody I know lives. My parents confirm nothing was ever received at our current address until the DCBL letter.

I've been really confused and scared by this process and to my understanding after sending that email i wait 2 weeks, apply for the set aside and the help with fees and send it out with the required documents? Then wait for a response?

Also, I already sent the letter to CEL earlier today but I did CC DCBL. Hopefully that doesn't cause any issues.

Thanks again for your help

Coupon-mad

Yes that's the process but DCB Ltd aren't relevant so stop cc-ing them into stuff.

You are dealing with CEL only but don't be bullied into thinking you have to go along with what they propose.

They'll want you to pay the stupid rip-off in exchange for a 'consent order' but there is nothing in it for you to do that!

Read a few CCJ set aside threads from 2025. e.g. the one by @Brightonrock123

Coupon-mad

I'll send you a pm - do read it!