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CEL CCJ Default Judgment Request for Set Aside
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allesklar
Posts: 19 Forumite
Hello everyone.
Having spent some time reading the relevant threads on this forum i have drafted my statement of case which i intend to include on my N244 Application Notice.
Like others i was defectively served at an old address so I only found out about this until it was too late.
I'm not legally trained and this is the result of my research and a quick phone call with a solicitor.
...............................................................................................................................
1. I am XXXX and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated XX June 2018 requesting to:
a. Set aside the default judgment dated XX November 2017 as it was defectively served using an old address.
b. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.
c. Order for the original claim to be dismissed.
Default Judgment
2. I understand that the claimant obtained a default judgment against me on XX November 2017. However, it was not served at my current address, therefore I was not aware of the county court judgment until XX May 2018 when I checked my credit file using ClearScore.com. I understand that this claim was served at XXXX. However, I moved to a new address on XX July 2014 in accordance with my new job (evidenced by my contract (Annex A) and my name on the electoral register (Annex
). Furthermore, on the XX January 2016 I transferred ownership of the vehicle, which is evidenced by the email correspondence with DVLA (Annex C).
3. I have never received any correspondence from the claimant, therefore I was never able to challenge the original charge nor the judgment.
4. On the XX June 2018 I received details of the judgment from Northampton County Court (evidenced by email correspondence at Annex D). It was only at this point that I discovered that Civil Enforcement Ltd was the claimant and that the judgment was regarding a parking charge notice.
5. Subsequently, on XX June 2018 I telephoned the claimant using information given to me by Northampton County Court. The claimant provided me with the following information:
a. On XX September 2015 the vehicle XXXX XXX was observed at XXXX.
b. On XX September 2015 the DVLA provided the claimant with the registered keeper’s address of XXXX XXX.
c. On XX September 2015 a letter was sent to old address.
d. On XX October 2015 a second letter was sent to old address.
e. On XX March 2016 the case was transferred to a debt collection agency.
f. On XX July 2016 another debt collection letter was sent to old address.
6. I have never received any of the above-mentioned correspondence and at no point prior to XX June 2018 did I have any contact with the claimant.
7. I believe the claimant has behaved unreasonably by not ensuring they used my correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. Civil Enforcement Ltd’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results in an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system.
8. I suggest the claimant did not make reasonable enquiries as to my current address especially considering they had good reason to believe they did not hold my current contact details. Had they made a subsequent enquiry to my contact address (post XX January 2018) they could have discovered it was out of date information. Furthermore, considering they received no response from me to their correspondence this should have been a clear indication of the obsolescence of the address XXXX.
9. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. Therefore, I believe that the default judgment against me was irregular and I respectfully request it is set aside.
Order Dismissing the Claim
10. I further believe that the original parking charge notice has no merit and should thus be dismissed. The claimant is a parking company which seeks to claim for parking charge notices which the claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a driver.
11. The claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which I was the registered keeper and used those details to raise a parking charge notice. I dispute this charge in its entirety as I do not know the wording of the contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to have come into force.
12. If the claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to the vehicle XXXX XXX any notice to keeper issued by the claimant must comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the claimant does not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording on the parking charge notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the registered keeper of the vehicle automatically liable.
13. A requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is that any notice to keeper must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation I submit the claimant has not complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the registered keeper in any case.
14. I further submit that the parking charge notice is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following reasons:
a. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The claimant is not the landowner of the car park in question and will have no proprietary interest in it. This means that the claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder and only they would have been able claim for any damages or trespass.
b. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so they must demonstrate their actual or genuine pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any driver of the vehicle of which I was the registered keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landowner (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be minimal.
c. The Charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the parking charge is nothing but an unenforceable penalty as it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged infraction.
d. No Contract with the Claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance, and consideration both ways. There would not have been consideration from the claimant to the driver. Therefore, there is no consideration from the driver to Civil Enforcement Ltd.
15. On this basis I believe that the claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety.
16. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as former keeper of the vehicle I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the claimant.
Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Evidence list
Annex A – XXXX.
Annex B – Electoral Register.
Annex C – DVLA email correspondence.
Annex D – Email from Northampton County Court.
..................................................................................................................................
I would really appreciate any feedback and advice as this is my foray into anything legal
Having spent some time reading the relevant threads on this forum i have drafted my statement of case which i intend to include on my N244 Application Notice.
Like others i was defectively served at an old address so I only found out about this until it was too late.
I'm not legally trained and this is the result of my research and a quick phone call with a solicitor.
...............................................................................................................................
1. I am XXXX and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated XX June 2018 requesting to:
a. Set aside the default judgment dated XX November 2017 as it was defectively served using an old address.
b. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.
c. Order for the original claim to be dismissed.
Default Judgment
2. I understand that the claimant obtained a default judgment against me on XX November 2017. However, it was not served at my current address, therefore I was not aware of the county court judgment until XX May 2018 when I checked my credit file using ClearScore.com. I understand that this claim was served at XXXX. However, I moved to a new address on XX July 2014 in accordance with my new job (evidenced by my contract (Annex A) and my name on the electoral register (Annex
). Furthermore, on the XX January 2016 I transferred ownership of the vehicle, which is evidenced by the email correspondence with DVLA (Annex C).3. I have never received any correspondence from the claimant, therefore I was never able to challenge the original charge nor the judgment.
4. On the XX June 2018 I received details of the judgment from Northampton County Court (evidenced by email correspondence at Annex D). It was only at this point that I discovered that Civil Enforcement Ltd was the claimant and that the judgment was regarding a parking charge notice.
5. Subsequently, on XX June 2018 I telephoned the claimant using information given to me by Northampton County Court. The claimant provided me with the following information:
a. On XX September 2015 the vehicle XXXX XXX was observed at XXXX.
b. On XX September 2015 the DVLA provided the claimant with the registered keeper’s address of XXXX XXX.
c. On XX September 2015 a letter was sent to old address.
d. On XX October 2015 a second letter was sent to old address.
e. On XX March 2016 the case was transferred to a debt collection agency.
f. On XX July 2016 another debt collection letter was sent to old address.
6. I have never received any of the above-mentioned correspondence and at no point prior to XX June 2018 did I have any contact with the claimant.
7. I believe the claimant has behaved unreasonably by not ensuring they used my correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. Civil Enforcement Ltd’s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results in an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system.
8. I suggest the claimant did not make reasonable enquiries as to my current address especially considering they had good reason to believe they did not hold my current contact details. Had they made a subsequent enquiry to my contact address (post XX January 2018) they could have discovered it was out of date information. Furthermore, considering they received no response from me to their correspondence this should have been a clear indication of the obsolescence of the address XXXX.
9. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. Therefore, I believe that the default judgment against me was irregular and I respectfully request it is set aside.
Order Dismissing the Claim
10. I further believe that the original parking charge notice has no merit and should thus be dismissed. The claimant is a parking company which seeks to claim for parking charge notices which the claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a driver.
11. The claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which I was the registered keeper and used those details to raise a parking charge notice. I dispute this charge in its entirety as I do not know the wording of the contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to have come into force.
12. If the claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to the vehicle XXXX XXX any notice to keeper issued by the claimant must comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the claimant does not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording on the parking charge notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the registered keeper of the vehicle automatically liable.
13. A requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is that any notice to keeper must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation I submit the claimant has not complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the registered keeper in any case.
14. I further submit that the parking charge notice is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following reasons:
a. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The claimant is not the landowner of the car park in question and will have no proprietary interest in it. This means that the claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder and only they would have been able claim for any damages or trespass.
b. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so they must demonstrate their actual or genuine pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any driver of the vehicle of which I was the registered keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landowner (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be minimal.
c. The Charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the parking charge is nothing but an unenforceable penalty as it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged infraction.
d. No Contract with the Claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance, and consideration both ways. There would not have been consideration from the claimant to the driver. Therefore, there is no consideration from the driver to Civil Enforcement Ltd.
15. On this basis I believe that the claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety.
16. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as former keeper of the vehicle I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the claimant.
Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Evidence list
Annex A – XXXX.
Annex B – Electoral Register.
Annex C – DVLA email correspondence.
Annex D – Email from Northampton County Court.
..................................................................................................................................
I would really appreciate any feedback and advice as this is my foray into anything legal
0
Comments
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To get a set aside you are required to act quickly as soon as you learn you have a ccj against you - why have you waited so long?0
-
Have you prepared a draft order?
See the six point DRAFT ORDER in this post:
Please also read the comments by Johnersh, a solicitor, in subsequent posts on that thread.0 -
To get a set aside you are required to act quickly as soon as you learn you have a ccj against you - why have you waited so long?
i only discovered the urgency of this matter last week when i came across this forum. How much will this go against me and is there a way to mitigate against this?0 -
Change:until XX May 2018
tountil a few weeks ago
and crack on. Quickly. You need a draft Order to protect your wasted costs when CEL crawl back under their stone, trying to leave you £255 out of pocket.PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD0 -
Is the draft order a separate document or is it inserted above my statement?
I've pretty much copied and pasted the following from that other thread you linked.
....................................................................................................................................
DRAFT ORDER
IN THE COUNTY COURT AT: xxxxxx
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
And
MR ********************* (Defendant)
CLAIM No:**********
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The default judgment dated XX/XX/2017 be set aside.
2. Costs to be reserved.
3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the claim form on the Defendant by 4pm on XX/XX/18 paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 and the claim shall be struck out.
4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on XX/XX/2018.
5. Should the Claimant discontinue the Claim after the CCJ is set aside, paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 plus the Defendant's costs for attending the hearing.
6. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.0 -
i only discovered the urgency of this matter last week when i came across this forum. How much will this go against me and is there a way to mitigate against this?
You discovered the urgency last week yet only got round to it just now!!!
The court only allows a max of 14 days to respond to a claim - (either by AOS or submitting a defence), after which a request for judgement by default is granted
They are known to take a similar hard line over being prompt when applying for a set aside.
Best to ask the court before you send in your 255! Expect to be asked by the judge at your hearing when you discovered the CCJ!0 -
Yes but they could say they tried phoning CEL...you know...because they did....remember, OP?PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD0 -
Thanks for the steer. Tomorrow I will send off the N244 with the following document attached. Just made a slight tweak.
Thanks for all the info you guys share on this forum it really is invaluable!
.................................................................................................................................................................
DRAFT ORDER
IN THE COUNTY COURT AT: xxxxxx
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)
And
MR ********************* (Defendant)
CLAIM No:**********
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The default judgment dated XX/XX/2017 be set aside.
2. Costs to be reserved.
3. Unless the Claimant serves a copy of the claim form on the Defendant by 4pm on XX/XX/18 paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 and the claim shall be struck out.
4. If the Claimant serves the claim form as directed in paragraph 3 the Defendant shall file and serve a defence by 4pm on XX/XX/2018.
5. Should the Claimant discontinue the Claim after the CCJ is set aside, paragraph 2 shall cease to have effect and the Claimant shall pay the Defendant's costs summarily assessed at £255 plus the Defendant's costs for attending the hearing.
6. All enforcement be put on hold pending the outcome of the application.
WITNESS STATEMENT
7. I am XXXX and I am the defendant in this matter. This is my supporting statement to my application dated XX June 2018 requesting to:
a. Set aside the default judgment dated XX November 2017 as it was defectively served using an old address.
b. Order for the claimant to pay the defendant £255 as reimbursement for the set aside fee.
c. Order for the original claim to be dismissed.
DEFAULT JUDGMENT
8. I understand that the claimant obtained a default judgment against me on XX November 2017. However, it was not served at my current address, therefore I was not aware of the county court judgment until a few weeks ago when I checked my credit file using ClearScore.com. I understand that this claim was served at XXXX. However, I moved to a new address on XX July 2014 in accordance with my new job (evidenced by my contract (Annex A) and my name on the electoral register (Annex). Furthermore, on the XX January 2016 I transferred ownership of the vehicle, which is evidenced by the email correspondence with DVLA (Annex C).
9. I have never received any correspondence from the claimant, therefore I was never able to challenge the original charge nor the judgment.
10. On the XX June 2018 I received details of the judgment from Northampton County Court (evidenced by email correspondence at Annex D). It was only at this point that I discovered that Civil Enforcement Ltd was the claimant and that the judgment was regarding a parking charge notice.
11. After many attempts at contacting the Claimant I finally managed to speak to Civil Enforcement Ltd and they provided me with the following information:
a. On XX September 2015 the vehicle XXXX XXX was observed at XXXX.
b. On XX September 2015 the DVLA provided the claimant with the registered keeper!!!8217;s address of XXXX XXX.
c. On XX September 2015 a letter was sent to old address.
d. On XX October 2015 a second letter was sent to old address.
e. On XX March 2016 the case was transferred to a debt collection agency.
f. On XX July 2016 another debt collection letter was sent to old address.
12. I have never received any of the above-mentioned correspondence and at no point prior to XX June 2018 did I have any contact with the claimant.
13. I believe the claimant has behaved unreasonably by not ensuring they used my correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. Civil Enforcement Ltd!!!8217;s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results in an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system.
14. I suggest the claimant did not make reasonable enquiries as to my current address especially considering they had good reason to believe they did not hold my current contact details. Had they made a subsequent enquiry to my contact address (post XX January 2018) they could have discovered it was out of date information. Furthermore, considering they received no response from me to their correspondence this should have been a clear indication of the obsolescence of the address XXXX.
15. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim. Therefore, I believe that the default judgment against me was irregular and I respectfully request it is set aside.
ORDER DISMISSING THE CLAIM
16. I further believe that the original parking charge notice has no merit and should thus be dismissed. The claimant is a parking company which seeks to claim for parking charge notices which the claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a driver.
17. The claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which the defendant was the registered keeper and used those details to raise a parking charge notice. I dispute this charge in its entirety as I do not know the wording of the contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to have come into force.
18. If the claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to the vehicle XXXX XXX any notice to keeper issued by the claimant must comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the claimant does not include !!!8216;Protection of Freedoms Act 2012!!!8217; wording on the parking charge notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the registered keeper of the vehicle automatically liable.
19. A requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is that any notice to keeper must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation I submit the claimant has not complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the registered keeper in any case.
20. I further submit that the parking charge notice is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following reasons:
a. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The claimant is not the landowner of the car park in question and will have no proprietary interest in it. This means that the claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder and only they would have been able claim for any damages or trespass.
b. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so they must demonstrate their actual or genuine pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any driver of the vehicle of which I was the registered keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landowner (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be minimal.
c. The Charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the parking charge is nothing but an unenforceable penalty as it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged infraction.
d. No Contract with the Claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance, and consideration both ways. There would not have been consideration from the claimant to the driver. Therefore, there is no consideration from the driver to Civil Enforcement Ltd.
21. On this basis I believe that the claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety.
22. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as former keeper of the vehicle I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the claimant.
Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Evidence list
Annex A !!!8211; XXXX.
Annex B !!!8211; Electoral Register.
Annex C !!!8211; DVLA email correspondence.
Annex D !!!8211; Email from Northampton County Court.0 -
Yes that makes it seem reasonable; you had to find out what the CCJ was about to meaningfully act to get it set aside.10. On the XX June 2018 I received details of the judgment from Northampton County Court (evidenced by email correspondence at Annex D). It was only at this point that I discovered that Civil Enforcement Ltd was the claimant and that the judgment was regarding a parking charge notice.
11. After many attempts at contacting the Claimant I finally managed to speak to Civil Enforcement Ltd and they provided me with the following information:
a. On XX September 2015 the vehicle XXXX XXX was observed at XXXX.
b. On XX September 2015 the DVLA provided the claimant with the registered keeper's address of XXXX XXX.
c. On XX September 2015 a letter was sent to old address.
d. On XX October 2015 a second letter was sent to old address.
e. On XX March 2016 the case was transferred to a debt collection agency.
f. On XX July 2016 another debt collection letter was sent to old address.
A few weeks is quick, given your attempts to contact the court and the claimant. I would be ready to explain the action you took and how you acted swiftly, given you found out about a rogue CCJ you knew nothing about just weeks ago.PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD0 -
So I finally have my court date next week and I'm doing some final prep in an attempt to have a coherent case.
Would anyone be able to offer advice on the following points?
1. I never received the initial PCN and from other threads CEL aren't POFA 2012 Schedule 4 compliant. Specifically what do they not include in their PCN? Just in case the judge interrogates me a bit on this point.
2. Other threads also state that ANPR camera can't be used to evidence the identity of the driver. Is there an authoritative source I can quote?
3. I rang the court the other day and CEL have informed the court that they will not be attending. Are there any implications of their non-attendance that I need to be aware of? I assume this will be an advantage or I'll be the only one in the firing line.0
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