got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

[moatmeister]

Got a claim form from Northampton 29th august for £1800. I dont beleive I owe the money but over and above that, there are errors with the claim and the procedure. However due to the above and delays within the court system I have ended up getting a CCJ on 28/09.


I posted the acknowledgement on 11/09 to extend the deadline. Due to circumstances I could not send it recorded. I filed my defense which was recorded and received at the court on 1/10 within the required 28 days.

3 days later it was returned by the court along with the judgement issued on 28/09. They advised that the defense was not received within the 19 days permitted. I rang them and they did not appear to havre any record of my acknowledgement of service, therefore assumed no defence and issued the judgement. The court advised to send an N244 application to set aside along with the original defence and the £80.00 fee. I did this by recorded delivery. It was delivered and signed for on 10/10.

I rang today to check progress. I was told that there was no record of the N244 and defense against the claim number but that there was a 2 week backlog in correspondance. The lady had no answers to what happens next and when. She did say that the claimant has applied to the high court for something today just to make matters worse but I have had no official correspondance about that yet.

My problem is this. I am in the middle of a mortgage application and cannot have a CCJ floating around. I can loose the CCJ by paying in full within 28 days or asking the court to set it aside. I have no confidence in the court to resolve this matter promptly and the whole system seems so chaotic having already lost two important documents. I can pay it but dont want to because I dont owe the money. What should I do?

It cant be right that they can slap CCJs on people randomly but not have the resources to sort it out when they make a mistake. If I pay it can I claim against the court for their negligence or put a counter claim against the original claimant or should I just trust in the "justice" system?

[ploddertom]

Re: got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

Obviously I don't know the why's & wherefore's of your claim but I do note the reference to the High Court. It appears because your Claimant has not received his money (rightly or wrongly) then they have applied to transfer the Judgment to the High Court. This will mean you will receive a visit from a High Court Enforcement Officer who will nearly double the debt with his charges.

[moatmeister]

Re: got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

thanks for your reply, my issue here is not so much about the details of the claim but that the court have failed to take my defence into account and what I can do about it. I am assuming that if the original judgement has been done incorrectly it is void and so is everything that follows is that right?

[teaboy2]

Re: got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

In theory yes. But it can only be corrected at setaside hearing, where if set aside is granted it reverts the legal process back to where you were when you first received the particulars of claim.

You should ask the court how you can go about putting a stop to the claiment seeking enforcement of the CCJ at the highcourt whilst your set aside application is processed. I would speak to the court manager explaining the situation and how urgent it is they process your set aside now. To spare you the distress of high court bailiffs pounding on your door which has only come about due to the court failure to process your acknowledgement and defence that you submitted originally leading to a default judgement being given against you.

[moatmeister]

Re: got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

Cheers I will call them again in the morning, see if they have "found" my paperwork. from what I have said do you think I have good grounds for a set aside? Bearing in mind I cant have a CCJ Should I consider "plan B" pay the claim and seek compensation against the court for incompetance or is that a non starter?

[teaboy2]

Re: got incorrect ccj, court have "lost" paperwork,need to sort it, what to do???

Yes you do have good grounds as its the court that lost your acknowledgement of the claim that you sent in, and as such your defence was returned to you with a default judgement. Those will be your grounds for setaside, though you will have to give detailed and dated discription of the events that occured.