Getting a CCJ set aside

[Jazz100]

Hello I have looked everywhere for answers and I still can’t work out if I have grounds to get a CCJ set aside. I would be so grateful of any help.
in 2014 Mortimer Clarke solicitors on behalf of Marlin Europe, sent me Court claim forms. I returned the forms on time and offered to make payments (I’d been offering before the court claim), I didn’t dispute the amount of £4000. I waited and waited for a CCJ to arrive but I heard nothing. I sent two direct debit mandates to Mortimer Clarke Solicitors as I was worried about what was going to happen next. The direct debits never got set up.
Then over 3 years later, in December 2017, I received a CCJ!!
I contacted Mortimer Clarke solicitors and they advised that in 2014 a ‘stay’ was put on the claim and that they then applied for it to be uplifted in 2017. Should the court have advised me of all this - I feel I’ve been totally missed out Of decisions made that affect me.
Mortimer Clarke say that they sent me a letter in June 2017 stating they would pursue with the claim if I didn’t get in touch to make payments. I truly never received this letter as I would have definitely responded as I always have done. Mortimer Clarke sent me a copy of the letter - it seemed odd because it wasn’t on headed paper but I know I had never seen it before. If I had then I would have had the opportunity to pay up and not get a CCJ as we are in a better financial position than we were in 2014. Sometimes our post goes to a similar address and I just wonder if this was one of them times and it hasn’t been passed on (there is a long story with the other address but basically it was empty for some time in 2017)
sorry for the long post - I suppose my questions are - should the court have informed me of the stay in 2014 and what it meant?
would the fact that I didn’t receive the notice to claim letter be grounds to get the CCJ set aside. I did ask Mortimer Clarke for a settlement figure and they asked for £3300 which I paid in March 2018. I don’t dispute the amount just the fact that I got a CCJ when I could have prevented it.

[Diana M]

Do you mean you filed an admission of the claim at the Acknowledgment of Service stage and offered payments which is why you were expecting a CCJ in 2014?

Di

[Jazz100]

Yes I did and was expecting a CCJ in 2014. I had no idea that a ‘stay’ had been put on it.

[Diana M]

If the CCJ were to be set aside the proceedings would revert back to where they were before the CCJ which was you filed an Admission of the claim not a Defence.

It seems the Claimant may have allowed the claim to become stayed to give you the opportunity to pay as agreed (did you agree an amount?) but when they received nothing from you for three years they decided to act.

Check with the court in case there was a procedural error and ask them why the CCJ wasn’t given in 2014 following your Admission.

I assume you’re asking because the effect this CCJ will have on your CRA file for three years longer than it would have been if it had happened in 2014.

Di

[Jazz100]

Thank you for your advice. I have found out that the court put a stay on it as they didn’t think we could afford the payments we were offering. We were not informed of the decision. I was waiting for a CCJ to arrive. I was in a mess financially at this time and was trying to avoid bankruptcy which by some miracle I did avoid. I will write to the court and ask if I should have been informed of the decision. If I had of known I could have paid the debt ages ago and avoided the CCJ altogether.