Advice and Guidance on setting aside a CCJ

[Effortlessnoq]

I was in the process of defending a claim against a parking company. I had a delayed letter received saying that my directions questionnaire was missing. I have evidence that the DQ was sent and went through mediation. I received the letter asking for a resubmission of DQ much later than it was sent due to an inaccuracy with my postal address and emailed the court a request to extend the time for me to re-send my DQ. This email wasn’t responded to and I have received judgement now for the full amount and I have missed the opportunity to pay in full to avoid the CCJ. I admit I don’t recognise the letter as a CCJ (my fault). Can someone advise on the next steps- would I have a decent case to set the judgment aside and reinstate my defence?

[R0b]

Hello, Just to be clear you submitted your DQ and then after that the court arranged for mediation via the small claims mediation team which you attended (and presumably not resolved)?

[Effortlessnoq]

Yes that’s right. I submitted the DQ in time at the original request and then the court arranged for mediation via the small claims mediation team. I attended this (via telephone) but we didn’t reach a resolution so the case was progressed to court.

[Effortlessnoq]

Is anyone able to advise please

[R0b]

It would appear that the court has made a mistake here and they should take steps to remedy that. I would suggest you contact the court and make a complaint and tell them that there has been an error and they should ask a judge to set aside the judgment and continue proceedings.

In the meantime you may want to consider writing to the other side and letting them know of the situation and your intention to make an application to set aside the judgment if the court refuses to it aside of their own volition. You should ask whether they consent to setting aside the judgment but if they don't then you will ask the court to make a costs order against the parking company for causing unnecessary and wasted costs.

If you do issue an application to set aside, I'm not sure whether you could recover any lost money against the court. HMCTS is a branch of the MOJ so my inclination is that you would need to sue them for their negligence or failure of court staff to properly discharge the duties. You may be able to go through the Parliamentary Ombudsman for recovery as they have in the past awarded wasted costs against HMCTS.

I would suggest in the first instance you get back onto the court and have an explanation from them.

[Effortlessnoq]

Thank you Rob. That’s very helpful advice.

[Effortlessnoq]

Hi Rob, I have tried to make contact with the court following your advice. I sent a special delivery letter on 26th Jan and emailed on the same day with a read receipt. I haven’t received any response and wanted your advice on next steps. At this stage I haven’t yet informed the other side of my request to the court.

[smintram]

Give them a ring.

[Effortlessnoq]

Thanks. You can’t actually speak to the court, just a call centre who hand off calls to the courts. Spent 5 hours on this process with no outcome or help.

[smintram]

Take a trip over to the Court then perhaps.

[Effortlessnoq]

I didn’t think of that. Just been and the letter I wrote is being sent to a judge for review in the next 3 days.

[Effortlessnoq]

So unsurprisingly I received a letter from the judge to state if I wish to contest the claim, I must apply to set aside the judgement on notice to the claimant and the court in the form N244. (They included 6 copies of the N244 form??)

Can anyone help with the form, does this need to be in ‘legal’ talk rather then my case which is based on unfairness as I sent the original directions questionnaire any wasn’t able to meet the deadline of the reminder. I’ll also be out of pocket by £275.

I am feeling quite stressed about this as I am looking at a mortgage this year and a CCJ would pretty much wipe that out for 6 years.

The CCJ isn’t yet appearing on my credit file or on the registry. Is there any significance to this?

Are they allowed to chase payment for the judgement once I have applied to have it set aside? What are the chances of my being successful on getting it set aside?

Sorry for all the questions but would really welcome so more advice.

[AndrewC]

So unsurprisingly I received a letter from the judge to state if I wish to contest the claim, I must apply to set aside the judgement on notice to the claimant and the court in the form N244. (They included 6 copies of the N244 form??)

Can anyone help with the form, does this need to be in ‘legal’ talk rather then my case which is based on unfairness as I sent the original directions questionnaire any wasn’t able to meet the deadline of the reminder. I’ll also be out of pocket by £275.

I am feeling quite stressed about this as I am looking at a mortgage this year and a CCJ would pretty much wipe that out for 6 years.

The CCJ isn’t yet appearing on my credit file or on the registry. Is there any significance to this?

Are they allowed to chase payment for the judgement once I have applied to have it set aside? What are the chances of my being successful on getting it set aside?

Sorry for all the questions but would really welcome so more advice.

Are you sure that the judgment is a default judgment? Are you able to upload it so that I can have a look, please? It sounds like it was a judgment entered because your defence was struck out when (the court says) you failed to file your directions questionnaire on time. You can see the definition of default judgment here: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...es/part12#12.1

If it isn't a default judgment, it may be exempt from registration. However, I can't be sure of that. A judgment made following a contested hearing is exempt if it was paid before the claimant took enforcement action. However, as I understand it, there wasn't a hearing in your case?

I would recommend you check at https://www.trustonline.org.uk/ to make sure it isn't registered. However, if the court has simply been slow to register it, you may find it appears later.

The procedure for setting it aside and then being able to defend it would be different to setting aside a default judgment. It is technically an application for relief from sanctions. The principles are similar though. If you can show that you did in fact file the directions questionnaire on time, it's likely that the court will set aside the judgment, provided you act promptly.

[Effortlessnoq]

Hi.

thank you for your reply. I will upload what I have below. I’m sure it is a judgement but this isn’t yet appearing and I have checked the online registry and there is nothing reported there.

the attachments below are the judgement and the proof of sending the DQ. added to this I have evidence of the court arbitration appointment which I understand couldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t submitted the DQ in time.

[Effortlessnoq]

Email of DQ