CCJ for a private goods sale

[smant]

Good afternoon,

I recently received contact from a person I sold a car to (privately) at the beginning of the year, asking for my address. After about 5-6 messages claiming he wanted to pass a letter on to me, he finally tells me he has obtained a judgement against me and needed to provide the Bailiff's he has instructed with an address.


This started shortly after I sold the car to him, when he claimed he was not happy with the car. Out of goodwill, I attempted to negotiate with him, but he would accept nothing less than a full refund. Eventually, I told him I was not willing to offer a full refund and eventually the emails stopped.


It seems he found a very old address of mine and entered a small claim against me at that address, for the full purchase price of the car, which he was obviously granted by default (In June) because I was not given the opportunity to defend it.


I have been in contact with the court, who have not given me much information on the claim but have advised me I need to make two applications; one to have the claim set aside and the other to stay the writ - carrying a fee of £155 each.


I am waiting for an appointment with my local CAB, but I fear that may not be soon enough if the Bailiff were to find my new address.


So I was hoping to get the advice of people more knowledgable than me, here;

Do I really need to apply for both? Would the writ still be valid if the Judgement was set aside?


The N244 form is very ambiguous, can anyone advise how I should fill out the form for each application, if they are indeed both needed?


The claimant has expressed an interest in obtaining my address from any application I make, no doubt to instruct his bailiff - can he do this?


£310 is quite a lot of money. From reading the EX160A, I may be entitled to a part remission on the basis that I do not have disposable capital over £3k and my gross household income is under £5,490 - However, I'm concerned applying for such remission may add unnecessary delays.


Are the fees incurred reclaimable if I'm successful in defending the claim? If so, perhaps the previous point is not such a concern.


Any help would be most appreciated.

[Amethyst]

Re: CCJ for a private goods sale

It does sound like you have a good case to set aside the claim, and yes the N244 is the correct form.

There is a guide in the library http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...lication-notes about filling in the form
As soon as you put the N244 it will suspend the warrant.

We'll need to put a draft defence together for it.

Where is the car now and what were the issues the buyer had with it ?

[smant]

Re: CCJ for a private goods sale

Hi, thanks for your help.

So you're suggesting as soon as I put the N244 to have the Judgement set aside, the warrant will be suspended? If so, that's a relief.

I've no idea where the car is - to the best of my knowledge, the buyer still has it.

He initially complained of a missing parcel shelf and a warning light after completing the sale. Out of good will, I offered to supply the parcel shelf and £20 part to rectify the warning light. He continued to insist on a refund.

He later claimed (following an inspection) the lower ball joints and front tyres were worn.

[des8]

Re: CCJ for a private goods sale

Regarding his claim for a refund:
How and where did you advertise the vehicle?
Did the purchaser examine the vehicle before purchase?

As long as your advertisement did not contain falsehoods, and as long as you did not give false answers to any questions, on the understanding that the purchaser examined the vehicle before buying, then his claim should fail.
The Sale of goods Act 1979 Section13 "goods sold by description" doesn't apply if goods are examined before purchase
Section 14 "goods must be of satisfactory quality" only applies where goods are sold in the course of business