Mislead by debt agency into getting a CCJ?

[MV555]

Hello all!

I'm really hoping you all can help me.

I feel like I've been heavily misled by DCB Legal resulting in me getting a CCJ.

I have had a PCN pop up from 5 years ago, no memory of receiving any letters from them in the past. I got threatened with a CCJ (LoC) from DCB Legal, so I started putting a defence together with the brilliant advice from the Money Saving Expert forum. I requested 30 days from DCB Legal to allow to me to get legal advice, which they agreed to. A week later I got a letter from the county court (N1SDT). I messaged DCB Legal straight away and requested that they honour the 30 days and for them to reissue the claim to county court.

I got a response from DCBLegal saying "We ask that you please disregard the letter received from the Courts, you have until 10/03/2023 to make the payment.".

I had no intention of paying them and was planning on defending myself in court.Yesterday I went to check my credit rating and noticed the CCJ marked up from the end of March.

The original court hearing had gone ahead.

I'm feeling very frustrated at myself disregarding the original court letter but do believe they have misled my to losing the hearing by default.

Where do I stand on this?

The advice I've been given from the MSE is to pay the CCJ, then make a formal complaint to DCB Legal and then send the evidence to the SRA.

I believe this is my only option but would like some second opinions from anyone who's been through anything similar.


Many thanks!

[R0b]

Hello

Whilst making a formal complaint to DCB Legal and the SRA are valid points, it doesn't get you out of the CCJ situation (i'll talk about that further down my post).

I'm trying to understand what DCB Legal have done process-wise but from I understand what you have said, a claim form was issued and then shortly after you noticed a CCJ against your name which suggests to me there wasn't a hearing of sorts, rather that DCB Legal have obtained a default judgment for failing to acknowledge the claim or file a defence - is this your understanding of what has happened?

If the above is correct, you may have grounds to set aside the judgment on grounds that DCB Legal obtained the judgment based on deceit. There could also be grounds that the judgment obtained was as a result of failing to comply with the pre-action protocols and so the judgment should be set aside to allow for the protocols to be complied with i.e. you have 30 days to seek advice and respond. There is a cost to doing this at £275 but that might be better than having something tarnishing your credit file for the next 6 years.

As for complaint to DCB Legal, not sure that will go anywhere to be honest but you ca certainly try it and mention that you are also going to make a complaint to the SRA about their breach of the SRA Standards and Regulations in the process. That might catch their attention but don't hold much hope on that.

Certainly an SRA complaint may have legs especially where dishonesty is involved and DCB Legal clearly taking advantage of litigants in person. there are two sets of rules you can point to, rules for code of conduct for solicitors and code of conduct for law firms generally.

There is an obligation under rule 1.2 (for both codes for solicitors and law firms) not to abuse their position and take unfair advantage of their clients and others. Rule 1.4 (again the same for both codes) also states that solicitors or firms must not mislead or attempt to mislead their clients, the court or others through their own acts or omissions or allowing or being complicit in those acts or omissions.

In order for the SRA to think about investigating, you need to be concise and reference the above rules as well as provide evidence and explanation as to why you think DCB Legal have breached their obligations.

That's just my initial thoughts but may change depending on any further information you provide.

[echat11]

You could send Subject Access Requests, they might be helpful in getting information for complaints and setting aside the CCJ. Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/

[MV555]

rob Thank you for the helpful response.

My apologies, you are correct. They received a default judgment against me as I disregarded N1SDT form as requested by DCB Legal. I'll update my original post now.

I have had to get a CCJ set aside in the past which was relatively easy to do so and allowed me to reclaim any costs.

I'm struggling to find information on if I pay the CCJ now, would I still be able to apply to have it set aside? I'm still within the first month if paid now my credit score will still be safe. My main concern with applying to have it set aside is that if anything goes wrong with my application/hearing then I may be stuck with the CCJ against my record.

As I'm currently in the process of saving for a house this will make getting a mortgage next to impossible for me.

I'll get looking into making a complaint to the SRA referring to the rules you provided.

[MV555]

echat11 Thank you, I'll get a SARs request sent over to them