Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

[bottomburp]

In September we received a CPR Part 7 claim. It was dated 3rd September but was not posted by the court until 14th September.

Unfortunately the claim was addressed to two parties (different addresses) but both claims were delivered to the same address. They were then forwarded to our current address. We finally received them on 21st and 22nd September.

We immediately filed an acknowledgement of service. We also wrote to the court to complain about the fact that the claim apparently sat in the court for 11 days before being posted and therefore our acknowledgement of service was already late (according to the date on the claim).

The Court accepted this and gave us until 4pm on 21st October to file our defence & counter claim. We posted this on 16th October.

Last Saturday, 24th October, we received a "Judgment in Default", dated 21st October.

We telephoned the Court and asked them how quickly we could get a judgement in default against someone who hadn't filed their defence. The answer was "you have to fill in the bottom of the form on the Notice of Issue and get it to the Court." and "The system won't allow a judgement in default to be entered until the day following the expiry of the deadline to file the defence".

We telephoned the Court again and the Court Manager confirmed that there is a big backlog of post. We asked how it was possible to enter a judgment in default on the very day we had to file our defence, particularly bearing in mind the large backlog of post. The reply was that they would go through the post to make sure that we had not filed a defence and as we hadn't filed a defence they had entered the judgment.

Unfortunately for the Court we had sent the defence by "signed for" mail and they had signed for it on 19th October.

So the Court Manager went to see the DJ and the DJ set aside the default judgment on one of the parties.

A couple of days pass and we start receiving offers of "help" (IVA etc) from companies to the 2nd party so we ring the Court again and discover that they have only set aside the judgment on one and not both parties...

We go through the saga with the Court again. The Court has admitted liability on two occasions now and apologised, and say they will get the judgment against the 2nd party set aside.

We have now received notification that one judgment has been set aside but have not received the second notification. Meanwhile both parties have been indundated with offers of help.

Presumably both credit records show this judgment in default that should never have been entered and the Court says that we have to sort it out! I don't think that is right as the Court is responsible for making the error and has admitted liability.

Does anyone know what we should do in this instance?

[Tools]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

Contact both the claimant and the CRA's with evidence that there is no valid reason to place a defamatory note on your credit record. I would check your records as soon as you can.

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

Thanks Tools but surely the Court has to sort it? Their mistake, their cost to recity? It seems to us, and more and more every day, that ordinary people are getting shafted.

If something I have done causes a loss (or similar) to someone else I expect to have to put that right. Ditto the Court. They have caused this problem. Their entering a default judgment is, in effect, libel - we were not in default. Ergo they should have to make sure that all records are wiped clean.

[Tools]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

If you can convince the Court to do so then by all means try.

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

If you can convince the Court to do so then by all means try.

Sorry Tools, I don't mean to get at you. I'm just totally hacked off with the prevailing attitude of "yes, I've done you harm but you can sort it out because I'm a government agency and you're just some pleb who has a claim against you."

This has, so far, cost us a lot of time and money. We've had to go to the Court to try to sort it out (about 70 miles round trip), had to spend hours on the telephone, write letters (sent recorded delivery) and their response is "yeah, so we messed up - you sort it out".

I realise they're short staffed but if they have a backlog of unopened mail they should not send out judgments in default until they are certain that all the mail received before the due date has been opened and filed. If we hadn't had the wisdom (learnt from sites such as this one) we would have sent our defence and counter claim by normal post, not had the proof and the Court would have got away with it. As it was the Court denied having received our defence at all, let alone in time, and it was only when we produced the print off from Royal Mail's website that they had to back down.

As for the claimants - I'm quite sure that they (BTW they're negligent lawyers) will be absolutely delighted that this judgment is entered on our credit files - if you were in their shoes would you do anything to help us get it sorted? I certainly wouldn't.

[charitynjw]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

I would tend to agree with Tools on this, BB - for 1 good reason.

It's your credit rating going down the pan - surely you have the most urgent reason to set the record straight?

cnjw

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

I would tend to agree with Tools on this, BB - for 1 good reason.

It's your credit rating going down the pan - surely you have the most urgent reason to set the record straight?

cnjw

So,. let me get this straight. We are now going to spend even more of our valuable time and money getting in touch with all the CRAs, check our files - and we're talking about 2 parties here - and then prove that the judgment shouldn't have been entered.

The UK - what a crazy and disgusting place.

Actually, having thought about this a little, it doesn't really make sense - if a member of my family is hurt it may be in my interest (and certainly quicker) to find and catch the cluprit and "deal" with it myself - but ... and if something I own is damaged by someone else it may be quicker for me to pay for it to be fixed but I would be perfectly within my rights to expect the person who had damaged my property to pay for the repair...

[Guest]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

No judgments are entered onto any credit records for 28 days following the recording of the judgment on The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

Notwithstanding this, you have one judgment set aside and can, using the same process have the second one set aside.

If this has cost you money, then raise this point with the Court Manager and inform them that you will expect to be compensated for their negligence.

You do not need to check with any of the CRA's since they will not have any of this information yet.

[EXC]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

The UK - what a crazy and disgusting place.

I would suggest that the UK would be a marginally less crazy and disgusting place if people would desist from choosing unattractive usernames such as infantile colloquial terms that describe the discharge of intestinal gasses through the anus.

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

I would suggest that the UK would be a marginally less crazy and disgusting place if people would desist from choosing unattractive usernames such as infantile colloquial terms that describe the discharge of intestinal gasses through the anus.

When you grow up you will find that the English language evolves on a daily basis and that some unfortunates are unable to develop at the same pace - do take care not to join their ranks or you may find you need to wear earplugs 24/7.

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

No judgments are entered onto any credit records for 28 days following the recording of the judgment on The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines.

Notwithstanding this, you have one judgment set aside and can, using the same process have the second one set aside.

If this has cost you money, then raise this point with the Court Manager and inform them that you will expect to be compensated for their negligence.

You do not need to check with any of the CRA's since they will not have any of this information yet.

Many thanks for your input Cetelco and it's an enormous relief to find out that these wrongly entered default judgments won't have been passed to the CRAs. This leads me to ask more questions I'm afraid...

Are these ambulance chasers getting our info from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines? And if they are who else is able to see this Register? Is it something that financial institutions (mortgage lenders / banks etc) have access to / routinely look at? Can we get both parties' names removed from this register? NOTE: I have now looked at http://www.trustonline.org.uk/ - we'll make sure the set asides are also sent to these people.

We have had one party's judgment set aside and have the written confirmation. We are now working on getting the second party's judgment set aside - which the Court said they would do but we haven't received any confirmation yet - planning to chase again tomorrow and we will raise the compensation aspect then (followed up by recorded delivery letter).

Again, many thanks for this. BB

[EXC]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

When you grow up you will find that the English language evolves on a daily basis and that some unfortunates are unable to develop at the same pace - do take care not to join their ranks or you may find you need to wear earplugs 24/7.

So let me get this right:

You think that my distaste of your username - a term which to the best of my knowledge is used almost exclusively by the unders 8s - is somehow a result of my immaturity?

I've got my head in my hands.

Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?

[bottomburp]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

So let me get this right:

You think that my distaste of your username - a term which to the best of my knowledge is used almost exclusively by the unders 8s - is somehow a result of my immaturity?

I've got my head in my hands.

Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?

I think you are pathetic, immature and humourless.

[EXC]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

[Guest]

Re: Default Judgment - Court Admits Error

Many thanks for your input Cetelco and it's an enormous relief to find out that these wrongly entered default judgments won't have been passed to the CRAs. This leads me to ask more questions I'm afraid...

Are these ambulance chasers getting our info from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines? And if they are who else is able to see this Register? Is it something that financial institutions (mortgage lenders / banks etc) have access to / routinely look at? Can we get both parties' names removed from this register? NOTE: I have now looked at http://www.trustonline.org.uk/ - we'll make sure the set asides are also sent to these people.

We have had one party's judgment set aside and have the written confirmation. We are now working on getting the second party's judgment set aside - which the Court said they would do but we haven't received any confirmation yet - planning to chase again tomorrow and we will raise the compensation aspect then (followed up by recorded delivery letter).

Again, many thanks for this. BB

The data can be purchased, by area, for 30p plus vat per record.

Once you obtain the second set aside, make sure you write to Registry Trust Limited and inform them that they must remove your details from their records.

Of course, a set aside is not the end of the matter. You will still need to submit a defence, or defence and counter claim and the case will the progress on that basis. Should you lose, the judgment will stand.