£303 N244 or £14 or complaint procedure - Contesting a DJ from CNBC

[pc52straw]

Hi Beagles,

This is about claims initiated through MCO / CNBC where there are grounds for a complaint or application because information that was already "on the record" (and should've been taken into account before awarding the Default Judgement) had been lost, or was somehow ignored.

Is there a definitive list of "if this happens, do it that way, if that happens do it the other way"?

On other forums, it's been suggested that a mistake at this point doesn't need a £275+ N244 to remedy - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com...mment_80834516 for example talks about a £14 form being used to where MCOL itself confirmed receipt of AOS and AOS was sent to the court and claimant on the same day, but DJ was granted as if there'd been no response from the defendant.

And, there's the HMCTS complaints procedure. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com...mment_80666460 indicates that you can complain to CNBC if a CCJ is awarded by mistake and the proof of the mistake is already visible on their system - if the facts are on your side the issue will be put in front of a judge who'll overrule the CCJ without you having to make an application.

So, some "set aside" situations have only one remedy - spending £303 on a set aside application citing Civil Procedure Rule 13.2. Others, however, can be dealt with by a much cheaper £14 application. And some, it seems, don't need an application at all. Is there a rule of thumb around the three scenarios?

(The examples on MSE forums relate to where MCO and the claimant both know that the defendant responded, but the default judgement CCJ was granted as if there had been no response. )

[Pezza54]

According to CPR and EX50, application notice N244 must be made to set aside the default judgement and a fee of £303 paid

Personally I would file the N244 with CNBC by email and provide my phone number for court staff to ring to collect the fee. I would then argue with the staff member that any fee was unfair as it was a court mistake and see how he or she responds

I would also attach a witness statement and any evidence to show that I had a good chance of successfully defending the claim.
This is incase the court was correct with the dates and I would have to pay out for another set aside application fee

[pc52straw]

Thanks. This is what I've always thought, but there is even a post from last year, confirming an alternative method:

https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...sulting-in-ccj

So I'm just saying, in certain circumstances people can achieve the same outcome without using an N244 and without paying £303. But there doesn't seem to be a definitive explanation of how it works.

I've even heard - though have no actual confirmation - that with EX50, under certain circumstances the application can be through 2.7 / FEE0458 - "Application to vary a judgement or suspend enforcement" - which only costs £15. And the judge reading it may decide on their own perogative that a different action than variation/suspension is warranted.

Per the complaint handling guide,

The Court or Tribunal manager will only deal with complaints which have already been dealt with at First Contact and escalated by the customer. The manager will review the First Contact letter, take into account any new evidence and then reply to the customer. The reply will either confirm the previous line taken or give reasons for an alternative resolution and ‘signpost’ the complainant to the next stage in the process if they are still not satisfied.

As I understand it - the defendant who is making a complaint can raise it several ways e.g. send an email to the court, with the subject line including the word COMPLAINT. The court manager may investigate and realise an error has been made - in which case it is . the court manager, not the defendant who escalates it. A judge reviews and at this point the judge can vary, set aside or even strike out the claim.

I should add at this point that I have myself seen a "general form of judgement or order" which explicitly said the judge acted on their own initiative following a complaint from one of the litigants - although that order merely modified the court's instructions to litigants, it didn't countermand a prior ruling from a judge.

[echat11]

If this is an Admin / Court error, then a Complaint letter / email to the Court Manager, it might be 'batted' away by the Court Manager, then it can be escalated to their Complaints procedure.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...ints-procedure

'As I understand it - the defendant who is making a complaint can raise it several ways e.g. send an email to the court, with the subject line including the word COMPLAINT. The court manager may investigate and realise an error has been made - in which case it is . the court manager, not the defendant who escalates it.'