Have I landed in trouble with CCJ with no chance to dispute the PCN !?

[crazyvish]

Dear All,

Hi. I am a newbie here and I hope you will welcome me and offer me the advice/help that I am looking for.

This is what has happened so far:

- I received a PCN in post from CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LTD in May 2018. I apparently overstayed by 20 mins in a 60min Phone and Pay Car Park outside a shopping centre.

- I genuinely (or 'mistakenly' - after reading various online threads) accepted that I was the driver and I made an appeal to say that my car was blocked at the corner of the carpark by another long car (a ford estate) and that I couldn't move my car until the other car owner has arrived and moved their car out. I wasn't mindful of making a note of the car number at that point in time nor was I thinking about the delay in the carpark

- CEL rejected my appeal and kept sending me reminders (which I have ignored).

- I later received debt collecting letters from ZZPS and QDR Solicitors.

- In Jan 2019 I moved house and informed all the three companies (CEL, ZZPS & QDR) about my new address.

- All of them acknowledged to my new address. CEL once again wrote to me about the claim to my new address in Feb 2019.

- I haven't received any communication after this and I thought they might have stopped writing to me.

- Earlier this week (1st May 2019), I went to my old address (where I used to rent previously) to find out if I had any mail.

- To my surprise, the new resident handed over me a couple of letters that are from county court! One was a Claim pack that was sent in Mar 2019 and the other, a CCJ for £292.49, which was sent last month (in April) !

- I wasn't given a chance to defend the claim. Please see below the proof of the letters.

Letter from CEL received to my new address in Feb 2019 which confirms that they have my new address:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jFW7JgTjQrGESZnB6

Claim pack and CCJ were sent to my Old address in the month of Mar 2019 & April 2019 respectively!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jxxZzCJnRNc7xu6P6

Could someone please advice on my next course of action? I do not wish to pay CEL who had been making unreasonable claims and misusing my data.

[charitynjw]

Hi & welcome to LB.

CEL seem to have a habit of issuing court claims to an old (previous) address.
If you have proof of posting/informing them of your new address, they could be in deep doo-doo.
Write to CEL outlining these facts & ask for their consent to set aside the CCJ.
Give a deadline for their response (7 days? 14 days?....up to you)
It costs £100 to set aside with consent. (£255 without consent)
But if played correctly you should have a good chance of recovering your costs.

[crazyvish]

Hi & welcome to LB.

CEL seem to have a habit of issuing court claims to an old (previous) address.
If you have proof of posting/informing them of your new address, they could be in deep doo-doo.
Write to CEL outlining these facts & ask for their consent to set aside the CCJ.
Give a deadline for their response (7 days? 14 days?....up to you)
It costs £100 to set aside with consent. (£255 without consent)
But if played correctly you should have a good chance of recovering your costs.

Great, Thank you very much for your time.

I know very little about the legal terms. Could you please let me know how 'with consent' or 'without consent' mean? Which course of action is the best to take? Do I write a standard letter to CEL asking them if I can set aside the CCJ?

[charitynjw]

Great, Thank you very much for your time.

I know very little about the legal terms. Could you please let me know how 'with consent' or 'without consent' mean? Which course of action is the best to take? Do I write a standard letter to CEL asking them if I can set aside the CCJ?

'With consent' means that you have contacted the Judgment Creditor (formerly the Claimant) & have obtained their agreement (usually written) to have the judgment set aside.
Once obtained, it is often just a 'rubber-stamp' exercise by the court.

'Without consent' is where you have not obtained permission.
This might be because the Judgment Creditor has not agreed, or sometimes because you've decided not to seek their permission for some reason or other (ie you don't think they would be amenable, or perhaps because it is important due to time limitations.)

Obviously the first course of action is preferrable.

& yes, just a letter to the Judgment Creditor is fine, giving a brief explanation why you think a set-aside is appropriate.
Give a deadline for response. (If it were me I'd give no more than 14 days, & usually only 7 days.....after all, they are just saying either a 'yes' or a 'no'.)