Ccj set aside

[Suehazel8]

Hi there. We have asked the court to set aside a ccj and we do not owe the debt. What next. I've been told to write to the debtor. His claim to our company is rogue, totally unfounded in fact I cant believe a court gave the ccj. We have evidence that his claim is not legitimate

[pt2537]

Hi there. We have asked the court to set aside a ccj and we do not owe the debt. What next. I've been told to write to the debtor. His claim to our company is rogue, totally unfounded in fact I cant believe a court gave the ccj. We have evidence that his claim is not legitimate

Ok we need a little more info here

So you wrote to the Court? What did they say? Did you make an application on a Form N244? was there a hearing? if so what was the outcome?

Also, why are you seeking to set aside judgment? how did it get entered ? Was it in error was there a trial etc

[Suehazel8]

Hi there, sorry for the vague explanation. So my son has a building company and he recommended a few subcontractors to another builder on his project. Please note this was not my sons project. The sub contractors made an error and the builder has blamed my son for recommending them, he had to pay to put things right and he sent the bill/invoice to my son. My son refused as it was only his recommendation to use these subcontractors. However the builder took legal action but all paperwork was sent to the wrong address. A ccj was attached to my sons business and we were made aware of it from an independent company who rang my son and offered to help him dissolve his company. We were mortified. We completed form N244 and we are waiting for a hearing date. The builder went to the high court and bailiffs contacted my son. We had to pay £255 to apply to stay the writ. It is bizarre that the builder in question has successfully applied to the courts for action when his claims are unfounded and hold no ground. We have enty of evidence to support this and we even have proof that the builder in question has hired tools and equipment using my sons accounts at various building merchants, we only found this out when one of the merchants rang my son because he was concerned my sons account had outstanding debts which left a paper trail back to the other builder. We really cant believe this has happened it's such an injustice and we are confident the CCJ will be set aside, if theres any justice..what then, how do we handle the situation and have this ridiculous claim against my sons company cancelled. Thank you

[pt2537]

Hi there, sorry for the vague explanation. So my son has a building company and he recommended a few subcontractors to another builder on his project. Please note this was not my sons project. The sub contractors made an error and the builder has blamed my son for recommending them, he had to pay to put things right and he sent the bill/invoice to my son. My son refused as it was only his recommendation to use these subcontractors. However the builder took legal action but all paperwork was sent to the wrong address. A ccj was attached to my sons business and we were made aware of it from an independent company who rang my son and offered to help him dissolve his company. We were mortified. We completed form N244 and we are waiting for a hearing date. The builder went to the high court and bailiffs contacted my son. We had to pay £255 to apply to stay the writ. It is bizarre that the builder in question has successfully applied to the courts for action when his claims are unfounded and hold no ground. We have enty of evidence to support this and we even have proof that the builder in question has hired tools and equipment using my sons accounts at various building merchants, we only found this out when one of the merchants rang my son because he was concerned my sons account had outstanding debts which left a paper trail back to the other builder. We really cant believe this has happened it's such an injustice and we are confident the CCJ will be set aside, if theres any justice..what then, how do we handle the situation and have this ridiculous claim against my sons company cancelled. Thank you

Thanks for the reply.

Ok so your son wasnt involved in this project? He was just asked if he knew any tradesmen? If that is the case, what are they claiming? are they saying your son was negligent? is that their case?

Im afraid you are in a difficult situation, you have a CCJ that needs to be addressed urgently, i note you've already made an application, i cannot comment on the application as i dont know what it says, but if you are right, then it seems to me not only should you have applied for setting aside but also for a dual a strike out / summary judgment on the grounds that the Claim has no merit / no grounds for bringing the claim / abuse of process.

The judgment entered against your son was preuly procedural, it was not a case where the merits of the claim were looked at, so while i can understand your frustration im afraid these things happen all the time, and it can be dealt with but you must make sure you do things right, as you only get one real chance to challenge this, if you make mistakes you could end up with the judgment remaining in place.

[Suehazel8]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. Yes this was another builders project, although my son did go onsite and did some work for him the builder in question was happy with my sins work, my son has done work for him in the past and always had good reviews left on my builder, however the builder is blaming my son for the subcontractors error and he has billed my son for everything I dont know how he has got away with it, he did contact my son and told him he had to pay to get the error rectified and said my son had to pay, when my son refused he threatened him. This guy sounds like a rogue trader and just passes the buck. We are waiting for a date for a hearing. My son is an honest man and I'm not being bias, I do alot of his admin and from what I've seen from the builder ..emails and messages etc he is deluded I cant understand why a court would accept his claim he must of told them a pack of lies but we have lots of evidence that supports our right to contest this ridiculous claim.

[pt2537]

Hi

You need to understand the Court process im afraid, the Court has accepted nothing, it has simply carried out a procedural step in entering judgment because you didnt defend the claim. The Court when entering default judgment never looks at the merits of the case, it just ticks a box and stamps an order pretty much.

The key is that you need to be aware how the Court process works, most applications i see that have failed were not without merit, they were simply poorly set out, or poorly argued, or down to a misunderstanding of how the Court works.

When you lodge an application to set aside, the Court will look at it, it will consider first whether the application provides any real grounds for setting aside, if the application is not merited then the Court will dismiss on the papers. If the application is considered arguable then the Court will give it a hearing date.

The problem is, most people think they can turn up on the day and lay papers and documents before the Court to show that they have a case. By then it is too late.

You must make sure you have two things as part of your application in my opinion. 1) A draft defence and 2) A witness statement which explains the issues with service and in particular the correct address for service exhibiting things like companies house records if the company is limited etc.

Most people just rock up at Court with all their papers in a folder, by then its too late. You really do only have one shot at this, so make sure it counts

[Suehazel8]

Hi there, we have received confirmation that a hearing will take place in February 2021 and my son is to carry out his defence at this hearing over the phone. We were successful with the application to stay the writ. In the meantime we have received a very unusual and what I would call somewhat confusing email from a totally different solicitor representing the claimant. Could I please forward this email over to you for your professional opinion, we really need help with this it has been so confusing and to think that this man might get away with accusing my son of a debt that dosent belong to him is astonishing
kind regards
Suehazel8

[pt2537]

Hi

It's unfortunate you're not available, I did email you and tried to call you to give you some advice on the case. I'm busy for the remainder of the weekend I'm afraid but I'll email you when I'm back in the office Monday