CCJ I didn't know about

[spotnot]

I have just found out that I have had a CCJ awarded against me. The claim form was sent to an address at which I no longer live. All the mail was forwarded to me which I received yesterday. In this mail was the claim form. I tried to defend it this morning but found out that judgement had aleady been made against me. This is for an extrememly old debt and I have already had dealings with the DCA regarding proving the debt is mine, which they have never been able to do.

 

What can I do now?

 

Thanks

 

Spot

[silverfox1961]

This is for an extrememly old debt

 

How old are we talking about

 

To get a CCJ set aside, you would need good grounds. Did the DCA write to you at your new address?

[spotnot]

No, the DCA have never written to me at my new address. I haven't got access to the paperwork right now but it must be at least 5 years old ( iknow 6 is the magic number!) but will confirm this at a later date.

 

The address that the DCA wrote to is my permanent address but Im in Scotland at the moment looking after my disabled aunt and have been here for a few months now. My neighbour collects my mail and sends it on to me every couple of weeks but she was on holiday for 2 weeks therefore I got a months worth of mail yesterday.

[grizwuld]

Service is likely to have been effective because the plaintiff communicated with you, and you responded at the address to which the summons was sent.

 

You describe it as your "permanent" address but also state that you no longer "live" there. That you have post forwarded by a neighbour. If you acknowledge an address as permanent is it not reasonable that you should take steps to have your post dealt with in a timely manner whilst you are away; especially if you have not given your alleged creditor, with whom you are currently in correspondence, your current address. That you chose an informal and in effect "irregular" arrangement would probably be seen as your responsibility as the Post Office offers a redirection service which would have allowed you to respond in good time if you had used it.

 

However you could apply to have the judgement set aside.

 

There are two hurdles you must overcome to achieve this:

 

1] You must act promptly in dealing with this issue. In this instance promptly means just that;

 

and

 

2] You must show the Court that you have a reasonable chance of winning. It is not enough in set aside applications to show that you have an arguable defence - it must have a reasonable chance of success and that determination will be at the District Judge's discretion.

 

You do not say what your defence is so that is a matter for you. However, the "promptly" issue needs to addressed immediately.

 

Good luck.