Promptitude defeated by procedure irregularity

In a recent case that came to our attention, a client approached us with a CCJ against him dated 30/05/2019, amounting to £9,500 for unpaid charge charges. As a businessman, he sought our guidance nearly two years post the CCJ's entry. Armed with his tenancy agreement and the facts of his case, we assessed and concluded that he had a robust case for setting the judgment aside, even after such a prolonged period.

Our initial recommendation was to attempt a consensual settlement, which, unfortunately, was declined by Vehicle Control Services Limited. Following this, we advised our client to engage our partner solicitors. Represented by the esteemed Mr. Jackson Yamba of Lawrence and Associates, an application was made to set aside under CPR 13.2 or CPR 13.3.

During the final hearing, our client's submissions highlighted:

• Defective service of the claim and particulars of claim, necessitating the mandatory setting aside of the default judgment.

• The claim form's issuance at an address where the client no longer resided.

• The absence of evidence showing reasonable steps taken by the Claimant to ascertain the client's current address before issuing the claim form as required under CPR 6.9

• The Claimant's failure to serve and file the particulars of claim, despite indicating in the claim form that they would follow, violating CPR PD 7C.6.1 and CPR r 7.1.b.

• The Claimant's inability to produce a certificate of service, suggesting the particulars of claim were never served on our client.

The court concurred with our submissions. The judgment was set aside, and the particulars were struck out under CPR 3.4(2)(c). Furthermore, costs of £1,175.00 were awarded against Vehicle Control Services, marking a significant win for our client.