I’m really sorry this went the way it did. Losing on the day is bruising, especially when you’re there alone and the claimant can’t be bothered to turn up.
This judge bingo… you had a shitty judge.
Because judgment has been entered, you now have two distinct paths. If you pay the full judgment sum within one calendar month of the judgment date (deadline 8 November 2025), no County Court Judgment will be registered on your credit file. If you do not clear the full balance within that month and instead pay by instalments, the CCJ will be registered and remain for six years, later marked “satisfied” only once the full sum is paid.
If preserving your credit file is important, pay the entire £280 by 8 November 2025 to the payee stated on the order (normally the claimant’s solicitors or the claimant directly). Use a traceable method (bank transfer with reference, or card payment) and retain proof.
After paying in full within the month, check the public Register of Judgments after approximately 2 to 4 weeks. If the CCJ appears despite full payment within one month, contact the Registry Trust to have it removed and write to the court with evidence of timely payment asking them to notify the Registry that the judgment was paid within the statutory one-month period.
The deadline to file an appeal is 21 days from judgment. Your time limit therefore expires on 29 October 2025.
To appeal, file an appellant’s notice (form N164) at the hearing centre that made the decision, serve it on the respondent, pay the appeal fee or apply for help with fees, and include a draft of your grounds of appeal and the sealed order.
You will also need either the judge’s permission (which you can ask for in N164) or permission from the appeal court. Appeals are not a rehearing of the facts; you must show an error of law, a wrong exercise of discretion, or serious procedural unfairness that materially affected the outcome.
From what you recorded: the judge’s approach to treating thin particulars as cured by the witness statement, her assessment that signage was legible enough, her view that non-attendance could be overlooked, and her factual findings on driver identity and time on site are all case-management and fact assessments squarely within a trial judge’s discretion, especially a shitty one. County Court authorities such as CEL v Chan and CPMS v Akande are persuasive, not binding. Absent a prior strike-out application under CPR 3.4 or a timely application under CPR 24, an appeal on those points has low prospects unfortunately.
I asked a family member today about this decision and showed him the WS and evidence. He said he would have come to a completely different conclusion.
You can still complain to the SRA about any concerns you hold, but that will not set aside or vary today’s order.
I am as surprised and disappointed as you with this judges decision. But as I said, it is judge bingo. You can a name the judge so that we can be aware of her decision and track her for other case if they crop up.
