Free Traffic Legal Advice

Why on earth do you imagine that a claim issued in your uncle's name can be responded to in your name? SNAFU.

You now need to urgently contact the CNCB and send the following email to AOS.CNBC@justice.gov.uk, making sure you also CC in yourself:

Subject: Correction of Acknowledgment of Service – Wrong Name Submitted – [Claim No. XXXXXXXX]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing regarding Claim Number [XXXXXXXX]. An Acknowledgment of Service (AoS) was recently submitted via the MCOL portal in error, in the name of [Nephew’s Full Name]. This was a genuine mistake, as the named defendant is [Uncle’s Full Name], the registered keeper of the vehicle and the person named on the claim form.

Please could the incorrect AoS be disregarded or amended so that the defendant, [Uncle’s Full Name], can be correctly recorded as having acknowledged service of the claim? The intention was always to acknowledge service on his behalf, and we respectfully request the opportunity to rectify the error so that a Defence can be filed within the proper timeframe.

We would be grateful for your confirmation and any guidance on how to proceed if further steps are required.

Yours faithfully,

[Full Name of Nephew]
On behalf of [Uncle’s Full Name]

Await the Court's Response

The court may:


Time for filing the Defence remains 33 days from the issue date of the claim form, assuming the AoS was timely. Even if the AoS was in the wrong name, the court is likely to exercise discretion to allow correction — particularly if no prejudice has been caused.

Hello, I’ve gone past the deadline because I was waiting for a response to my acknowledgment of service being put down in the incorrect name. Nobody got back to me at all, so I didn’t know if I could submit a defense without them getting back to me now they’ve issued me with a county court judgement . How can I go about getting them to let me submit a late defense because they never got back to me about my acknowledgment of service

I thought I had to wait for the courts to get back to me first before I could submit a defense because the acknowledgment of service was incorrect. They never got back to me. I spent hours on the phone trying to get through to them and then I kept being hung up on as well. I’ve also had some family illness that I’ve been trying to deal with so I don’t know if that will help with them extending it

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When you sent the email to AOS.CNBC@justice.gov.uk explaining the naming error in the AoS, did you receive an auto-response from the CNBC acknowledging the email?

You need to urgently email the CNCB with the following:

Subject: URGENT request to refer default judgment to a judge – Claim No: [insert claim number]

Dear Court Manager,

I am writing in relation to the above claim, in which default judgment has been entered against the named defendant, [insert defendant’s full name]. I respectfully request that this matter be referred to a judge to consider whether the judgment was wrongly entered, and to determine whether it can be set aside under CPR 13.2 without the need for a formal application and payment of a fee.

The defendant did in fact respond to the claim. An Acknowledgment of Service (AoS) was submitted via MCOL on [insert date]. Although it was mistakenly submitted under the name of the defendant’s nephew, who was assisting with the case, it was nonetheless a clear and timely response to the claim. An automatic acknowledgment was received confirming submission of the AoS.

As soon as the mistake was realised, a correction email was sent to aos.cnbc@justice.gov.uk on [insert date], explaining the situation and asking for the record to be amended. That email was also acknowledged by the court’s automated system. At that point, we were awaiting a response or action from the court before proceeding to file the defence in the correct name.

Despite these clear and timely steps, the default judgment was subsequently entered on the basis that the defendant “did not reply to the claim form”. That is factually incorrect. The defendant did respond and was actively engaging with the claim. It was the lack of action from the court in response to the correction request that prevented the defence being filed under the correct name.

It would be wholly unfair and disproportionate to require the defendant to now pay a £313 application fee to apply for the judgment to be set aside using form N244, particularly when the value of the claim is relatively modest and the need for the application arises solely due to a procedural irregularity within the court system. The defendant did everything reasonably possible to correct the error and respond to the claim in time.

In light of the above, I respectfully request that the matter be placed before a judge as soon as possible, and that the court exercises its powers under CPR 13.2 to set aside the judgment on the basis that it was wrongly entered. Alternatively, I ask that directions be given regarding the most appropriate way to resolve this without the defendant being penalised by an unnecessary and unjust application fee.

Yours faithfully,

[insert full name]
[insert contact details]

Email it to CaseProgression.CNBC@justice.gov.uk and CC in ClaimResponses.CNBC@justice.gov.uk, AOS.CNBC@justice.gov.uk and also yourself.

I was unable to get through today, but I’m going to call 830 tomorrow morning to make sure that they acknowledge they have received it this time

You're not going to get much help from the CNBC. You should have filed a defence within the deadline. You were told about the deadline but you did nothing. We know you were waiting for a response, but as I mentioned, that did not prevent you submitting the defence by the deadline.

The email you have since sent is only a request and a minion on the customer service desk can't help you, only management.

The choice you have right now is to either apply for a set aside under CPR 13.3 which will cost £313 with no guarantee that they will even set the CCJ aside and little hope of recovering that cost... or pay the CCJ within 30 days of the judgment date and it will be expunged from the record.