Sorry this is quite a long one, but I'll summarise as much as possible.
Four years ago, I reversed into someone in a car park. I admitted fault there and then and exchanged insurance details with the other party. When I got home, I immediately phoned my insurance company to give all the details. They opened a claim and I assumed they would just get on with sorting it all.
Some time later I began to receive court documents and solicitor letters demanding that I pay for the damage to the other woman's car. Every time I received a new letter or document, I phoned the insurance company to tell them what was happening. They apologised and said they would put it right. I sent them copies of the documents I had received.
I continued to receive demands for payment and ultimately a court summons and threat of a CCJ. Again I contacted the insurers who said their litigation department would deal with it all and explicitly told me they would make sure I didn't get a CCJ. Everything then went quiet and I felt assured that the insurance company had eventually got round to paying the claim and closing the case.
Fast forward four years and I have gone to check my credit report only to find I have a CCJ on there! It will expire in a year or so but I want it off my record- in part because I'm about to take out some new insurance and am very concerned that the CCJ will give grounds to refuse me insurance (or make the premiums much more expensive at any rate). I'm also very worried that the existing insurance I hold (public liability insurance for my work) may be rendered invalid if the company found out I have this CCJ.
I see that you can petition a CCJ but it looks like this has to be done shortly after it's issued, but this was issued years ago and I had no idea! I also resent the idea of having to pay out of my pocket to put right a mistake that was not mine.
I don't know where to start with putting this right. Do I contact the court that issued the CCJ or go back to the insurance company and hope they still have all the details on their file (I still have the documents I received and a written timeline and notes of my contact with them)?
If anyone has any knowledge at all in this area, I'd be really grateful for any advice.