A £60 parking ticket for a vehicle he never drove has cost a Stratford family their home, after the dispute escalated into two County Court Judgements (CCJs). Dzhihan Dzhafer, 29, a private hire and Uber driver, says another motorist named him as the driver responsible for a parking charge, despite him never having owned or driven the vehicle.
Dispute over a parking charge he contested
The parking charge was issued in April 2024. Dzhihan subsequently received demands for £170, with the sum eventually climbing to £285. He contested the charge and obtained written confirmation from the DVLA that he was not the vehicle's registered keeper, which he provided to the parking company.
However, the dispute continued and ultimately resulted in a CCJ being registered against him. Dzhihan, who documents his experiences as an Uber driver on YouTube under the name Mr Shark, said: "You start thinking that all of this began with a £60 parking ticket connected to somebody else, yet somehow my own family was paying the consequences."
Fighting the judgement and a second CCJ
Determined to fight the judgement, Dzhihan paid £313 to request that the court overturn it and represented himself after receiving guidance from Citizens Advice. Then, just days before his scheduled court appearance, he received paperwork revealing that another motorist had identified him as the driver of the vehicle.
The initial CCJ was subsequently set aside, but rather than drawing the matter to a close, Dzhihan later discovered a second CCJ relating to another parking charge, which he believes involved the same vehicle and location approximately a week later. According to Dzhihan, the same individual had once again provided his details as the driver.
Loss of the family home
While the second CCJ remained unresolved, the family's tenancy on their home in Stratford came up for renewal in October 2025. Dzhihan says their landlords had been open to renewing the tenancy, however the letting agency's insurer refused to provide cover due to the CCJ appearing on his credit file. On October 20, the family lost their home.
"That was when it really became clear to me that this was no longer just a parking dispute or a credit issue," Dzhihan said. "It was affecting whether my family could have a home."
Separation and reunion
With no secure place for the family to live together, Dzhihan's wife and young son returned to Bulgaria while he remained with a friend in London in order to continue working as an Uber driver and providing for them financially. He said: "That was probably the hardest part of everything. The money and court process were stressful, but being away from my wife and especially my young son made it feel completely different. I was still working in London and trying to sort everything out, but coming back and not having my family there was difficult."
The family have since been reunited and are currently staying with Dzhihan's in-laws, though they still lack a permanent home of their own. In the meantime, the second CCJ remains visible on Dzhihan's credit file, despite an agreement being reached and a consent order being signed in a bid to resolve the matter.
For Dzhihan, what started as a £60 parking charge for a car he says he had never driven has consequently become a dispute spanning more than two years, encompassing two CCJs, hundreds of pounds in court and parking-related costs and, most critically, months spent apart from his wife and young son.
Dan Aston, Brand and Communications Executive from Checkmyfile, which enables consumers to view credit information from multiple UK credit reference agencies in a single place, said: "Dzhihan's experience is an extreme example of how information on your credit file can have consequences far beyond simply applying for credit. A CCJ can affect your ability to access financial products, but as this case shows, it can potentially cause problems when trying to rent a home too. It's important to check your credit report regularly and make sure you recognise what's recorded against your name. If something doesn't look right, investigate it as early as possible rather than discovering it when you need to apply for credit or pass a rental check."
"It's also worth remembering that information can vary between credit reference agencies, so checking your credit history across multiple agencies can give you a more complete view of what's being recorded about you. If you receive correspondence about a debt or court claim you don't recognise, don't ignore it. Keep records, challenge it and seek appropriate advice as early as possible."
