Gladstones Letter Before Claim

I have found this in a link for robo claims....is it pointless or useful?



n the County Court Business Centre Claim Number: ____________
BETWEEN :
UK Car Park Management Ltd
(Claimant)
And
_____________
(Defendant)

Defence Statement


Introduction
1. I am ________, the defendant in this matter. My address for service is____________
2. This is my statement of truth and my defence.
3. As an unrepresented litigant-in-person I seek the Court's permission to amend and supplement thisdefence as may be required upon disclosure of the claimant's case.
4. For the avoidance of doubt on the relevant date I was the registered keeper of a _______, registerednumber ______, I can neither confirm or deny who was driving on the day as it is some time since the event.
5. It is believed that it will be a matter of common ground that the purported debt arose as the result ofthe issue of a parking charge notice in relation to an alleged breach of the terms and conditions by the driver of the above vehicle when it was parked at____________ in November 2016.
Purported Basis of Claim
6. Further based upon the scant and deficient details contained in the Particulars of Claim and correspondence, it appears to be the claimant's case that:
a. There was a contract formed by the defendant and the claimant on November 2016.
b. There was an agreement to pay a sum or parking charge.
c. That there were Terms and Conditions prominently displayed around the site including theboundaries of the parking space to be controlled.
d. That in addition to the Parking charge there was an agreement to pay additional but unspecifiedadditional sums.
e. The claimant company fully complied with their obligations within the terms of Schedule 4 of theProtection of Freedoms Act 2012.
f. The claimant company fully complied with their obligations within the British Parking Association Codeof Practice of which they were member at the time.
g. Further that the defendant has not paid the alleged debt.
Rebuttal of Claim
7. It is denied that:
a. A contract was formed
b. There was an agreement to pay a parking charge.
c. That there were Terms and Conditions prominently displayed around the site and that the areaallegedly under the control of the Claimant was unequivocal.
d. That in addition to the Parking charge there was an agreement to pay additional and unspecifiedadditional sums.
e. The claimant company fully complied with their obligations within the terms of Schedule 4 of theProtection of Freedoms Act 2012.
f. The claimant company fully complied with their obligations within the British Parking Association Codeof Practice of which they were member at the time. g. That I am liable for the purported debt.
8. It is further denied that I owe any debt to the claimant or that any debt is in fact owed or that any debtexists or could ever exist or has ever existed. That in any event the claimant has failed to comply with the requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules and that their claim is both unfounded and vexatious.
9. The claimant is put to the strictest proof of their assertions.
My Defence
My defence will rely principally upon the following points:
10. That the signs erected on site are incapable of forming the basis of a contract and indeed make itclear that that is not the case. Further it is trite law that a term that is forbidding cannot also constitute an offer. It is therefore denied that any contract was formed or was capable of being formed.
11. That the area the Claimant says was within their control wasn't clear as the boundaries wereunclear and open to misinterpretation. The BPA Code of Practice says on this point:
B4.1 If vehicles are parked under a contract, you may take parking control and enforcement action only when the contract entitles you to. This includes issuing parking tickets. The contract terms must be included on a sign British Parking Association Code of Practice at each entry point to the site, and on other signs visible throughout the area concerned.
12. Should the claimant rely on the case of ParkingEye v Beavis, I wish to point out that there is a testof good faith.
Para 205: “The requirement of good faith in this context is one of fair and open dealing. Openness requires that the terms should be expressed fully, clearly and legibly, containing no concealed pitfalls or traps. Appropriate prominence should be given to terms which might operate disadvantageously to the customer.”
13. Underlining that is Section 18.3 of the BPA Code of Practice which gives clear instructions as to theplacing, visibility and clarity of any signs that are used to form contracts. It says:
18.3 You must place signs containing the specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving their vehicle. Keep a record of where all the signs are. Signs must be conspicuous and legible, and written in intelligible language, so that they are easy to see, read and understand.
14. The defendant refutes that there were clear and visible signs, with Terms that formed the basis of acontact and which met the specifications above.
15. Section 7 of the British Parking Association Code of Practice outlines to operators some of thecommon law principles of operating on someone else's land as a licensee. One such item is written authority - a written contract - to be there. It defines the elements of this written authority as follows:
7.1 If you do not own the land on which you are carrying out parking management, you must have thewritten authorisation of the landowner (or their appointed agent) before you can start operating on the land in question. The authorisation must give you the authority to carry out all the aspects of the management and enforcement of the site that you are responsible for.
In particular, it must say that the landowner requires you to keep to the Code of Practice and that either you have the authority to pursue outstanding parking charges, through the courts if necessary or that you have the authority to pursue outstanding parking charges and, with their permission, through the courts if necessary.
7.2 If the operator wishes to take legal action on any outstanding parking charges, they must ensurethat they have the written authority of the landowner (or their appointed agent) prior to legal action being taken.
7.3 The written authorisation must also set out:
a) the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined.
b) any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including anyrestrictions on hours of operation.
c) any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parkingcontrol and enforcement
d) who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs.
e) the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.
16. If in the alternative it is the claimant's case that his claim is founded in trespass (which is in anyevent denied) then in a car park setting any damages in trespass can only be assessed based on a calculation of the proportion of income lost based on the time of the alleged occupation. Any sum sought could therefore only be minimal and de-minimis.
17. That the amount demanded is therefore excessive and unconscionable and especially so whencompared to the level of Penalty Charge Notice issued by the local Council which is set at £50 or £25 if paid within 14 days.
18. In the alternative, the attention of the court is drawn to para. 4(5) Schedule 4 Protection ofFreedoms Act 2012 which sets out that the maximum amount recoverable from the registered keeper, where the keeper liability provisions have been properly invoked (which is expressly denied in this case) is that amount specified in the Notice to Keeper (whether issued in accordance with paras 8(2)c; 8(2)d, 9(2)c or 9(2)d of the Act).
19. In view of all the foregoing the court is invited to strike the matter out of its own motion.
20. The claimant is put to strict proof of the assertions they have made or may make in their fuller claim.
This statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Signed ______________________
Dated 30-11-2017

KeithP wrote: »

Yes, saw all that.

It's really not difficult.

Find post #2 of the NEWBIES thread.
You've done it before - do it again.

The fifth line of that post starts "If you have a Letter Before Claim..."

The eighth line says "and Daniel san's one from October 2017, which references the RECENT change in the pre-action Protocol:" followed by a link.

That's the one you want.

Now, adjust that.

For example, the first line of your letter should probably say something like:

I am in receipt of your Letter Before Claim of [some date in September 2017] and your follow up letter of [whenever on November 2017].

Hi,

I have posted the response letter to them. What is to be expected next? What happens if they send me court summons still for the outstanding balance? I don't want a CCJ going against me.


Thanks

Hello,

It has been a while since i last messaged, as i hadn't heard anything from them till today

I have received a letter that states at the top it is a Claim form, from County Court Business Centre.

However, i sent the letter above to them a few months back and they have not responded to it with what i had requested, its as if they completely ignored it. Now i have this claim form that says i need to repsond to within 14 days.

Advice please? How do i respond now as they didnt respond to any of my letters asking for certain things. Which they have not delivered on.

Please can i have some advice on how i would fight this please, as i am having anxiety attacks because of this on going chase for something that happened back in 2016.

Many thanks