UKPC/Small Claims Solicitor - Letter Before Claim - £1000 at stake

request

I posted on the wrong forum before – now on the PPC bit, and would really appreciate some advice.

I and family members have each got a Letter Before Claim and between us we are being chased for about £1000.

The solicitor is SMALL CLAIMS SOLICITORS, the PPC is UKPC, and debt company is Debt Recovery Plus.

This whole dispute started back in 2011 when there was no such thing as POPLA etc. – I have only just found out about them. So in accordance with all the advice I read back then, I have just ignored all tickets and letters (we have been getting loads of them). All in the bin.

The tickets have all been given for us parking outside our flats, where the freeholder has brought in UKPC. We challenged our freeholder at the time – our lease says we must not park there, but residents have been parking for over 50 years with no objection from the freeholders, so we maintain we have an easement.
And the planning permission granted for the installation of lockable posts on the parking spaces, makes it clear that the freeholders are not allowed to rent the parking spaces to members of the public – so I feel this means that they cannot claim we are causing them any damage by parking there. (None of the residents pay them so the bays are always empty.)

All the advice on the forums seems to be for people who have gone through the process of appealing to the PPC, debt management company, POPLA etc. But as I say, I have not done any of that, as I was following old advice.

What do people reckon we should do? I am not really wanting to get into legal argument with anyone, I just need strategies of how to appeal - what to mention in the letter.

(Another consideration – I hear that county court judgements can mean your credit rating is damaged and mortgages can be denied – does anyone know how long this applies for?)

Really grateful for your help. Over £1000 at stake here – and probably more in the future, based on the amount of tickets/letters we have received.

nobbysn*ts

When the freeholders applied for planning permission to fit lockable posts, did you raise an objection as you believed you had the easement then? If you did, and it was thrown out, it may not be good to rely on that now.

Redx

a simple search of the forum shows this to be DRP , see here

search words SMALL CLAIMS SOLICITORS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4870010

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4920062

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4881672

a real LBC would come from the PPC or the landowner or their agent

sounds like a DRP phishing trip to me

chances are the letter says will or if or maybe , not an actual LBC

basically the debt collectors can do nothing so as DRP are currenly dragging up old claims before they pass the 6 years statute it seems like a scar mongering fishing excercise

as for a CCJ, if you went to court , lost, then didnt pay the judgement, only then can they apply for a CCJ, its not automatic and paying the judgment means no CCJ is ever noted

as its pre POFA 2012 , they can only pursue the driver, if they knew who it was , so you dont tell them

request

We did not have formal legal advice or take it to court at that time. We had plenty of correspondence about it with the freeholders but in the end it all went quiet - they put in UKPC and we kept on parking.

I don't really think I want to start arguing law with solicitors - I just want to know what to put in my letter to them! I.e. to start talking about easements, to say that we have not cost them anything.

And will my having ignored everything till now count against me?

request

The letter says "this letter is to be considered a letter before claim for the purpose of the Practice Direction on Pre-action conduct" - sounds llike a Letter Before Claim to me...

And the claims are not from before 2012, they are 2013. I was just going on old information which I researched in 2012.

nobbysn*ts

request wrote: »

We did not have formal legal advice or take it to court at that time. We had plenty of correspondence about it with the freeholders but in the end it all went quiet - they put in UKPC and we kept on parking.

I don't really think I want to start arguing law with solicitors - I just want to know what to put in my letter to them! I.e. to start talking about easements, to say that we have not cost them anything.

And will my having ignored everything till now count against me?

I wouldn't refer to the easements, it's clear from the fact the landowners have planning permission to now keep you off the land by erecting barriers that you haven't. Stick to the advice from the forum.

request

Thanks. But as I said, the advice seems to be for people who have gone down the whole appeals process already. I haven't. How should I approach replying to the solicitors letter?

Redx

request wrote: »

The letter says "this letter is to be considered a letter before claim for the purpose of the Practice Direction on Pre-action conduct" - sounds llike a Letter Before Claim to me...

And the claims are not from before 2012, they are 2013. I was just going on old information which I researched in 2012.

read what lazydaisy wrote in her reply in a link I gave you earlier, also read her LBCCC sticky thread linked from the crabman sticky thread (you dont appear to have read either)

nobbysn*ts

Definitely read the threads. Re-thinking it, with your statement the freeholder cannot claim damages. Obviously, your lease stated you can't park there, you say it's been an ongoing dispute for 3 years, the freeholder must have requested you ceased parking, then employed a ppc, and finally has incurred damages as they had to apply for planning permission, and physically erect barriers to prevent you. Also the council seem keen for parking to be resticted. Wait for other members to advise if they think it may be possible damages have been incurred by the freeholder having to take action to re-claim their land. It doesn't sound like a normal case entirely.

request

I am reading all the suggested links. I have not seen anything addressing one of my main points: I have not caused any damage to them by parking there, as there are plenty of spaces, they can't get members of the public to park there, and none of the residents pays them for parking. So even if they ended up taking me to court, there would be no point for them.

And as for your point that they had to employ a PPC, erect posts etc - that is not specifically because of me parking, there are plenty of other residents too.

Is there a flaw in my logic?

I think I should just write to the solicitor saying that I have not caused the freeholders any damage. Much more time-efficient than repeated letters criticising their LBC in the style of LazyDaisy.

nobbysn*ts

request wrote: »

I am reading all the suggested links. I have not seen anything addressing one of my main points: I have not caused any damage to them by parking there, as there are plenty of spaces, they can't get members of the public to park there, and none of the residents pays them for parking. So even if they ended up taking me to court, there would be no point for them.

And as for your point that they had to employ a PPC, erect posts etc - that is not specifically because of me parking, there are plenty of other residents too.

Is there a flaw in my logic?

I think I should just write to the solicitor saying that I have not caused the freeholders any damage. Much more time-efficient than repeated letters criticising their LBC in the style of LazyDaisy.

If you have decided on your response fair enough. As to damage, reading what you have written, it seems you, and others, have trespassed on a neighbouring property for years, despite your lease prohibiting this, the landowners requesting you don't, and them finally being forced to erect barriers which then have then freed spaces for their own residents? I agree it's not specifically you, it's a cost spilt between all repeat offenders, but I wouldn't like to argue for that one.