CEL County Court Claim Form - Help with Defence

geffers7

I have received a County Court claim form for damages for breach of contract following overstaying on a free Co-op car park.
Briefly:
I am a charity worker and used a Co-op shoppers cark park - stayed for 5 hours. I was working in the store all day - spoke to the manager - he didn't mention the parking restrictions - he could have given me an exemption!
The PCN was dated 9 days after - think I received it after 10 days - is that important?
The dates are in May 2012.

My manager at the time spoke to CEL and I wrote an explanation but to no avail - should say that this was before I discovered these forums!
I have ignored all correspondence since as per guidance.

I have spoken to the store manager who is going to speak to CEL to get the charge removed but was not confident.
I have also written to the Retail Director of the Co-op and have copied in two PR people as well so hopefully that will work but in the meantime I would like some advice on what to do with the claim form.

I have read the stickies and understand that I now submit a holding defence on form N9B but not sure exactly what to say.

If someone could point me to the right place for advice I'd be grateful.

HO87

Firstly, read through the claim form in its entirety so that you understand it and the procedure. Its pretty straightforward.

What you do is a matter entirely for you. If you wish to defend the claim - and are prepared to follow things through to court - then complete the acknowledgement of service section on line (I assume that the papers you have received come from the "County Court Business Centre", Northampton?).

By completing the acknowledgement of service section you extend the deadline for submitting a defence to 28 days (although the exact date will be shown against the claim when you log in). That will give you some time in which to research what you need to include. Don't be daunted. It is perfectly possible to read through the various guidance here and prepare a usable and viable defence - but you need to get your head around the legal issues and don't become too focussed on what happened on the day(s).

If, by contrast, you want the issue put to bed (no body is going to judge you for doing that by the way), then simply pay the amount demanded. However, you might want to make an offer to settle at what you think is a fairer amount and at a rate you can afford.

Redx

check this thread for help too https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5006869

and this one https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5008615

and this one about a PE court one too https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5018044

also use the search word BARGEPOLE as well

like for this one https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5016317

geffers7

Thanks for responses so far.

I'm not paying it - totally unjustified.

I've sent the acknowledgement of service and will now read up and take it on.

geffers7

Just had a response from the Co-op - very impressed with the speed and action!

" Dear Mr Kennedy, Thanks for your note, which I have made sure is in the right hands to get the problem resolved for you - so you should not have to worry any further. If, for any reason, there are continued issues please do contact me again. In the meantime, please accept my apology that you had to go to such trouble to get a solution. I hope you feel reassured and long remain a friend to the Co-op movement. Regards, Steve Hammett. "

Umkomaas

You should continue with the advice from HO87 (above) as the Co-op cannot withdraw the court case, only CEL can, so you need to give yourself extended time to check with the court/write to CEL with copy of Steve Hammett's response to ensure the case against you is withdrawn. So acknowledge service and notify your intention to defend: you'll get 28 days breathing space.

Don't sleep-walk into a default CCJ; CEL won't be in a rush to drop this, they're seemingly at loggerheads with the Co-op, so they might look for the double-whammy - a settlement from the Co-op and a default judgment against you.

Why do you think this sentence might have been in the response?

If, for any reason, there are continued issues please do contact me again.

Don't leave anything to trust via complacency.

geffers7

Agree - I've already sent off the AOS form.

Didn't think of writing to CEL - will do now.

Thanks for the response.

geffers7

Well Co-op have sent the cheque - seems a system is in place - the girl I spoke to new exactly how it would work.
They send the cheque and CEL write to both me and the Co-op confirming withdrawal of the court case.

Just waiting for confirmation now.

Good for me but seems a can of worms for the Co-op - the more they pay - the more CEL will go through their old claims. I hadn't heard from CEL since October last year.

Redx

excellent news m8

hopefully you will check for similar threads on here and help them to achieve the same outcome

well done

fil_cad

geffers7 wrote: »

Just had a response from the Co-op - very impressed with the speed and action!

" Dear Mr Kennedy, Thanks for your note, which I have made sure is in the right hands to get the problem resolved for you - so you should not have to worry any further. If, for any reason, there are continued issues please do contact me again. In the meantime, please accept my apology that you had to go to such trouble to get a solution. I hope you feel reassured and long remain a friend to the Co-op movement. Regards, Steve Hammett. "

Hopefully Steve Hammett visited CEL with a baseball bat.

Umkomaas

You would think that the Co-op would instruct their legal team to get a grip on this rip-off.