SCS Law Letter before claim for multiple PCNs-over £1000!!

gill33uk

Hi, just filing mine in, can it be done via email or is it hard copy only on this occasion? Thanks

Coupon-mad

Email is fine AFAIK.

DiegoFuego

Morning all

Just a few questions before my court date next week.

Firstly, I have seen mentioned that I should take my case file and wrap it in something red? I don't fully understand the significance of that.

Secondly, I have seen mentioned that someone may approach me to hand me files before I enter the courtroom. What am I meant to I in that scenario and should I mention that it happened in the hearing?

Lastly, are the any other tips or things that I should do or look out for on the day?

Many thanks

Umkomaas

There used to be advice that you tie your bundle with a red ribbon side to side and top to bottom to prevent anyone slipping anything into it without your knowledge. That advice was debunked by 'bargepole' (court expert in private parking cases) and others with similar experience, and it is no longer given.

The current advice is to politely decline any offer of paperwork from the other side in the waiting room. There's a strong possibility they are handing you something prejudicial to your case and beneficial to theirs, arguing that as you have it in your hand, you obviously know what it's about and have not contested it. Don't fall for that one!

Tips (not that they're coming from someone of great court experience) - I'd treat it in the same way as you would a job interview - call me old fashioned - but jacket/suit and tie, polished shoes, good shave.

Prepare well, no last minute cramming (scrambles the brain), have the main headline points of your defence clearly etched in your mind.

Be polite, listen to the judge, listen to the claimant's representative without interruption (make notes of anything you might want to raise about anything they say). They go first, you follow.

Take 3 copies (your own and one for the judge, one for the claimant in case they don't have it to hand) of your bundle. The bundle should be indexed and paginated.

Have you included your costs schedule with your Witness Statement? If not, make sure you take one with you to cover loss of earnings (or loss of a day's annual leave) to attend the court. £95 is the maximum allowed, take pay slips to confirm the level of your daily earnings.

Your return mileage (0.45ppm) or transport costs to the court, any car park charges for the day (obviously they'd have to be added in at the time). You could try a couple of hours for research and work to develop your defence (£19ph litigant in person rate), but be prepared for the judge to disallow this, many do. You could also include a small amount for stationery and postage - don't over-egg it.

There's an example of a costs schedule in post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky.

All of above comes from my reading of previous advice from much more court-savvy advisers here and on other parking forums, and reading feedback from posters who've actually gone through the court process

I wish you good luck. Please do come back and let us know how it goes.

Coupon-mad

All good advice from Umkomaas.

The only other thing to read up on is 'Rights of Audience' and asking the Judge to question the other side's right to speak! Search 'Gazette' on this forum to find lots of posts about that, with the BMPA's help at the end of a text beforehand, you can stop the hearing in its tracks on the spot...

DiegoFuego

I won the case!

Thanks everyone for your help. It was a very long process but I'm glad it's finally over and part of me is glad I've gone through it.

Only disappointment is that the judge refused to award me costs but overall I'm very happy!

Thanks to everyone who contributed, especially coupon-mad who also took the time to edit my submissions. So very grateful!

System

Well done. Any tips?

Umkomaas

Well done you! Great result.

Once you've had a spirit lifting glass, any chance you could give us a more detailed run down of the day? Like location of Court, name of judge, who the other side fielded, what was said by who (in general terms), on what point(s) did the judge find in your favour, was it a generally friendly hearing or did things get a touch fractious, how was the judge's attitude towards you and towards the other side?

All these help us better understand the workings of various courts/judges and helps give confidence to those who will inevitably follow you down the same path in the not too distant future.

Coupon-mad

Great news!

When you have calmed down, please post a court report here, pour encourager les autres.

Newbies like to read about what it was like, from when you arrived, how you felt, what was said.

Lamilad

Great stuff, second victory I know of today, although, disappointingly neither one awarded costs.

Looking forward to your report