Do I have a case or shall I just pay it? Galdstone letter

Coupon-mad

I think I would head it:

Formal objection to the Claimant's ''REQUEST FOR SPECIAL DIRECTION''.

Because what you are asking for isn't a special direction, but the norm. You could go further and ask nicely for the case to be struck out (hat tip to IamEmanresu for this wording):



The particulars of claim do not meet the requirements of Practice Direction 16 7.5 as there is nothing which specifies how the terms were breached. Indeed the particulars of claim are not clear and concise as is required by CPR 16.4 1(a). The Claimant are known to be a serial issuer of generic claims similar to this one. HM Courts Service have identified over 1000 similar sparse claims. I believe the term for such behaviour is ‘roboclaims’ and as such is against the public interest.

Practice Direction 3A which references Civil Procedure Rule 3.4 illustrates this point:

1.4 The following are examples of cases where the court may conclude that particulars of claim (whether contained in a claim form or filed separately) fall within rule 3.4(2)(a):
(1) those which set out no facts indicating what the claim is about, for example ‘Money owed £5000’,
(2) those which are incoherent and make no sense,
(3) those which contain a coherent set of facts but those facts, even if true, do not disclose any legally recognisable claim against the defendant
3. The Claimant has not complied with the pre-court protocol.
(1) No Letter of Claim was sent to the Defendant and no initial information was sent to the Defendant.
(2) I'd refer the court to Para 4 on non-compliance and sanction, and I'd also point out that there can be no reasonable excuse for the Claimant's failure to follow the Pre-action Conduct process, especially bearing in mind that the Claim was issued by their own Solicitors so they clearly had legal advice before issuing proceedings.

On the basis of the above, the Defendant requests that the court strike out the claim for want of a cause of action.

hopsfield

So a quick update...
I received a "Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing)"
I got my court date (end of Feb) and need to submit my written witness statement and any other evidence in next 10 days.

Any tips on witness statement and anything I need to be aware at this stage?

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Yep, have a look at the 'Small Claim'? heading again as I have added some info from IamEmanresu (who posts on pepipoo as Emanresu) about WS (a statement of those facts you can confirm or deny or know to the best of your knowledge) the evidence documents that you need to put in to accompany the WS in the paginated, numbered file. And a possible skeleton argument if there are legal arguments to summarise flowing from your defence - e.g. the case law in your evidence, expanding if you need to, on your original defence.

As ever, show us first. We will help and suggest additions to evidence/wording changes.

Also, Gin and Milk's thread is pretty much neck and neck with yours and she has just shown her WS on that thread, so take a look - and why not compare notes by pm for moral support!

Britton

I'm at the same stage too vs Gladstones court date at the end of Feb, need to get my head around this WS stuff. :eek:

hopsfield

Almost done. Will hopefully post it tomorrow for your kind opinion. BTW could anyone shine some light on "Pre-Action protocol - Annex A" I have found a pdf on https://www.justice.gov.uk website that proofs Gladstone Letter Before Claim was not in compliance with it - No full address, no evidence, how the amount was calculated etc etc. But when got letter back from Gladstones they told me there is no such thing as Annex A. Is this correct? I can't find a mention of Annex A anywhere else apart from this link: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/practice_directions/pd_pre-action_conduct.pdf
Any ideas?

DoaM

I have a vague recollection that the Civil Procedure Rules (CPRs) changed not so long ago. It may be that you're referring to the "old" wording from the CPRs when you mention Annex A.

I'm sure someone will be along soon to clarify.

Coupon-mad

Confirmed - Annex A was from the old CPRs which I think changed as long ago as April 2015.

DoaM

At my age, less than 2 years is "not so long ago".

hopsfield

Right here is my WS,
Please comment - Thank you very much for any input.

WITNESS STATEMENT

I XXXXX of XXXX am the Defendant in this case

The exhibits which the defendant intends to rely upon are as follows:

Ex. 1. Defence statement
Ex. 2a. Image of entrance of SIP car park
Ex. 2b. Image of parking sign 01 at entrance to driveway of SIP car park
Ex. 2c. Image of parking sign 02 at entrance to driveway of SIP car park
Ex. 2d. Image of parking sign 03 at entrance to driveway of SIP car park
Ex. 2e. Image of “pay by phone” sign at entrance to driveway of SIP car park
Ex. 3. Parking sign by Private Eye in Beavis case to demonstrate clear signage
Ex. 4. Copy of VAT Receipt for a duration of 12hrs parking at SIP car park
Ex. 5. Protection of Freedoms Act, 2014, schedule 4
Ex. 7a. Notice to Keeper Letter from Claimant to register keeper
Ex.7b. Letter from Defendant to Claimant – response to NTK
Ex.7c. Letter from Claimant to Defendant - reply to letter from Ex.7b.
Ex. 8. Excerpt from Barrister Henry Greenslade on ‘Keeper Liability’ POLPA annual report, 2015
Ex. 9 - LBC letter from Gladstones solicitors
Ex.10 Reply letter from the Defendant to Gladstones LBC letter
Ex. 11. Extract from BPA’s Code of Practice

1. The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my own knowledge there are true to the best of my information and belief

2. I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, or any amount at all and this is my Witness Statement in support of my defence as already filed.

3. It is admitted that the defendant, XXXX, residing at XXXXXX was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time in question, but the defendant does not admit he was the driver.

4. There is no clear signage whatsoever from the Claimant on the driveway to the carpark (ex. 2a,2b,2c,2d). Please refer to (ex.3) a copy of the clear and distinct signage used in Beavis v Parking Eye.

5. A ticket was purchased via the “Pay by Phone” app for the day in question (ex.2e).The purchased ticket was valid for the whole rest of the day therefore The Claimant cannot have a genuine loss in revenue.

6. It is not believed that the Claimant has incurred additional costs, be it legal or debt collector’s costs. The Claimant has given no indication of how long the vehicle was in the car park either (ex. 7a).

7. After receiving a Notice to Keeper (Ex.7a) The Defendant submitted a request for evidence and further explanations regarding this claim on 09/06/2016 (ex. 7b) which was refused by the Claimant on 23/06/2016 (ex. 7c). The Claimant stated that the Defendant “appeal” was not within the time frame of original PCN provided and therefore no further correspondence is required.
This is a breach of Protection of Freedoms Act, 2014, schedule 4, Para 4-5 (Ex.5) – Right to claim unpaid parking charges from keeper of the vehicle. The Claimants letter also breaches the BPA code of practice (Ex.11) Para 22.12 – “If you reject an appeal you must: -tell the motorist how to make an appeal to POPLA. This includes providing a template ‘notice of appeal’ form or a link to the appropriate website […]”


8. The Defendant’s has received a LBC letter from Gladstones solicitors (Ex.9) on 19.09.2016 demanding £150 without any explanation. The Defendant has replied to Gladstones on 30.09.16 (Ex.10) to inform that the LBC letter was not in compliance with Practice Directions. The LBC was lacking basic required information as well as no explanation regarding the additional £50 or any evidence to support their claim.

9. The Defendant would like to point out that he repeatedly asked the Claimant to supply additional information regarding this claim. Yet no evidence, proof or information has been provided to support this claim.

10. No evidence has been supplied by this Claimant as to who parked the vehicle. Under POFA 2012, there is no presumption in law as to who parked a vehicle on private land, nor does there exist any obligation for a keeper to name the driver. In 2015 Annual POPLA report, (ex. 8) Barrister Henry Greenslade, refers to ‘Keeper Liability’ where he states: ‘However keeper information is obtained, there is no ‘reasonable presumption’ in law that the registered keeper of a vehicle is the driver. Operators should never suggest anything of the sort’.

11. Under POFA 2012, a registered keeper can only be held liable for the sum in any compliant ‘Notice to Keeper’. This depends upon the Claimant fully complying with the statute, including ‘adequate notice’ of the parking charge and prescribed documents served in time / with mandatory wording. It is submitted that the claimant has failed on all counts.



Statement of Truth: I confirm that the contents of this statement are true to the best of my knowledge and belief: XXXX

Coupon-mad

Bumping for all to see & comment.