Claim Forms received - urgent help please

Redx

you have 28 days instead of 14 days (from the date of the claim on the form , usually about 5 days after its posted) to work on your defence and to submit it

so you should be working on this and checking when your "window" expires too as you dont want to miss it

read the bargepole thread where he explains the procedures , if you havent read it yet then you really need to do so

you might get nothing from GLADS, so you need to get the defence done regardless

the clock is ticking , tick , tick , tick and you have already wasted a week or two in not drafting the defence , you have maybe 2 weeks left to sort this out, so dont assume Glads will give you the info you requested , they know about being tardy and I think its deliberate on their part

Coupon-mad

MoneyWorried wrote: »

Thanks for your advice on this forum. I have acknowledged the claim on mcol and written to Gladstones requesting the information mentioned so that I can prepare my defence. Is there anything else that I should be doing or should I just wait to hear back from Gladstones? The letter from them was dated the 15th November (although I only received it last week) and I acknowledged the claim and wrote to Gladstones dated today.

You must not wait.

You must draft your defence anyway as you may not hear anything in time from Gladstones and you will not hear anything from the court, which is simply engaged in waiting for your defence to be filed next (in time).

Have a look at the NEWBIES thread section under 'Small Claim' which tells you what happens when and shows you example defences. Also search this forum for 'Gladstones defence' to find more, and base your first draft on them.

I'm the registered keeper and ignored the letters until this autumn when I sent them proof I was out of the country.

OK so they know you were not driving. Which PPC was it?

salmosalaris

if you submit your defence online you have 33 days from the date on the claim form .
don't submit it too early , leave it until Gladstone's 14 days have elapsed so this can be brought up if they fail to respond ( provided the 33 days have not elapsed )

MoneyWorried

I've had a reply from Gladstones (which was quite a surprise). They sent me an email which read:

"We do not believe your request complies with! the Practice Direction of CPR 18, namely paragraph 1.2 of Practice Direction 18 which states:-
!
"A Request should be concise and strictly confined to matters which are reasonably necessary and proportionate to enable the first party to prepare his own case or to understand the case he has to meet."
!
It is our!suggestion you file a formal response to our Client's claim using the claim form you have received."

I have no idea how to respond to this as I don't have any evidence from them apart from the original letter (which I managed to find at last as I had kept it) which shows two pictures, one of which has my registration plate on, the other does not. Both are date and time stamped but no signs are visible in them so frankly they could be anywhere. I was clearly out of the country (and can prove it) but my partner had access to the car at the time.

The company was Park Direct UK.

I'd really appreciate any advice about what to say in my defence. The particulars of the claim are for £237.30 for "Parking charges and indemnity costs if applicable".

Carthesis

What might have given them this impression is point #5, because as far as common sense goes, points #1 thru' #4 are exactly that - necessary, proportionate, and would enable you to understand the case you are due to meet.

Respond back to them asking them to justify how points 1 thru 4 can possibly be considered anything except reasonable, and repeat your request to be furnished with the information so you can determine for what cause you are being claimed against.

It's good you've got the original letter, and even better that one of the images doesn't show your VRN. That means they have no verifiable evidence that it is the same vehicle.

What was the date they allege for the parking incident, and what date was the postal Notice to Keeper generated and posted? As it's likely you can't remember the date on which you received it.

Coupon-mad

I'd really appreciate any advice about what to say in my defence. The particulars of the claim are for £237.30 for "Parking charges and indemnity costs if applicable".

The obvious keywords to search then, are 'Gladstones defence indemnity'.

Searching the forum to find defences already written will help you most.

salmosalaris

they are playing for time so that ypu have little time to prepare a defence and knowing that once allocated to the small claims track Part 18 doesn't apply

Dear Gladstones
Court claim xxxx

Your reply to my part 18 request is completely unreasonable . My request is proportionate and necessary due to the inadequacy of your particulars of claim which I believe are a deliberate ploy to hinder the completion of my defence . As a legally qualified party you are not only required to assist the court but also be aware that I am a legally unrepresented defendant .
I expect a reply within 7 days to my original request for futther information under part 18 .
This unreasonable behaviour and failure to follow the Practice Direction will be brought before the court when , whether I am successful or not , the question of costs arises and a wasted costs order will be requested .
Alternatively you may wish to give adequate notice of discontinuance of this claim .
yours

salmosalaris

post up the original ticket

MoneyWorried

Thank you for your replies. I will get back to them straight away.

Salmosalaris, I really appreciate your help but I won't post up the original ticket as it has got a lot of identifying details on and I'm not IT savvy enough to remove them I'm afraid .

salmosalaris

you have a pm