10p didnt register now rec'd court papers

rk4406

I respect the banter... please continue!

Thank you for this. I will complete my form this way now. Much appreciated.

rk4406

Hi,


Form completed, sent to Courts and served on BW Legal. They also served their copy on me. Does this look like I will be going to court or in experience is there still time for them to back out?

Quentin

The claimant can back out any time up to the date of the hearing (some simply don't turn up)


But work on the assumption this will end up as a hearing

rk4406

Ok thank you, come home to a letter saying it has been moved to my preferred court location. Are there any sticky threads on what to say/ what to prepare for court/ what is the format? Or is that something that you could all advise me on here please?

Coupon-mad

So does that letter come from your local court and does it give a court date and the date by which you must file your evidence and Witness Statement? If not, that direction will follow.

So, read the links under 'Small Claim?' in the NEWBIES thread which tell you what to do when and explain about Witness Statements. You can also see some people have worked on then won - e.g. spaceman8, Gin and Milk both had threads last week where they won and both show their Witness Statements, as I think does Jack Basta's thread and Lamilad. Search for their names in the members' list then find their threads.

rk4406

Ive just looked back over the Directions Questionnaire Copy i received from BW Legal after reading the Pepipoo PocketPete thread, BW Legal crossed the box for the case being referred to the small claims mediation service. I did not opt for that option and so i assume nothing will come of this as all parties have to agree?

Coupon-mad - the letter has come from Northampton stating that the claims has been transferred to my local court to be referred to a procedural judge who will allocate the claim to track and give case management directions. I am to await a notice of allocation.

Ive been reading through the Small Claims Stickies so i can get my head around a witness statement should i need to start one. (Which seems likely).

Going back to my very first post, may i run through the scenario again with you so i can get my points clear in my head in relation to my planned Witness Statement?.....

In Jan 2015 I received a parking charge notice from Excel for £60 through the post to say I had parked after the expiry time.

I chose to pay £3.60 for 4 hours parking in Wakefield, 2 hours parking was £2.40. I have since been back to the machine to confirm this is still the case. I still had my ticket and it transpires that I had put my money into the machine, 10p had not registered/dropped through with out me knowing and so a ticket for 2 hours was given for the price of £3.50.

My parking times according to Excel were 10.38 - 13.41.

My worries/ need for clarification are because:

-I did not check my ticket, i just assumed it was correct as i heard no change drop, which in my experience is a sure sign that coins had been returned/not recognised. Is this something that they will focus on in court? That i should have taken notice?

-The blue and yellow board (the ones where the text is so small and abundant that its very hard to read/take it all in) states that no change is given (over payment accepted). I only know this now because i went back and photographed said board. In my eyes this statement is obviously very unfair and lining people up for a fall, but is this something they will rely on/ something a judge will side with?

-My ticket states that i paid £3.50, if i wanted 2 hours i would have only paid £2.40 and if i wanted 4 hours (which i did) i would have paid £3.60 which i did. Only £3.50 registered for some reason. If no change was given as the machine doesn’t give change, then where did my 10p go? Its my word against the machine. Im adamant that i paid £3.60 but the ticket issued was for £3.50. How does that stand?

-You know all this but I responded to the letter at the time with evidence, an apology and offered to send the 10p to whoever it needed to go to. Letters continued to come, changing from one debt collector to another over the last 2 years, then BW Legal and now Court Papers. I responded to once to each of the debt collectors stating the same facts. I have kept all correspondence. FYI i have made copies of each item of correspondence for court.

Looking forward to hearing your response. Thank you

Coupon-mad

Coupon-mad - the letter has come from Northampton stating that the claims has been transferred to my local court to be referred to a procedural judge who will allocate the claim to track and give case management directions. I am to await a notice of allocation.

OK good, that comes next. Check for the dates, including the date by which you have to file your evidence & WS.

I think you are worrying about detail that will depend on how the Judge sees it. Common sense says the machine swallowed 10p and you very reasonably offered it, so you didn't breach any contract. Your WS will need to cover that in an honest way, especially if your first appeal said who was driving, you will be carrying on in the same straightforward & honest way with your account.

rk4406

Hello,
The court have written to me, my date is 10th April.
Its encouraged to try and settle, should I write and offer to send them 10p? They obviously wont accept and I WILL NOT send anything more. Would that be a beneficial piece of evidence to provide the court with showing that I have yet again tried to settle, or is it nonsensical because they wont accept 10p?


I am to serve on Excel and the Court my papers, there isn't much so this will consist of:
Witness Statement - which I will post soon and ask advice on please.
My very first email and letter to them explaining what happened and the offer of 10p.
My actual parking ticket which came out of the machine.
A photo of the sign which shows parking costs and the extensive amount of text and small print which is impractical and unfair stating no change given and overpayment accepted.
A couple of other letters to each debt collecting agency which took over each time.


-Do I need to copy the letters they sent me?
-Do I need to copy the letters so far in relation to being taken to court?
-Do I need to put all this in date order, or order of most important? Obviously witness statement, ticket, first email and photo of sign.


Advice welcomed, thank you...witness statement draft attempt to follow.
Thanks

Coupon-mad

The court have written to me, my date is 10th April.
Its encouraged to try and settle, should I write and offer to send them 10p? They obviously wont accept and I WILL NOT send anything more. Would that be a beneficial piece of evidence to provide the court with showing that I have yet again tried to settle, or is it nonsensical because they wont accept 10p?

No. no offer.

rk4406

IN THE COUNTY COURT
Date of Hearing: XXXXX
Claim Number: *******



Excel Parking Ltd v ******



Statement of Defence



I am xxxxxxx xxxxx , defendant in this matter and deny liability for the entirety of the claim.



1. On 10.01.2015 I put £3.60 in a ticket machine to buy a ticket for a 4 hour period as I was attending a show at the Theatre Royal Wakefield across the road. My ticket, Exhibit 1, shows that only £3.50 registered. The machine did not tell me this, that my 10p had not registered and therefore I believed I was buying a ticket for 4 hours. A tickets for 2 hours was printed [but I did not notice this].

2. Exhibit 2, shows a photo of the car park sign (that I photographed at a later date) which states that 2 hours parking costs £2.40. I would not have put £3.50 into the machine should I have wanted a 2 hour ticket. The machine must have been faulty and not registered my 10p.

3. My husband XXXXX, was the registered keeper but I was the driver on the day, 10th January 2017. I immediately emailed Excel Parking myself explaining what had happened and offering to send the 10p in whichever way they preferred, cheque, cash etc.

4. Everytime I received a letter from each different debt collecting company to whom it was passed, I responded once with a letter stating the same facts and offering to send the 10p.

5. In relation to the car park sign, there is a lot of text to read on it, Exhibit 2, and although I am not using this as an excuse, the fact that it states in extremely small font that no change is given and overpayment accepted is very unfair and definitely seems to be there to force errors. [Is there a better way to say this?]

Do i summarise?

Therefore I ask the court to respectfully strike out this claim with immediate effect.

Any comments gratefully received, thank you