Another Letter

nosferatu1001

If you have acknowledged, then you have 33 days from DATE OF ISSUE, as post 2 explicitly tels you.
What is the DATE OF ISSUE on the claim form?

There are lots of defences with keeper liabiltiy front and centre, not sure how youve missed them.

FTJEB

Date of issue 22nd June 2018
Acknowledgement of Service 6th July 2018

System

Don't forget to go back to VCS and remind them of the requirement to send you the information requested. Put in the defence that they failed to make clear the basis of their claim in pre-action correspondence.

You add

"CPR 3.9 (1) (a) highlights the need for litigation to be conducted efficiently and at proportionate cost. The claimant appears to be arguing that proportionality means to them, not reply to pre-action correspondence, nor explaining the cause of action.

As such the defendant requests the Claimant sets out their case to meet the Civil Procedure Rules requirement for litigation to be conducted efficiently and at proportionate cost to the court and the defendant - and not just to themselves..

KeithP

FTJEB wrote: »

Date of issue 22nd June 2018
Acknowledgement of Service 6th July 2018

Then you have until 4pm on Wednesday 25th July 2018 to file your Defence.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as described here:

1) print your Defence
2) sign it
3) scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
4) send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5) just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.

FTJEB

Good morning,

Please find below my draft defence.

i would appreciate any advice, guidance & comments:

I am xxx, the defendant in this matter and the registered keeper of vehicle xxx.

I deny I am liable for the entirety of the claim on the following grounds:

1. The Claim Form issued on the ## #### 2018 by Vehicle Control Services Ltd was not correctly filed under The Practice Direction as it was not signed by a legal person. The claim does not have a valid signature and is not a statement of truth. It states that it has been issued by Vehicle Control Services Limited. Practice Direction 22 requires that a statement of case on behalf of a company must be signed by a person holding a senior position and state the position. If the party is legally represented, the legal representative may sign the statement of truth but in his own name and not that of his firm or employer.

2. This Claimant has not complied with pre-court protocol (as outlined in the new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, 1 October 2017) and as an example as to why this prevents a full defence being filed at this time, a parking charge can be for trespass, breach of contract or a contractual charge. All these are treated differently in law and require a different defence. The wording of any contract will naturally be a key element in this matter, and a copy of the alleged contract has never been provided to the Defendant, despite three written requests.

This constitutes a deliberate attempt to thwart any efforts to defend the claim or to take stock, pursuant to paragraph 12 of the Practice Direction. Again, this totally contradicts the guidance outlined in the new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (2017), the aims of which are:

i. Early engagement and communication between the parties, including early exchange of sufficient information about the matter to help clarify whether there are any issues in dispute

ii. enable the parties to resolve the matter without the need to start court proceedings, including agreeing a reasonable repayment plan or considering using an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure

iii. encourage the parties to act in a reasonable and proportionate manner in all dealings with one another (for example, avoiding running up costs which do not bear a reasonable relationship to the sums in issue) and

iv. support the efficient management of proceedings that cannot be avoided.
By not providing a copy of the contract between Vehicle Services Limited and the landowner, the claimant has also not complied with clause 5 of the Pre-Action Protocol which states the following:
5.2 If the debtor requests a document or information, the creditor must –
(a) provide the document or information; or
(b) explain why the document or information is unavailable,
within 30 days of receipt of the request.

The Defence therefore asks the Court to strike out the claim as disclosing no cause of action and having no reasonable prospect of success as currently drafted.

3. It is believed Vehicle Control Services do not hold a legitimate contract with the landowner. As an agent, the Claimant has no legal right to bring such a claim in their name which should be in the name of the landowner.

4.. Henry Greenslade, lead adjudicator of POPLA in 2015 and an eminent barrister and parking law expert, stated that ‘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. Schedule 4 also states that the only sum a keeper can be pursued for (if Schedule 4 is fully complied with, which it was not, and if there was a 'relevant obligation' and ‘relevant contract' fairly and adequately communicated, which there was not) is the sum on the Notice to Keeper.

8. The Beavis case confirmed the fact that, if it is a matter of trespass (not breach of any contract), a parking firm has no standing as a non-landowner to pursue even nominal damages.

9. The charge is an unenforceable penalty based upon a lack of commercial justification. The Beavis case confirmed that the penalty rule is certainly engaged in any case of a private parking charge and was only disengaged due to the unique circumstances of that case, which do not resemble this claim.

11. Due to the length of time, the Defendant has little to no recollection of the day in question. It would not be reasonable expect a registered keeper to be able to recall the potential driver(s) of the car 14 months later. The burden rests with the Claimant to identify the driver, who is the only party potentially liable in cases where a parking firm is unable to rely upon the POFA.

The Defendant denies any liability whatsoever to the Claimant in any matter and asks the Court to note that the Claimant has:


STATEMENT OF TRUTH

I confirm that the contents of this Defence are true to the best of my knowledge and recollection.



xxx
XX xxxx 2018



Thank you in advance.
FTJEB

FTJEB

Good morning,

I filed my defence a few weeks ago, using the advice above and the NEWBIES thread,

I have now received form N180 Directions Questionnaire to complete and return.

I intend to reject the mediation service, request that the hearing is at a local court, which also happens to be nearest to the alleged offence.

I am going to list myself as the only witness and prepare a witness statement ready for the court date.

Before I return N180, is these any other advice?

Regards,

FTJEB.

Umkomaas

Looks OK, but do you know that there is expert advice about dealing with the DQ in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2? It has been written by regular contributor bargepole whose prime expertise here is handling private parking small claims in court.

Best double check to ensure you miss nothing important.

FTJEB

Hello again,

I have now received my Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track. It has been allocated to my local court towards the end of October.

It states that the claimant must pay the trial fee 28 days before the hearing, otherwise it will be struck off.

It also states that statements of witnesses must be submitted 21 days before the hearing.

I am going to prepare my witness statement & would appreciate some advice / support in this area.#

I do not intend to submit it until close to the date of submission.

Any other advice would be welcome.

Regards,

FTJEB

onlyfoolsandparking

So read the many great witness statements that are on here, write your own and post it on your thread for experienced posters to comment on and help/adjust with you, no point waiting, your doing well imo.

FTJEB

Thanks for the advice, that's next week's job!

Have a great weekend!

Regards,

FTJEB