Gladstones Letter Before Claim

Eni_Spaghetti

Here is the dropbox link, please let me know if it works.

hxxps://www.dropbox.com/s/bpef4nq5f6vshqy/IMAG0876.jpg?dl=0

Quentin

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpef4nq5f6vshqy/IMAG0876.jpg?dl=0

Eni_Spaghetti

Thanks Quentin

Coupon-mad

If you are neither the driver nor the keeper then you don't need generic distractions like this point:

12.1. The Protection of Freedom Act Para 4(5) states that the maximum sum that may be recovered from the keeper is the charge stated on the Notice to Keeper.

As an aside, please contact WHICH? magazine using the easy link from this thread to tell them briefly of your plight. The more people who contact WHICH, the more likely they are to take up this unregulated scam industry as their next cause:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5765579

Eni_Spaghetti

Thanks CM, will do.

Eni_Spaghetti

Hi All,

Here is a second draft of the defence (which needs to be submitted tomorrow). Could someone let me know if points 5 and 12 / 12.1 are relevant or if I should remove them.

Thanks in advance
Eni_Spaghetti

1. I, XXXXXXXXXXXXX, the defendant, deny that I am liable to the claimant for the entirety of the claim.

2. The defendant has previously written to the claimant informing them that the defendant is not the registered keeper of the vehicle or was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

3. The defendant does not know how the claimant has obtained their details, and has previously requested that the claimant update their records after informing them of the above in line with the data protection act, which the claimant has failed to do.

4. The defendant can prove that they were at work, approximately 40 miles away from the car park at the time of the alleged breach of contract.

5. The claimant has not complied with pre-court protocol (as outlined in the new Pre Action Protocol for Debt Claims, 1 October 2017). 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.

6. 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. The claimant failed to include a copy of their written contract as per Practice Direction 16 7.3(1) and Practice Direction 7C 1.4(3A).

7. No indication is given as to the claimants contractual authority to operate there as required by the claimants Trade Association's Code of Practice B1.1 which says; “If you operate parking management activities on land which is not owned by you, you must supply us with written authority from the land owner sufficient to establish you as the ‘Creditor’ within the meaning of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (where applicable) and in any event to establish you as a person who is able to recover parking charges. There is no prescribed form for such agreement and it need not necessarily be as part of a contract but it must include the express ability for an operator to recover parking charges on the landowner’s behalf or provide sufficient right to occupy the land in question so that charges can be recovered by the operator directly. This applies whether or not you intend to use the keeper liability provisions.”

8. This is a speculative serial litigant, issuing a large number of identical 'draft particulars'. The badly mail-merged documents contain very little information.

9. The Claim Form Particulars were extremely sparse and divulged no cause of action nor sufficient detail. The defendant has no idea what the claim is about - why the charge arose, what the alleged contract was; nothing that could be considered a fair exchange of information.

10. 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 claimants are known to be serial issuers 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 ‘robo-claims’ and as such is against the public interest. Practice Direction 3A which references Civil Procedure Rule 3.4 illustrates this point.

11. The claimant has added unrecoverable sums to the original parking charge. It is believed that the employee who drew up the paperwork is remunerated and the particulars of claim are templates, so it is simply not credible that £50 'legal representative’s (or even admin) costs’ were incurred.

12. It is submitted that (apart from properly incurred court fees) any added legal fees/costs are simply made up numbers. The claimant has at no time provided an explanation how the ‘parking charge’ has been calculated, the conduct that gave rise to it or how the amount has escalated from £100 to £160. This appears to be an added cost with apparently no qualification and an attempt at double recovery, which the POFA Schedule 4 specifically disallows.

12.1. The driver did not enter into any 'agreement on the charge', no consideration flowed between the parties and no contract was established.

13. It is submitted that the conduct of the claimant is wholly unreasonable and vexatious. As such, the defendant is keeping a note of the wasted time & costs in dealing with this matter.

14. I request the court strike out this claim for the reasons stated above and due to Gladstones' template particulars for a private parking firm being 'incoherent', failing to comply with CPR16.4, and ''providing no facts that could give rise to any apparent claim in law.

15. I confirm that the above facts and statements are true to the best of my knowledge and recollection.

Eni_Spaghetti

Hi All,

I now have a court date set and I need to put together a Witness Statement. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I have started to put together the witness statement, but it is very brief, as I was not the driver or the registered keeper of the vehicle.

Here is what I have done so far.

1. I, (my name), of (my address), am the Defendant in this matter and will say as follows:

2. I have previously written to the claimant informing them that I am not the registered keeper of the vehicle nor was I the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

3. I do not know how the claimant has obtained my details. I have previously requested that the claimant update their records after informing them of the above in line with the data protection act, which the claimant has failed to do

4. At the time of the incident, I was at work in (work town), approximately 40 miles away from the car park at the time of the alleged breach of contract. Proof of this can be seen in Exhibit A.

5. The Court is invited to dismiss this Claim, and to allow the Defendant to claim expenses related to this claim as are permissible under Civil Procedure Rule 27.14. Details of which are as follows:

5.1 Litigant in Person: £19 x Number of hours =
5.2 Loss of Earnings: £XXph x 8 hours =
5.3 Travel between home and County Court: XX miles x £0.45 =

6. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without being absolutely certain that I was the driver or registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

7. Counterclaim

7.1 My name and address information (together with other information) is classified as personal data within the meaning of s1(1) of the Data Protections Act (DPA). The Claimant has misused this data by attempting to claim a charge when there is no possibility that a lawful reason exists.

7.2 The case of Vidal-Hall v Google Inc [2014] EWHC 13 (QB) provides authority that misuse of personal data is a tort and that damages may be non-pecuniary. The case of Halliday v Creation Consumer Finance Ltd [2013] All ER (D) 199 provides authority that a reasonable sum for compensation would be £750.

8. I confirm that the above facts in this Witness Statement are true to the best of my knowledge and recollection.

Full name:

Dated:

Signed: ________________________________

Castle

Did they, (the Parking Company), file a defence to your counterclaim?

Eni_Spaghetti

No, this is the first time I have mentioned a counter claim in this case. Is it too late to include this now?

nosferatu1001

2) Give actual dates here and include copies of the written confirmation / telephone calls if you can. Whatever you can do to support this.

5) isnt part of a WS. Its part of a costs scheudle which you file a couple days before the hearing

Yes, of course it is too late. You can only file a COUNTER claim when you filed the defence. Youc oudl, of course, having won the case then file a CLAIM against them.