Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track after I made a defence

samdog1963

Hi
I received this on my return from holiday what should I do?
Should I ignore and hope it gets striked out or should I agree to mediation?
Thanks

samdog1963

Forgot to say this was for a parking notice

Umkomaas

What do you mean by 'ignore'? We never recommend mediation.

You've given us absolutely zilch by way of background, so your questions are without context and any answers given could prove dangerous without that.

Which parking company?

System

The Notice of Proposed Allocation is just a standard court document to allow the court to set dates. If you ignore it, you may get a default CCJ.

Here is how you fill it out.

A1 = Say NO to mediation. Mediation is run by a commercial company on behalf of the courts and their success is measured by how many cases are kept out of court. They are not interested in the merits of the case, only whether you will pay or not. So say No.

B = fill in all the details, your name, your address, etc. This is the address that all the paperwork will be sent to. If you are moving home within 6 months make sure you have mail redirection in place. You will get a default CCJ if the paperwork doesn't get to you as the Courts see it as your responsibility to give a correct address.

C1 = YES to small claims track

D1 = name of your local County Court – unless you are a Limited company, the case files will be transferred there. They will ask for theirs but protocol dictates it is your court.

D2 = NO to expert evidence

D3 = 1 witness (or more if you are going to get another person to provide a statement)

D4 = Put down the dates of any pre-booked holidays, NO to interpreter (unless you need one)

You send a copy to the courts and another copy to the Claimant company. Keep a copy for yourself. There is a long delay (20+ weeks) between this form and an actual day in court.

samdog1963

Sorry, I got a pcn in a car park that uses number plate recognition so I had paid the fee of £1 but apparently got my reg wrong.
the company is civil enforcement ltd
they sent out all the standard letters then it went to zzps then wright hassle solicitors then I got a letter from the county court.
I put together a defence from the templates on here and hoped that would be that
now like I say I have this Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track and I am unsure what to do now

System

The Notice of Proposed Allocation is just a standard court document to allow the court to set dates. If you ignore it, you may get a default CCJ.

See Post #4 on how to fill it out. You send it to the court and to the other side.

Umkomaas

the company is civil enforcement ltd

You must go through all the processes set out by the court, and by the deadlines on them. You cannot assume anything other than it will result in a hearing.

On a positive note, many CEL cases (other than default cases) never get to the hearing stage, with CEL not paying the appropriate fee in time, the Judge either stays or strikes out the case. But you must not make any such assumption; you must brace yourself (and prepare yourself and your paperwork) for this going right up to the wire.

samdog1963

Okay thanks
does this mean that it is likely to go to court?
I've gone this far but I'm close to giving in

Umkomaas

It doesn't mean it will go to court, neither does it mean it won't. That decision (unless you pay them) rests entirely in the hands of CEL.

Your job is to make them see that you are no pushover and give them second thoughts about going the full mile. One thing is for certain, if you don't follow the court processes (or worse you ignore things) it will definitely go to court and you will lose and receive a default CCJ and costs registered against you. Ignore the judgment on costs (i.e., don't pay them on time) you'll likely get a junk credit rating which will cause you loan/credit problems (even employment issues in some jobs) for 6 years.

There are a number of CEL cases at the same stage as yours (the nature of their mass issuing of claims means there will be many at the same stage at the same time). There are 3 other cases on page 1 of the forum right now. Read those and learn from their actions and advice driving them.

You are not alone........

DoaM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5695906

That poster adopted a "head in the sand" attitude and sleepwalked into default judgment. If he'd actually followed the process and defended the claim it likely would never have proceeded to a hearing.

samdog1963

I have followed the process and defended the claim, I'm just unsure how to proceed now