Court proceedings for auto repair visit

Loadsofchildren123

No. Not until after the judge has made a decision, then you refer to it on costs.
You can always repeat a w/p offer at a later date, but this time in open correspondence, and at this stage it becomes open, not retrospectively.

bargepole

To clarify further, if one party makes a WP offer to settle the claim, and the other party wins the claim but is awarded less than the amount of the offer, the Judge may look at that when assessing costs, and rule that the winning party cannot recover any costs, as they should have accepted the offer when it was made.

foofcat

Hi Loadsofchildren123,

Thank you for this advice. I've now shamefacedly messaged anyone whose posts mentions my old username and sent them the direct link to the post, requesting they edit it.

There's only two users I haven't been able to contact - one because their inbox is full, and the other doesn't accept private messages.

Regarding those two particular posts I will email the forum help team in the hopes they can edit (again shamefaced about being a drag on other people's time / resources).

foofcat

Hi all,

Further to the response to my FOI, I sent Network Rail a follow up asking them to clarify what their contract with Interserve specifies regarding Sub contractors and received the following response:

Assignment and Sub-contracting
1 - Network Rail shall be entitled to assign charge or transfer this Agreement or any of its rights under it at any time.

2 - The Supplier shall not assign charge or transfer this Agreement or any of its rights under it without the prior written consent of Network Rail.

3 - The Supplier shall not sub-contract to or allow any other person to perform any of the Services without Network Rail's Representative's prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld). The Supplier shall remain responsible for the performance of any services so sub-contracted as if the sub-contracting had not occurred.

Now, full disclosure, I haven't yet sent the DHO - partly because I've been drowning in work commitments and partly because I wanted to get my ducks in a row and make sure it's watertight. I'm considering requesting more information: specifically asking whether Interserve obtained NR's consent to subcontract to PCM on that particular roadway. What are others' views on this?

I think I should send the DHO this week regardless of whether I'm going to seek further information because as Lamilad said, this looks to be strong evidence. Question 1: should I snail mail a copy to PCM and put "cc: PCM" in my email to GS? I'm tempted to not bother, but curious about your thoughts.

Question 2: if this does continue to court, how common is it to have to explain to the judge what PoFA is? I'm asking because I skimmed (definitely didn't read in detail) the transcripts from the big NHS trust case where that poor group of NHS staff were fleeced by a PPC and spotted this: http://tinypic.com/r/nx2cko/9



I'm now at the stage where I'm waiting for notification of the court date. Northampton County Court confirmed by email that it's been allocated to my local court when I emailed them shortly after submitting my DQ.

Lamilad

Well that evidence is another nail in their coffin.

I'm actually starting to think the dho may be a bad idea as you could have an absolute field day with them in court....

I would start reading up on claiming costs for unreasonable conduct in accordance with CPR 27.14(2)(g) and putting together a costs schedule with an LiP rate of £19ph.... And I would be making sure that CS came in around the £400-500 mark.

I'm considering requesting more information: specifically asking whether Interserve obtained NR's consent to subcontract to PCM on that particular roadway. What are others' views on this?!

Definitely... I would expand the question to ask what course of action they would take when one of their contractors sub contacts without consent.

Question 1: should I snail mail a copy to PCM and put "cc: PCM" in my email to GS? I'm tempted to not bother, but curious about your thoughts.!

If you do send the dho, you can use post or email (I prefer email) but only to GS.

if this does continue to court, how common is it to have to explain to the judge what PoFA is?!

Quite common, just depends if the judge has dealt with many parking cases before.

They might be aware of it but not have detailed knowledge which is why you need to be prepared to explain it to them with a major emphasis on the parts that assist your case.

foofcat

Thanks Lamilad. I'll have a mull over that... I still don't like the idea of having to speak in front of a judge but if I've got this far, I'm sure I can manage it. But will think about it because they may well just ignore the DHO anyway...

Re: the FOI, my only slight concern is that NR will write back and say that Interserve did have their consent to subcontract to PCM (even in general terms, if not at that particular location). Might then undermine this whole strong vein of evidence. My instincts say they don't have consent but even if they do, there's Byelaw 14...

Lamilad

my only slight concern is that NR will write back and say that Interserve did have their consent to subcontract to PCM (even in general terms, if not at that particular location). Might then undermine this whole strong vein of evidence. My instincts say they don't have consent but even if they do, there's Byelaw 14...

Indeed. Obviously if they do write back with anything that isn't favorable to your case then you just don't mention it.

If PCM do have consent then they must prove this - in which case the details of the contract granting consent would have to be in their evidence anyway.

I think it's highly unlikely based on what NR have said.

ampersand

...and must also have been in place at time unenforceable invoice was issued.

Further, any signatories should be investigated re: legal capacity to sign in this rôle.

Check for back-dating, altered dates or undated additions throughout.

Keep going:-)

Loadsofchildren123

Get to know POFA. It is your friend. It's not rocket science to take a judge through it.


I produced this document about POFA - it relates to my case so some of it may not apply to you. it is also based on the 28 day NtK not the 14 day one. Documents you can use as a crib sheet are also your friend. I'm not sure if I did this document myself or if I cribbed it from someone else.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5djmx5o1et4xc3/POFA%20REBUTTAL.docx?dl=0

foofcat

Indeed. Obviously if they do write back with anything that isn't favorable to your case then you just don't mention it.

If PCM do have consent then they must prove this - in which case the details of the contract granting consent would have to be in their evidence anyway.

I think it's highly unlikely based on what NR have said.

Yes that's true, and I agree.

...and must also have been in place at time unenforceable invoice was issued.

Further, any signatories should be investigated re: legal capacity to sign in this rôle.

Check for back-dating, altered dates or undated additions throughout.

Keep going:-)

Thanks Ampersand It's good to know I'm on the right track. I'll make the third FOI comprehensive and ask (1) did Interserve get consent to subcontract to PCM (a) at all (b) on that particular road? (2) what time period was the consent granted for? (3) Was it backdated? (4) did any and all signatories have the legal capacity to do so? I'll ask them to send me any evidence that consent was granted if applicable.

Get to know POFA. It is your friend. It's not rocket science to take a judge through it.


I produced this document about POFA - it relates to my case so some of it may not apply to you. it is also based on the 28 day NtK not the 14 day one. Documents you can use as a crib sheet are also your friend. I'm not sure if I did this document myself or if I cribbed it from someone else.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5djmx5o1et4xc3/POFA%20REBUTTAL.docx?dl=0

LOC, that crib sheet is excellent - thank you so much for sharing! It's a great start for making my own version of that. Yes the plan is to go through PoFA with a fine tooth comb again (first time was when I wrote my defence statement).

My problem is while I'm fine in writing and usually quite clear in my head about what I want to say / what my points are, I sometimes struggle to articulate it and can forget important things when I'm in anxiety-causing / pressured situations that involve speaking up in front of others... but having something to refer to like that crib sheet should help me remember what I need to remember on the spot.

Thanks again