Gladstones / Millennium claim form

wi3347

Honestly? Wow. This whole thing seems like a joke! These companies just copy and paste the most vague details into a claim form. Dont properly follow the CPR rules leading up to court. Bare face ignore the court deadlines and only start building their case AFTER it should have already been received by the courts. And it's just accepted? Can't get my head around that. I will email the court and make a complaint that they haven't even applied for stuff they intend to use as evidence until a day after it should have been submitted. Don't expect anything to happen based on the advice from LOC but at least I've made my point and you never know, it may be noted by a sympathetic judge who is sick of these companies. There seems to be a few around based on reading these forums.

Coupon-mad

And it's just accepted?

No, not by some Judges, but LOC123 is being realistic.

I will email the court and make a complaint that they haven't even applied for stuff they intend to use as evidence until a day after it should have been submitted.

Email your local court, or better still as IMHO it looks more formal for your Judge who might actually read it, write a letter FTAO the Judge named on the paperwork thus far. Not the CCBC email address.

you never know, it may be noted by a sympathetic judge who is sick of these companies. There seems to be a few around based on reading these forums.

Yes you never know, and it is worth mentioning.

Even more interesting is the way they keep fielding hired guns with no Rights of Audience, e.g. a legal bod from Elms Legal who doesn't have conduct of the case and you can (if the Judge agrees) get them booted out and the case won without any evidence being heard.

See Publican Paul's thread on pepipoo for an example of this sort of success.

Loadsofchildren123

I know Swansea, and I can tell you that the DJs there will not care.
I had a proper bigger case on there, not small track, quite a lot of money at stake. The Claimant didn't make out their case properly. We asked for it to be thrown out. The DJ said "oh we see badly pleaded cases all the time here. The Claimant will no doubt make out her case properly in her WS" and refused. The Claimant did NOT make out her case properly in her WS (and should have been made to do so in her PoC), and subsequently lost her claim in spectacular fashion (but only after legal costs of £40k on each side).


I had steam coming out of my ears at the forgiveness of a truly incompetent attempt at PoC, by solicitors, with not an eyelid being batted over it.


So, yes, they are highly likely to get away with it. Just being realistic. Not saying it's right. It isn't. This is Millennium's home turf, they will know exactly what they can get away with.

wi3347

What an absolute farce!

Coupon mad, I was actually going to mention ROA in my last post. The reason i came to this forum is I had a hammerin based on advice from a different forum. I challenged ROA apparently, brought with me stated cases and the findings off other judges in the same circumstances. I brought the laws surrounding ROA, all printed out properly. Explained myself well and it was all brushed aside. The judge said it was still in his power to allow their advocate to speak so he would. And he did. So I'm reluctant to challenge ROA again and be left with egg in my face. Again.

LOC, seems Swansea is a bad place to end up then. I did try and get it transferred to Llanelli as that's closer to where I live. It was initially but then transferred back to Swansea. I bet I end up with the same judge!

wi3347

thinking of sending this. If it does nothing then so be it. But it cant hurt. and you never know it may surprise us all

District Judge Bennett
C/O Swansea civil justice centre
Swansea
SA1 1SP

Dear Sir or Madam,

I write in regards to small claim (xxxxxxx) of which I am the defendant. I am writing to you directly as you are the judge named in the letter I have received form the court allocating the claim to a hearing on xxxxxx at xxxx am at Swansea civil justice centre.

In that letter dated 26th of October 2017, your directions were that both parties should have served to the court and all parties their witness statements and any documents they intend to rely on by the 11th of December 2017. I made sure that my documents were dispatched to be received by this date. It was not until a full week late, the 18th of December 2017 that I received anything from the claimant’s solicitors. They have dated their witness statement the 15th of December and there are documents contained within that were not even applied for until the 12th of December.

If I, as a litigant in person which no legal experience or training have managed to gather and serve my witness statement and documents on time, I believe a professional legal firm should do the same. I have received two identical witness statements from two different people, copied and pasted with even the same spelling errors in both. With neither of these people likely to be in attendance I am confused as to who’s statement the claimant intends to rely on as they are exactly the same.

Their actions have put me at a disadvantage as the claimants solicitors have waited until receipt of my entire defence, witness statement and associated documents to create a witness statement accordingly, yet I am left defending this entire claim based solely on a very short and vague particulars of claim. It shows from dates on land registry maps in the documents that the claimant’s solicitors had not even applied for documents they intend to rely on until after they had already missed the deadline set by the court to serve them. I believe it is clear this was not an admin error or oversight but intentional disregard for the courts directions which shows complete lack of respect for the court. In simple terms I believe they have waited until receipt of my witness statement before they created theirs, knowing they would miss the deadlines set but they were not concerned. They have not taken the court seriously and insult the dignity of the court by conducting themselves in this manner.

In light of these circumstances I would respectfully ask that the court strike out the claim due to my disadvantage outlined above, the claimant’s solicitor’s unreasonable behaviour, failure to adhere the directions of both yourself, the court and CPR rules and the lack of respect shown to the court and the small claims process.

yours faithfully

DoaM

Proof read it for spelling and grammar (e.g. claimant's solicitor) but otherwise looks fine to me.

wi3347

I thought it should be claimants solicitors but it kept correcting it to claimant's so I wasn't sure! Thanks

wi3347

I've had a good look for spelling and grammar. I've also changed the start to Dear Judge based on what it says on the judiciary.gov website on writing to judges, better safe than sorry. Will update when i get anything back

Umkomaas

I've had a good look for spelling and grammar.

That’s good. Here are those you missed. There’s some punctuation you need to look at too. :cool:

C/O Swansea civil justice centre

Civil Justice Centre ..... and there’s another one later in the text.

I write in regards to small claim

regard

you are the judge named in the letter

Judge

named in the letter I have received form the court

from

It was not until a full week late,

later

as a litigant in person which no legal experience or training

with

I am confused as to who’s statement

whose

disadvantage as the claimants solicitors

claimant’s

dates on land registry maps

Land Registry

intentional disregard for the courts directions

court’s

respectfully ask that the court strike out the claim

strikes

and the small claims process.

claims’

yours faithfully

Yours

Loadsofchildren123

Good letter.


The RoA argument is probably a red herring for you. Millennium uses Gladstones for its paperwork, and because they are based in Swansea one of their employees turns up to argue the case, and they have RoA. Sometimes you get head honcho David Bellis, usually you get India Beavan who is some sort of litigation assistant who also works as a barmaid at Mr B's various establishments on Wind Street (eg L'il London).


DJ Bennett sits in Port Talbot and is one of the more sensible judges. They are all on the same "circuit" of courts in this area, but tend to sit in a specific court. I've had DJ Llewellyn for a case in Llanelli and I know he also sits in Port Talbot.


The day before your hearing you can look up the court listings to see who will be hearing your case. I can see what useful info I might provide then to give you a heads up. I don't claim to know them well, but I know some of them and what they are like.