Is this a letter before court?

Coupon-mad

Yep looks OK, a claim is inevitable but winnable (another Gladstones case was won on here today).

A couple of things to amend here, get rid of the first sentence I crossed out:

[STRIKE]Thank you for your letter of xxxx[/STRIKE].


My reference: XXXXXXXXX


With reference to your Letter Before Claim.

KeithP

Feel free to delete any duplicate posts.

Click on the Edit button then delete, then follow your nose.

Dudleydave

UPDATE:

Hi All,

I emailed the above to gladstones, they, as predicted, didn't acknowledge my email but several days later I received this letter through the post.

'We wrote to you advising we are instructed to commence legal action against you to recover a private parking charge (or charges). We note you have not settled the debt or provided a valid reason for non payment.
In the event the outstanding debt is not paid in full, we are instructed to commence legal proceedings. Our client is satisfied that it has sufficient evidence to support this claim and, if necessary, will rely on this evidence in court.
If you believe you have a valid reason for non-payment, we are extending the time in which you are able to respond via the reply form by 25th March 2018.......
We refer you to Paragraph 2.1(c) of the PAP which obliges the parties to act reasonably and proportionately.
Please pay or reply by the 25th March 2018. Any reply after this date may not be considered as legal proceedings are likely to have been issued.'

Is it recommended I reply via email again or by completing the online reply form they mention?

As ever, any advice and guidance would be gratefully accepted.

Cheers

Fruitcake

Tell them you replied. Give the date and reference of your reply. Tell them they have failed to respond and so if this goes to court you will be asking for unreasonable costs when you win.
Point out that you have the might of MSE behind you who had a 99% win rate against court claims last year. Are they feeling lucky, or words to that effect.
I would email, take screenshots, and state you have kept proof of sending every time.

Dudleydave

Much appreciated Fruitcake.

Prior to replying to gladstones and further to Fruitcakes advice I was wondering if anyone had any additional comments/advice they could give me at this stage?

Many thanks

Coupon-mad

If you want to add some robust paragraphs, read other LBC reply letters for your reply to Gladstones. Search the forum.

Dudleydave

Update: well some time passed and I was hoping Gladstones had seen sense, but no, I have now received an 8pg letter which states Claim form in the County Court Business Centre.
It has a claim number, says log on to what appears to be a government website moneyclaim.gov.uk where apparently I can respond to the claim or I can complete the relevant sections of the 8pg paperwork sent to me.
So it looks like NCP via Gladstones are persueing me through the courts after all!
Any advice or expertise in dealing with this stage would be gratefully appreciated.

KeithP

Post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread offers comprehensive guidance on this stage.

But you already know that, as back in December Umkomaas wrote:

Umkomaas wrote: »

Further standard advice, come back if you receive a LBCCC or MCOL Claim (see the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2). The forum can help with defences.

Then in February Quentin wrote:

Quentin wrote: »

Responding to a lbcca is covered in #2 of the Newbies FAQ thread, along with advice on how to deal with the court claim when it arrives

Read the Dropbox file linked from there which tells you how to do the Acknowledgement of Service.
This buys you an extra fourteen days to prepare your Defence.

What is the Date of Issue on Your Claim Form?

Dudleydave

Date of issue is the 5 July.
Would it make sense to respond to the claim online?

KeithP

Dudleydave wrote: »

Date of issue is the 5 July.

Then you have until Tuesday 24th July 2018 to do the Acknowledgement of Service.
Having done the AoS, you then have until 4pm on Tuesday 7th August 2018 to file your Defence.

Dudleydave wrote: »

Would it make sense to respond to the claim online?

Again... please re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky where you will find exactly how to handle this.
Hint: in that Dropbox file I have already mentioned.