Help and guidance please

Capt_Mainwaring

Quick update - Claim Form's were received yesterday from The County Court Business Centre in Northampton.

I was going to ask if I should complete the defence form or the acknowledgement of service but after reading the detailed views of Loads of Children and Bargepole on the Newbies thread, I will complete the acknowledgement of service for both claims and send them to Northampton on Monday.

In the meantime, I'll have to get busy reading! As I will have two slightly different defences, I'll hopefully post the two draft letters on here within the next seven to ten days or so.

Lamilad

!I will complete the acknowledgement of service for both claims and send them to Northampton on Monday.

Why not the acknowledgement on MCOL like everyone else? Why waste a stamp?

I will have two slightly different defences

Will you be going with a PoFA defence on one of the claims? How far apart were the two parking events?

Capt_Mainwaring

Why not the acknowledgement on MCOL like everyone else? Why waste a stamp?

I think I misread Bargepole's advice. I think he recommended the submission of your defence by post, rather than using MCOL. I'm happy to use MCOL to complete the AoS and then send my defence letters by registered post .

Will you be going with a PoFA defence on one of the claims? How far apart were the two parking events?

I was thinking of PoFA for the second, unacknowledged event. There was just over one month between the two events.

Lamilad

AOS via MCOL and defence by email - no stamps.

Coupon-mad

I think I misread Bargepole's advice. I think he recommended the submission of your defence by post

No, you are not submitting a defence first. The AOS is shown in a pictorial walk through link, in the NEWBIES thread, clearly this is best done online.

Defence is (later, within 14 days of AOS) emailed to the ccbcaq address.

Capt_Mainwaring

Hi

Like most people I guess, I'm basing my defence letter on what I can find on here. Unfortunately, I've not worked on this for a few days, as I've just had a mini health scare (not helped by being stressed out with the thought of this).

Anyway, I've tried to read up on people who are going through the same thing with Excel/BW Legal and I've noticed that !!!!!!!!! has sent them an email for further information. From what I gather, they will ignore it but at least I can say in Court that I've asked them for the information.

I plan to email the following to BW Legal:

I write with regards to the County Court Claims. To ensure that I have all of the information required and to narrow the issues under dispute. Please answer the following questions:-

1. Please can you give an explanation of the cause of action?

2. Is Excel Parking pursuing me as the driver or keeper?

3. What is the basis of the claim? Is Excel Parking making a claim as an agent of the landowner or are they making the claim as occupier in their own right?

4. Is the amount claimed by Excel Parking for a genuine pre-estimate of loss for a breach of contract or a contractual sum?

5. If the contract has been conveyed by the use of signage on site, please provide copies of the signs on which you rely and confirm these are the signs in situ on the date of the event. Please also provide the date these signs were installed, for example, a works schedule, maintenance record or invoice for the work.

6. Were there signs at the entrance to the site on the date in question? Did these meet the British Parking Association's Code of Practice Appendix B (Entrance signs) or the Independent Parking Committee’s Schedule 1 (Please indicate)

7. A copy of the PCN Terms and Conditions

Please can you provide the above information within 14 days.


I assume the above will be acceptable?



Also, I completed the AoS via MCOL on 7/1. I thought this meant that I then had 28 days to submit a defence but Coupon Mad's last post states 14 days, which means that I need to write two defence letters by this weekend?

Coupon-mad

Sorry if I confused you.

You have 28 days plus up to 5 (i.e. submit this on or before day 33 in working hours and NOT later) from the date on the claim form, to get that defence in. So count from the date on the claim form. Not from when you did the AOS!

Redx

Capt_Mainwaring wrote: »

I think I misread Bargepole's advice. I think he recommended the submission of your defence by post, rather than using MCOL.

I'm happy to use MCOL to complete the AoS and then send my defence letters by registered post .

he actually recommended sending the DEFENCE by post (not the AOS although post can be used)

he also set out the font , the type and font size and spacing between lines etc too

but you have to look at the date he posted that post and compare it to where we now tell people to email the CCBC with their defence as an attachment , because they seem to be more setup for online emails now whereas they probably werent back then (18 months ago)

tempus fugit , the clock is ticking , and use of the internet and email etc is much more widespread. you would expect that the CCBC would have allowed an upload of your defence etc by now , but they seem to have a defence box with the lines restricted and no formatting etc , or the email option , we now prefer the latter with the defence as an attachment , preferablt a pdf (or a word docx)

back in mannerings day they would have used a manual typewriter (like my secretary mum did - plus she did shorthand too) and snail mail with a stamp, we no longer expect you to use either in 2018 , lol

Lamilad

The request for further info is generally pointless unless there's genuinely something you need to prepare your case.

It might make them look a little unreasonable if they don't respond but not to a degree that would do them any harm.

And BWL DO sometimes respond meaning the whole exercise backfires

Capt_Mainwaring

Hello again.

I've taken today off work to try and draft up the defence letters (I'd rather not but feel it's the only way I can find the time to do this). I don't know if this is relevant (I hope it is) but I've noticed on the first PCN that the issue date is 18 days AFTER the contravention date. Unless I'm wrong, don't PPCs have 14 days to bring this to the Keeper's attention? This is the PCN where the driver's identity was revealed in an appeal.