Court Claim Form received - advice please.

cosmic4z

Hope you can help...

We (my elderly mom is the defendant) received a Claim Form from the County Court Business Center (in Northampton) this morning, 11 Jan 2018; relating to a parking incident in December 2013.

I've read through post #2 in the newbies thread a few times, and as the claimant has filled out the Particulars of Claim box, the next step for us seems to be Acknowledgement of Service.

Worth noting, the PoC seem a bit sparse. The claimant (VCS ltd / BW legal) hasn't responded to our response to their Letter of Claim; which amongst other things, we requested more extensive information / evidence regarding their claim. Our response to their LoC was late though (38 days after their LoC). See thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5767376

I imagine that can be addressed later, and at this stage, I just need to send off the AoS.

Is it better to use MCOL or return the AoS by post?

I've tried not to include too much information here (don't want to include anything that would identify us), but if there's anything I've missed that would help us, please let me know and I'll include it in the thread.

Kind Regards,

Redx

do the AOS online , on the MCOL website , so you know it is definitely done (and is cheaper that postage costs too)

you may want to be looking at sending BW LEGAL a request for more information etc , and putting a note in your defence about the sparse details too

then start to draft your defence and post it on here for critique

ensure you understand the BARGEPOLE posts regarding the timelines etc

check ongoing court case threads to see what they are saying and doing, anything over the last 6 to 12 months is fine , especially any similar court cases

cosmic4z

Thanks RedX.

Will follow PPC fighter's instructions for AoS via MCOL (as per post#2 newbies thread).

Will also check out the case threads, linked to from post #2 on the newbies thread; and any others I come across on the forum.

We have most of the letters received on this, but can't seem to find the original NTK. Other than that, we have 10 begging letters from various companies (Roxburghe, Debt Recovery Plus, Zenith Collections, DCBL), 2 copies of the letter of claim, a notice of pending claim, and the claim form from the court.

Once I've researched the case threads, I will post back a list of items I think may be suitable points of defence.

First time I've had to deal with something like this, all a bit stressful. Thanks so much for your help though.

Kind Regards,

cosmic4z

Also wanted to check; if we lose the case, what the worst outcome? Would it be just to pay the amount being claimed?

Thanks,

Redx

cosmic4z wrote: »

Also wanted to check; if we lose the case, what the worst outcome? Would it be just to pay the amount being claimed?

Thanks,

no , it would be the amount awarded by the judge (the judgment) and should be paid within one month , preferable asap after the judgment , to avoid credit score issues

this MAY be the amount claimed , or it could be less , usually less because you will be objecting to all the add on fees they should not be claiming

a typical loss could be £175 , but could be less

if you win , you can claim up to about £95 in costs etc

you can and should be asking for copies of the NTK, signage , landowners contract etc too, so get them to issue you with their evidence , which in any case you will want at the DQ stage or later when the evidence stage arrives for both sides

any lack of evidence right now should be highlighted in your defence , especially after the protocols changed last october

Coupon-mad

cosmic4z wrote: »

Also wanted to check; if we lose the case, what the worst outcome? Would it be just to pay the amount being claimed?

Probably less because there is an argument against the added 'costs' too.

Is Mum disabled (not Blue Badge - any medical condition that might explain, for example, an overstay)?

Was it for that, at a retail park? Which one?

Or a residential flats car park - where the keeper lives? Or what?

cosmic4z

Redx wrote: »

you can and should be asking for copies of the NTK, signage , landowners contract etc too, so get them to issue you with their evidence , which in any case you will want at the DQ stage or later when the evidence stage arrives for both sides

any lack of evidence right now should be highlighted in your defence , especially after the protocols changed last october

Thanks RedX.

So far, we've send one document to BW legal, our reply (heavily borrowed from a post on here) to their Letter of Claim: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j1e65tprduwi3kg/AACWWimqu2tLfRp6NSke5ed8a/2018-01-05?dl=0

In which, we request the following:

1. An explanation of the cause of action.
2. Whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper.
3. Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012.
4. What the details of the claim are; for how long is it claimed the vehicle was parked, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated.
5. Is the claim for a contractual breach? If so, provide a copy of that contract bearing my signature. Or is the claim for trespass? If so, provide details.
6. A copy of the contract with the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim, as required by the IPC code of practice section B, clause 1.1.
7. A plan showing where any signs were displayed.
8. Details of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed).
9. Details of the additions to the original charge, what that represents and how it has been calculated.

Looks like I overlooked a request for the NTK (assumed we already had it). So far, they have not responded to the above request (and their PoC seems a bit sparse).

If I may ask, at what stage do I, A) request the NTK, and make a fuss over their potential breach of the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct?

Kind Regards,

cosmic4z

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Probably less because there is an argument against the added 'costs' too.

Is Mum disabled (not Blue Badge - any medical condition that might explain, for example, an overstay)?

Was it for that, at a retail park? Which one?

Or a residential flats car park - where the keeper lives? Or what?

Thanks Coupon-mad.

My mom isn't disabled or a blue badge owner. She is very elderly though, and says at the time of the incident she had a sprained ankle.

It was for overstay at a retail park in Sheffield, is it okay to say which one? (am aware people from the other side may be monitoring this forum, and don't want to give anything away that would help their position, or weaken ours).

Kind Regards,

Coupon-mad

My mom isn't disabled or a blue badge owner. She is very elderly though, and says at the time of the incident she had a sprained ankle.

Arthritis, rheumatism, asthma, gout, long-term respiratory or other medical issues? Anything chronic, or recurring? All considered protected under the Equality Act, and people often don't realise they do meet the definition of disability.

cosmic4z

Thanks Coupon-mad.

At the time of the incident, she was suffering with Cervical Spondylosis, and also Chest Infections.

cosmic4z

Couple of questions.

1. Do I need to request a copy of their first letter, presumably a NTK (as we don't have one)? Should I do that now, or further down the line?

2. From this point forth, do I need to send duplicates of any letter, both to the claimant and the court? (someone mentioned on another thread, it didn't help that they sent a letter to the court, and no copy to the claimant)

3. I am using the claimant's contact email, 'contact@' rather than the more specific, 'vcs@' (the email domain is same in both cases). Both email addresses are printed in their LoC, the latter on the front page, the former on page 2. If it does not disadvantage my position, I imagine I should use the one that is least helpful for the other side.