Court Date Change

Glenprk

[FONT=&quot]Dear All,

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I am a Registered Keeper now at the Witness Statement stage. I have received a Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing) with a Court Date in July. I completed the DQ with all possible dates of unavailability. However, I have just received information my son's graduation date coincides with the Court Date.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Please help. Is there any way I can go around postponing the Court date, as I still would like to attend?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]At !!!8220;Letter Before Action!!!8221; stage, I named the driver, who had sadly lost his life months after the driving incident, but still, the Claimant ignored the letter sent by recorded mail. In my Defence, I noted that since the Claimant, a member of IPC are still pursuing me, they are put to strict proof as to who was driving. I have Primacy of Contract as a Freeholder and I hold a letter from DVLA confirming that my details were never accessed during my keepership. Signage at the residential site was inadequate and not to BPA Standards.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]I still have weeks to submit my Witness Statement, which I have already drafted. Is it OK to post it here tomorrow? What are the pros and cons of sending a Witness Statement weeks earlier than the deadline?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Regards[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Glenprk[/FONT]

Coupon-mad

What are the pros and cons of sending a Witness Statement weeks earlier than the deadline?

Too soon and you miss the chance to tear into the Claimant's WS if that arrives in time.

Which PPC?

I am so sorry to hear that the driver has died, and that this despicable shark is still pursuing the keeper despite naming the driver before proceedings began.

I would not rush the WS but write to the local court with proof of your son's Graduation date and ask the Judge for the court to use its case management powers to either:

1 - offer a new date of hearing, or

2 - make a decision on the papers alone, given that the driver has died and was named (and liability lawfully transferred) before proceedings began. This being in compliance with Schedule 4 of the POFA which does not require that a driver is named earlier, only before proceedings commence against a keeper. Cite the part of the POFA that says that the keeper liability rights 'cease to apply' once the driver's name & address is given and ask for an alternative:

3 - that the claim be struck out for having no cause of action against a keeper who had already named the driver before court action commenced.

You MUST also send a copy of that to the claimant or their Solicitor (Gladstones? SCS? BW Legal?).

Glenprk

Thank you, Coupon-mad for the urgent response. Its UK Car Park Management (UKCPM) Limited and Gladstones. I notified both about the death after they sent a Letter Before Action. Gladstones followed that up with another Letter Before Action, followed a month laterr by Court papers. UKCPM ignored the letter, which was also sent to them by recorded mail.

I highlighted in my Defence Statement that I was not liable as I had already named the Driver before court action commenced.

Coupon-mad

Great, so it all now leads to what I have suggested. Hopefully the Judge will opt for #3 but clearly number the court's choices and ask for an order either way. Copy in Gladstones.

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

nosferatu1001

To be sure, as you have only said *named*, did you give the name AND the serviceable address?
You need to have given BOTh.

Loadsofchildren123

Ask Gladstones to agree to a change of date. If they don't, ask the court. You'd expect them to agree, but they run such a budget service that they seem to generally ignore all correspondence. So perhaps write and ask the court but also write to Gladstones at the same time and say you've sent them a copy of the letter in the letter to the court.

Glenprk

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Great, so it all now leads to what I have suggested. Hopefully the Judge will opt for #3 but clearly number the court's choices and ask for an order either way. Copy in Gladstones.

Thanks Coupon-mad for taking your time to look into the issue. My son has copied me with the correspondence from his University with regards to his Graduation. I will be drafting a letter for the court to be also copied to Claimant tomorrow.

Glenprk

nosferatu1001 wrote: »

To be sure, as you have only said *named*, did you give the name AND the serviceable address?
You need to have given BOTh.

Thanks nosferatu 1001 for your advice.
The answer is No

Glenprk

Loadsofchildren123 wrote: »

Ask Gladstones to agree to a change of date. If they don't, ask the court. You'd expect them to agree, but they run such a budget service that they seem to generally ignore all correspondence. So perhaps write and ask the court but also write to Gladstones at the same time and say you've sent them a copy of the letter in the letter to the court.

Thank you Loadsofchildren123 for the invaluable time spent on my issue. I agree because in my response to Gladstones' LBC I wrote: Please ensure that someone does actually read and respond to this letter, providing the specific information relating to the county court claim that your client intends to make against myself as the defendant to the proposed legal proceedings.

Their "response" was yet another LBC.
In light of your advice and that of others, so far, I will be making a draft to send to the court cc Gladstones tomorrow.

Glenprk

The_Deep wrote: »

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Thank you, The Deep