County Court Business center Please Help!

Tratante

Hi all,

I got a letter from BW legal saying the following:

Defendant

Particulars of Claim

The Claimants Ciaim is for th e sum of 290.00 being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant in respect of a Fixed Charge Notice (FCN) for a parking contravention which occured on **/0*/2017 at ******* in the car park at ***** in relation to a Audi registration ****** The Defendant was allowed 28 days from the FCN issue date to pay, but failed o do so. Despite demand having been made the Defendant has failed settle their outstanding liability.
The Claim also includes Statutory Interest pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8 % per annum ( a daily rate of 0,02) from 14/d8r2017 to 1809/2018 being an amount of E8.02. The Claimant also claims £60,00 contractual costs as set out in the FCN Terms and conditions."

The gave me a password to use on the MCOL website and I used the Acknowledgment of Service but I don't know what steps I should take next?

Please someone advise me...

Thank you

Coupon-mad

Read the NEWBIES thread post #2 and show us your draft defence, once you have spent time reading some examples linked there.

The NEWBIES thread is back 2 clicks (see my signature). Read post #2 of it.

Tratante

Hi,

Thank you for you quick reply.

I have read the forum but the more I read the more I get confused.
I guess I'm at the stage where they sent me the letter before the claim?

I'm thinking of sending this letter to them :


“
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am in receipt of your Letter Before Claim of 19th January 2018. Your letter contains insufficient detail of the claim and fails to provide copies of evidence your client places reliance upon.

Your client must know that on 01 October 2017 a new protocol is applicable to debt claims. Since proceedings have not yet been issued, the new protocol clearly applies and must be complied with.

Your letter lacks specificity and breaches both the requirements of the previously applicable Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct (paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c)) and the new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (paragraphs 3.1(a)-(d), 5.1 and 5.2). Please treat this letter as a formal request for all of the documents / information that the protocol now requires your client to provide. Your client must not issue proceedings without complying with that protocol. I reserve the right to draw any failure to comply to the attention of the court, and to ask the court to stay the claim and order your client to comply, and when costs come to be considered.

As solicitors you must surely be familiar with the requirements of both the Practice Direction applicable pre-1 October 2017 and the Protocol which applies thereafter (and your client, as a serial litigator of small claims, should likewise be aware of them). As you (and your client) must know, the Practice Direction and Protocol bind all potential litigants, whatever the size or type of the claim. Its express purpose is to assist parties in understanding the claim and their respective positions in relation to it, to enable parties to take stock of their positions and to negotiate a settlement, or at least narrow the issues, without incurring the costs of court proceedings or using up valuable court time. It is astounding that a firm of Solicitors are sending a consumer a vague and un-evidenced 'Letter Before Claim'; in complete ignorance of the pre-existing Practice Direction and the new Protocol.

Nobody, including your client, is immune from the requirements and obligations of the Practice Direction and now the Protocol.
I require your client to comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:

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; where it is claimed the vehicle was parked, for how long, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated;
5. Is the claim for a contractual breach? If so, what is the date of the agreement? The names of the parties to it and provide to me a copy of that contract;
6. Is the claim for trespass? If so, provide details;
7. Provide me 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 "establishing yourself as the creditor";
8. A plan showing where any signs were displayed;
9. Details of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed);
10. Provide details of the original charge, and detail any interest and administrative or other charges added;
11. Provide a copy of the Information Sheet and Reply Form;

If your client does not provide me with this information then I put you on notice that I will be relying on the cases of Webb Resolutions Ltd v Waller Needham & Green [2012] EWHC 3529 (Ch), Daejan Investments Limited v The Park West Club Limited (Part 20) - Buxton Associates [2003] EWHC 2872, Charles Church Developments Ltd v Stent Foundations Limited & Peter Dann Limited [2007] EWHC 855 in asking the court to impose sanctions on your client and to order a stay of the proceedings, pursuant to paragraphs 13,15(b) and (c) and 16 of the Practice Direction, as referred to in paragraph 7.2 of the Protocol.

Until your client has complied with its obligations and provided this information, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim and to consider my position in relation to it, and it is entirely premature (and a waste of costs and court time) for your client to issue proceedings. Should your client do so, then I will seek an immediate stay pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order that this information is provided.

Yours faithfully

Is this correct? Where should I send this letter too?

Thank you

Redx

if you have an MCOL password and done the AOS on the MCOL site, then you have a live court claim and its too late for an LBC rebuttal


you need to do what CM stated and draft your defence and post it below, like she told you to do

waamo

The thread you want is titled

**NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET? OLD OR NEW? **READ THESE FAQS FIRST!** Thankyou!

It is at the top of this board. You need post 2 in it.

bargepole

Tratante wrote: »

I guess I'm at the stage where they sent me the letter before the claim?

How could you possibly think you're at that stage, when you've already had the claim documents, and responded with an AOS?

It's all set out in the NEWBIES thread, in clear language. Your next step is to compile a Defence. Wake up at the back there!

Coupon-mad

I guess I'm at the stage where they sent me the letter before the claim?
Is this correct?

NO. I told you that you were at DEFENCE stage. Read the NEWBIES thread again.

Tratante

Thank you all for your help.

I hope I'm on the right direction now.

This is my draft for my defence:

I am Marco Pereira and I am the Defendant in this matter.

The Claimant did not comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:


1..1.An explanation of the cause of action;
1.2.Whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper;
1.3.Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012;
1.4.What the details of the claim are; where it is claimed the vehicle was parked, for how long, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated;
1.5. Is the claim for a contractual breach? If so, what is the date of the agreement? The names of the parties to it and provide to me a copy of that contract;
1.6. Is the claim for trespass? If so, provide details;
1.7. Provide me 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 "establishing yourself as the creditor";
1.8. A plan showing where any signs were displayed;
1.9. Details of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed);
2. Provide details of the original charge, and detail any interest and administrative or other charges added;
2.1. Provide a copy of the Information Sheet and Reply Form.1. I still do not have any details of the incident the Claimant alleges has taken place, other than the summary of charges now owed, which is shown on the Court papers.

2.2. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim properly. I thus believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside.


2. Order dismissing the Claim

2.1. I further believe that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for “Parking Charge Notices” which the Claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a motorist.

2.2. If the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, and used those details to make a claim for a “Parking Charge Notice’’, I thus dispute the claim in its entirety as I do not know the wording of the contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to come into force.

2.3. If the Claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to a vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant would have needed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the Claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the Claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the Claimant does not include ‘Protection of Freedoms Act 2012’ wording on the Parking Charge Notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the Defendant automatically liable for the alleged incident merely for being the Registered Keeper of a vehicle.

2.4. A requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is that this any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to finding out about the Default Judgement, I submit the Claimant will not have complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case.

2.5. I further submit that the Claimant’s claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:
2.5.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question, and will have no proprietary interest in it. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder, and only they would have been able sue for any damages or trespass.
2.5.2. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so, they must demonstrate their actual, or genuine, pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the Claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any motorist of the vehicle of which I am the Registered Keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landholder (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be at most a few pounds.
2.5.3. Claimed charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the Parking Charge that the Claimant claimed, given it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged breach, is nothing but an unenforceable penalty.
2.5.4. No contract with the claimant: Any contract must have offer, acceptance and consideration both ways. There would not have been consideration from the Claimant to the motorist; the fee for parking benefits the landowners, not the Claimant. Therefore, there is no consideration from the motorist to [name of claimant].

2.6. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety.
2.7. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as keeper of the a vehicle, I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the Claimant.




Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.
Full name: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dated: XXXXXXXXXX

Signed: ________________________________

What do you guys think?

bargepole

Tratante wrote: »

2.2. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim properly. I thus believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside.

What? Your original post didn't say anything about a default judgment? Where did that come from?

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

What witness statement? This is supposed to be a Defence.

What do you guys think?

I think you've cobbled together a load of quasi-legal arguments from some old stuff you've found online, without the slightest idea what any of it means. It says nothing at all about the facts of how the ticket came to be issued, which is the first thing the Judge will want to know.

You should bin this load of irrelevant waffle, and start again.

KeithP

Tratante, can you please tell us the Date of Issue on your Claim Form?


If that's your real name at the beginning of post #8, you would be wise to remove it.

Tratante

Yes this is all a big mess and I don't know what I'm talking about to be honest. I tried to edit the post to remove the name but for some reason I can't edit the post.

So this is how it started:

I received a fine in 10/08/ 2017 for parking fou about an hour without displaying a valid ticked. I ignored the fine and all the letters sent by napier parking as well as all other letters from bailiffs threatening me. I have received a letter from BM on 19 of September saying the following:

Defendant

Particulars of Claim

The Claimants Ciaim is for th e sum of 290.00 being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant in respect of a Fixed Charge Notice (FCN) for a parking contravention which occured on **/0*/2017 at ******* in the car park at ***** in relation to a Audi registration ****** The Defendant was allowed 28 days from the FCN issue date to pay, but failed o do so. Despite demand having been made the Defendant has failed settle their outstanding liability.
The Claim also includes Statutory Interest pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at a rate of 8 % per annum ( a daily rate of 0,02) from 14/d8r2017 to 1809/2018 being an amount of E8.02. The Claimant also claims £60,00 contractual costs as set out in the FCN Terms and conditions."

Obviously I think this is an excessive amount to pay and I would like to build my defence based on the fact that they don't know if I was the driver when the issued me the ticket.

Is there anything I can do to avoid paying this or do I just have to pay it?

If I don't pay what's the worse it can happen to me? My credit report is horrendous anyways so I'm not too worried about affecting my credit score.

Thank you all again and I'm sorry if I'm waisting your time.