Gladstones at it again..Defence help needed please!

cluelessstan

Hi all,

I'm extremely new to this whole process so please bear with me if I have gaps in my knowledge about this entire thing.

I have read through a few threads on here, especially the NEWBIES thread and I'm going to keep it as vague as possible because apparently the parking companies often frequent this board??

I've received a 'claim form'?? on behalf of Gladstones about my vehicle reportedly breaching the terms of parking earlier this year - they have sent a court letter which is the first and only correspondence I've received *at all* - I know that sounds dubious however, the reason I'm very green in this area is that I have always acknowledged/appealed/paid any tickets/fines I've ever received in the past. I have never had something escalated to this level before.

The issue date states 10th December however, I didn't receive it until the 28th December - upon reading about how to defend this, it states that I have 14 days from 5 days after the issue date. This takes me to the 29th December I think? Unfortunately as it came out of the blue (I thought it was a fake/scam letter) I had to do some research into it's legitimacy therefore I only acknowledged receipt and stated my intention to defend the allegation only yesterday 30th. I understand this is past the 14 day period however, it wasn't delivered to me until a couple of days ago. Will they take into consideration that there have been 2 bank holidays during this period? If so, then I have acknowledged in time. There is no post mark on the envelope to prove when it was posted - has this happened to anyone else before? I work for a very large company and it happens regularly that correspondence is printed on a day and more often than not, it is posted out a number of days later.

I'd also love some advice on my defence - I have received absolutely NOTHING prior to this court letter. No parking letters with proof and/or photos, no pre-court letter, just nothing. If no prior contact has been made regarding an enforcement of a charge, and if I received no letter before court, would this be an acceptable defence? Does the burden of proof lie on the parking company to show that they sent letters AND that I received them? Surely before it escalates to court, they should send a pre-court letter via signed or recorded delivery to ensure the person receives it???

They have also stated that my vehicle breached the terms of parking 5 times in one day, in a tiny car park with access to only 2 shops. In this court letter they have only given the dates (well 'date' really) and the name of the car park. They didn't give a postcode for the address and multiple parking sites exist in that address so I can only go off what google maps tells me when I search for the name of the car park they have given me.
There has been no 'proof' sent to me with this court letter which shows my vehicle in this site. How would I obtain this 'proof' from them? Should I also contact the DVLA about anything?

My apologies for the long rambly post, I wasn't joking when I said I was very very new to this. It's all come out of the blue and causing me a great deal of anxiety

Thank you in advance

KeithP

Very important - you must do the Acknowledgement of Service today - preferably before 4pm.


With a Claim Issue Date of 10th December, you have until Monday 31st December to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Having done the AoS, you then have until 4pm on Monday 14th January 2019 to file your Defence.

That's two weeks away. Loads of time to produce a good Defence, but don't leave it to the very last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.

Redx

firstly, this isnt a legal advice forum and almost every volunteer here has no legal training, so you need to do more research and help yourself on this task because its complicated and some of what you are asking is covered in that NEWBIES thread in posts #2 and #5


as long as you have done that AOS by logging in online, you have until KeithP says above to email your completed and signed and dated defence to the CCBC


send a SAR to the DPO at the PPC involved by email asap, to get those docs and data that you currently do not have (using the GDPR 2018 to do so)


then read the examples of defences listed in that post #2 of the NEWBIES thread, perhaps start with the concise defence by member BARGEPOLE


this recorded delivery aspect comes up all the time, so in simple terms, they can send docs by royal mail and it is deemed to be "delivered" 2 days later, doesnt matter what you think or expect , its a fact and as long as they can state or prove proof of posting then that aspect is covered, they only have to assert or prove they were sent out, nothing more. they definitely DO NOT have to prove that you received them

whether they used the correct address etc is a different matter, because they would have got the address from the DVLA at the time , so if the vehicle was not correctly registered or you had moved, it would explain it


frankly, although there may be an argument over this part once you have their paperwork, its not going to help if they state that the letter was sent say a few days after their DVLA lookup, because they send out thousands and a judge may well believe them. so a bit late to argue that nothing was received , although it may be a valid point later on


so as there are no regulations or rules on using signed for or special delivery, then NO is the answer, although they may have to look up your address using a tracing service before any MCOL is issued, clearly they have done something because you correctly received the court claim forms (if those forms have the correct address on them ?)


at the moment it has no court allocated , the government office sent you that MCOL (its an office , not a court)



so not receiving paperwork is not really an acceptable defence, so look at the bargepole post where he tells you about the futility of some of these grasping at straws excuses to try to evade the justice system


you can email the DVLA to ask them about your VRM details being accessed, which may be a good idea, they will reply by royal mail (and no signed for either)


you need to read the BARGEPOLE advice on these matters and start with his concise defence, one you have emailed the SAR to your PPC and also emailed the DVLA

post you full POC details from the MCOL below, plus post the charges breakdown listed on the form as well, but not personal info or references at all

then start drafting your defence


ps:- you are unlikely to get the SAR reply or the DVLA reply back by the 14th jan 2019, so that information may be used in your WS later down the line