HELP - Court letter Received from VCS - Advice needed

Nsmila07

Thanks Beamerguy - no I didnt ask that! I was under the understanding that DropHands meant that we both walk away? I still haven't received a response from them. I need to go back to the courts and let them know what I would like to do

Coupon-mad

Read this, as it is important new advice in anticipation of telephone hearings that we are not advising against:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6130456/telephone-hearings-re-parking-firm-claims-can-we-all-discuss-strategy-and-outcomes-here#latest

CERTAINLY use my words to object to a hearing 'on the papers' for the reasons I gave in that thread you saw already linked for you, and say you will agree to a Telephone or Skype Hearing as a compromise, if the court is not minded to adjourn until a face-to-face hearing can take place, which is your much preferred option, given there is no debt, no agreement and nothing to Mediate with a parking charge case that has no merit.

State that you need a fair opportunity, as an inexperienced but honest litigant in person, to defend and expose the holes in the so-called 'evidence' that a Judge who is unfamiliar with the car park location and the event, cannot possibly know, in the event of a 'papers hearing'.  Such hearings are unsatisfactory for parking claims and are reported to almost always act against a Defendant, due to the parking industry legal firms ambushing courts and consumers with a last minute pile of papers two inches thick, and giving the Defendant no time to counter it and point out that 80% of it is a template witness statement and (usually) undated photos, irrelevant to the car park and event.  

State that you want a hearing that gives you a voice to rebut the 'evidence' and if that has to be a Telephone or Skype hearing, then you await suitable Directions by way of a Court Order, but preferably you want a face to face hearing later in the year to get the justice and 'hearing' you deserve after all this time and the harassment of the claimant.

Nsmila07

Hello All,
So I have an update, I received a notice of hearing today which is going to be by telephone. I did send what you mentioned above @Coupon-mad but I have received a telephone hearing which is next week.
I never did receive a response from VCS on my offer of Drop Hands, Ive actually had no communication what so ever, do you think that means they wont turn up?
Im going to send my WS and hope for the best I guess, thanks for all your help, will keep you posted.

Redx

WS plus Exhibits plus summary costs assessment is what you should have submitted by your deadline , so 3 items in your bundle , not one , also check if email is ok due to the covid changes

If it's by telephone , then nobody is turning up

Your court directions order will have told them what to do about arranging the telephone conference , as they are the claimant

Coupon-mad

You are now late filing & serving your WS & evidence so do it within 24 hours and also to VCS (or their solicitor if they are using one).  As it's a phone hearing, send these by email BUT NOT TO THE NORTHAMPTON CCBC , OBVIOUSLY!

Have they sent you their WS & evidence, if so then search the forum for a surname from their 'case law' (e.g. Vine, Ward or Kumari?) and read all the zillions of VCS threads where their template WS has been torn apart.

  You can then copy and adapt someone else's successful WS.

Nsmila07

Hello Coupon-mad, yes i know I am late but if I am honest I wasnt sure what was going on with the lockdown at the time. i had sent a few emails and even spoke to the courts who said I would hear so dont worry as the initial deadline was going to be changed due to them not holding hearings. 
I haven't received anything from VCS, does this mean anything?
I was going to send my WS and evidence tomorrow morning, happy to share it if you like?

Coupon-mad

Share it here, after reading other posters' ones first - search for VCS Vine witness statement and read several!

Nsmila07

Ok thanks @Coupon-mad - heres my defence

In the matter of

 (Claimant)

v

******** (defendant)

Claim no:

Evidence

EB01 – Insurance Certificate
EB02 – Railway Byelaws
EB03 - Department for Transport's 2012 Guidance and explanatory notes about the POFA
EB04 - ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] Case
EB05 - POFA
EB06 - Costs/Expenses

Witness statement of Mr*******, defendant

I am the Defendant in this matter, I am unrepresented, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the Claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience.

In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise.

1. Whilst I was the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned, there is no evidence of the driver.

2. The Defendant denies being the driver at the time of the supposed event, and therefore puts VCS to strict proof that any contract can exist between the defendant and themselves.

3. At the time of the incident, the insurance covered more than one family member, EB01 who I have no obligation to name to a private parking firm. It remains the burden of the Claimant to prove their case.

4. There was no requirement upon me as keeper to respond to what appeared to be junk mail, and in any event was not a matter where a registered keeper could be in any way legally liable. No adverse inference can be drawn from my lawful decision to ignore the colourful letter, impersonating a parking ticket yet with no basis in law.

5. Points 3 to 5.5 of my defence refers to the Railway Byelaws – EB02

6. Points 10 to 12 of my defence refers to the Department for Transport's 2012 Guidance and explanatory notes about the POFA-  EB03

7. Point 14 and 20 of my defence refers to ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 - EB04. The Parking Eye Ltd v Beavis case is the authority for recovery of the parking charge itself and no more, since that sum (£85 in Beavis) was held to already incorporate the minor costs of an automated private parking business model. There are no losses or damages caused by this business model and the Supreme Court Judges held that a parking firm not in possession cannot plead any part of their case in damages. It is indisputable that the alleged 'parking charge' itself is a sum which the Supreme Court found is already inflated to more than comfortably cover the cost of all letters.

8.  Judges have disallowed all added parking firm 'costs' in County courts up and down the Country. In Claim number F0DP201T on 10th June 2019, District Judge Taylor sitting at the County Court at Southampton, echoed an earlier General Judgment or Order of DJ Grand, who on 21st February 2019 sitting at the Newport (IOW) County Court, had struck out a parking firm claim. One was a BPA member serial Claimant (Britannia, using BW Legal's robo-claim model) and one an IPC member serial Claimant (UKCPM, using Gladstones' robo-claim model) yet the Order was identical in striking out both claims without a hearing:

9. Point 22 of my defence refer to POFA. EB05. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule makes it clear that the will of Parliament regarding parking on private land is that the only sum potentially able to be recovered is the sum in any compliant 'Notice to Keeper' (and the ceiling for a 'parking charge', as set by the Trade Bodies and the DVLA, is £100). This also depends upon the Claimant fully complying with the statute, including 'adequate notice' of the parking charge and prescribed documents served in time/with mandatory wording. It is submitted the claimant has failed on all counts and the Claimant is well aware their artificially inflated claim, as pleaded, constitutes double recovery.

The Court is invited to dismiss the claim and to award my costs (EB06) of dealing with this claim and attendance at the hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14.

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

Signed xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dated xxxxxxxxxxx

Redx

The statement of truth is incorrect , it's the old version and changed 4 months ago

In your opening statement above , you said here is my defence , it's not , it's your WS , your defence was filed months ago , so understand where you are in the process

Yes VCS should have copied you in with their WS plus their exhibits , so make sure you state that these have not been received at this time

Coupon-mad

I don't see any semblance of any other VCS witness statement about VINE?   There is no mention of that case or anything copied from other WS used before by other successful VCS defedants, that I said to go and read a few!

I know you haven't had their WS yet but you are meant to copy from others and attack it head on, because you know what their template WS will say. 

I didn't include the word VINE twice (now three times) in my replies for fun!  That was your forum search term to read other WS first and copy from them.