VCS Claim Form - Days To Go Before Defence Due - Wife Has Just Told me About it!!!

Coupon-mad

Needless to say, her panic has led to her confession and angry as I am

About VCS and their little scam and intimidation of your wife, I hope?

I want to do all that I can to a) help her out and b) not give in to these horrible scumbags.

Good. We can help her to defend this.

The bottom line is that VCS and indeed nobody else has ever had permission to operate their pop-up on the land in question. They've gone so far as to put in planning permission with Newcastle City Council and this was rejected. They appealed the decision and this was rejected by The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government back in 2015 - not long before the ticket was issued. I've been trying to find a template for illegality and I just cannot find one for the life of me.

As luck would have it, bargepole has just this morning shared with me a defence point across two paragraphs that covers it (doesn't have to be #9 and #10 of course, depends where you put it:

9. At the date of the parking event in issue, the Claimant did not have the necessary Local Authority consent to display their contractual parking sign advertisement (or any of their other parking signs at the material location) that was essential for them to have been displayed lawfully, pursuant to the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (“the Regulations”). Section 30 of the Regulations, as also Section 224 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, provides that any unauthorised display of an advertisement that requires Express Consent to be displayed is a strict-liability criminal offence.

10. The parking contract on which the Claimant relies and was allegedly entered into by the driver’s act of parking is not lawfully enforceable for it being a contract that was illegal at its formation. At the date of the parking event in issue the parking contract with the driver existed only by virtue of the Claimant’s criminal act of advertising their contractual terms and conditions of parking in statutory breach and was therefore a void contract to be treated as if it never existed.

You can then add to that, this (I like your word 'pop-up' which puts the little scheme in its place, in the gutter!):

VCS and indeed nobody else has ever had permission to operate their pop-up on the land in question. The Claimant went as far as to put in planning permission with Newcastle City Council and this was rejected. They appealed the decision and this was rejected by The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government back in 2015 - not long before the ticket was issued.

babeandbp

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far. Everyone has been enormously helpful. Currently working on my defence letter so will post once I get it finished and ask for your great opinions. Many thanks again!

Le_Kirk

You should look at the NEWBIE section post #2 for one of the concise defences written by Bargepole as they show you the layout of a defence; pick the one that most suits your situation and adapt it. You cannot add precis or any other attachments, that comes at Witness Statement and evidence stage. Your defence reads too much like a Witness Statement.

Egbert_Nobacon

I would be inclined to go on the attack.

Issue an LBC against them for:

1. Obtaining your data without just cause = £500
2. Harassment = £500

It only costs a stamp - let the scammers sweat !!

Coupon-mad

Seconded.

Check out the counter claim used by Henry Hippo v UKPC on pepipoo forum.

babeandbp

Thanks so much again Egbert Nobacon and Coupon-mad. I'm really overwhelmed by all of the support on here, but Egbert, you suggest issuing an LBC against VCS. Please excuse my ignorance here but I was under the impression that a Letter Before Claim was the letter that I received from Northampton to which I've already responded with an AOS and to which I'm currently preparing a defence? I'm sorry if I'm missing something here and rest assured I HAVE gone through all of the newbie stuff at length. Believe you me, I would LOVE to issue a counter claim against these scumbags and will do anything at all possible to do so. I think I'm just so overawed with all of this at the moment I don't know whether I'm coming or going. Thanks so much again everyone.

nosferatu1001

I believe you can issue a counter claim now, you dont have to issue a fresh claim; this has the advantage, for you, that it FORCES a hearing; they cannot simply discontinue and get done with it, theyd have to pay your counter claim as well and YOU then have to discontinue.

Bear in mind you will have to pay the appropriate Filing Fee, which is based on the size of the claim; £750 for unlawful use of data is not unusual and, given they KNEW they had no permission *before* they issued the ticket, there is no doubt they *knew* they had no cause to access data.

You are indeed ignorant ; a LBC is what you get BEFORE they make a claim; the Claim Form from the CCBC is the actual claim.

What you would be doing is, alongside your defence, file a CLAIM against them - the MCOL system lets you do that.

Umkomaas

Bear in mind you will have to pay the appropriate Filing Fee, which is based on the size of the claim

Here's the fee structure:

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

Le_Kirk

You submit only the defence, all other documents, such as evidence, comes later when you submit your witness statement. All defences should be written in the Third Person and you certainly got one "I" in your point 4.

babeandbp

Well spotted, Le_Kirk and thank you so much for that. Amended to read 'The Defendant' accordingly and fully noted regarding the submissions. Massive thanks!