Received a county court claim form. Please help

TS_1186

I have been sent two N1SDT County Court claim forms, both equaling to about £800 for parking in a private car park. The claimant is ES PARKING.
They originally sent me letters asking for me to pay the fines for 6 different occasions I parked in a car near my work place between March-April period.
I at the time did not know this was a private car park and parked here on these occasions.
They then sent out final demand letters, in which I sent an email to ES parking using a template from the forums here, however they never responded.
Then eventually I received a letter before claim from Gladstones Solicitors which I ignored.

Now today I have received the two County Court claim forms and am really confused on what to do.
I have read I need to respond to the claim online by logging onto moneyclaim dot gov
But what do I do next ?
I have read through the newbies thread and still am confused by this.
Can someone point me in the right direction.
Thank you

Redx

What is the issue date from the top right of the claim form or forms ?

Did they come from the CCBC in Northampton ?

KeithP

What are the Issue Dates on each of your Claim Forms?

Did the Claim Forms come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

TS_1186

Hi thanks for responding,

The claim forms issue dates are 23/07/19.
And they are both from CCBC in Northampton.

KeithP

TS_1186 wrote: »

The claim forms issue dates are 23/07/19.
And they are both from CCBC in Northampton.

At this stage treat both Claims separately.
When filing each Defence, mention the other claim in the covering email and suggest the claims be consolidated.

It might also be a good idea to mention the other claim in each Defence.

Mention consolidation of these claims at every opportunity and eventually a Judge will see it and combine them.

This post a couple of days ago by Johnersh should help.


With a Claim Issue Date of 23rd July, you have until Monday 12th August 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 file linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 27th August 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over four weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but please don't leave it to the 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 "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep 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.

TS_1186

I have done the AOS for both of these separately now.
Would it be possible to draft the same defence for both of these and just tweak it slightly, or would i have to do a completely different defence for each one.
Also what things do you recommend I write in the defence?

Thank you.

Redx

yes you can do it twice with minor details changed like pcn ref and claim number

most people can use bargepole's concise template defence from the NEWBIES thread,
and add in a point or two about the facts of the case/contravention/why they are not liable. And a point about no landowner authority as seen in other defences and add the ABUSE OF PROCESS paragraphs by coupon-mad, and renumber all paragraphs.

also ask the judge to combine both claims, keep asking at every stage, read other threads to find the words to use

see the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread post #2 for examples of defences already used


post the draft below for ctritique

TS_1186

Many thanks for the replies.

I am currently writing out my defence, using bargepole's example and need some guidance. Please could you link some examples of defences which mention no landowner authority. Also where can I find the ABUSE OF PROCESS paragraphs?

And regarding the facts of the case, can I mention that the car park did not look like a car park, as it was run down with no clear parking bays and overgrown bushes, giving me an assumption it was not a private car park.

Thank you

Redx

you mean giving the DRIVER that impression, unless you are not relying on POFA ?

in any case , stories are for the witness statement, not the defence

there are links in post #2 of the newbies thread, or use the forum search box and suitable search words to find examples

abuse of process paragraphs are in dozens of court case threads on here, but started with the ABUSE OF PROCESS thread created by Beamerguy, then scroll down to around post #14 or so where coupon mad wrote them, which includes Judges Taylor and Grand

Coupon-mad

I have been sent two N1SDT County Court claim forms, both equaling to about £800

Are they each about a batch of different PCNs but about the same car, site, and contravention?

You need to search the forum for the words needed to ask for the claims to be consolidated into one hearing, and keeper repeating those words at EVERY stage (please make a note of this as you might not be reminded by us at the later stages - YOU MUST repeat the wording over and over till a Judge spots it - and it might be later on, at WS stage).

Search for:

two claims? abuse of process

...which is NOT the same as the words about the costs abuse of process!

TS_1186

Yes I will write 'the driver', my bad.
I have found the abuse of process paragraphs, where's the best part in 'barepoles' example to add them into?

Thanks