County Court Claim

KeithP

Your Witness Statement is not just about events 'on the day'.
It can also cover everything that has happened since.

Therefore it is perfectly in order to point out any shortcomings, false statements, etc that the claimant has made in all of their communications - including their Witness Statement.

mercuteio

KeithP wrote: »

Your Witness Statement is not just about events 'on the day'.
It can also cover everything that has happened since.

Therefore it is perfectly in order to point out any shortcomings, false statements, etc that the claimant has made in all of their communications - including their Witness Statement.

Perfect - thanks Keith!

mercuteio

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Errrm there is no post on a Sunday.
Really? Anyway you won't be posting it.

Read the NEWBIES thread tips about EVIDENCE and the Witness Statement examples. As part of all your evidence (see tips in the NEWBIES thread!) print out the 11.11.19 court report from CEC16's thread and Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act and highlight paras 6, 10 and 14.

Obviously read them and understand what they say about consumer notices and why (once you see what the law says about unfair terms in Schedule 2 of the CRA) a parking firm cannot pursue £160 claim for £100 parking charge.

Append your exhibits to your WS file and give them a number, and refer to each exhibit in that WS. And create a contents page and a COSTS SCHEDULE.

Show us your draft of that, and what evidence you are attaching.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6070886

Very good first post there from someone at the same stage v another PPC. Also see this too, and the link in it:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=76495237#post76495237

That's enough for now for you to read up on, as long as you also read CEC16's thread.

Goodness me, CM, this was a royal beating you served BWLegal in Southampton! Just trying to get my head round it all, and have downloaded the Consumer Rights Act and the Competition and Markets Authority guidance on Unfair Contract Terms. Busy reading, then need to let it all sink in before deciding what evidence is going in, and how I'm going to phrase it all. My head hurts!

mercuteio

Another question: I appear to be running late. Deadline for court is Tuesday 19th at 4pm, which shouldn't be a problem as I'll be submitting in person.

The PPC is VCS, and I'll need to send by last mail collection tomorrow, which is tighter. Does anyone know if I can simply email them on Tuesday? I can see that they have an email address of litigation@vehiclecontrol.co.uk - does anyone know if it's ok to send all documents to this email address instead of posting?

Umkomaas

Unless there is an agreement for service to be performed by email, everything should be submitted to the claimant's solicitors by post (get free certificate of posting from your PO counter).

While this is fully consuming you, the solicitors won't be lying awake waiting for your WS. If it's impossible for you to post in time, a day or so adrift will hardly be fatal.

mercuteio

Umkomaas wrote: »

Unless there is an agreement for service to be performed by email, everything should be submitted to the claimant's solicitors by post (get free certificate of posting from your PO counter).

While this is fully consuming you, the solicitors won't be lying awake waiting for your WS. If it's impossible for you to post in time, a day or so adrift will hardly be fatal.

That's great - thanks Umkomaas!

<Prepares for long night>

mercuteio

Am just considering my arguments at the minute. I note that the PPC have made a big point about the fact that there is an appeals process through the IPC, and it may seem that I have been unreasonable by not approaching for appeal, nor having made any contact until the court claim.

Is it likely to be looked on favourably (for explaining) or unfavourably (for not trying) if I explain that the reason I chose not to do this was because it is widely recognised that the IAS offered by the IPC is an entirely opaque process, allowing the PPC to see evidence from the Keeper, but not allowing the Keeper to see the PPC's evidence, thus leaving the Keeper in a position of simply being told an outcome with no rhyme or reason, and with no accountability to a named and qualified assessor?

Or would it be better to steer clear of this in the Witness Statement and just bring it up if asked at the hearing?

[Deleted User]

I'd do a quick sentence. Something more limited and undeniably fact, like:

The process did not appear to be properly independent. Appeal is to the IPC which is a body funded by parking cos. [And if applicable] A former director of the IPC, Gladstone, is a director of Gladstones, the firm which now conducts this litigation on behalf of the claimant. It is unlikely that the process would have yielded a different outcome.

Coupon-mad

I assume VCS have filed their own claim so that would lead to an even shorter one-liner about not trying the IAS:

The claimant attempts to cast blame on me for not using their 'appeals service'.
The process did not appear to be properly independent. Appeal is to the IPC which is a self-serving body funded by parking companies. It is unlikely that the process would have yielded a different outcome.

mercuteio

Johnersh wrote: »

I'd do a quick sentence. Something more limited and undeniably fact, like:

The process did not appear to be properly independent. Appeal is to the IPC which is a body funded by parking cos. [And if applicable] A former director of the IPC, Gladstone, is a director of Gladstones, the firm which now conducts this litigation on behalf of the claimant. It is unlikely that the process would have yielded a different outcome.

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I assume VCS have filed their own claim so that would lead to an even shorter one-liner about not trying the IAS:

The claimant attempts to cast blame on me for not using their 'appeals service'.
The process did not appear to be properly independent. Appeal is to the IPC which is a self-serving body funded by parking companies. It is unlikely that the process would have yielded a different outcome.

Ah, this is great, guys - mulled over whether or not to stay up late last night, or get quickly to bed so I could be up early to continue with a clear head. Decided on the latter, and have just got to my desk to find these responses. Thank-you both very much!

Will be formulating the argument today. Am aiming for write-up and preparation of evidence until about 12pm, which should give me a wide berth of time to then get to a printer 12 miles from me (!) and time to catch the last post (with a decent chunk of time in reserve, just in case!). As such, I will be posting on here through the day, no doubt, and will place the proposed statement, ready for critique, later in the morning (hopefully!)