Gordon &Noble Collections Letter

Jenni_D

If it is a single PCN then the chances of a Sheriff court claim in Scotland (using the Simple Procedure) are vanishingly small. The PPC can't recover costs if the claim is under £300, so even if they made a claim and won (e.g. for £100 - any claim for £160 could easily see the false £60 taken away) then they would only be awarded £100 ... the filing and hearing fee costs they would still have to bear, plus their costs for an advocate (or time for an employee to deal with this and attend a hearing). It would merely be a pyrrhic victory that would cost them more than simply cancelling the PCN.  

atticuspaper

Jenni_D said:

If it is a single PCN then the chances of a Sheriff court claim in Scotland (using the Simple Procedure) are vanishingly small. 

This is encouraging but raises a follow-up question in my particular case (and presumably others'). I'm currently into the 'ignore' phase of a single PCN claim following an unsuccessful templated appeal in which the alleged infraction took place in Scotland but the keeper (me) and PPC are based in England.

With apologies if I've missed this information on one of the sticky threads or elsewhere, are they likely to pursue an English resident through the Scottish or English courts in a case like this (if they decide to take it that far)? I'm having a crisis of resolve and am contemplating just paying the thing given I'm not sure where I'd end up defending it (and whether the location would affect my chances of success).

Jenni_D

I won't profess to being able to answer your question. My opinion is that an alleged contractual debt occasioned in Scotland should be pursued in Scotland ... but doing so with an English defendant complicates matters, thus this possibly reduces further the chances of them taking court action. The fact that G&N are involved suggests that this is a Scottish consideration.

However with both PPC and defendant being resident in England then they may try their luck via MCOL. But you've nothing to lose just waiting to see what happens ... the £100 PCN would only become ~£200 via an MCOL claim (the additional £60/£70 is easily argued away as double recovery) IF they raised a claim and IF you lost.

atticuspaper

That's helpful, thank you. I should have clarified that G&N aren't involved here (I'm at an earlier stage than that) – I was simply reading up on Scotland-related material and thought I'd post my response/question here rather than starting a new thread. I suspect I may need to seek some additional advice on how this is likely to play out given there are two jurisdictions involved on the face of it.

Jenni_D

And therein lies the problem when people jump onto another person's thread.  

atticuspaper

Indeed - perhaps I should have started a thread. Apologies to @GordonNoble2020 and others.