Help with defence

Robot23

Hi there,
Thanks for the wealth of info you’ve all shared so far!  I’m in the process of trying to defend a parking ticket. 

I have submitted AOS, requested SAR (from Britannia) and have received and sent solicitors (BWL) notice that I’m seeking debt advice but do not admit liability for debt. 

I have received the following reply from BWL and wondering if and how to respond and what if anything this means for my defence approach:

”You mention debt pre-action protocol. We sent a letter of claim fully compliant with the debt pre-action protocol on 9 September 2020 allowing you until 14 October 2020 to respond. As you did not respond to this within the timeframe specified, a claim was issued through the County Court on 20 October 2020 and deemed served 26 October 2020. We have not been notified by the court of any issued regarding service of the claim form.

 As a claim has been issued, if no contact is received within the timeframe specified on the claim in regards to the outstanding balance, we will be at liberty to enter a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you. In order to avoid this you can call us on 0113 487 0430 within 14 days from the date of this email to set up an affordable payment arrangement which is suitable for you”

The fine is from 19th June 2019. I do not remember a time I didn’t pay- I don’t believe the SAR has Included Pay n Display information. But a photo of my car entering and then on exit about 20mins later.

Any thoughts on if and how I should respond to the solicitors appreciated. 

Also if in my defence I should be referencing abuse of process. 

Many thanks in advance.

Le_Kirk

Yo need to act promptly before the claimant gets a judgment in default.  What was the issue date of the claim form from Northampton?  What date did you submit your AoS?  What does your MCOL record say?  You can't use pre-action  protocol for debt claims as you are now in the action phase.  Have you submitted your defence?  You may be out of time but  @KeithP will be along to give you deadlines but, in the meantime, look at this instruction from the CPRs: -

Date of service is the 5th Calendar day after date of issue.  The defendant has 14 calendar days from the 'date of service' to file a response. If the last day for filing the response falls on a day that the court is not open (i.e. a weekend or public holiday), the court will allow the next full working day for a response. The defendant can extend the time to respond to 28 calendar days by filing an acknowledgment of service (AOS).

Redx

Abuse of process is no defence to the core PCN

Adapt the coupon mad defence template , only 2 paragraphs to change

Post the issue date and AOS date from the claim form , because we suspect that your defence deadline may have expired days ago and the claimant can apply for judgment in default

You are not replying to their solicitors

Robot23

Thanks for the speedy responses.
Claim form issue date - 20th Oct
AOS submitted 29th Oct
I haven’t submitted defence yet. 

I have a print out of my Mcol status summary- it confirms the claim issue and aos submitted dates and total amount- let me know if I need to log in for Further details. 

Robot23

Shoot I realise my mistake I thought I had 33 days from AOS! 

Castle

Your deadline was Monday the 23rd November.

Umkomaas

Check the status of the claim on MCOL, immediately. 

Redx

Robot23 said:

Shoot I realise my mistake I thought I had 33 days from AOS! 

Wrong , 33 days from the issue date , if the AOS was done correctly , which it was

That defence needs to be emailed ASAP , it's a week late

Robot23

Mcol claim status- the last entry is note of AOS being received. 

Will a defence still be accepted? 

Umkomaas

Robot23 said:

Mcol claim status- the last entry is note of AOS being received. 

Will a defence still be accepted? 

Unknown, but unless you get it off today, you'll never know. Just use the template, add some details in paras 2 and 3 and send it away. No time for any prevarication, send it away today. 

Paras 2 and 3 should be written in the third person - the Defendant did this, the Defendant did that ...., not I did this, I did that. Just get it done and just hope for the best, otherwise you'll need to pay the full value of the claim against you within 30 days (unless the court gives a shorter deadline). 

KeithP

Robot23 said:

Mcol claim status- the last entry is note of AOS being received. 

Will a defence still be accepted? 

Yes it will - if you get it filed before 8am tomorrow.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.