CRA 2015 s62 10 Defence - No real opportunity of becoming acquainted with T&Cs

95Rollers

Good luck for Monday Charlie.  My advice would be to have a sheet of paper with you with an Itenary of subjects which you can raise up for quick reference that are relevant to your case (I.e  Unfair terms,  poor signs etc). Also have a pen anf paper to take notes and listen to what the other party is saying and note down any contradictions/ discrepancies/ innacuracies that they may say so you can challenge them or highlight them to the Judge as it may well differ from tjeir WS, your evidence and findings.  keep your composure and you'll be fine. 

FizzyCharlie

Much appreciated @95Rollers, I'll make sure I do all you suggest!

Quick question to anyone, looking at the case summary it is clearly biased towards the Claimant (they put it together!) Should I send a version of my Case Summary even though it is after the deadline? They make absolutely no mention that my evidence shows the signs that they claim were there are not, hence any surely any reference to the T&C should be struck out!?

Jenni_D

Why did they send a paper bundle to you? Did they send an email bundle to the court? (The order says "by email" if I remember right).

FizzyCharlie

Jenni_D said:

Why did they send a paper bundle to you? Did they send an email bundle to the court? (The order says "by email" if I remember right).

Exactly right @Jenni_D, it does say by email and they defo have my email address because that is how they received my WS! To put it into context the case summary they have submitted on my behalf for the defendant is 5 lines and for the claimant it is 12!

95Rollers

The cynic in me FizzyCharlie said:

Much appreciated @95Rollers, 

 They make absolutely no mention that my evidence shows the signs that they claim were there are not, hence any surely any reference to the T&C should be struck out!?

Ah, but they wouldn't mention that would they!  They don't want to draw any attention to weakness and flaws in their case. They are winging it big time and are hoping they get a non-clued up judge or defendant who these flaws will pass by or hopr the Defendant will flake out. So you need to totally hammer that point home and highlight their silence on it to claimant's rep!!!

Also if you've used stated cases - have a rough understanding of them and the key gist of what they are about.  As one of the main attacks they go for is "Its not fair- they copied their defence off the Internet".  Even though the Internet is thr greatest Resource of our time and you can shut them down with this fact and that you chose to include thr case law you did out ot many because you were spoilt for choice and found these examples the most relevant to this case (and maybe elaborate on one or two points).  Obviously you are clearly clued up on CRA law so use it to your advantage.

Le_Kirk

When a bundle is to be provided by the claimant on behalf of themselves and the defendant, it should be an agreed bundle (this might be in the order); if you did not agree to it before it was sent and if you did not have the opportunity to view/read/agree, bring this up with the judge before the hearing starts.  As soon as you are on line (phone or video) tell the judge there is a preliminary matter that you need to bring to the attention of the court and then explain why you have been disadvantaged by the claimant.

FizzyCharlie

95Rollers said:

The cynic in me FizzyCharlie said:

Much appreciated @95Rollers, 

 They make absolutely no mention that my evidence shows the signs that they claim were there are not, hence any surely any reference to the T&C should be struck out!?

Ah, but they wouldn't mention that would they!  They don't want to draw any attention to weakness and flaws in their case. They are winging it big time and are hoping they get a non-clued up judge or defendant who these flaws will pass by or hopr the Defendant will flake out. So you need to totally hammer that point home and highlight their silence on it to claimant's rep!!!

Also if you've used stated cases - have a rough understanding of them and the key gist of what they are about.  As one of the main attacks they go for is "Its not fair- they copied their defence off the Internet".  Even though the Internet is thr greatest Resource of our time and you can shut them down with this fact and that you chose to include thr case law you did out ot many because you were spoilt for choice and found these examples the most relevant to this case (and maybe elaborate on one or two points).  Obviously you are clearly clued up on CRA law so use it to your advantage.

Much appreciated @95Rollers, my concern is that it seems obvious they don't have a case if there were no signs present so why are they pushing it and maybe I've missed something! Thanks for the comments and I'll be prepared for their 'copy and paste' argument, what do they expect, we all study law just in case we have to fight a parking ticket!?

FizzyCharlie

Le_Kirk said:

When a bundle is to be provided by the claimant on behalf of themselves and the defendant, it should be an agreed bundle (this might be in the order); if you did not agree to it before it was sent and if you did not have the opportunity to view/read/agree, bring this up with the judge before the hearing starts.  As soon as you are on line (phone or video) tell the judge there is a preliminary matter that you need to bring to the attention of the court and then explain why you have been disadvantaged by the claimant.

You're totally correct @Le_Kirk, I've just checked the order and it absolutely says that it should be an agreed case summary! I'll hammer that straight at the start of the meeting - Should I email prior to this or wait for the phone call, wasn't sure if there would be time at the start to raise this?

FizzyCharlie

I also never agreed the Draft Order which states that the judgement is in favour of the Claimant!!!

95Rollers

FizzyCharlie said:

95Rollers said:

The cynic in me FizzyCharlie said:

Much appreciated @95Rollers, 

 They make absolutely no mention that my evidence shows the signs that they claim were there are not, hence any surely any reference to the T&C should be struck out!?

Much appreciated @95Rollers, my concern is that it seems obvious they don't have a case if there were no signs present so why are they pushing it and maybe I've missed something! Thanks for the comments and I'll be prepared for their 'copy and paste' argument, what do they expect, we all study law just in case we have to fight a parking ticket!?

They are blaggers basically.  They'll run cases all the way as the vast majority of PCNs get paid within 14 or 28 days, if that doesn't happen then they'll farm it out to the unregulated Debt Agencies who will make the various threats, Pump up the charges with their nefarious practise of Double Recovery and warn people it will only go higher if they fail to "comply" and settle "the debt". If that fails then they instruct "solicitors" (Gladstones, QDR, DCBL etc). Then if the threatening 'legal action' letter gers no bite, its an LBC then CCBC etc which will naturally ramp up the psychological pressure then Mediation offered and then further court papers.   If 0eople don't engage at this stage then they win with Default CCJs.  Some people get last minute jitters or get worn down so might throw in thr towel as it can be quite overwhelming and draining. 

The ones that do make it to court - they lose the vast majority of, they do win occasionally- but they'd lose more money in the process than what they get back from the Defendant.   But as petty as it is - its just a small offset to their vast profits obtained by people who've cracked under stage 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc or have received a default CCJ which is a slower payday for them and a "win" on their stats.