DCB/NEXUS Parking Charge @ Strensham Services Small Claims intiial letter/defence

peterkgb1

KeithP said:

You filed a Defence at the end of August and we've heard virtually nothing from you since.

When was your Witness Statement and evidence filing deadline?
Have you filed and served your Witness Statement and evidence?

No, I have had nothing from the court with that information since I filed my defence and that (my fled defence) is the only thing showing up on the moneyclaim portal

KeithP

peterkgb1 said:

KeithP said:

You filed a Defence at the end of August and we've heard virtually nothing from you since.

When was your Witness Statement and evidence filing deadline?
Have you filed and served your Witness Statement and evidence?

No, I have had nothing from the court with that information since I filed my defence and that (my fled defence) is the only thing showing up on the moneyclaim portal

Look again at your Notice of Allocation. The Notice that gives the hearing date.

Is there not a paragraph something like:

Each party must deliver to every other party and to the court office copies of all documents on which he intends to rely at the hearing no later than [ . . . ] [14 days before the hearing].

Might be on the back.

Those documents you intend to rely on are your Witness Statement and evidence.

The MCOL website is not updated once a case is transferred to a hearing court.

peterkgb1

I have an entry in my diary, that's what prompted me (there is a chance that it could be from another case to do with my business (now settled)).  The only court documents (on paper) i have are the documents for Admission Form, defence & Counterclaim Form and Acknowledgment of service.  I filed all of these online (showing up in the Moneyclaim portal) and have not received anything via post or email since (late August).
I did get a letter from DCB wanting information (which I ignored - I mention that above), but that is it.  Nothing since then.
I have just emailed the court to ask them where this up to, as the portal suggests that nothing has been done since by defence submission

KeithP

peterkgb1 said:

I have just emailed the court to ask them where this up to, as the portal suggests that nothing has been done since by defence submission

There's a phone number for the CCBC on your Claim Form.
Give them a ring. Unfortunately you may have to wait a little while for them to answer.

There should be a line on your MCOL Claim History if the case has been transferred to a hearing court.

Jenni_D

So you've never received a N180 defence questionnaire, and your MCOL filing history doesn't show that one has been sent? If not then you cannot have a hearing next week - at least not for this claim.

KeithP

peterkgb1 said:

The only court documents (on paper) i have are the documents for Admission Form, defence & Counterclaim Form and Acknowledgment of service.  I filed all of these online (showing up in the Moneyclaim portal) and have not received anything via post or email since (late August).

Following the filing of your Defence, you should've received a letter from the CCBC telling you that a copy of your Defence has been passed to the Claimant.

Does you MCOL Claim History show that the CCBC received your Defence?
If not you must must must ensure that the CCBC has your Defence to avoid a Default Judgment against you. Send your Defence again now.

peterkgb1

Hello, I checked with the court about my case and received this reply:

"Thank you for your email. Your defence was filed on 31 August 2021 and a copy sent to the claimant to consider. They had 33 days to notify us if they wished to proceed. To date we have had no reply from them, so the claim was automatically ‘stayed’ (put on hold) on 04 October 2021. It would remain so indefinitely if the parties took no action.

If the claimant did not send a request to proceed in time but later wished to they would need to make a formal application for permission from a District Judge. The outcome of any such application would be sent to you by post.

If the claimant wished to discontinue the claim they would need to notify us.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us again."

I guess, I just wait to see if anything progresses now?

Umkomaas

You need to keep all your paperwork (and your antenna) 'warm' as we've seen a number of similar cases resurrect many months (sometimes a year or so) after the court stayed the case. 'Stayed' unfortunately doesn't mean cancelled. 

Coupon-mad

Personally I hate this approach by the court.  Indefinitely is ridiculous; what if a Defendant moves house and the Claimant then applies to lift the stay and the poor Defendant misses that post update and gets a default CCJ? 

As we know from a couple of years back, BW legal lifted a load of stayed parking cases 18 months later, out of the blue, and no end of people were caught out (and we only see the tip of the iceberg here).

I would reply asking for this Defendant's note to be placed on the file for the Judge to read in the event of the Claimant applying to lift the stay.

The note is that the Defendant objects to a sudden ambush of a late application to lift the stay on this case, and the Defendant avers that their postal address must not be taken to be good for service indefinitely, which is not intended by court rules on 'service'.

It cannot be right for a claim to hang in limbo indefinitely, with the Defendant being powerless and quite possibly unaware of it still having potential to be resurrected.

It cannot be right either, to expect a Defendant to tell a rogue parking industry Claimant and this court, indefinitely (forever), every time they change address, on the off-chance that a years-old meritless parking claim might start up again, even after the usual limitation period.

As such, if in future a Judge is considering lifting this stay, the Judge must take account of any lack of efforts to re-check the address of the Defendant, and should in all fairness and in the interests of justice, refuse to resurrect this claim.

If the Claimant acts in a timely manner, it remains open to them to file fresh proceedings, having checked the Defendant's address for service properly at that time. as the CPRs require.

In the alternative, at the very least, the Defendant respectfully asks the court to make it a condition of any future Order lifting the stay, that the Claimant carries out a Credit Reference Agency check and makes all reasonable efforts to contact the Defendant to ascertain the correct address for service at that future time, and that they supply the court with evidence of having done do, in order to avoid simply causing a default CCJ.

peterkgb1

I have just got this from TP Plus solicitors.  A court date had been set, I'd been mailed with various offers of settling for a 'reduced' amount and ignored them all.  Thanks everyone for you help and guidance.  It worked a treat.

Dear Peter Kinsella, 

We act for the Claimant in the above matter.

Our client has instructed us to discontinue Court proceedings and close our file. Therefore, please find enclosed the Claimant’s N279 Notice of Discontinuance for your records.

The attached has also been filed with the Court and we have requested that the Hearing on 01/08/2022 be vacated.

We will now proceed to close our file accordingly.

Kind Regards,

DCB Legal Limited