Received a Claim Form for an ANPR "fine" for £260.00, and don't think there's much of a defense?

Le_Kirk

mylampisonthetable said:

OK I think I'm going to make a defence defense. It's the princple of the thing. I was astonished by the ruling of District Judge Jackson (Bradford) which I read in a PDF somewhere (juicy final paragraphs below).

What's my next step? ...To create a defense defence document (I'm doing that now)? How can I make it so they lose even if they win?

Just look at the standard defence template, which is amongst the first five announcements on the first page of the forum, adjust paragraphs 2 & 3 to suit your particular circumstances and make a strong case for yourself.  When complete, post your amended paragraphs here.  Do not be tempted to write war and peace, keep the defence to short, punchy, legal/technical arguments and leave the rest for the witness statement later in the process.

mylampisonthetable

Can someone please describe the difference between a defence and a witness statement? In what way are they different and why are both required?

Snakes_Belly

mylampisonthetable said:

Can someone please describe the difference between a defence and a witness statement? In what way are they different and why are both required?

The defence lays out the legal points that are relevant to the case and applies them. It is written as the defendant and the PPC as the Claimant. Cases can be used in the defence. As Le_Kirk says it needs to be short and punchy so you need to drill down to the main issues.

The WS is written in the first person,ie I or the driver.  It is basically what happened that caused the transgression. It supports the defence with cases, images and further application to the case. The defence is the most important but the WS can illustrate and develop points. Images and videos are important and you can make full use of these in the WS.    

Snakes_Belly

Another point.

The claimant will have your defence and will respond to your defence in their WS. You may see their WS before you send your own and will be able to respond in your WS. 

You may also include another WS from a third party if appropriate.   

Le_Kirk

Snakes_Belly said:

Another point.

The claimant will have your defence and will respond to your defence in their WS. You may see their WS before you send your own and will be able to respond in your WS. 

You may also include another WS from a third party if appropriate.   

And they will probably say your defence is rubbish as you copied it "from the Internet"; Judges have rubbished this assertion in court.

Snakes_Belly

Le_Kirk said:

Snakes_Belly said:

Another point.

The claimant will have your defence and will respond to your defence in their WS. You may see their WS before you send your own and will be able to respond in your WS. 

You may also include another WS from a third party if appropriate.   

And they will probably say your defence is rubbish as you copied it "from the Internet"; Judges have rubbished this assertion in court.

 I would make sure that when you write your defence that you can argue it. 

I see one of the main points as being the level of claim. It does appear to be as if there is "abuse of the process". 

It would also help us to help you if you have details of the car park so we can see the signage and who owns it.

Snakes_Belly

You will get the chance to mediate. Although this is a usually a waste of time you could have a go and try to knock out some of the costs. I think that this is better than you making an offer to them as you have not instigated the mediation. There is nothing to lose by doing this and you can still reject their offer and carry on with the claim. 

In my opinion the fact that you have tried to settle the claim may go down well with a judge.

  

mylampisonthetable

Thanks all. I'm taking it all in. I will endeavour to understand the defence that I put together. To that end I have another question: should the driver be identified in the defence?

mylampisonthetable

To answer other questions:

The car park in question is Parc Tawe North Retail Park Swansea SA1 8AW.

The vehicle was in the car park in June 2019.

I note that Parc Tawe also has a second car park with different parking rules and signage so just be aware of that.

I haven't tried to settle yet, but if it's a boon to my case, should I make an offer today? And if so, for how much? £100 is the original "invoice" (and the claim includes £60 recovery costs, £35 court fee, £50 legal representative's costs and interest).

Snakes_Belly

"I haven't tried to settle yet, but if it's a boon to my case, should I make an offer today? And if so, for how much? £100 is the original "invoice" (and the claim includes £60 recovery costs, £35 court fee, £50 legal representative's costs and interest)."

I would not be the party to instigate an offer. Let the Claimant offer mediation and then make up your mind. I would see what the defence looks like before any offers.