DCBL County Court claim on behalf of Highview Parking PCN 2016

B789

Quidditch said:
Excuse the naivety. I am going through this process for the first time.

I've submitted my defence and had a court date sent to me. I plan to submit my WS 14 days prior to this date. When in this process do the court fees become due and due for who?

Whoever makes the Claim pays the court fees. Are you making the claim?

When you received your hearing date, the paperwork, if you bother to fully read it, will have all the information you need.

Quidditch

B789 said:

Quidditch said:
Excuse the naivety. I am going through this process for the first time.

I've submitted my defence and had a court date sent to me. I plan to submit my WS 14 days prior to this date. When in this process do the court fees become due and due for who?

Whoever makes the Claim pays the court fees. Are you making the claim?

When you received your hearing date, the paperwork, if you bother to fully read it, will have all the information you need.

Is there a set timeframe for this? I.e. x days before court date? Presumably this is when they decide whether discontinuance is a better option for them. Interested to know if it’s before the 14 days of the WS or later.

Not infront of my court paper at the moment

hostess2

Yes I believe it was at the bottom of the 1st page and said the court fee was due 4 weeks before the hearing date. I thought I had to pay it so noted it all down on my calendar as I didn't want to be late with anything. I don't know about you but I found the WS the hardest thing and would only urge you to prepare as if you are going to have to defend yourself in court and make sure you have a completed WS ready to submit before the 2week deadline. if you haven't already prepared it, it will most likely take a lot longer than you first thought, have to rewrite with several drafts then try and send it to the relevant parties (electronically is best). In my  experience this can be really problematic in itself so give yourself plenty of time to do it so that you can relax and prepare for the hearing date, in case they decide to see it through. 

B789

Quidditch said:
Is there a set timeframe for this? I.e. x days before court date? Presumably this is when they decide whether discontinuance is a better option for them. Interested to know if it’s before the 14 days of the WS or later.

hostess2 said:

Yes I believe it was at the bottom of the 1st page and said the court fee was due 4 weeks before the hearing date. I thought I had to pay it so noted it all down on my calendar as I didn't want to be late with anything.

I hope your "thought" turned out to be a "realisation" that you didn't have to pay the court fee. I just hope that some of our sometimes, obtuse, responses don't lead victims like @Quidditch to actually pay any court fees.

The court fees are paid by the Claimant, the person bringing the Claim. Even if they don't pay by the date and the Claim is stayed, they can pay a fee and have the stay lifted. Just means more expense for the Claimant and their hope that they win and can claim those court fees (as opposed to their inflated damages/costs) back.

hostess2

B789 said:

Quidditch said:
Is there a set timeframe for this? I.e. x days before court date? Presumably this is when they decide whether discontinuance is a better option for them. Interested to know if it’s before the 14 days of the WS or later.

hostess2 said:

Yes I believe it was at the bottom of the 1st page and said the court fee was due 4 weeks before the hearing date. I thought I had to pay it so noted it all down on my calendar as I didn't want to be late with anything.

I hope your "thought" turned out to be a "realisation" that you didn't have to pay the court fee. I just hope that some of our sometimes, obtuse, responses don't lead victims like @Quidditch to actually pay any court fees.

The court fees are paid by the Claimant, the person bringing the Claim. Even if they don't pay by the date and the Claim is stayed, they can pay a fee and have the stay lifted. Just means more expense for the Claimant and their hope that they win and can claim those court fees (as opposed to their inflated damages/costs) back.

Hi, yes, thanks to people like yourself who tirelessly assist us through this process, somebody thankfully replied and pointed out it was the Claimant who paid. Fortunately, as I had all the dates marked on my calendar when things had to happen, I was cautiously hopeful that this deadline would prompt a decision from them either way and fortunately they decided to discontinue and close the file. What a relief as, as I mention previously, I found the WS gruelling and laborious and on my mind constantly. In some respects it's a shame I'm not able to counter claim for pain and suffering!!! Still, it's over now and I am older and dare I say a little bit wiser now thanks to the forum, yourself and the other contributors.

B789

hostess2 said:
Hi, yes, thanks to people like yourself who tirelessly assist us through this process, somebody thankfully replied and pointed out it was the Claimant who paid. Fortunately, as I had all the dates marked on my calendar when things had to happen, I was cautiously hopeful that this deadline would prompt a decision from them either way and fortunately they decided to discontinue and close the file. What a relief as, as I mention previously, I found the WS gruelling and laborious and on my mind constantly. In some respects it's a shame I'm not able to counter claim for pain and suffering!!! Still, it's over now and I am older and dare I say a little bit wiser now thanks to the forum, yourself and the other contributors.

It is a steep learning curve but also a valuable life lesson, that will assist you and anyone you know, in future should anything like this occur again.

Quidditch

hostess2 said:

B789 said:

Quidditch said:
Is there a set timeframe for this? I.e. x days before court date? Presumably this is when they decide whether discontinuance is a better option for them. Interested to know if it’s before the 14 days of the WS or later.

hostess2 said:

Yes I believe it was at the bottom of the 1st page and said the court fee was due 4 weeks before the hearing date. I thought I had to pay it so noted it all down on my calendar as I didn't want to be late with anything.

I hope your "thought" turned out to be a "realisation" that you didn't have to pay the court fee. I just hope that some of our sometimes, obtuse, responses don't lead victims like @Quidditch to actually pay any court fees.

The court fees are paid by the Claimant, the person bringing the Claim. Even if they don't pay by the date and the Claim is stayed, they can pay a fee and have the stay lifted. Just means more expense for the Claimant and their hope that they win and can claim those court fees (as opposed to their inflated damages/costs) back.

Hi, yes, thanks to people like yourself who tirelessly assist us through this process, somebody thankfully replied and pointed out it was the Claimant who paid. Fortunately, as I had all the dates marked on my calendar when things had to happen, I was cautiously hopeful that this deadline would prompt a decision from them either way and fortunately they decided to discontinue and close the file. What a relief as, as I mention previously, I found the WS gruelling and laborious and on my mind constantly. In some respects it's a shame I'm not able to counter claim for pain and suffering!!! Still, it's over now and I am older and dare I say a little bit wiser now thanks to the forum, yourself and the other contributors.

This is precisely what I was wondering. If the claimant is planning to discontinue (almost always the case based on the accounts on here), surely the 4 week point is the time to do it and conveniently, this is before the WS needs to be submitted.
Notwithstanding your point on the effort that needs to go into the WS, I am wondering whether it would be sensible to wait until the court fee date has elapsed and if I don't get a Discontinuance letter, I then double-down and get the WS done in anticipation of a court hearing. Perhaps, I can collect some basic evidences beforehand but I am starting to question the time that goes into the WS given that almost all of these cases end in discontinuances. Trying to strike the right balance....

Coupon-mad

@hostess2 and @Quidditch please tell us you have both noted on your to-do lists, to come back here and do the upcoming final Govt Public Consultation (on private parking charge levels) which I posted about on this thread?

hostess2

Coupon-mad said:

@hostess2 and @Quidditch please tell us you have both noted on your to-do lists, to come back here and do the upcoming final Govt Public Consultation (on private parking charge levels) which I posted about on this thread?

You bet ya, I certainly am. 

hostess2

This is precisely what I was wondering. If the claimant is planning to discontinue (almost always the case based on the accounts on here), surely the 4 week point is the time to do it and conveniently, this is before the WS needs to be submitted.

Notwithstanding your point on the effort that needs to go into the WS, I am wondering whether it would be sensible to wait until the court fee date has elapsed and if I don't get a Discontinuance letter, I then double-down and get the WS done in anticipation of a court hearing. Perhaps, I can collect some basic evidences beforehand but I am starting to question the time that goes into the WS given that almost all of these cases end in discontinuances. Trying to strike the right balance....

The difficulty I found for me personally was producing and formatting a document the length of a witness statement, in the style and manner suitable for the county court, with photos and evidence inserted in the correct manner etc. I just didn't have the amount of free time and word/pc formatting skills to produce it in the two weeks before it would need to be submitted. Maybe you could make a start on the outline and initial draft to give yourself some idea of how much time you will actually need to produce the document and that will help you decide how much time you will need if you find you will have to continue to the hearing. Unfortunately, reading through this forum, I felt it was not a given they will capitulate and drop the case, as a few have found they have had to see it all the way through. I feel they may progress with a small number just to keep up the pressure, I'm guessing with that one though.  I think I read somebody on here was told they were discontinuing with the claim and then revived it, which I think is what B789 was referring to regarding a  claim being "stayed".  Anway good luck and hope it comes out well for you.