Help with witness statement against UKCPM/Gladstones please!

Coupon-mad

You ask Gladstones to consent and assist the court by them kindly drawing up a consent order and suggest you both agree to 'the first available date after 1st August' (ASSUMING YOU ARE COMPLETELY AVAILABLE EVERY DAY AFTER THAT - IF NOT, NARROW IT MORE) 

...and finish by saying you believe there is also significant benefit to their client agreeing to adjourn, in that they can more meaningfully instruct the rep if they avoid a double-PCN hearing in July straight after the DLUHC are due to drop what might well be a bombshell Draft Impact Assessment that might compromise the enhanced quantum claimed.

The Defendant trusts that there is value to the Claimant in adjourning so that they have some time to properly instruct whoever is attending this hearing rather than have the Defendant draw the attention of the Judge to the draft IA in advance.

Give them seven days to consent.

I assume the hearing is at the end of July?

And there's no way you can attend by phone? If you are on holiday you can, surely, or...?

ANTIUKCPM

I have no idea how to write a consent order for an adjourment? I've tried googling this and cannot find any examples. I dont know what the consent order is supposed to say or look like. 
 I feel so tempted to just pay whatever I have toask them to call off the hearing. Its getting so stressful with all these legal documents. 

Coupon-mad

ANTIUKCPM said:

I have no idea how to write a consent order for an adjourment? I've tried googling this and cannot find any examples. I dont know what the consent order is supposed to say or look like. 

Which is why I said ask Gladstones to write it. And what to put to convince them it's worth them doing.

At no point did my reply tell you to write a Consent Order.  To help clarify it, I've bolded that bit.

ANTIUKCPM

Hi all, 
So eventually the hearing date moved to one where I am able to make it. Its this Thursday. Feeling really nervous now about it, because i'm not sure how to argue my case.

A friend of mine is a solicitor and he said that they will argue that if I believe I was not in breach by stopping my car/parking there, then I should have appealed when I received the initial notices. What can I say in response to this? 

Also if I lose, do I get a CCJ? I'm in the process of buying a house and scared this will affect getting the mortgage. 

B789

If you lose and judgment is made against you (a CCJ), as long as the CCJ is paid within 30 days or whatever the judgment tells you, there is no record of it on your credit file. If you lose, you will likely pay less than the original claim.

Without trawling back through the thread, when you get to court, it will just be you, the claimant's representative (a rent-a-legal) who will only have received the file the day before or even just before they get to court and a judge. The rep will have little knowledge of your case and will be at a disadvantage. You know your case, they don't.

Should you be asked why you didn't appeal, just tell the truth. Whether that is you weren't aware of the PCN in time to appeal or you honestly believed it was a scam or whatever. Just because you didn't appeal it at the time has no relevance on the claim you are now defending in court. You could just as easily say that you didn't appeal because you believed the only true arbiter able to decide whether you are in debt to an ex-clamper, unregulated private parking company is the judge... and here you are!

As long as you are confident you understand your defence, you should be fine. Most judges will try and guide you as a litigant in person.

Coupon-mad

Turn up in good time - half an hour early - to get through security then sign in with the Usher. 

When their rep turns up, politely REFUSE to discuss the case or settlement in a side room.

Call the Judge 'Judge' which is correct even though you might hear the legal rep use Sir or Madam.

If asked why you didn't appeal, state that this is an industry currently categorised by the Government as a 'market failure' and the rival appeals services have been identified as a key thing to replace next year because they are deemed to be kangaroo courts involved in a 'race to the bottom'. 

'Appeal' is a joke and would have been like banging your head against a brick wall. Pain and no gain. The so-called IAS (offered by ex-wheelclampers UKPCPM) allows just FIVE PER CENT of appeals heard, which is clearly (according to Ministers engaged in regulating the rogue parking industry) a self-serving, anti-consumer farce.

Tell your solicitor friend the above!

He or she is giving the parking industry far too much respect.  It's a market failure. 

Says so in the DLUHC's draft Impact Assessment that we hope you've read.  

You need to, because you surely want to draw your Judge's attention to the analysis in it about how much the debt chaser stage actually costs per case.  It sure as hell isn't £70!

Le_Kirk

ANTIUKCPM said:

So eventually the hearing date moved to one where I am able to make it. Its this Thursday. Feeling really nervous now about it, because i'm not sure how to argue my case.

Along with what others have posted, there may be something useful here for you: -

Read and know your defence, witness statement and evidence inside out, make yourself a crib sheet so that, if you are given a chance by the judge to talk, you can make sure you get across ALL your points.  Make sure your crib sheet contains pointers from your WS to the evidence page and paragraph. Be there early in case the cases in front of you move up the queue and also to allow time for security checks etc.  Do not allow yourself to be sidetracked into a room so that a well-dressed lawyerly type can "have a few words".  Do not accept any bits of paper.  Have a spare copy of your witness statement in case the claimant tries the "we did not receive the defendant's WS" trick!  Be polite and do not talk over the judge, address the judge as "Judge" even if a lady judge and finally - good luck.  Don't forget, when you win, to ask for your costs.

ANTIUKCPM

Thank you all for kindly helping me and your input. Time to go to bed and do my best tomorrow. A day of NHS care wasted tomorrow thanks to them, hope its worth it. 

ANTIUKCPM

Hey all, just an update. I won, the hearing lasted around 15-20 minutes. No questions were asked to me. They called the claimant out on the fact that the signage had changed as in my defence and he was not able to read their copy of the signage, and they had no clearer image of it. So he essentially told them to stop wasting his court time and dismissed the claim! 

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to each and every person who helped and took their time out. 

Coupon-mad

ANTIUKCPM said:

Hey all, just an update. I won, the hearing lasted around 15-20 minutes. No questions were asked to me. They called the claimant out on the fact that the signage had changed as in my defence and he was not able to read their copy of the signage, and they had no clearer image of it. So he essentially told them to stop wasting his court time and dismissed the claim! 

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to each and every person who helped and took their time out. 

Perfect!  Did you forget to ask for your costs?