DCB legal - Letter of claim

helpadviseneeded

Paragraph 3 now reads as follows:
This case refers to PCN (Parking Charge Notice) *** dated 24/12/2016
For avoidance of doubt, I take this opportunity to clarify that I have no intention of making any settlement offer as I completely deny the entirety of the claim brought against me. Nonetheless, I confirm my commitment to comply with the court's Directions and attend the forthcoming Dispute Resolution Hearing. It is noteworthy to observe that the claimant has established a propensity for frequently discontinuing claims, which invariably results in the dissipation of significant time, costs, and resources of both parties and the court. In view of the foregoing, I implore the claimant to discontinue their claim without further ado and forestall any additional costs associated with the hearing.



Paragraph 50 now reads as:
Abuse of process - the quantum

50. Despite knowing that this fixed sum (which is routinely added per PCN) is in the process of being 'banned', the Claimant persists in pursuing it, even though it is vastly disproportionate. In February 2022 the Government published its clear intention to ban the "extortion" of the false added 'damages/costs' of £60 or £70 per PCN which inflate demands and claims despite never being incurred. It is denied that the quantum sought is recoverable (authorities: two well known Parking Eye cases where modern penalty law rationale was applied). Attention is drawn to paras 98, 100, 193, 198 of Parking Eye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC67. Also Parking Eye Ltd v Somerfield Stores Ltd ChD  [2011] EWHC 4023(QB)where the parking charge was £75, discounted to £37.50 for prompt payment. Whilst £75 was reasonable, HHJ Hegarty (sitting at the High Court; later ratified by the CoA) held in paras 419-428 that unspecified 'admin costs' inflating it to£135 'would appear to be penal', i.e. unrecoverable.

The section where I speculate about the malware and the reasons why the alleged emails were not received has been removed. Additionally, I have eliminated the reference to being absent-minded.

I will also add Excel v Wilkinson and look into this now.

Coupon-mad

Great!  I prefer 'urge' to 'implore' (= beg)!

Umkomaas

Am I right in thinking the actual WS goes on a word document and must be emailed to the court and DCBL?

The court is a few mins drive so I can hand deliver, however is it worth sending to DCBL via another method in case they say they never received the WS?

Whatever word processing package you use to create the document doesn't matter, but you must convert it to a pdf file before emailing to the court to which your case is allocated (not the CCBC, their involvement is now over). Some courts won't accept email files that are greater than 50 pages long, so if your WS exceeds that number, then paginate it, print it and place in a neat ring binder with separators for each section. Ensure your name, that of the claimant and the court reference number are clearly shown (maybe a footer to each page?). 

Even if you are producing a hard copy for the court, send the solicitors an emailed copy, let them print their own. 

helpadviseneeded

Coupon-mad said:

Great!  I prefer 'urge' to 'implore' (= beg)!

Noted 

Umkomaas said:

 Some courts won't accept email files that are greater than 50 pages long

Even if you are producing a hard copy for the court, send the solicitors an emailed copy, let them print their own. 

Currently, my statement stands at 35 pages, and I do not anticipate reaching 50 pages since I have already allocated space for the exhibits.

I've spent considerable time and effort on this matter, and as such, I will email both the solicitors and the court simultaneously and wait for confirmation of receipt. I share the same sentiment, as I have no intention of wasting my time printing out the documents for the solicitors. If the court receives it, there's no reason why the solicitors won't!

On the one hand, I am inclined to send the witness statement as soon as possible to show that I am serious about this matter. On the other hand, I remember someone advising me not to give the other party too much time to scrutinize our witness statement in case they find flaws in it.

helpadviseneeded

Coupon-mad said:

You have missed Excel v Wilkinson (a "must have" exhibit, used by aphex007 and everyone!). 

I have mentioned this in - but clearly missed the exhibits which I am now adding, they are 10 pages long so I am getting close to the 50 page limit : 

It is pertinent to note that the Britannia v Semark-Jullien appeal judgment by HHJ Parkes criticised the District Judges at Southampton, for apparently not having enough evidence to conclude that Britannia 'knew' that their added costs were abusive (unincurred, unpaid and unjustified). Unbeknown to HHJ Parkes, of course all District Judges deal with template, generic evidence and arguments from parking operators every week, and BPA member firms including Britannia, certainly had been told this by Judges up and down the Country for many years. And the decision and words used by the DLUHC show that DJ Grand and DJ Taylor were right all along. As was HHJ Jackson in Excel v Wilkinson (not appealed - see Exhibitxx-on Page xx) where she went into great detail about this abuse.

helpadviseneeded

I have located this for Excel v Wilkinson and adding here incase it helps anyone else:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

This is the 3rd version of Aphex007 WS:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cd5oqk90qga96p9/Draft_Witness_Bundle_(redacted)_v3.pdf?dl=0

Umkomaas

I've spent considerable time and effort on this matter, and as such, I will email both the solicitors and the court simultaneously

Put both email addresses in the primary address bar, rather than court only on that and solicitors in the cc address bar. 

On the one hand, I am inclined to send the witness statement as soon as possible to show that I am serious about this matter. On the other hand, I remember someone advising me not to give the other party too much time to scrutinize our witness statement in case they find flaws in it.

When is your actual deadline for submission?

I have mentioned this in - but clearly missed the exhibitswhich I am now adding, they are 10 pages long so I am getting close to the 50 page limit

Email it first, the court will soon shout if it's too much to deal with. Not all courts have an upper limit. 

You do realise that this is unlikely to get to a court hearing?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1

helpadviseneeded

Umkomaas said:

When is your actual deadline for submission?

The dispute resolution hearing is on Wed 22nd March 2023 with a time estimate of 30 mins, at point 6 of the letter we received it states: Each party must deliver to the other party and to the court office copies of all documents on which that party intends to rely at the hearing no later than 14 days before the DRH.

The court confirmed it may not get to an actual hearing when I enquired about the process.

Umkomaas

You've got a little more time. Don't forget the claimant has the same deadline for their WS submission. See if they come in early, but even if they do, it's unlikely to be much more than copy and paste generic drivel. Don't miss your deadline, whatever!

helpadviseneeded

Thanks @Umkomaas
I will have the WS ready and then make a decision nearer the time as they may send me their WS which may allow me to make amendments to mine.

Is it common for the dispute resolution hearing to be held, or is it frequently discontinued at this stage? As for DCBL, do they typically wait for the defendant to show up and make sure you have all the required documentation before deciding to discontinue the hearing? After reviewing the discontinuation thread, it is difficult to determine a clear answer.