UKPC QDR Solicitors County Court Claim

tjfruits

tjfruits said:

Also with the unavailable for court dates, I’ve seen someone mentioned that there can be 20 weeks between the directions questionnaire and the notification of a court date. 

Can I inform the court of an additional date after the directions form? I haven’t booked my summer holiday yet (as I don’t have the money at the minute) and would likely just be booking the cheapest dates available. 

Anyone had any experience of this?

or do I just have to put everything on hold until I eventually get a court date through.

cheers

Le_Kirk

Who knows what the backlog is or is likely to be?  You can block out some weeks/months and keep a record of them and see if you can afford a holiday during the times you blocked out.

Coupon-mad

Yep - just send the local court an email with a whole month blocked out as unavailable due to a booked holiday.

tjfruits

Hi all, back again.

I’ve now had my notice of allocation to the small claims track (hearing) and the letter left me with a couple of questions that I haven’t been able to answer by looking through the forum.

The letter mentions a trial fee but doesn’t seem to mention where to pay it? Is this via the online system? Is the fee recoverable if I win?

Also when do I need to have my witness statement in by? (Court date is in November)

Umkomaas

tjfruits said:

Hi all, back again.

I’ve now had my notice of allocation to the small claims track (hearing) and the letter left me with a couple of questions that I haven’t been able to answer by looking through the forum.

1. The letter mentions a trial fee but doesn’t seem to mention where to pay it? Is this via the online system? Is the fee recoverable if I win?

2. Also when do I need to have my witness statement in by? (Court date is in November)

1. The claimant pays that, not you. If you lose the case you will have to refund it to the claimant.

2. Read the reverse of the notice of allocation - unlikely to give you the actual date by when you must submit your WS, but it should say to submit 'all documents you wish to rely on no later than 14 days before the hearing' (or words to that effect). Check it out. 

KeithP

tjfruits said:

The letter mentions a trial fee but doesn’t seem to mention where to pay it? Is this via the online system? Is the fee recoverable if I win?

When reading that Notice of Allocation again, keep in mind that you are the Defendant.
What exactly does it say about the trial fee?

tjfruits said:

Also when do I need to have my witness statement in by? (Court date is in November)

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 on which you intend to rely' are your Witness Statement and evidence.

tjfruits

Appreciate the reply’s guys.

Will be back when I’ve done the witness statement

Coupon-mad

Latest exemplar is the one in the NEWBIES thread.

tjfruits

Evening guys, draft witness statement below: 

                                                 Witness Statement of Defendant

1. I am XXXX and I am the defendant against whom this claim is made. The facts below are true to the best of my belief and my account has been prepared based upon my own knowledge.

 

2. I am a litigant in person, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the Claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience. In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge. Where they are not within my own knowledge, they are true to the best of my information and belief. 

 

3. I am the Registered Keeper and driver of the vehicle in question in May 2021

 

4. In my statement I shall refer to (Exhibits 1-X) within the evidence supplied with this statement, referring to page and reference numbers where appropriate. My defence is repeated, and I will say as follows:

Facts and Sequence of events

5. I drove to Pure Gym Milton Keynes car park on 10 May 2021 at 18:00 hours.

6. I parked in a parking space in which I truly believed was for use by Pure Gym members. I had been using this car park for 5 months and had no reason to believe otherwise. The car park is used by two gyms - however the delineation between parking spaces is not prominent with no barriers or fencing and a lack of adequate signage.

7. The on-site parking signage pictured by the claimant, exhibit 1, is barely readable at close proximity. When viewing from a car window it would be unreadable. The nearest signage is 40m away from the point at which I was parked, which also happened to be where the car park jurisdiction changes, as shown in exhibit 2.

a) In the alternative, if the Claimant alleges signage was present the Defendant avers that the signs had vague/hidden terms and a mix of small font, such that they would be considered incapable of binding any person reading them under common contract law, and would also be considered void pursuant to Sch2 of the CRA. 

8. The delineation between spaces is unclear, the claimants photo of my car, exhibit 3, shows the space behind me being partially marked with white lines and the space I am parked in marked with yellow lines. On my walk to the gym or in the vicinity of where I was parked there is no signage to inform me of what the difference in line colour may mean.

9.I refer to British Parking Association (BPA) Approved Operator Scheme (AoS) - Code of Practice Version 6 - October 2015 section 18.3 . This specifically states that signs with specific parking terms must be placed throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving the vehicle.

10. It is therefore denied that I entered a legally binding contract, as no clear signs existed in the vicinity of the parking space where I was parked. For the last 5 months of parking on the same site and on the date of 10 May 2021, at no point did I believe any permission to park was needed.

tjfruits

Any comments would be appreciated