I have a parking fine but not my vehicle

OingoBoingo

email reply from dcb legal regarding soft trace data request arrived today:

OingoBoingo

Also today Court hearing date letter arrived, date is set for December 5th

in the court hearing letter they wrote:

It is ordered that:

1) Hearing is adjourned.

2) The Claimant shall serve on the defendant it's witness statement and appendices by 5 December 2024

3) The hearing is listed on Dec 5th

4) Costs in the case

So,

1) yes the hearing was adjourned

2) I received the claimants ws and appendices pack last week finally, after DCB messed up and sent it to an address I no longer live at

3) date is set

4) I find this bit odd as it does not say anything more except 'costs in the case'. Am I entitled to claim costs, or were they going to put something else and missed it out?

Coupon-mad

"Costs in the case" is the correct phrase that means the costs from the abandoned hearing are carried forward and will be determined by the final Judge (so don't forget to ask for them - TWO lots of attendance costs - verbally once you win, or you could miss out.  Costs are something to ask for and often if you don't ask you don't get!).

Reply to DCB Legal again and head it up:

WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS

Tell them that, as they already know, you are not one and the same data subject whose address was provided by the DVLA and this is so serious harassment that you will report them to the ICO if they fail to produce the soft trace record that threw up your address.  You are entitled to see how similar the two names are, whether there was a different initial, etc., in order to expose DCB group's error.

In the interests of the Overriding Objective and minimising wasted court time and in view of the costs their mistrace has caused their client to be exposed to, you are willing to accept £xxx to cover your costs in the case, if paid within ten days of this email.

Give them ten days then report this refusal to provide the soft trace data to the ICO, to the CSA and to the SRA.

You will be complaining to the ICO and separately to the SRA and CSA, about the conduct of DCB Group (not the parking firm).

ThorOdinson

The figure settlement seems low for this. The ICO does have examples of figures awarded on their website somewhere.

OingoBoingo

hi, are there any example letters regarding claim of costs I can use as reference so I can submit one after the court hearing on december 5th?

Thanks

Umkomaas

OingoBoingo said:

hi, are there any example letters regarding claim of costs I can use as reference so I can submit one after the court hearing on december 5th?

Thanks

A cost schedule (copied to the court and the claimant's solicitors) must be submitted before the hearing - 7 days before is usual - not after it!

Coupon-mad

Search the forum for something like:

costs assessment £19 hours costs £95

OingoBoingo

Sent to DCB today:

Subject: WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS
Dear DCB Legal,
As you are already aware, I am not the individual whose address was provided by the DVLA. Your continued contact in this matter amounts to serious harassment. I must insist that you provide the soft trace record that led to my address being used, as I am entitled to verify how this error occurred. Specifically, I need to understand how similar the two names are, whether there was a different initial, or any other relevant detail to highlight the mistake made by your tracing process.
Failing to provide this information will leave me with no option but to report this matter to the ICO.
In the interest of the Overriding Objective to avoid unnecessary use of court resources and to minimise further costs caused by this mistrace, I am willing to settle this matter by accepting £780 to cover my costs if payment is made within ten days of this email.

Should you refuse to provide the requested soft trace data or fail to respond appropriately, I will escalate this matter to the ICO, the CSA, and the SRA for investigation.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. XYZ

Umkomaas

I am willing to settle this matter by accepting £780 to cover my costs

Have you copied this to the court - or do you intend to?  You will need to break this down, itemising each cost head. What you send to the court and DCB Legal must be the same. A 'bald' figure isn't likely to be accepted without itemisation. 

Fruitcake

Is there any particular reason why you sent that "without prejudice"?