Formal Letter of Claim received from QDR Solicitors

sarin999

I've received the attached redacted LBC (other pages removed for brevity) and responded immediately. My response acknowledges their claim and requests they send a compliant Letter Before Claim with missing information included. They have responded with a template response and as such I have again requested they provide the missing information but this time spelling it out using excerpts from the Pre-Action Protocol. If QDR fail to give me the information I require and then file a claim, do I still use the template defence or do I do something different to ask the case be thrown out as the Pre-Action Protocol hasn't been adhered to?

Thanks in advance

Fruitcake

Use the template defence. It would be unwise and unsafe to rely on the courts dismissing the case because the claimant failed to comply with parts of the PAP, but those failures should be included in the defence.

What happened when you complained to the landowner and your MP? This is always Plan A, and it is never too late to do so.

Has the driver's identity been identified. ECP NTKS are not always PoFA compliant.

Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped here before.

patient_dream

AS FRUITCAKE SAYS ABOVE


FAKE CLAIM ...... No explanation about the £70 they have added.  A feeble attempt of double recovery which the courts do not allow. YOU DO NOT OWE £170

A menacing letter suggesting you will have a CCJ against you, A CCJ can only happen if you went to court, you lost (doubtful) and did not pay within the time period set by the judge.   THIS IS SCARE MONGERING

They suggest you will pay the clients legal costs ..... RUBBISH .... This is a small claims court where the MAX legal costs they can claim is £50

You are not obliged to complete any of the forms they sent ... DON'T

Judges do not like this method of threatening people 

As said, read the NEWBIES thread about a Letter before Claim

Coupon-mad

You haven't got a claim yet?

A case won't be thrown out due to alleged omissions in the PAP.  Forget that.  I think you've been reading old threads.

Send QDR the letter about VAT that's in the LBC section of the NEWBIES thread and if they are demanding £182 add in an extra line to my suggested LBC response, asking if the £12 'trace fee' they are demanding from you on top, is £10 plus £2 VAT, or is the £12 nett of VAT (with their client paying the VAT element of that and the £70 'DRA fee', later)?

sarin999

I've only had the LBC. My second response was sent 2 weeks ago asking for more information based on the PAP and nothing heard since. I believe the advice suggests its a dialogue for the benefit of the Magistrate who can see that I have followed the protocol and therefore would look less favourbly on the claimant.

I find the threads very confusing i.e. what is the current advice versus what is legacy. I'm confident in my case however and the template defence letter is a good start. Happy to keep posting updates if people are interested.

Coupon-mad

There's no magistrate involved.

Current advice is in the NEWBIES thread  (NOTHING IS LEGACY THERE) where I state exactly what to send.  I edited that bit only weeks ago!

sarin999

Hearing date recieved for the end of Jan 2025.

Coupon-mad

sarin999 said:

Hearing date recieved for the end of Jan 2025.

Good. So you also know your deadline to do your WS & evidence now. 

sarin999

The Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing) letter says that "Unless the Claimant by 4pm on x December 2024 pay to the court the Trial Fee of £59 or file a properly completed application.....then the claim will be struck out" 

My Witness Statement must be sent to the other party and court office no later than 14 days before the hearing. Is there any strategy to filing the witness statement ? i.e. after the Claimant payment date above to see if you get a struck out case, but definately earlier than the 14 days? 

Coupon-mad

Yes.  Correct that is the strategy to diarise.

sarin999

So the date has passed (24/12/2024) for the claimaint to pay the court fees but I haven't had any response yet from the court presumeably due to the festive period. I am finishing off my Witness statement to send in next week before the deadline. A few questions:

How do I submit an Assessment of costs with the statement? i.e. do I start from scratch on a blank page and include dispersements, the cost of a day off from work with payslip etc ? Where do I stop here, can I start claiming for all the time I have spent on this i.e. at least 10 days (not itemised). Should I use a form N260 instead?

I have to send it to the Claimants solicitors which is fine but now the claim has been allocated to a particular court do I still send my witness statement to the court or the Civil National Business Centre?

Thank you!