Civil Enforcement - Letter before Action

Skywalker95

Hi, 

I have received the below letter before Action from a parking ticket 2 years ago:

What would you advise?

Thank you 

jd576

You *MUST* reply to this letter before claim. You have 30 days to do so. Do not ignore it. 

Please read the NEWBIES thread several times. In particular, the comment on how to reply to this letter before claim will tell you what you need to do at this stage

ChirpyChicken

jd576 said:

You *MUST* reply to this letter before claim. You have 30 days to do so. Do not ignore it. 

Please read the NEWBIES thread several times. In particular, the comment on how to reply to this letter before claim will tell you what you need to do at this stage

If the address is correct on the letter then there is no must about it at all.
Replying to this LBC will not stop CEL issuing a claim form. 

Skywalker95

What do you guys suggest?

 Is there something at this point which I can write to stop the Court claim coming through?

ChirpyChicken

Skywalker95 said:

What do you guys suggest?

 Is there something at this point which I can write to stop the Court claim coming through?

No and getting a court claim is not an issue

Coupon-mad

Skywalker95 said:

What do you guys suggest?

 Is there something at this point which I can write to stop the Court claim coming through?

No.

Why would you try to stop the end game?

You'll have read the NEWBIES thread post 2 before posting (as everyone is asked to) so you know what response to send (please don't copy it here). This isn't anything new.

jd576

ChirpyChicken said:

jd576 said:

You *MUST* reply to this letter before claim. You have 30 days to do so. Do not ignore it. 

Please read the NEWBIES thread several times. In particular, the comment on how to reply to this letter before claim will tell you what you need to do at this stage

If the address is correct on the letter then there is no must about it at all.
Replying to this LBC will not stop CEL issuing a claim form. 

Nope, you're definitely right that it won't stop them issuing a claim. Don't think it's ever stopped any of them!

However, failure to reply would be non-compliance with the pre-action protocol for debt claims and would it not potentially create a liability for additional costs?

PRACTICE DIRECTION – PRE-ACTION CONDUCT AND PROTOCOLS paragraphs 13 to 16 clearly lay out the potential consequences for non-compliance.

ChirpyChicken

jd576 said:

ChirpyChicken said:

jd576 said:

You *MUST* reply to this letter before claim. You have 30 days to do so. Do not ignore it. 

Please read the NEWBIES thread several times. In particular, the comment on how to reply to this letter before claim will tell you what you need to do at this stage

If the address is correct on the letter then there is no must about it at all.
Replying to this LBC will not stop CEL issuing a claim form. 

Nope, you're definitely right that it won't stop them issuing a claim. Don't think it's ever stopped any of them!

However, failure to reply would be non-compliance with the pre-action protocol for debt claims and would it not potentially create a liability for additional costs?

PRACTICE DIRECTION – PRE-ACTION CONDUCT AND PROTOCOLS paragraphs 13 to 16 clearly lay out the potential consequences for non-compliance.

No makes no difference to these claims

Skywalker95

Thank you all for your replies. Is this ok?

Dear Sirs,

Your ref: [insert reference number]
Proposed legal proceedings
Claimant: [insert name of parking company]
I refer to your letter of claim.

You should revert to your client because the 'propensity to pay' score in my case is zero, so any claim is hopeless and a waste of the court fee (whether 'fronted' by your firm or not). Move on to weaker victims.

I have no knowledge of the incident referred to, and I was not the driver at the time. Furthermore, your client has not provided any evidence that would allow them to hold the registered keeper liable under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. 

The alleged 'debt' is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

Yep that'll do as long as you obviously remove this bit (below). Come on, always give our templates a facts & relevance check: you can't talk to CEL about 'their client' & 'fronting court fees' for the client'!

"You should revert to your client because the 'propensity to pay' score in my case is zero, so any claim is hopeless and a waste of the court fee (whether 'fronted' by your firm or not). Move on to weaker victims."

Skywalker95

Oops. My bad. Sorry. 

Thank you. I will remove the bit and send the amended one:

Your ref: [insert reference number]
Proposed legal proceedings
Claimant: [insert name of parking company]
I refer to your letter of claim.

I have no knowledge of the incident referred to, and I was not the driver at the time. Furthermore, your client has not provided any evidence that would allow them to hold the registered keeper liable under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. 

The alleged 'debt' is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Yours faithfully,