CEL in-house claim, Defended

Gr1pr

Yes its expected, there will be 2 more deadlines on that court order, the hearing fee deadline date and the WS deadline, as well as the hearing date, so what are all 3 , in date order. ?

Study the 2nd post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum, for this latter stage

justice_4all

There is no mention of a witness statement deadline on the letter. Only 2 dates

fee deadline: 9 Dec
hearing of claim: 5 Jan

The letter reads:

District Judge Redpath-stevens has considered the statements of case and directions questionnaire filed and allocated the claim to the small claims track.

Unless the claimant does by 4.00pm on the 9 December 2026 pay to the court the trial fee of £27.00 or file a properly completed application (i.e one which provides all the required information in the manner requested) for help with fees, then the claim will be struck out with effect from 8 December 2026 without further order and, unless the court orders otherwise, you will also be liable for the costs which the defendant has incurred.

The hearing of the claim will take place at 10:00 AM on the 5 January 2027 at the County….

justice_4all

ah think i found it..

6) 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 4pm on 4th November 2026

Gr1pr

So its , WS first, then the hearing fee, then the hearing date (usually the hearing fee deadline is first, but not always.)

So you need to submit your Witness Statement plus Exhibits bundle before 4th November

justice_4all

Thanks again for all the continued support so far.

I’m getting a bit anxious. Here is what I’m working with:

• The Timing: The "max stay 3 hours" text on the sign is in fairly large print. My ANPR entry/exit showed a 16-minute overstay. Factoring in the mandatory 10-minute BPA grace period leaves a 6-minute gap that I plan to argue as de minimis.
  
• Exhibits/Evidence: I'm struggling to find strong exhibits. There is some smaller print on the sign (attached photo of sign), and I may have a cafe receipt, though I doubt that moves the needle much.
  
• This is a leisure centre we use all the time. On this specific visit, I wasn't aware we had to enter our reg into an internal terminal (which would have avoided this whole 3hrs limit fiasco).
  
• Personal Mitigation: I also had the usual struggle of getting babies into car seats quickly, though I'm well aware judges generally don't care much about personal mitigation.
  
• Original PCN was sent to my old house, which was whatsapped to me from new homeowners around 12 days after PCN letter date - leaving little time to respond/pay reduced amount.
  
• On their WS they said they sent several written requests to me to recover payment - thats complete rubbish. May have had 2 at most.
  

Does this even sound winnable at this stage, or am I clutching at straws with the 6-minute de minimis and lack of exhibits? should i try and settle still? Any pointers on what to focus on for the witness statement would be hugely appreciated!

I had received CE's witness statement on May 29th, way before any mediation.

justice_4all

here is the signage

Le_Kirk

There is a hearing date at a court on the other side of London which is not convenient whatsoever!

Which court did you select on your N180 - DQ?

justice_4all

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82167296#Comment_82167296

Barnet Civil and Family Courts Centre
St Marys Court, N3 1BQ

Hearing is at County Court ar Clerkenwell & Shoreditch EC1V 3RE

Le_Kirk

If it is an issue for you, you could try complaining to both courts, with a copy of your DQ and ask them to sort out their mess. Note this is a complaint NOT an application, so you don't expect to have to pay a fee.

Coupon-mad

Cases get funnelled to Clerkenwell (you can't change it) but your hearing will never take place, so no worries. CEL will discontinue.

• The Timing: The "max stay 3 hours" text on the sign is in fairly large print. My ANPR entry/exit showed a 16-minute overstay. Factoring in the mandatory 10-minute BPA grace period leaves a 6-minute gap that I plan to argue as de minimis.

Yes, but surely you read the CMA's Open Letter to the parking industry about that? The Regulator has said it's not fair or legal to count 'total stay' based on camera images, with zero consideration period.

Why aren't you relying on what the Regulator said? That's the clout you need.