DCB LEGAL, SMART PARKING COURT CLAIM

Gr1pr

Study the first few steps in the 8 steps that you should be following in the defence template thread in announcements near the top of the forum, first post, same as everyone else

No scans, no pictures, no paperwork

senseionthemoon

Yep. That was dead easy. Thanks for the help. I have now sent the completed form to DCB legal, Smart Parking and CNBC emails with just the claim number in the text box. I'll wait for this to be withdrawn after mediation , where I will offer them sweet nowt and post another update as soon as.

Gr1pr

It will be discontinued long after mediation, just before the hearing fee is due to your local civil court, so in several months time

senseionthemoon

So I'm here again to add some more context and get some advice on how best to proceed.

I originally sent my DQ/N180 on 3rd September, which was the deadline date. It turns out there was a typo in the email address I sent it to. By 4am on 4 September, I had received a notification that the email had not been delivered, so I resent the N180 immediately to the correct email address.

CNBC subsequently sent me a letter advising that the N180 had not been returned. I contacted them, explained what had happened, and they allowed me additional time to submit it. I then filed the N180 within that additional period.

However, I have now received an email dated 6 October stating:

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your Directions Questionnaire however I would like to advise that it is herewith returned to you as invalid because it has been completed by a third party. This cannot be accepted as a valid response as any documents must be signed by the Defendant or their authorised legal representative.

Please be advised that to become a litigation friend you need to obtain authorisation from a Local Court and this authorisation must be enclosed with your response. You are advised to seek legal advice regarding this matter.

If you wish to continue defending the matter, please follow the instructions below:

What to do now

You can apply for the defence to be reinstated by completing an N244 Application.

[The remainder of the court's instructions regarding the N244, fees and contact details follow.]

I am confused as to why the DQ has apparently been treated as having been completed by a third party.

I have a strong suspicion that this may be connected to an error in the claim. The claim has been issued against me, but my name has been recorded incorrectly: they have used my middle name as my first name and have also misspelled my surname.

On the N180, I used my actual first name and correctly spelled surname, so I am wondering whether the discrepancy between the name on the claim and the name on my DQ has caused the system/court to interpret the DQ as having been completed by somebody other than the Defendant.

I have not appointed a litigation friend or authorised a third party to act on my behalf. I completed the N180 myself.

I'm now unsure how I should proceed. The court is telling me that I need to make an N244 application to reinstate the defence, but I am not convinced that an N244 is necessarily appropriate if the underlying issue is simply that the Claimant has incorrectly named me and the court has consequently treated my correctly completed DQ as being submitted by a third party.

There is also the issue of mediation. DCB Legal have been repeatedly calling me from an automated number asking me to contact them because they have apparently been attempting to reach me. I have tried calling back, but have been left on hold. With work and family commitments, I don't fancy spending an hour sitting on hold during the working day, so I have not yet managed to speak to them or arrange the mediation call.

How would you recommend I proceed from here?

In particular:

1. Should I contact CNBC again and explain that I am the named Defendant, that I completed the N180 myself, and that the name discrepancy originates from the Claimant's incorrect spelling/use of my name?
2. Should I submit an N244 application to reinstate the defence, or should I first ask the court to clarify/correct the issue with the DQ?
3. Is the incorrect name on the claim something I should formally raise with the court as a separate issue?
4. And what should I do about the outstanding mediation call with DCB Legal? chase DCB for mediation?

Any advice appreciated

Gr1pr

You should have edited your details on MCOL to correct the mistakes

Post a screenshot of your MCOL claim history below

You could complain about it to claim progression , and to HMCTS

The mediation service deal with mediation with both sides, ignore DCB LEGAL

Coupon-mad

Why are they saying you need a N244, if your case has not been struck out? Or has it?

You need to reply immediately - TOMORROW - and complain that you are not a third party, you are the defendant and the CNBC should never have jumped to the wrong conclusion. Tell them to log the DQ and carry on with the case.

Also send an email complaint about the CNBC's handling, to HMCTS immediately. They'll put a bomb under the CNBC.

senseionthemoon

So here is the email I have sent to CNBC, I amended to suit as this was created by Chatgpt

I am writing urgently regarding the above claim and the rejection of my Directions Questionnaire (N180) on the basis that it was allegedly completed by a third party.

I am the Defendant in this claim and I personally completed the N180. I have not appointed a litigation friend, legal representative or any other third party to act on my behalf.

I am concerned that the N180 may have been incorrectly treated as having been completed by a third party because the Claimant has issued the claim using an incorrect version of my name. The claim records my name as [NAME SHOWN ON CLAIM], whereas my correct name is [CORRECT NAME]. I completed the N180 using my correct name.

I therefore respectfully ask the court to review this issue and confirm whether the discrepancy between the name recorded on the claim and my correct name has resulted in my N180 being incorrectly rejected.

For completeness, I also attempted to comply with the original N180 deadline. I sent the completed N180 on 3 September, which was the stated deadline. I subsequently discovered that I had made an error in the email address to which it was sent and received a non-delivery notification at approximately 4am on 4 September. I immediately resent the N180 to the correct email address.

I subsequently received correspondence stating that the N180 had not been received. I contacted the court, explained the circumstances, and was given additional time to submit the form. I then submitted the N180 within the additional period allowed.

I have now been advised that the N180 is being returned as invalid because it was allegedly completed by a third party. This is incorrect: I completed the form myself.

I would therefore be grateful if the court could please:

1. Confirm whether my Defence has actually been struck out, and if so, the date and basis on which this occurred;
2. Confirm whether the N180 can be accepted and recorded as valid, given that I am the Defendant and personally completed it;
3. Confirm whether the incorrect name appearing on the claim needs to be corrected and, if so, what procedure the court requires;
4. If the court considers that an N244 application is nevertheless required to reinstate the Defence, please confirm this so that I can take the appropriate procedural step without delay.

I attach copies of the relevant correspondence and evidence, including:

• the N180;
• my original submission email of 3 September;
• the subsequent non-delivery notification;
• the resubmission to the correct email address;
• the correspondence in which additional time was allowed;
• the subsequent N180 submission; and
• the correspondence dated 6 October rejecting the N180 as having been completed by a third party.

Given that this appears to have arisen from an administrative/identification issue rather than a failure by me to engage with the proceedings, I would be grateful if this could be reviewed urgently and the case record corrected where necessary.

I wish to continue defending the claim.

Yours faithfully,

[CORRECT FULL NAME]
Defendant

Here is a screenshot of my claim history, which shows both claims still at 'defence' stage.

I have not yet made a formal complaint to HMCTS, as I am currently waiting for a response from the CNBC. @Coupon-mad, @Gr1pr Would you recommend that I make the complaint now anyway, or wait to see what the CNBC says first?

I am also wondering whether the wording around the name discrepancy is right. The incorrect name did not originate from me, the Claimant has used the wrong version of my name throughout the claim and in all of their correspondence. Given that the Claimant is responsible for providing the Defendant's details when issuing the claim, should the responsibility not ultimately be on them to correct the incorrect information on the case before it can properly progress?

It also doesn't help that things have recently become quite difficult with constant travelling and being away from home, which has meant that I have occasionally received correspondence later than I otherwise would have. I don't want this to be interpreted as me deliberately delaying or failing to engage with the proceedings, particularly as I have been trying to deal with everything as soon as I become aware of it.

Are there any other steps I should be taking now to get ahead of this and protect my position?

Appreciate all the patience and help with this case.