Court Claim - has the Defendant blundered?

glosandy · 5 July 2018 at 11:24PM

Appreciate any advice on this one - I am assisting with a Gladstones/PCM claim (thread "Court Claim - PCM (UK)/Gladstones") at Whittle Way, Gloucester. I have been approached by a friend who is in an identical situation.

They ignored all previous correspondence until they received the court papers. Without advice, they have engaged with Gladstones to try and settle, offering to pay £60 instead of the claimed £240. Gladstones came back and said they'd accept £180 to halt proceedings. After looking at the arguments I've put forward, the friend now wants to go to court and argue!

So, are their bridges burnt by the fact that they have engaged with Gladstones, or is it possible to say "thanks, but no thanks - now take me to court!"

Many Thanks

Glosandy

Coupon-mad · 6 July 2018 at 12:54AM

Their bridges are not burnt by attempts to settle.

What might be a problem is if they haven't done the AOS on time?!

glosandy · 6 July 2018 at 7:46AM

Thank you.. I think their AOS was done in time. Does the schedule still hold though i.e. 28 days from service of papers to submit the defence?

System · 6 July 2018 at 7:59AM

28 days from service of papers to submit the defence?

Or 33 days from the date on the top right of the form. As the MCOL computer doesn't know when actual service happened, it is set to 33 days from the MCOL date.

waamo · 6 July 2018 at 8:18AM

Courts will encourage negotiation before a hearing. It in no way looks bad to try and avoid a hearing.

Confidential negotiations are a normal part of the process and the judge shouldn't draw any inference from them at all as paying is sometimes a purely commercial decision rather than indicating any admittance of wrongdoing.

The_Deep · 6 July 2018 at 8:38AM

They are daft imo not to settle for £180. They are likely to get a lot less than that after paying the fees and hiring a solicitor. Gladstones are quite likely to muck it all up in court anyway, read some of these.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=parking+prankster+you+ve+been+Gladstoned&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-gb&httpsmsn=1&refig=3380346aa41547d8cdffa81baf7cfa60&PC=ACTS&sp=-1&pq=parking+prankster+you+ve+been+gladstoned&sc=0-40&qs=n&sk=&cvid=3380346aa41547d8cdffa81baf7cfa60

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

glosandy · 6 July 2018 at 11:05AM

Court papers are dated 8th June, so I make the defence submission by the 11th July.
Gladstones say the offer stands until 12th July.
The AOS was completed as "part defence" - does this have any bearing?
I take it if we want to disregard Gladstones offer, we just submit the defence by MCOL before the 12th?
Many thanks.

KeithP · 6 July 2018 at 12:28PM

glosandy wrote: »

...we just submit the defence by MCOL before the 12th?

Do not submit the Defence via MCOL.
Post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ stick thread explains why.

Your Defence must be filed by 4pm on Wednesday 11 July 2018.

When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as described here:

1) print your Defence
2) sign it
3) scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
4) send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5) just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.

Coupon-mad · 6 July 2018 at 7:14PM

So show us the draft defence, this weekend, and ignore Gladstones useless communication.

[Deleted User] · 6 July 2018 at 7:30PM

All court timescales will ALWAYS apply in accordance with the court rules. You can negotiate howsoever you wish, but it will not obviate the need for a defence or "buy time."

In some cases short time extensions can be agreed. That requires exchange of emails/letter (confirmation in writing) and cannot be longer than 28 days.

glosandy · 8 July 2018 at 12:08AM

Draft defence posted below, pretty much a cut & paste from my other thread. Any feedback appreciated.

Court Claim - has the Defendant blundered?

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