Do I have a case or shall I just pay it? Galdstone letter

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of the following letter –

Letter Before Claim dated ……
Ref#.......

After careful reading and understanding your letter I have to inform you that your letter in not in compliance with the Practice Direction. It comes to me as a surprise as you have refer me to this document yourself yet failed to comply with it.

I have to admit I find this letter very threatening, demanding money and threatening court action rather than explaining what it is. The fact that you have missed a lot of information required by the Practice Direction could be easily taken as a scam.

With this in mind, I would like to request that you send me a new letter that is fully compliant with the Practice Direction. I have attached an extract below which deals with the requirements for a claimants letter before claim.

2.1 The claimant’s letter should give concise details about the matter. This should enable the defendant to understand and investigate the issues without needing to request further information. The letter should include –
(1) the claimant’s full name and address;
(2) the basis on which the claim is made (i.e. why the claimant says the defendant is liable);
(3) a clear summary of the facts on which the claim is based;
(4) what the claimant wants from the defendant;
(5) if financial loss is claimed, an explanation of how the amount has been calculated; and (6) details of any funding arrangement (within the meaning of rule 43.2(1)(k) of the CPR) that has been entered into by the claimant.
2.2 The letter should also –
1) list the essential documents on which the claimant intends to rely;
(2) set out the form of ADR (if any) that the claimant considers the most suitable and invite the defendant to agree to this;
(3) state the date by which the claimant considers it reasonable for a full response to be provided by the defendant; and
(4) identify and ask for copies of any relevant documents not in the claimant’s possession and which the claimant wishes to see.

From Para 4 of the PD I can see that the court has the power to apply sanctions for non compliance with the Practice Direction and so I expect to receive a fully compliant letter within the next 14 days. If I do not receive this letter I will seek assistance from the court myself.

Please treat this letter seriously. If I receive a generic, template letter which again would say to me that this is a scam, then I will forward this matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and ask them to investigate your company over the breach of the principles set out in the SRA handbook version 8.