IMPORTANT: Please make sure your posts do not contain any personally identifiable information (both your own and that of others). When uploading images, please take care that you have redacted all personal information including QR codes, number plates and reference numbers.

Small claim against me even though paid fine

1356789

Comments

  • Hi

    Sent the further letter of claim asking they withdraw claim but no response so need to prepare my defence and counterclaim tomorrow, the claim was issued on 22 September. I have also had confirmation from DVLA that SIP got my details through them.

    Questions:
    1. Shall I request the strike out in my defence? Do I really want the claim striking out though if counterclaiming and looking to recover costs?
    2. Shall I submit my defence and counter claim online or by post?

    Thanks in advance.

    Ps will post my draft defence/counter claim soon
  • Lamilad
    Lamilad Posts: 1,412
    First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    Questions:
    1. Shall I request the strike out in my defence? Do I really want the claim striking out though if counterclaiming and looking to recover costs?
    2. Shall I submit my defence and counter claim online or by post?
    The claim won't be struck out anyway so probably not worth mentioning. You could say instead "due to all the procedural failings stated above and lack of a cause of action, this claim is utterly without merit and the court should give no weight to it whatsoever.

    Your defence can certainly be submitted via email, not sure about the counter claim - ring the court and ask.
  • Please can you let me know what you think of my draft defence and counter claim:


    DEFENCE


    1. The Defendant admits that on 13 March 2017 date she was the registered keeper and driver of vehicle registration number XXX, but denies any debt exists


    2. On the 13 March 2017 the Defendant admits that she parked on the land in question and received a parking charge notice from the Claimant. However, on 14 March 2017 the Defendant paid the said charge of £35.00 which was the reduced rate if paid within 24 hours of the parking charge notice of being issued.. The Defendant will produce evidence of the payment in the form of a bank statement and document from the bank confirming time paid along with the authorisation code.


    3. In spite of receiving payment, the Claimant has continued to write to the Defendant, both itself and now solicitors, seeking payment of the charge, together with additional charges and interest, and threatening proceedings and a CCJ.



    4. Since the Defendant paid the charge in full, within the required time scale, there is no debt owing to the Claimant and this Claim is entirely misconceived and bound to fail.


    5. The Defendant has attempted repeatedly to draw these matters to the Claimant's attention, but the Claimant has ignored all the Defendant’s correspondence. The Defendant will produce evidence of such correspondence to show the attempts made by the Defendant to bring this to the Claimant’s attention.


    COUNTERCLAIM






    • In spite of no debt being due to the Claimant because whatever debt was due was paid on 14 March 2017, it has sought the Defendant's personal data from the DVLA, which the Defendant will produce evidence of. And the Claimant has obtained, retained and processed such data in breach of her rights under the Data Protection Act, including passing the data to its Solicitors and the Court.
    • The DVLA is entitled to share its register of keeper data with private parking companies but only for reasonable cause.
    • The Defendant again repeats that she paid the parking charge notice on 14 March 2017 and therefore the Claimant had no reasonable cause to obtain the Defendant’s personal data.
    • Furthermore the Claimant passed the Defendant’s details on to their solicitors and the Court which is a further breach of the Data Protection Act, particularly Schedule 1 Principle 5, as they were informed by the Defendant on a number of occasions that the parking charge notice had been paid but despite this passed of the Defendant’s personal details to their solicitors and then the Court and therefore kept the Defendant’s data for longer than necessary.
    • Pursuant to Section 13 of the DPA the Defendant seeks compensation as a result of the contravention by the Claimant.
    • Furthermore, the Claimant and its Solicitors have written a number of letters to the Defendant over the course of 5 months alleging that the debt is due, demanding settlement of the debt, and making threats of court proceedings and CCJs. The Defendant has responded to such letters in a timely manner and brought the Claimant’s attention to the fact that the debt was paid and requesting that Claimant refrain from pursuing the matter further as such amounts to harassment.
    • The Claimant's actions in writing repeatedly to the Defendant claiming a debt was owed, when they had been repeatedly informed by her that it had been paid, amount to harassment pursuant to Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The Claimant's actions caused the Defendant to feel anxious, stressed and harassed. The Defendant specifically told the Claimant that this was the case, but it/its solicitors continued to write to her .
    • The Defendant seeks the payment of damages in the sum of £500 and an injunction prohibiting the Claimant or its agents from contacting him/her again about this matter.
    • The Defendant also seeks her costs of Defending the claim as well as her costs of the counterclaim.


    STATEMENT OF TRUTH

    I believe the facts in this statement are true
  • Hayles31 wrote: »
    Please can you let me know what you think of my draft defence and counter claim:


    DEFENCE


    1. The Defendant admits that on 13 March 2017 date she was the registered keeper and driver of vehicle registration number XXX, but denies any debt exists


    2. On the 13 March 2017 the Defendant admits that she parked on the land in question and received a parking charge notice from the Claimant. However, on 14 March 2017 the Defendant paid the said charge of £35.00 which was the reduced rate if paid within 24 hours of the parking charge notice of being issued.. The Defendant will produce evidence of the payment in the form of a bank statement and document from the bank confirming time paid along with the authorisation code.


    3. In spite of receiving payment, the Claimant has continued to write to the Defendant, both itself and now solicitors, seeking payment of the charge, together with additional charges and interest, and threatening proceedings and a CCJ.



    4. Since the Defendant paid the charge in full, within the required time scale, there is no debt owing to the Claimant and this Claim is entirely misconceived and bound to fail.


    5. The Defendant has attempted repeatedly to draw these matters to the Claimant's attention, but the Claimant has ignored all the Defendant’s correspondence. The Defendant will produce evidence of such correspondence to show the attempts made by the Defendant to bring this to the Claimant’s attention.


    COUNTERCLAIM



    number these paragraphs, continuing from the previous numbering

    6. The Defendant repeats paragraph 2-5 inclusive above


    7.In spite of no debt being due to the Claimant because whatever debt was due was paid on 14 March 2017, it has sought and obtained the Defendant's personal data from the DVLA, which the Defendant will produce evidence of. And is has the Claimant has obtained, retained and processed such data in breach of her rights under the Data Protection Act, including passing the data to[third party debt collectors???] its Solicitors and the Court.


    8. The DVLA is entitled to share its register of keeper data with private parking companies but only for reasonable cause. The Defendant again repeats that she paid the parking charge notice on 14 March 2017 and therefore The Claimant had no reasonable cause to request and obtain the Defendant’s personal data from the DVLA pursuant to ..... [set out the relevant section of the Act that you say has been breached].


    9. Having wrongfully obtained the Defendant's data, the Claimant then passed it on to [third party debt collectors???], Furthermore the Claimant passed the Defendant’s details on to their its solicitors and the Court which is a further breach of the Data Protection Act, particularly Schedule 1 Principle 5, as they were informed by the Defendant on a number of occasions that the parking charge notice had been paid but despite this passed of the Defendant’s personal details to their solicitors and then the Court and therefore kept the Defendant’s data for longer than necessary.


    10. [i've moved this up] Furthermore, the Claimant and its Solicitors have written a number of letters to the Defendant over the course of 5 months alleging that the debt is due, demanding settlement of the debt, and making threats of court proceedings and CCJs. The Defendant has responded to such letters in a timely manner and brought the Claimant’s attention to the fact that the debt was paid and requesting that Claimant refrain from pursuing the matter further as such amounts to harassment.


    11. Despite being reminded by the Defendant that no debt exists, the Claimant has nevertheless continued to process her data and to pass it onto third parties, in breach of [relevant section]


    12. Pursuant to Section 13 of the DPA the Defendant seeks damages in respect of the Claimant's breaches compensation in respect of as a result of the contravention by the Claimant's breaches.


    13. The Claimant's actions in writing repeatedly to the Defendant claiming a non-existent debt was owed, even after when they had been repeatedly informed by her that it had been paid, amount to harassment pursuant to Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.


    14. The Claimant's actions have caused the Defendant to feel anxious, stressed and harassed. Not only did the Claimant send her a number of letters about a debt which did not exist, but they ignored the evidence she provided to demonstrate that there was no such debt and continued to write to her. The Claimant's letters were misleading and threatening in tone, telling the Defendant that her credit rating would be affected by any proceedings, and that she would have no proper defence to a claim. The Defendant specifically told the Claimant that this was the case, but it/its solicitors continued to write to her .


    AND THE DEFENDANT CLAIMS


    15. The payment of damages in the sum of £500 and an injunction prohibiting the Claimant or its agents from contacting her again about this matter and from continuing to retain and process her data.


    16. An Order that the Claimant pay her costs of Defending the claim as well as her costs of the counterclaim.

    DATED THIS DAY OF 2017
    STATEMENT OF TRUTH

    I believe the facts in this statement are true


    Some comments, I think it's fine as it is. You can add all the detail to your WS.
    I would write a covering letter with this to ask for a strikeout. I'll do one for you in a minute.
    Although a practising Solicitor, my posts here are NOT legal advice, but are personal opinion based on limited facts provided anonymously by forum users. I accept no liability for the accuracy of any such posts and users are advised that, if they wish to obtain formal legal advice specific to their case, they must seek instruct and pay a solicitor.
  • I know I suggested doing it at DQ stage, but I think perhaps do it now - I've just reviewed my previous posts and I've already done the letter. You can adapt it to refer to the defence.
    Although a practising Solicitor, my posts here are NOT legal advice, but are personal opinion based on limited facts provided anonymously by forum users. I accept no liability for the accuracy of any such posts and users are advised that, if they wish to obtain formal legal advice specific to their case, they must seek instruct and pay a solicitor.
  • Hayles31
    Hayles31 Posts: 32
    First Anniversary
    Forumite
    Thanks so much.

    There were no dept collectors letters as you queried.

    Do you think I’ll be ok just submitting on the MCOL website or would you post it to the court and sols. I’m just minded got limited time and might not get chance to post it today. Claim issued 22 September so thinking if I post tomorrow (Saturday) by recorded delivery I will still be in time. Do I just send a cheque for the counterclaim or is there another way? Not sure I even have a cheque book these days!
  • The_Deep
    The_Deep Posts: 16,830 Forumite
    Para 12 needs sorting.


    It seems rather repetitive. If I produced that in the FO it would be cut by at least a third, but, being a solicitor I suspect you are used to charging by the word.
    You never know how far you can go until you go too far.
  • lol, by the minute actually (in 6 minute increments). Yes there is extra wording there which needs taking out.


    Pursuant to Section 13 of the DPA the Defendant seeks damages in respect of the Claimant's breaches compensation in respect of as a result of the contravention by the Claimant's breaches.
    Although a practising Solicitor, my posts here are NOT legal advice, but are personal opinion based on limited facts provided anonymously by forum users. I accept no liability for the accuracy of any such posts and users are advised that, if they wish to obtain formal legal advice specific to their case, they must seek instruct and pay a solicitor.
  • I'm not great on MCOL procedure.


    I think the advice is you can submit it online, but by PDF rather than filling in the defence box which then unformats itself.


    Not sure about the counterclaim, I would have thought you could pay online.


    You need to both file and serve the defence (ie file at court - either post or email and serve the Claimant - this is usually by post as Gladstones say in their correspondence that they don't accept service by email - personally I'd do it by both methods to them, email and post)


    You asked a question in post #22 - if their claim is struck out that still leaves your counterclaim live. You will then become responsible as if you were the Claimant for paying the hearing fee - they don't remind you about this so diarise it, other posters have come unstuck by forgetting about it.
    Although a practising Solicitor, my posts here are NOT legal advice, but are personal opinion based on limited facts provided anonymously by forum users. I accept no liability for the accuracy of any such posts and users are advised that, if they wish to obtain formal legal advice specific to their case, they must seek instruct and pay a solicitor.
  • Don't bother with recorded delivery. Send normal post but get a certificate of postage (free).
    Although a practising Solicitor, my posts here are NOT legal advice, but are personal opinion based on limited facts provided anonymously by forum users. I accept no liability for the accuracy of any such posts and users are advised that, if they wish to obtain formal legal advice specific to their case, they must seek instruct and pay a solicitor.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards