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Small Claims Court Letter - N.Ireland.
Comments
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Here is an example where the Consumer Council has gotten involved...
http://www.consumercouncil.org.uk/consumers/latest/success-stories/private-car-parking-fine-cancelled0 -
Are you thinking this is like the Acknowledgement of Service stage, albeit with an option to advise in what manner you intend to proceed? (e.g. defend, admit, counterclaim).
Initially I thought it more akin to a LBC, as all the OP showed us was page 1. Having found a sample form on the web, I noticed a 2nd page. I'm still not fully sure what's on the second page of the OP's form as the questions I'm asking (like when does the OP have to respond by and has he checked the authenticity with the court) are only selectively answered.
Unless the claimant states specifically they are pursuing the OP as the RK, then the OP can only be making the assumption that they are. The OP needs, as I said earlier, to flush out the PPC to determine in what capacity are they holding the OP liable. Get them to say specifically, then the defence strategy is much clearer.
But this isn't getting any easier.Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .
I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street0 -
Yes there is a deadline, it is soon.
It IS an authentic court document and the first notice of the claim I have received from the Courts.
The 2nd page of the statement is not relevant and only contains dates of the notices to keeper being sent etc.0 -
The sample form you linked is what they complete to bring the case before court. I have also linked the Small Claims process in NI.
Their statement of the claim is what I need to dispute and what I would like help with, I honestly don't know how I can be clearer Umkomaas.
This is the first part of a genuine small claims case. I believe it to be scaremongering on the Car Park's part hoping that I'll ignore the document and the Court will issue a decree against me in absentia.0 -
There is no court date set at this point.0
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If we then accept that this is a genuine court claim, then you have to follow the process laid down for N.I. If you draw parallels with what would happen here in E&W, you would be looking to Acknowledge Service (AOS) and prepare you Defence for submission within a specified timescale.
At the stage you are at, do you have to do the same in N.I.? We don't recommend talking to the CAB over here because they know little about this stuff, but we can't necessarily extrapolate that to N.I., so perhaps it might be an idea to try them out, see what they say, then run that by us for our views.
What about the Consumer Council you linked a few posts up. They seem already to have had some involvement with a private parking case in N.I., can they help?
Why not send a SAR to CPS and ask for all data held by them about you? Here's a recent thread with a number of ideas on the questions you might ask. Hopefully this can get you some valuable intel on what they have and whether it might be helpful in narrowing the issues to try to avoid a court hearing.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5849784Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .
I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street0 -
Something like this? (Will be heavily redacted soon as it's a bit of a giveaway).
I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, which is routinely used by more than one individual. The claim relates to an alleged debt arising from a driver’s/drivers' alleged breach of contract when parking at XXXXX Pay & Display Car Park.
Due to the large and grossly excessive nature of the amounts being claimed by PPC Ltd., (it is unfortunate that) no driver is willing to admit full or partial liability to any such claim. (Should the claimant be able to provide me with relevant CCTV footage, I would be willing to identify the driver/drivers for due process.)
I have since visited XXXXX Pay & Display Car Park as a result of this claim. It was noticed that there is only one sign at the entrance to the site from the main road and one other sign within the car park itself. Photos and video footage are to be presented as evidence in this case, to illustrate how the site suffers from poor signage and the smallest of small print in the Terms and Conditions.
All correspondence from PPC Ltd. to myself has been retained on legal advice, I found some of this correspondence to be highly confusing with contradictory information. I was advised to ignore such correspondence.
I believe the facts in this statement to be true.0 -
Can you point me to some examples to modify?
The main argument is driver liability which they have assumed (In NI). I know they can't provide evidence of this in court. That's why my thinking was to offer a solution in naming the driver. They won't be able to provide footage.
Their T's and C's are miniscule, I thought that could be relevant to the amount of money being claimed and no one being willing to take on such a debt can explain the lack of driver name (not that I have to justify it)?
I think this is not the stage for full defence, does the claimant seeing my dispute and a judge deciding if it has relevance or not before issuing a court date for a hearing etc. make sense? I'm unsure of the similar stage your side.
The background of the site and the area it's in seemed relevant in this country (paramilitary presence around bonfires!). It's a large gravel area with a few traffic cones.0 -
I, XXX, am the respondent in this claim.
1. The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my own knowledge there are true to the best of my information and belief.
2. I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, nor any amount at all and this is my statement.
3. I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, which is routinely used by more than one individual. The claim relates to an alleged debt arising from a driver’s/drivers' alleged breach of contract when parking at XXXXXXX Pay and Display Car Park during XXXX 2018.
4. The dates in question are unremarkable and I have no recollection of the circumstances surrounding these events and have been unable to identify the driver/driver(s) responsible.
5. I recall receiving some letters in the post from the claimant and I ignored them as I believed them to be scam letters due to the excessive amounts being claimed and gross inaccuracies contained therin. I felt vindicated in that decision when I received no further letters or contact of any kind from the claimant on this matter.
(Should I amend this if I kept the letters? If so, how so?)
6. I was then surprised to receive a further letter theatening court action. I have looked into why I may have received this and it would appear that the Claimant and similar parking companies are submitting numerous court claims for old “parking charges” and are inappropriately using the Court system as a form of debt collection to threaten/bully people in Northern Ireland and Great Britain into paying out substantial sums of money.
7. I felt unable to engage with a fair and impartial appeals process as any appeal would have been an internal process by PPC Ltd. The independent POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) does not function in Northern Ireland as the Protection of Freedoms Act (2012) does not apply here.
9. The sign that the Claimant says forms the contract is predominantly a wall of small font text, from which a driver in a vehicle could not possibly comprehend and therefore cannot accept the terms of, additionally this sign is on the other side of the site far away from the entrance. It is also to be supposed that these signs may have changed, been replaced or updated (to reflect changes in the BPA Code of Practice) and indeed some may have been removed or damaged sporadically.
I believe the facts stated in this statement to be true.0
This discussion has been closed.
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