Moneyclaims.service - Responding to a Defence

[java2929]

I issued a claim through the newer moneyclaims.service.gov.uk and have received a full defence. I now log in and it states that I can ''request a County Court Judgement as there has been no response by the deadline'' even though I have received an email from them stating the defendant has filed their defence and it is attached to the the email, albeit on the last day I believe of the allocated time allowed. Is this a glitch in the website?

Secondly, can someone please help as to the next step as I am not sure if I have to offer anything in response to the defence. I have attached the defence below - as you can see, my claim is against someone who hit my car and then denied doing so. I have a witness who saw the individual damage my vehicle and reported it to me. I went through the process of trying to claim on their insurance, but all liability was denied, as per below also.

I am doing this in person, where as they have a solicitor provided for them via the insurance company.

My questions are these - please help, I need your help if possible!


1 - Do I have to reply to the counter-schedule (or any reply as such) as suggested within 14 days with photos/documents etc, or can I just complete the required n180 by the required date?

2 - Is it best to reply to the defence below, and if so, what do I reply with? Does anyone have a sample draft that I could use that would help? Is it best not to reply to it?

3 - What is the best course of action from here on?

Many thanks in advance.

[java2929]

Here is my claim and the defence... redacted. Can I please ask for help on the 3 questions above... many thanks.

[java2929]

Hi, can anyone please advise me about the 'counter schedule'... do I have to reply to it, or can I just submit my N180 without having to be concerned about the 'requirement to provide documentation including photographs' as suggested above?

[2222]

On a purely practical basis, this cannot be worth the insurance company's time to defend. There must be more to it than the usual unwillingness to part with money. Consequently, you should definitely send the insurance company all the evidence you have. In particular, the letter from the witness, which is the only evidence you have that this lady caused the damage, despite her protestations to the contrary.

you can understand that the insurance company is quite likely to resist the claim whilst the only evidence they have is from their insured who denies any involvement. Once you have cleared that up, they are unlikely to spend much time arguing about whether the correct repair cost should be slightly less.

[java2929]

Hi 2222,

thanks for replying.

I have tried via the insurance company, but they just denied liability, even with a letter/statement from the witness to the incident. I was shocked at first that the individual even denied the incident, but she did.

I have a witness to the incident, his statement, photos of the damage, and emails from the individual who hit my car when it all happened stating she wanted to see the photos. After this, she told me to go through the insurance... fishy I know, but she clearly knows what she did.

I hope this is enough evidence to convince the judge/her conscience to clear this up and pay me the damages cost.

In all honesty, the claim is only for £140 which is not a great deal of money. The thing is, I am honest individual who would admit to a mistake if I had made it, and other parties should be doing the same!!

[java2929]

Just to put this one to bed if anyone reads the case, it ended with the defendant's insurer denying liability but making an offer of full payment. So really, what was the point of arguing it all the way as they did... it must have cost them a pretty penny, certainly a lot more than the final amount paid to me!