Thanks and Please Help!

[bluebottle]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi A54,

In order to prove Perverting the Course of Justice, you have to show that proceedings were issued for which there is no evidence and/or for which evidence has been fabricated. It also includes things like intimidating witnesses.

To answer the points you raise -

1. This is either an error they won't admit or their legal advisors have ill-advised them. Find out who advised them and if it is a firm of solicitors, consider making a complaint to the
SRA.

2. This may amount to malicious proceedings. You will need to consult a legal professional.

3. If the statement contains material inaccuracies or is patently untrue and was produced in court, that is Perjury. That needs to be reported to the Court.

Ultimately, the CE of Redbridge Council is vicariously liable for the actions of his/her subordinates. In order to proceed against the CE of Redbridge Council for Perverting the Course of Justice, you would have to show he/she had intentionally directed their subordinates to commence proceedings against you without lawful reason. It is also necessary to show that they knew what was going on.

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi bluebottle,

thanks.

I can't afford any further legal representation/advice, besides i've only got a few days before i got to present the court with my evidence, not enough time for a solicitor to get familiar enough with the facts to do a good enough job.

if the ce was made aware one of his officers misled me (either on purpose or by accident) and he failed to act, would he not be as guilty as the offending officer?

I honestly expected him to apologise and say that there was some confusion or mistake but to ignore it or simply not comment, not act on it when its so blatant just doesn't seem right.

the statement of truth by the ctax enforcement officer contains the statements "I have day to day conduct of this matter on behalf of the council" "I am duly authorised to make this statement" and in response to my claim that I phoned and visited their office on lots of occasions to dispute/resolve the issues she says "I have seen no evidence of these calls or attendances"

If i prove that there were numerous visits, letters, and phone calls that exist on the councils records and back it up with correspondence sent/received etc. would it be enough to prove perjury?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

if the ce was made aware one of his officers misled me (either on purpose or by accident) and he failed to act, would he not be as guilty as the offending officer?

Yes, if the act was deliberate.

I honestly expected him to apologise and say that there was some confusion or mistake but to ignore it or simply not comment, not act on it when its so blatant just doesn't seem right.

You can blame the odious "Michael Howard" for that:

"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

the statement of truth by the ctax enforcement officer contains the statements "I have day to day conduct of this matter on behalf of the council" "I am duly authorised to make this statement" and in response to my claim that I phoned and visited their office on lots of occasions to dispute/resolve the issues she says "I have seen no evidence of these calls or attendances"

If i prove that there were numerous visits, letters, and phone calls that exist on the councils records and back it up with correspondence sent/received etc. would it be enough to prove perjury?

Probably not, as it just means that she had not seen any records of such contact; this could be because no records had been made, the records had been lost, she had turned over two or three pages at a time in your file or that she had her eyes closed when the records were displayed on the monitor screen.

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi CleverClogs,

thanks. I know that to prove perjury is difficult as it could carry a prison sentence but in this case, the enforcement officer presented the court with a statement of truth claiming not have seen any evidence of my calls, visits, and letters disputing the debt yet she went on to exhibit as evidence a copy of one of my letters where I dispute the debt!

in the same statement of truth directed at the Judge she states "she has seen no evidence" of them.

is this not evidence enough of perjury?

[seduraed]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

what about a sar to see what documents emerge. If the documents that the enforcement oficer clims she saw emerge then they can be shown tothe ceo giving the lie to thier statement . if they do not appear then it is possible that the enforcement officer has lied to the court and you need to produce the sar and go back and report the matter to the court.

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi seduraed

thanks.

I sent them a sar a week ago and do not expect a reply until the 40 days is up, but their ce has already provided me with a report from his chief payment and benefits officer that proves there was substantial communications, visits and phone calls recorded on the council's systems.

[bluebottle]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Methinks a certain person at your local council is going to have to withdraw their Statement of Untruths or face the music. What has been uncovered is serious. A public servant has, it would seem, made a written statement, knowing it was to be used in legal proceedings and would be tendered in evidence before a court of law, knowing what they had said in that statement was false or untrue, or was reckless as to what they had said in that statement was true or not. If you have a Law Centre local to where you live, you should be able to obtain free legal advice from them. The CE of the council is, ultimately, responsible for the actions of the person who made the Statement of Untruths through vicarious liability. I will look into this, but there may well be both civil and criminal liabilities arising from this.

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Thanks bluebottle.

I emailed this to the CE today:

Dear xxxx,

I appreciate your reply. However you have only provided me with a partial version of events in a report produced by Chief Payments, Benefits and Customer Services Officer that I dispute.

You have failed to respond to the serious issues brought to your attention in my emails to you dated 13 and 21 February 2012. As Chief Executive of the council you are vicariously liable for the actions of your subordinates.

Given the urgent circumstances I would appreciate your response to the following points by no later than Friday 2nd March with details of any action you intend to take.

With reference to my emails dated 13 and 21 February 2012 (attached for your convenience):

1.
I provided you with a copy of a letter from Mr x. x. xxxx, who was your Chief Payments and Benefits Officer in 2008/2009, where he categorically states that legal proceedings planned for January 2009 will not proceed, it is now clear that they did in fact proceed and a Liability Order was obtained against us in our absence. Until I hear your response I take this to be a case of misfeasance, an abuse of office and evidence of malicious proceedings by the council.

2.
I provided you with evidence to show that my wife has been illegally declared bankrupt because your appointed solicitors failed to serve her with a Statutory Demand. You have not provided your response to this point.

3.
xxx xxx has submitted a Statement of Truth to the Court claiming not to have seen any evidence of my visits, letters, or phone calls. This is neither accurate or true. In addition to the evidence I provided you with, the report you sent to me by your Chief Payments, Benefits and Customer Services Officer (that you must no doubt have read) is further proof that xxx xxx' statement presented to the Court is not accurate or true. You have not responded to this point.

Yours sincerely,

[Lord_Alcohol]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Funny, I thought that councils were there to provide services and support for local residents, not to offer a platform for some employees to hound, bully and cajole ordinary citizens or even, as in this case, to actually bankrupt someone when there is clearly no purpose other than retaliation. It's appalling.

What sort of a country has this become? I'm beginning to think it is, as Derek famously said to Clive, a 'Gestapo Khazi'...

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

btw. I also cc'd the email to my MP....

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi Guys,

Interesting update today, see what you think...

I emailed my solicitor telling him I could not afford him to represent me further, also asked him to send me a bill so if I won my case I could claim my expenses.

He emailed back saying the council's solicitors had phoned him and told him to advise me that:

I should apply to annul my wife's bankruptcy before a trustee is appointed

i should apply to the courts to set aside the liability orders

and i should appeal against the benefits decision

???

is it usual for a solicitor to advise its opponent? If i follow said advice could the council oppose the applications in court?

is it possible my last email to the council's CEO has rattled his cage a bit?

if perjury, abuse of office are criminal offenses should I involve the Police?

I see this as a positive sign but don't want to jump to any prem conclusions.

what do you guys think?

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi Guys,

The council's CE failed to reply to my last email (copy posted in my post on 28th February 2012 15:46:PM), I need some advice on what to do next, do I talk to the council's solicitors directly or follow up with an email?

any help or advice is greatly appreciated, as always.

[labman]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

I don't quite understand your reasoning for dismissing your legal representation if you are pretty sure you're going to win your case.

I certainly would not e-mail again as you have already given a deadline which has not been met. This is likely to be intentional on their part to force your hand.

I would not speak to their solicitors directly either. I would consider communicating in writing so you maintain a trail of evidence, but I would try very hard to either reappoint or find legal representation. When taking on a council over something of this nature I would think that was fairly essential.

If you are prepared to be a LiP, then fair enough, but you will need to be extremely confident of your ground and what will be thrown at you in court.

:beagle:

[A54]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

Hi Labman

thanks for the reply.

firstly the solicitor I used initially was truly rubbish, he did not press the judge on the point he still had discretion to set aside the stat demand even though liability orders had been obtained by the council.

secondly, I just could not afford his fees, he cost over £900 (paid in advance) to attend one 30 minute hearing and I ended up representing myself.

If I could find a decent lawyer in the limited time I've got, I'll go the extra effort and find the money to pay him as I'm confident we'll win and hopefully recover costs.

When first received the stat demand I spent nearly 2 weeks trying to find a law firm to take my case on, most wanted £200 per hour just to initially discuss my case and apparently there's too much equity in my house to qualify for legal aid.

if anyone can recommend a good lawyer I'd be very grateful!
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
btw what's a LiP?

[labman]

Re: Thanks and Please Help!

LiP is a Litigant in Person -ie- you defend yourself. Obviously this is not ideal, but I totally understand not only your reluctance, but also, certainly if it was me, an ability to find that sort of money.

I don't know if the bar prop bono unit could help:

The Bar Pro Bono Unit: Free Legal Advice and Representation

Failing that I'm stuck, save finding a no win, no fee which is highly unlikely for this type of case.

I honestly feel for you as you clearly have a strong case, and are suffering a great injustice. However, due to the way our system works, you may be unable to get the quality representation you both need and deserve.

On the off chance someone reads this who knows a barrister or good solicitor, what part of the country are you trying to find one in?