VCS does the unthinkable, does anyone live or work in HULL?

**calavandriel** · 4th June 2017, 06:13:AM

Re: VCS does the unthinkable, does anyone live or work in HULL?

Ok so back in December you might remember that I missed filing my directions questionnaire because a letter from the court telling me about it and when it had to returned never came and I did not know I should have had one. Am I to now presume it was never received by BWL either? I did however got a letter stating I had missed the hand in date which was my first alert and rang the court forthwith. A court clerk on Dec 23rd sent out another set of these papers but failed to write up the notes stating she had given me till 4th Jan to send them back so ultimately my defence was struck out because they went on the previous date of Dec 19th.
After some time and much form filling and sending then resending of forms, the defence was reinstated on 2nd march. On same day I received a letter stating that a court date of April 24th was allocated for the case. (this is all part of the info that BWL claim not to have had sent to them, nor did they chase the case up either as pointed out in court)

So they were sent a letter of assignment as was I, which stated that JUDGE THOMPSON had considered the statements of the case and the directions questionnaire file and allocated the case to the small claims UNLESS the claimant did not pay £25 by 4pm on 27th March which they did not So that’s the UNLESS order number one from JUDGE THOMPSON. Referenced as UO1)
This one stated

“ District Judge Thomson has considered the statements of case and directions questionnaire filed and allocated the claim to the small claims track unless the claimant does by 4pm on 27th March 2017 pay to the court the trial fee of £25.00 or file a properly completed application for help with fee then then claim will be struck out with effect from March 27th 2017 without further order and, unless the court orders otherwise, you will also be liable for the costs which the defendant has incurred. The hearing of the claim will take place at 10am on 24th April 2017”
I think that the statement “without further order” is key here as another order was issued and it was not ordered by the court.

I stupidly rang the court on April 6 to check and they said that the case would be struck out and to await the paperwork. Ring back in a week if you have not been contacted. However contrary to the standing court policy of no reminders being sent out, and the wording on the UO1 a clerk took it upon themselves to have a second order drawn up (ref UO2) and signed by “DISTRICT JUDGE PROPER OFFICER “(seriously) this now ordered them to “ pay £25 by 13th April or the case will be removed from the lists and the case be struck out. Any application to reinstate the case thereafter will occur a court fee and formal application. (This order was made of the Courts own initiative (CPR part 3.4(4). If you object to the order you must make application to have it set aside, varied or stayed within 7 days of receiving it (CPR 3.3(5)) I did not really take this in except I again had to wait and check if they complied which they did not. When I received this order I immediately rang the court. The counter clerk was surprised as the policy is not to send reminder orders at all. But that now puts 2 UNLESS orders into play. However now it was in play I should check back after 13th. I rang the court back on 14th April as instructed and was informed that BWL still had not paid their £25 trial fee. A week went by and still no order of strike out from the court so I rang them to ask if an order was in the post only to be told that Judge Thomson had reviewed the case and decided it was to proceed as planned on Monday 24th April

In the meantime I received a small disclosure pack of the statement they were relying on for the case. It was from a Jonathan Gribit. BWLegal were claiming that they never received the letter of assignment to our court (but I got it on 16th March), nor did they get the first or second (UNNECESSARY) UNLESS order in good time until 16th April (EASTER SUNDAY!!) So could not have complied with the second UNLESS order but I fail to see what excuse they have for the first one. Now I got my copy of the second pointless unless order on Sat 8th April and the post was a normal service till Friday 14th. They apparently applied to have it set aside on 21st April on second class post! So could they please request an adjournment while they sorted themselves out but the Judge Thompson over here said NO it was to go ahead as planned even though BWLegal have not still paid the trial fee of £25 as required by the first order and second order. A clerk explained that the judge wanted to sort it out once and for all so it was a directions hearing with a view to a full case hearing and had been allotted a 90 minute slot. I didn’t really have time to dissect the statement by Mr. Gribit (with BWLegal since Oct 2016)

You know the outcome in court. The second UNLESS order was considered null and void and the original UNLESS order stood so as far as Judge Thompson was concerned it was a done deal barring if they applied to reinstate their case. We did everything you told me to do in court SRM from costs and vexatious pursuit of claim to challenging the advocates Right of Audience but the judge did not allow that. That’s when we started to run aground a bit because he said he would have to adjourn till the Rep could get more instructions. I also explained in words of one syllable how aggravating this was to my health and mental state. I was nearly in tears trying to get him to try the case right then. He basically advised me through Luke not to poke the bear. But I was happy, it was over

This is where I am confused. Surely the UO1 is still in play and as such invalidates the necessity for setting aside the UO2 but it is UO2 that they are requesting to have set aside. If that is the case as appears to be then what is the status of UO1 at this point, is it still a viable order??

They are applying to have the case reinstated using the same witness statement from J. Gribit signed April 21st as they had before that JUDGE THOMSON did not accept because of the idiocrasy that they could have not had any paperwork since December when I got mine and that a large firm like BWL could lose or not received said documents without it ringing alarm bells for them to chase it up with Northampton. They had very significantly dropped the ball.

They have now had my disclosure documents as of 18th April ( I applied to court for a few extra days due to personal circumstances, mainly my health and needing to rely on others for errand running such as dropping docs off to court or to post office) and I still have had nothing. Not even the order of costs from 24th April which I am told is in a very long backed up queue waiting to be typed. They are over 2 months behind cos certain cases have priority. I was told this yesterday by a desk clerk. Maybe the judge never expected them to do it, who knows. I am annoyed that they seem to have a charmed life, being given one get out of jail free card after another. Surely now this action could be classed as vexatious and an unreasonable pursuit of a claim.

When Judge Thompson saw the case on 24th and said to their agent that it had merit yet it was he on May 3rd who signed the order to reinstate their defence. It beggars belief. I just wanted a definitive ruling on it for final. But he said it would have to be adjourned in fairness to BWL because their agent was not briefed other than to deal with the 'unless' order of April 6th. Well where is the FAIRNESS to me? He even said well you knew you were doing to trial so why didn’t someone follow it up? To which the agent, a guy from some firm they use frequently said he did not know but referred the judge back to the statement this Johnathan Gribit had entered. I allowed myself to be lulled into a false sense of "ok its over the judge has basically warned them off” and it will cost them £250 to reinstate it to get a fine of £245 paid but if they win I get all the costs too, so potentially this is worth more than that to them.

I have not got any one who will go with me and I simply cannot do this alone because I can’t even leave the house on the day without encouragement. My mental state is such that I stay well away from others and from unfamiliar places with lots of strangers, I was lucky that Luke accompanied me the first time. Now he’s refusing to go again I am stuck, there is no one I can envision doing this that can get their head around it like Luke did. My only choices left are my youngest daughter with Asperger’s and adhd but who will be in USA till after the date and a son with dyslexia who puts the wrong words into his sentences and sounds incoherent sometimes or my second son who has Aspergers with social anxiety and depression so he can’t even enter the court, let alone speak and he has a black and white sense of justice what should be. So I thought an adjourment was the best plan.

So How is this.

EMAIL TO THE COURT june 2nd
For the attention of the Honourable Judge Besford. Re Case Number ******** Vehicle Control Services Ltd v Calavandriel
Request for adjounment of case until after July 8th as :-
1} I have only just been notified that this case has been reinstated. I received a court order from Hull County Court dated as ordered on May 3rd but not written up until May 30th and delivered June 1st; The Claimant opted not to inform me of this intent themselves even though I had a letter from them dated May 2nd for the costs as ordered previously on 24th April. They even said they hoped that the payment now concluded the matter which implied to me a lay person that it was all over and done with.
2} I do not have a mackenzy friend available until that day onwards and even then they have to request any court date from their employer.
3} Please can it be noted that the claimant has still not sent any disclosure documents before proceedings yet they have had my disclosure documents since before the directions hearing on April 24th, I would request time to adjust my defence as necessary in relation to any disclosed documents if they ever arrive.
May I also record on file that I am a disabled layperson with no education in the law and having both physical and mental disabilities and I am up against a whole firm of experienced and knowledgeable solicitors who go in and out of court on a regular basis. For me it is a scary and nerve-wracking experience that clashes with and aggravates my mental health as well as my physical wellbeing. The last hearing in April made me ill and bed ridden for over a fortnight and I am still recovering even now. It raised my stress and anxiety level through the roof and I quite frankly feel very harassed and bullied at this point. That these people can be given chance after chance to bully a vulnerable person over and over beggars belief.
I would hope you can write and tell me if it is adjourned very soon as your decision may mean many things for me the least of which being my non-attendance as no one can accompany me,
Yours Faithfully

One small light of info. Judge Ian Besford wrote an article in the Law Society Gazette regarding Litigant in person claims for costs. Its and interesting read and one that might come in handy when I again ask for them. It can be found here https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/benchmarks/cos...5038419.article

- - - Updated - - -

So

yesterday the order for costs from the 24th arrived and interestingly it referenced the UO2 as the breached order and reason for costs.

Now I may be wrong but surely the UO1 should be in play and used as a reference not the erroneously sent UO2 does this complicate matters even futher when the directions hearing happens.

Do I need local legal advice or representation at this point?

Can I apply for costs again. the last judge was apparently not Judge Thompson as I had thought because the new order says before Deputy District Judge Adkinson. Or does that apply just to this order because it doesn't have a signature othwerwise

But I still need a mackenzie friend if there are any volunteers.

VCS does the unthinkable, does anyone live or work in HULL?

VCS does the unthinkable, does anyone live or work in HULL?

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