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Along with lots of other people, it would seem, I am being taken to court by Debt Enforcement & Action Limited, on behalf of Civil Enforcement Limited.
According to the initial claim form (the one signed by the "M Shwarts", it refers to parking in the co-op car park in Addiscombe in March 2014. It says that I parked there from 10.25 until 12.51.
I did get letters which looked all official, and used the abbreviation PCN in order to look official, I thought. I had no idea what they were about, so I googled, and found that these were being sent out all over the place, and that lots of people were ignoring them, so I did the same. I ignored every letter and notice I got from them.
I don't know whether or not it was me driving that day, even. My car is insured for several drivers, as people other than me drive it, and several people who have their own insurance also drive the car on occasion. I am disabled and sometimes need help including collecting shopping, and being driven around. I have no way of knowing whether or not it was me driving that day, but I don't know if that is relevant.
Anyway, I got the claim form in November 2014, and my immediate concern was whether it was even legitimate, as it didn't appear to be on good quality paper, and looked it was a cheap copy. I actually contacted the court, and they confirmed that it was legitimate.
I was also a bit concerned about the solicitor's signature, which was clearly just a template, so I contacted the SRA about that, too, and, eventually, received the email the same as others, saying that it had been a typo and that it was a legitimate solicitor.
In the meantime, I was being treated in hospital for cancer, including major surgery, so it was a bit bewildering and I didn't really know what was going on, and was unable to seek legal advice from anyone at all, or even to google for advice. A few days before I went into hospital for that surgery, I submitted a quickly scribbled "defence" on the claim form.
While I was in hospital, a document came which was "notice of proposed allocation to the small claims track" and saying that I needed to complete a Directions Questionnaire by the end of December. It didn't include a copy of that questionnaire, and I didn't realise that I needed to do anything (I was pretty out of it for several weeks after the operation as well), so I missed that deadline. I was allowed an extension, and submitted the form on 15 January, refusing mediation and asking for the case to be referred to Croydon.
I then got the date of 24 April. for the hearing.
A few days ago, I got the the letter and "witness statement" from Debt Enforcement and Action Limited, which is identical to the one I have seen on other threads here, including the typo at the end, where it says "belive" instead of "believe". This statement doesn't even include the address of the car park - it only gives the Manchester address, and my car has never been to Manchester, and it doesn't include the date of the parking incident. But it does include a claim for £115 for drafting that statement!
Do I need to submit a witness statement in advance of the hearing? If so, who do I submit it to? What should I put in it? If I don't do this, will they only rely on my scribbled "defence" which I submitted the day before I was going into hospital and when I was in a state of some terror, to say the least.
Should I be contacting the court in advance of the hearing, as suggested in other threads?
Do I need to get legal advice? I am currently not working, because of the cancer and other health problems, so I am on benefits, so I really can't afford a solicitor, but I would really like to take these guys on!
Any advice gratefully received, although I am going out now for a few hours, so won't be able to respond until later on.
thank you in anticipation
According to the initial claim form (the one signed by the "M Shwarts", it refers to parking in the co-op car park in Addiscombe in March 2014. It says that I parked there from 10.25 until 12.51.
I did get letters which looked all official, and used the abbreviation PCN in order to look official, I thought. I had no idea what they were about, so I googled, and found that these were being sent out all over the place, and that lots of people were ignoring them, so I did the same. I ignored every letter and notice I got from them.
I don't know whether or not it was me driving that day, even. My car is insured for several drivers, as people other than me drive it, and several people who have their own insurance also drive the car on occasion. I am disabled and sometimes need help including collecting shopping, and being driven around. I have no way of knowing whether or not it was me driving that day, but I don't know if that is relevant.
Anyway, I got the claim form in November 2014, and my immediate concern was whether it was even legitimate, as it didn't appear to be on good quality paper, and looked it was a cheap copy. I actually contacted the court, and they confirmed that it was legitimate.
I was also a bit concerned about the solicitor's signature, which was clearly just a template, so I contacted the SRA about that, too, and, eventually, received the email the same as others, saying that it had been a typo and that it was a legitimate solicitor.
In the meantime, I was being treated in hospital for cancer, including major surgery, so it was a bit bewildering and I didn't really know what was going on, and was unable to seek legal advice from anyone at all, or even to google for advice. A few days before I went into hospital for that surgery, I submitted a quickly scribbled "defence" on the claim form.
While I was in hospital, a document came which was "notice of proposed allocation to the small claims track" and saying that I needed to complete a Directions Questionnaire by the end of December. It didn't include a copy of that questionnaire, and I didn't realise that I needed to do anything (I was pretty out of it for several weeks after the operation as well), so I missed that deadline. I was allowed an extension, and submitted the form on 15 January, refusing mediation and asking for the case to be referred to Croydon.
I then got the date of 24 April. for the hearing.
A few days ago, I got the the letter and "witness statement" from Debt Enforcement and Action Limited, which is identical to the one I have seen on other threads here, including the typo at the end, where it says "belive" instead of "believe". This statement doesn't even include the address of the car park - it only gives the Manchester address, and my car has never been to Manchester, and it doesn't include the date of the parking incident. But it does include a claim for £115 for drafting that statement!
Do I need to submit a witness statement in advance of the hearing? If so, who do I submit it to? What should I put in it? If I don't do this, will they only rely on my scribbled "defence" which I submitted the day before I was going into hospital and when I was in a state of some terror, to say the least.
Should I be contacting the court in advance of the hearing, as suggested in other threads?
Do I need to get legal advice? I am currently not working, because of the cancer and other health problems, so I am on benefits, so I really can't afford a solicitor, but I would really like to take these guys on!
Any advice gratefully received, although I am going out now for a few hours, so won't be able to respond until later on.
thank you in anticipation
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