Cam Chain snapped on new van after 20 months / 114k miles

[WhiteVanMan5]

The court won't be pleased to receive duplicate copies. Either email or recorded delivery.
You can email and post to the other parties or you could just email and request confirmation of receipt

Ah ok, ty.

I will email all 3 tonight then and request receipt. If they don't acknowledge receipt by next weekend I will send it recorded delivery. Presumably same for the court as well as the defendants.
I have never received a response from the court to my emails, so I don't really trust the email process to them. (but it is a heck of a lot more convenient (and cheaper) if I can do it that way).

Just to confirm - I am required to serve on the Part 20 defendants too?

[WhiteVanMan5]

Also it is correct to file with the defendants solicitors only and not the defendant as well?

[WhiteVanMan5]

Of the 3 emails I sent (court, Defendants solicitors and part 20 defendant), none of the parties acknowledged receipt, so with the deadline for returns being 30th June, on Saturday I sent it first class recorded delivery. The two defendeants were successfully delivered today - the court one was not.

Further, today, by email the defendants solicitors sent their DQ. To summarise their DQ:
- They agree that the smalls claim track is appropriate
- They don't want determination without a hearing ("The Defendant respectfully considers that it would be appropriate for the Court to hear oral evidence from the Claimant so that their evidence can be properly tested. ")
- "The Defendant has no objection to the matter proceeding at the Claimant’s local county court i.e. county court at Lewes."
- They do NOT want permission to use the wriotten evidence of an expert
- They have declared one witness (including themselves)

So nothing in that which disagrees with or goes against anything in my DQ.

Further their email spoke about a phone call they had with the court in relation to the part 20 defendant.

Nothing for me to do now I guess until I hear from the court.

"We continue to act on behalf of the Defendant in the above matter.

We write further to our telephone conversation with the Court on 25 June 2025, during which it was confirmed that the Part 20 Claim filed on behalf of the Defendant has neither been issued nor placed on the Court file. For ease of reference, please find attached a copy of our email dated 20 February 2025, by which the Part 20 Claim and Particulars of Claim was filed alongside the Defence.

We respectfully request that the Court now proceed to issue the Part 20 Claim as a matter of urgency and arrange for service on the intended Part 20 Defendant.

In addition, please find attached the Defendant’s Directions Questionnaire for filing. We would be grateful if this could also be placed on the Court file.

We have copied the Claimant into this correspondence by way of service."

[WhiteVanMan5]

Ok, significant development today.

Stellantis have formally recognised the issue that I had and issued a major recall, in Europe (I can't see any mention of the UK).

They will carry out repairs free of charge up to 240,000 KM (149,129 miles) or 10 years. My failure happened after 117k (ish) miles and 20 (ish) months.

Here is one article (the one I first saw) in The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...chain%20issues.

Does this make my case a "slam dunk"?
Where do I go from here?
Do I draw the courts attention to the recall? Do I draw the defendants solicitors attention to the recall?
I cut my claim significantly from likely £25k to £30k, down to £10k (ish) to keep it in the small claims court. Does this change things enough that I should change track and go after my actual losses instead (or is it too late for that)?

[des8]

European car recalls usually include UK as the EU has a system k/a "safety gate" that ensures safety alerts, including recalls, are shared across member states, including the UK. so I would expect the recall to be activated in the UK.

IMO there is no harm in bringing it to the attention of their solicitor, with a view to discontinuing the claim to save the court's time to say nothing of the cost to both parties.

Others will undoubtedly have a contrary opinion, so wait for other comments.

[WhiteVanMan5]

European car recalls usually include UK as the EU has a system k/a "safety gate" that ensures safety alerts, including recalls, are shared across member states, including the UK. so I would expect the recall to be activated in the UK.

IMO there is no harm in bringing it to the attention of their solicitor, with a view to discontinuing the claim to save the court's time to say nothing of the cost to both parties.

Others will undoubtedly have a contrary opinion, so wait for other comments.

What about an option to pursue the real costs/damages and not the deflated amount for the Small Claims Court?

[des8]

You can apply to amend the value of a claim with the consent of the other party or with the courts permission.

This is a possible action I would refer to when contacting the solicitors to see if a fair resolution can be agreed without the necessity of a court hearing.

There is never a "slam dunk" certainty when going to court, and if you increase the claim value and lose there are costs

Just wait and see what others have to say

[WhiteVanMan5]

I see Pezza has his own "emergency" to deal with (hope everything is ok buddy!).

Is there anyone else to wait for for advice on here beyond your guidance DES8?

[WhiteVanMan5]

You can apply to amend the value of a claim with the consent of the other party or with the courts permission.

This is a possible action I would refer to when contacting the solicitors to see if a fair resolution can be agreed without the necessity of a court hearing.

There is never a "slam dunk" certainty when going to court, and if you increase the claim value and lose there are costs

Just wait and see what others have to say

One thing I can't get my head around - why would the other party voluntarily consent to a higher claim?

I'm just drafting an email to the banks solicitors.

[WhiteVanMan5]

This is where I'm at (ChatGPT assisted)

"I write further to your correspondence of 30 June 2025 and the Defendant’s continued reliance on its Defence and Part 20 claim.

Since that date, Stellantis—the manufacturer of the vehicle at the heart of this case—has issued a formal safety recall covering over one million vehicles fitted with the 1.5 BlueHDi engine, due to premature timing chain failure. This is precisely the defect that caused the catastrophic and irreparable damage to my vehicle. For reference, further information on the recall is publicly available, including from this source:
https://car-recalls.eu/stellantis-re...-bluehdi-27-25

It is now a matter of public record that the engine in question suffers from an inherent manufacturing defect. In light of this development, I believe your client’s Defence is no longer tenable. Continuing to defend the claim risks unnecessary costs and judicial time, particularly given the confirmed fault.

Furthermore, given this new information, I am considering applying to amend the value of my claim to reflect my actual financial losses, which exceed the £10,000 cap I initially imposed in order to stay within the small claims track. I understand that the court may grant permission to amend a claim value where new and material evidence comes to light. This step would more accurately reflect the extent of the damages I have incurred, now supported by the manufacturer’s own admission of liability via the recall.

I remain open to resolving this matter without the need for a court hearing, and I believe it would be in your client’s interests to review its position and explore a fair settlement.

Please confirm whether your client is prepared to reconsider its Defence in light of this recall and enter into meaningful settlement discussions.

Yours faithfully,"

[des8]

Seems good to me

[WhiteVanMan5]

Just to update, this morning I received a telephone mediation appointment email for 5th August.

[des8]

That will be for your £10000 claim.
Hopefully the other side will come back before then with a better offer.

[WhiteVanMan5]

I have not had a response yet from the defendants solicitors (beyond an autoresponse saying that the person I emailed was out of the office until Tuesday 15th July).

I feel like I ought to be applying to the court for a revised claim amount sooner rather than later. Would you concur?
And if I do go down that route, then I feel I would need to engage solicitors immediately - or do I attempt to revise the amount with the court myself first?
Or do I leave it all until the mediation and then raise it there?

Appreciate a lot of questions, probably "dumb questions" from your perspective - but this is my first time going down this route and it's not obvious to me.

[des8]

I would be inclined to hold back until the "out of office" has a better chance to reply.
(S)he has only been back for three days and has a lot of gossip to catch up on!, and solicitors never hurry.

At least see what comes about at mediation, and even after that there is a long time before you reach the hearing stage.
I don't see any advantage in amending the claim early, but it might be worthwhile exploring the possibility of instructing a solicitor in case you do eventually go down that route.
Free (or fixed fee) initial consultations with solicitors might be advantageous

There are no dumb questions ..... but there may be dumb answers.
Always be careful about advice received from anonymous fora