I need guidance on how to fill the N244 form to apply to get funds back from multiple wrongful clampings that have occurred on a vehicle under a hire purchase scheme please. Payment for the clamps to be removed were made (rookie mistake i know).
When i knew a little better I challenged the enforcement agent and have been successful but on one occasion the enforcement agent refused even though I showed him all the case law plus sections in law that say he cant take control of goods not belonging to the debt owner.
I know I should make claim againt the the original debt applicant i.e. tfl or local authorities. That is what i will do.
I think I am allowed to apply up to 3 years after the case.
I have made requests to the enforcement agencies for all my cases they have enforced within the past 4 years (to cover any spill over). I am awaiting their response.
Do i make separate claims to the individual debt applicants or combine on one form?
What I should put down and avoid putting down on the N244 form?
Are there any other forms I should file?
Any extra information would be greatfully appreciated. I am going to file the application this week.
Thank you
How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
There are two ways,
If you are not legally represented, make a money claim online.
If you are legally represented, make an application under Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 84.13 for breach of Paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Your damages need to be quantified and separated into two categories. General Damages and Special Damages.
For the total number of days, or part days your car was clamped, you get £35 a day in General Damages.
Your Special Damages include your "wasted costs" for each day and part day the car was clamped which include payments made for:
>Hire purchase payments on the car.
>Car tax.
>Car insurance premiums.
>Parking permits if any.
Then each monthly payment is divided by 30 days then multiplied by the number of days or part days your car was clamped.
When a bailiff clamps a car, they fix a Notice called a Warning of Immobilisation to the OSF window using a non-removable adhesive.
Your Special Damages include a £35 fee for cleaning the non-removable adhesive from the window.
If your HP car is used for work, as a cab or courier, you claim your loss of earnings.
This is worked out by your preceding three months earnings, divided by 90 days, then multiplied by the number of days or part days the car was clamped. This gives your loss of earnings.
If you need to get taxis or hire a car, you can recover the receipts for all your disbursements arising from your car being clamped.
If the clamped car gets a fixed penalty (traffic contravention) then complete the Notice to Owner with the bailiff’s details and his office address.
If you paid the traffic contravention debts, you may recover them in your Special Damages.
If your car is damaged from the clamping, then the repairs may also be recovered. You must ask for the bailiffs bodycam recordings to see whether the damage to the car was pre-existing.
If the bailiff refuses to give the recordings, then exhibit a copy of their response, and any defence statement they make is buried.
You make the claim against the authority only. Never a bailiff company or a bailiff because they hire solicitors to mess you about and frustrate your claim.
One individual solicitor even makes ad-hominem attacks on claimants.
In your pre action notice, give the bailiff company adequate opportunity to pay your damages to stop the application from being made.
You can claim up to six years after the clamping.
If you paid money for a clamp to be removed, that must be assessed separately.
If you did not get a Notice of Enforcement beforehand, you apply for a detailed assessment under CPR 84.16.
I do not recommend you taking on a detailed assessment as a litigant because it should be presented by a solicitor experienced in bringing detailed assessments.
There are no standard words for an N244 because it is all based on what you are applying for and why.
Always go after the creditor or council because bailiff companies lodge a £10m public liability insurance policy with the authority before taking enforcement action on its behalf.
The creditor will pay out your damages for the breach together with your legal costs, then reclaim it from the bailiff company.
You are better to have a solicitor make the application rather than making a money claim, because the creditor pays your solicitors costs and you don't need to do any leg-work.
If you are not legally represented, make a money claim online.
If you are legally represented, make an application under Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 84.13 for breach of Paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Your damages need to be quantified and separated into two categories. General Damages and Special Damages.
For the total number of days, or part days your car was clamped, you get £35 a day in General Damages.
Your Special Damages include your "wasted costs" for each day and part day the car was clamped which include payments made for:
>Hire purchase payments on the car.
>Car tax.
>Car insurance premiums.
>Parking permits if any.
Then each monthly payment is divided by 30 days then multiplied by the number of days or part days your car was clamped.
When a bailiff clamps a car, they fix a Notice called a Warning of Immobilisation to the OSF window using a non-removable adhesive.
Your Special Damages include a £35 fee for cleaning the non-removable adhesive from the window.
If your HP car is used for work, as a cab or courier, you claim your loss of earnings.
This is worked out by your preceding three months earnings, divided by 90 days, then multiplied by the number of days or part days the car was clamped. This gives your loss of earnings.
If you need to get taxis or hire a car, you can recover the receipts for all your disbursements arising from your car being clamped.
If the clamped car gets a fixed penalty (traffic contravention) then complete the Notice to Owner with the bailiff’s details and his office address.
If you paid the traffic contravention debts, you may recover them in your Special Damages.
If your car is damaged from the clamping, then the repairs may also be recovered. You must ask for the bailiffs bodycam recordings to see whether the damage to the car was pre-existing.
If the bailiff refuses to give the recordings, then exhibit a copy of their response, and any defence statement they make is buried.
You make the claim against the authority only. Never a bailiff company or a bailiff because they hire solicitors to mess you about and frustrate your claim.
One individual solicitor even makes ad-hominem attacks on claimants.
In your pre action notice, give the bailiff company adequate opportunity to pay your damages to stop the application from being made.
You can claim up to six years after the clamping.
If you paid money for a clamp to be removed, that must be assessed separately.
If you did not get a Notice of Enforcement beforehand, you apply for a detailed assessment under CPR 84.16.
I do not recommend you taking on a detailed assessment as a litigant because it should be presented by a solicitor experienced in bringing detailed assessments.
There are no standard words for an N244 because it is all based on what you are applying for and why.
Always go after the creditor or council because bailiff companies lodge a £10m public liability insurance policy with the authority before taking enforcement action on its behalf.
The creditor will pay out your damages for the breach together with your legal costs, then reclaim it from the bailiff company.
You are better to have a solicitor make the application rather than making a money claim, because the creditor pays your solicitors costs and you don't need to do any leg-work.
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
Thank you for the advice.
I will most probably not be legally represented.
Most of the clamps (bar one) were paid to be released.
No vehicle damage occurred.
I used my partners vehicle to get around whilst the car was clamped but there are no receipts for this (i did get a parking ticket on ger vehicle when i was complaining to the police, but I payed it).
Taking into account my particular situation, can you advise on the best route of action please?
And when you say apply for costs online, do you mean submit the N244 form online? I have been told that applying without a hearing is best for someone with no legal representation.
How can i get the past 6 years records? My matters definitely reach back that far.
Regards
I will most probably not be legally represented.
Most of the clamps (bar one) were paid to be released.
No vehicle damage occurred.
I used my partners vehicle to get around whilst the car was clamped but there are no receipts for this (i did get a parking ticket on ger vehicle when i was complaining to the police, but I payed it).
Taking into account my particular situation, can you advise on the best route of action please?
And when you say apply for costs online, do you mean submit the N244 form online? I have been told that applying without a hearing is best for someone with no legal representation.
How can i get the past 6 years records? My matters definitely reach back that far.
Regards
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
If you are not represented, then do a money claim on the small claims track.
The N244 application needs legal expertise because you must create a skeleton argument, and that is outside the technical scope of a litigant in person.
If a bailiff company tries to argue on behalf of the creditor/defendant, that the money claim is not the proper cause of action, then you can contest it with the judgment of Steel Linings Limited, Mark Harvey v Bibby & Co [1993] EWCA WL 964281 which states the defendant's choice of remedy is not the exclusive remedy.
The right to bring a small claim is a statutory one under section 15 of the County Courts Act
I only put them on an N244 application when the client is represented, because the solicitors costs are paid by the other party.
You cannot get solicitors fees on the small claims track. Only disbursements.
You can ask for your records from bailiff companies by giving the PCN number, or information that enables them to identify the origin of the debt. But I think the number of days your car was clamped might not be on their records.
Make the request anyway, and you can exhibit the rebuttal in your claim.
When you make a witness statement, you must state the dates from the car was clamped through to the dates the clamp was removed, so your bank statements are a good starting point which gives the date of the flow of money to the bailiff company indicating the date the car was unclamped.
When you apply for costs by putting it on your N244 in part three, or on your form N1 claim form.
Remember to claim statutory interest. The default rate is 8%.
The N244 application needs legal expertise because you must create a skeleton argument, and that is outside the technical scope of a litigant in person.
If a bailiff company tries to argue on behalf of the creditor/defendant, that the money claim is not the proper cause of action, then you can contest it with the judgment of Steel Linings Limited, Mark Harvey v Bibby & Co [1993] EWCA WL 964281 which states the defendant's choice of remedy is not the exclusive remedy.
The right to bring a small claim is a statutory one under section 15 of the County Courts Act
I only put them on an N244 application when the client is represented, because the solicitors costs are paid by the other party.
You cannot get solicitors fees on the small claims track. Only disbursements.
You can ask for your records from bailiff companies by giving the PCN number, or information that enables them to identify the origin of the debt. But I think the number of days your car was clamped might not be on their records.
Make the request anyway, and you can exhibit the rebuttal in your claim.
When you make a witness statement, you must state the dates from the car was clamped through to the dates the clamp was removed, so your bank statements are a good starting point which gives the date of the flow of money to the bailiff company indicating the date the car was unclamped.
When you apply for costs by putting it on your N244 in part three, or on your form N1 claim form.
Remember to claim statutory interest. The default rate is 8%.
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
Thank you. I will go and make the claims once the information has been given to me form the enforcement agencies.
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for ... court-fees
This website states I will have to pay costs to get this case heard. Is there a way I can do it without having to pay?
And just so I havent misread:
I need to file a money claim online
I have to submit an N244 form
I should submit an N1 form
Are these the steps I need to take?
Regards
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for ... court-fees
This website states I will have to pay costs to get this case heard. Is there a way I can do it without having to pay?
And just so I havent misread:
I need to file a money claim online
I have to submit an N244 form
I should submit an N1 form
Are these the steps I need to take?
Regards
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
If you don't want to pay and you are on a low income, then make an online application for Help with Fees (HWF) and put the HWF reference at the top right of the N244.
Here is where to make an online application for HWF.
https://helpwithcourtfees.service.gov.uk/checklist
To start a money claim, you can file this online here
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
But you cannot use the online HWF on money claim online. You have to pay the filing fee and do a fee reclaim later using the above HWF link.
To make an application under CPR 84.13 you file an N244, a witness statement with exhibit, a skeleton argument and a draft order.
Here is where to make an online application for HWF.
https://helpwithcourtfees.service.gov.uk/checklist
To start a money claim, you can file this online here
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
But you cannot use the online HWF on money claim online. You have to pay the filing fee and do a fee reclaim later using the above HWF link.
To make an application under CPR 84.13 you file an N244, a witness statement with exhibit, a skeleton argument and a draft order.
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
Thank you.
I will make the money claim.
An N244 form will not be required as I am not being represented. If you do know of a solicitor that particularlytakes these cases then please let me know, other than that I will just make the money claim.
I will apply for the HWF also.
I will do all of this once I receive the information from the bailiff companies. I will try to call and request also.
This has helped a lot!!!
I am disappointed that I cannot reclaim the original amount I paid for the clamps to be removed. But hopefully after I file these claims, the agencies will think twice before trying to clamp my vehicle again
Kind regards
I will make the money claim.
An N244 form will not be required as I am not being represented. If you do know of a solicitor that particularlytakes these cases then please let me know, other than that I will just make the money claim.
I will apply for the HWF also.
I will do all of this once I receive the information from the bailiff companies. I will try to call and request also.
This has helped a lot!!!
I am disappointed that I cannot reclaim the original amount I paid for the clamps to be removed. But hopefully after I file these claims, the agencies will think twice before trying to clamp my vehicle again
Kind regards
Re: How to make a successful application for a refund after wrongful clamping
I know many solicitors that are happy to do it, but the internet has ears as they say.
I can't give solicitors names or referrals on this board, otherwise trolls start making malicious complaints to the SRA about them.
One individual was identified as having made two complaints against the same solicitor using other peoples names. That person was identified to be behind another internet website about bailiffs, and acted on the advice of a person running a website about avoiding speed cameras.
Consequently, both complaints were dismissed.
So solicitors have instructed me not to give their names to persons unknown. Otherwise I would be happy to refer you.
You might still be able to recover the original amounts paid to bailiffs to get the clamp off, only if you can find an enforcement impropriety.
That starts with running an enforcement compliance check for each individual PCN.
https://stopthebailiffs.uk/parking-and- ... check.html
Then make a list of breaches and you can instruct your solicitor to make an application under CPR 84.13 for each PCN.
This is separate to a detailed assessment, which is under CPR 84.16 but the solicitor will put them before court together for each PCN anyway.
They wont do all the PCNs together because they will be against different councils or authorities the bailiff acted for. Solicitors don't apply against bailiffs or bailiff companies because they frustrate the legal process and expose the creditor to added costs.
Making the application won't stop bailiffs clamping your hire purchase car. They are like lemmings, and carry on clamping knowing the risk to the creditor having to write out a large cheque.
Bailiff companies prefer to keep clamping hire purchase cars and keep paying out costs to their creditor clients when the application is brought to court.
They even hire solicitors to brazenly defend such actions for damages and costs, and on one occasion, a learned deputy district judge presiding over a hearing about a bailiff clamping a car that was on hire purchase, tried to buck the trend by dismissing a application brought by the hirer to release his clamped car, he said:
The hirer appealed to a Circuit judge, added another £5,500 solicitors fees, barrister instructed and the clamp was off without further ado with the learned judge getting egg on his face.
I can't give solicitors names or referrals on this board, otherwise trolls start making malicious complaints to the SRA about them.
One individual was identified as having made two complaints against the same solicitor using other peoples names. That person was identified to be behind another internet website about bailiffs, and acted on the advice of a person running a website about avoiding speed cameras.
Consequently, both complaints were dismissed.
So solicitors have instructed me not to give their names to persons unknown. Otherwise I would be happy to refer you.
You might still be able to recover the original amounts paid to bailiffs to get the clamp off, only if you can find an enforcement impropriety.
That starts with running an enforcement compliance check for each individual PCN.
https://stopthebailiffs.uk/parking-and- ... check.html
Then make a list of breaches and you can instruct your solicitor to make an application under CPR 84.13 for each PCN.
This is separate to a detailed assessment, which is under CPR 84.16 but the solicitor will put them before court together for each PCN anyway.
They wont do all the PCNs together because they will be against different councils or authorities the bailiff acted for. Solicitors don't apply against bailiffs or bailiff companies because they frustrate the legal process and expose the creditor to added costs.
Making the application won't stop bailiffs clamping your hire purchase car. They are like lemmings, and carry on clamping knowing the risk to the creditor having to write out a large cheque.
Bailiff companies prefer to keep clamping hire purchase cars and keep paying out costs to their creditor clients when the application is brought to court.
They even hire solicitors to brazenly defend such actions for damages and costs, and on one occasion, a learned deputy district judge presiding over a hearing about a bailiff clamping a car that was on hire purchase, tried to buck the trend by dismissing a application brought by the hirer to release his clamped car, he said:
Whether it’s owned or not is all trivial, bailiffs do this to force the keeper's hand and make them pay up. They know a keeper is not going to let go of a car, whether it is actually legally theirs or it's leased. The bailiff usually doesn’t actually expect to obtain full legal rights over the car.
The hirer appealed to a Circuit judge, added another £5,500 solicitors fees, barrister instructed and the clamp was off without further ado with the learned judge getting egg on his face.