Horizon Claim

[mouse]

Good morning,

 Gladstones have responded to the email I sent. they didn't respond to the request to adjourn but wrote:

further to the notice of allocation, and in an effort to resolve this matter without the need for further court time and costs, the claimant is prepared to make a settlement offer. 

They are willing to accept £250 in full and final settlement of the claim provided payment is received by 4pm 6th July. This offer is made on the basis that, upon cleared receipt of the settlement sum, the claimant will take steps to vacate the hearing, with no further order as to costs save as agreed.

Should the offer not be accepted and the matter proceeds to a hearing, the claimant reserves the right to bring this correspondence to the courts attention on the issue of costs.

Please confirm by return whether the offer is accepted.


It would have been a lot nicer if they would just discontinue at this point. Then the matter could be resolved without further court time!

[b789]

@mouse, this is classic Gladstones. A clear procedural point was raised and instead of answering it, they tried to deflect into settlement pressure. That is inept and evasive. They have been asked a simple question: do they consent to the hearing being vacated and relisted due to genuine unavailability? Rather than answer it, they have attempted to leverage the situation for payment. That does them no credit and, if they continue to dodge the point, it is exactly the sort of conduct that can later be shown to the court on the issue of unreasonable behaviour and costs.

Send Gladstones this:

Dear Sirs,

Your email does not answer my request for consent to the hearing being vacated and relisted due to genuine unavailability on 20 August 2026.

Instead, you have sought to make a settlement proposal whilst avoiding the actual procedural issue raised. That is noted.

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept the Claimant’s settlement offer.

I again requests a clear response to the question asked: does the Claimant consent to the hearing being vacated and relisted to the next available date after 20 August 2026?

If no substantive response is received by 4pm Friday 19 June, I will proceed on the basis that the Claimant refuses consent. In that event, I will consider making a formal application and will place this correspondence before the court on the issue of conduct and costs, including the Claimant’s failure to engage reasonably with a genuine and timely request to avoid unnecessary application costs and court time.

Please therefore confirm your client’s position by return.

Yours faithfully,

[full name]
Defendant
[postal address]
[email address]

It puts them on notice and it preserves the paper trail for any later costs argument.

[mouse]

Brilliant, thank you so much for that response. I will get that sent off to them and let you know what they come back with. If they don't agree I will be filing regardless as I can't change being away.

[mouse]

Good morning @b789  so following on from the last email sent I have had no response from Gladstones to adjourn. No surprise there.

Do I follow up with another email to the general one, forwarding the email trail I had replied to so they can't say they didn't receive it or just go ahead with the N244? 

Thanks

[b789]

Follow up once, then move to the N244 if they still ignore it.

The sensible course is to send one short further email to enquiries@gladstonessolicitors.co.uk, forwarding the full email trail, so they cannot later pretend the request was missed or only went to one individual. Keep it brief and say this is the final request for confirmation of consent, failing which an application will be made and the correspondence relied on on the question of unreasonable conduct and costs.

After that, do not keep chasing them. If they still do not respond within the short deadline given, proceed with the N244.

So:

• one final email to the general address with the trail attached or forwarded,
  
• give them a short deadline,
  
• then apply.
  

That leaves you looking reasonable and Gladstones looking obstructive.

You can use something like this:

Claim No. [claim number] – final request for consent to adjourn and relist hearing

Dear Sirs,

I refer to my earlier emails seeking the Claimant’s consent to the hearing listed on 20 August 2026 being vacated and relisted due to my genuine unavailability on that date.

You have failed to provide any substantive response to that request. Instead, your most recent email sought to make a settlement proposal whilst avoiding the procedural issue raised. That is noted.

For the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept the Claimant’s settlement offer.

I now make one final request for a clear response. Please confirm by 4pm on Thursday 25 June whether the Claimant consents to the hearing being vacated and relisted to the next available date after 20 August 2026.

If no substantive response is received by that deadline, I will proceed on the basis that the Claimant refuses consent. In that event, I will make a formal application without further notice and will place this correspondence before the court on the issue of conduct and costs, including the Claimant’s failure to engage reasonably with a genuine and timely request made so as to avoid unnecessary application costs and wasted court time.

For ease of reference, I attach below the relevant email trail.

Yours faithfully,

[full name]
Defendant
[postal address]
[email address]

[mouse]

I thought as much. Thank you so much for confirming that. I will get on with that email and await their response.... 


I will as always keep you updated if they respond to that one! 

Thanks

[mouse]

Good morning @b789 still no reply from Gladstones from the follow up email I sent last week. 


So I am going to submit the N244 today. Is there anything notable I should include on it, other than the obvious of changing the date? 

With Gladstones being unreasonable by ignoring the emails is this cost recoverable from them?

Thanks

[b789]

@mouse, yes. There are a few points worth including beyond simply asking for a new date.

State that the application is made promptly after receipt of the hearing date, that the unavailability is genuine, that supporting evidence is attached, and that you first tried to avoid unnecessary cost and court time by seeking the Claimant's consent, but Gladstones failed to engage with that request despite repeated emails. That matters because the EX50 fee schedule says a consent adjournment filed at least 14 days before the hearing attracts no fee, so their refusal or silence is exactly what has forced a paid application.

This is what you should put in the N244 form:

In the top right box, put "Nottingham County Court" as the court name, the claim number, the claimant's name exactly as on the claim form, the defendant's name exactly as on the claim form, and the date the form is being signed. Leave fee account and warrant details blank. If Help with Fees applies, put the reference in that box.

Box 1 is simply the defendant's full name. Box 2: tick "Defendant". Do not tick legal representative. Leave the representative box blank.

Box 3 is the key box. Put something along these lines:

"The Defendant applies for an order that the hearing listed for 20 August 2026 be vacated and relisted to the first available date after [insert the date after which the Defendant is available], due to the Defendant's genuine unavailability on 20 August 2026. The Defendant notified the court promptly and sought the Claimant's consent in advance, but the Claimant's solicitors failed to engage with that request. The Defendant also seeks the costs of this application, alternatively costs reserved."

That tells the judge exactly what is sought and why.

Box 4: tick "Yes" and attach a short draft order.

Box 5: tick "without a hearing".

Reason: that only concerns the N244 application itself. It does not convert the actual parking claim into a paper determination. The trial itself remains an oral hearing, just on a new date. If the judge still thinks an application hearing is necessary, the court can list one anyway, but there is no sense in positively asking for one.

Box 6: leave blank.

Box 7: put "Trial currently listed on 20 August 2026 at 10:00am" or whatever the exact notice says.

Box 8: put "District Judge".

Box 9: put "Gladstones Solicitors Limited, on behalf of the Claimant".

Box 9a: put Gladstones' service address. If the correspondence in this case gives a specific service address, use that. If not, use the address shown on their statement of case/correspondence.

Box 10 on page 2: tick "the attached witness statement". Do not rely just on the box below. Use a separate witness statement with exhibits.

The witness statement should be short and factual. It should say:

• the applicant is the defendant in the claim;
  
• the hearing is listed on 20 August 2026;
  
• the defendant is genuinely unavailable on that date;
  
• evidence of that unavailability is attached;
  
• the defendant notified the court promptly;
  
• the defendant sought the claimant's consent by email on [dates];
  
• Gladstones failed to engage with the request and instead ignored it;
  
• the application has therefore been made only because consent was not forthcoming;
  
• the defendant asks for the hearing to be vacated and relisted after the unavailable period;
  
• the defendant asks for the application fee to be paid by the claimant, alternatively reserved, because the need for the application arose from the claimant's unreasonable failure to engage with a genuine and timely request.
  

Section 11 on page 3: unless there is some separate vulnerability point, tick "No".

Page 4, statement of truth: the defendant signs as "Applicant", dates it, and prints their full name. No one else signs.

Page 5 is the defendant's address, postcode, phone number and email for service. Fill that in carefully because that is where the court will send the application outcome.

The attachments should be:

• the witness statement,
  
• a short draft order,
  
• the evidence of unavailability,
  
• and the email trail showing the requests to Gladstones and their failure to engage.
  

The draft order should say:

"Upon reading the Defendant's application and witness statement,

IT IS ORDERED THAT:

1. The hearing listed on 20 August 2026 be vacated.
   
2. The claim be relisted for hearing on the first available date after [insert date].
   
3. The Claimant shall pay the Defendant's application fee for this application, alternatively costs reserved."
   

The two practical points that matter most are these. First, make clear this is a genuine availability issue raised promptly. Second, make clear that an attempt was made to avoid a paid application by seeking consent, but Gladstones ignored the point. That is what gives the costs request some force.

Use these as the attachments to the N244:

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT NOTTINGHAM

[b]Claim No: [claim number][/b]

Between:

[b]HORIZON PARKING LIMITED[/b]

Claimant

[b]-and-[/b]

[b][DEFENDANT NAME][/b]

Defendant

[b]WITNESS STATEMENT OF THE DEFENDANT[/b]

1. I am the Defendant in this claim. I make this witness statement in support of my application for an order that the hearing currently listed on 20 August 2026 be vacated and relisted to the first available date after [insert date after which I am available].

2. The facts and matters set out in this witness statement are within my own knowledge, save where stated otherwise, and are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

3. By Notice of Trial Date, the hearing of this matter has been listed for 20 August 2026.

4. I am genuinely unavailable on that date and am therefore unable to attend the hearing as listed.

5. I attach evidence of my unavailability to this witness statement.

6. Upon becoming aware of the hearing date, I notified the court promptly that I was unavailable on 20 August 2026 and requested that the hearing be relisted.

7. The court responded to state that, if I wished to seek an adjournment of the hearing, I would need to make a formal application.

8. In an effort to avoid unnecessary court time and costs, I then contacted the Claimant's solicitors, Gladstones Solicitors, to seek their consent to the hearing being vacated and relisted.

9. I contacted Gladstones Solicitors multiple times to seek the Claimant’s consent to the hearing being vacated and relisted so as to avoid unnecessary court time and the cost of a formal application.

10. Gladstones Solicitors failed to respond at all to that request, or to any subsequent follow-up emails. No consent was given, no refusal was expressed, and no substantive response was provided.

11. This application has therefore been made only because the Claimant’s solicitors failed to engage with a genuine and timely request which, had it been addressed, could have avoided the need for this application and the associated fee.

12. I respectfully request that the hearing listed on 20 August 2026 be vacated and relisted to the first available date after [insert date].

13. I also respectfully ask the court to order that the Claimant pay the fee for this application, alternatively that costs be reserved, because the need for this application has arisen from the Claimant's unreasonable failure to engage with a proper request for consent made well in advance of the hearing.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed: [defendant full name]

Dated:

IN THE COUNTY COURT AT NOTTINGHAM

[b]Claim No: [claim number][/b]

Between:

[b]HORIZON PARKING LIMITED[/b]

Claimant

-and-

[b][DEFENDANT NAME][/b]

Defendant

[b]DRAFT ORDER[/b]

Upon reading the Defendant's application notice and witness statement

IT IS ORDERED THAT:

1. The hearing currently listed on 20 August 2026 be vacated.

2. The claim shall be relisted for hearing on the first available date after [insert date after which the Defendant is available], with the existing time estimate remaining unchanged unless the court directs otherwise.

3. The Claimant shall pay the Defendant's application fee for this application, alternatively costs reserved.

For the exhibits, label them simply:

   Exhibit A – evidence of unavailability
   Exhibit B – email to court notifying unavailability
   Exhibit C – court reply requiring N244
   Exhibit D – email(s) to Gladstones seeking consent
   Exhibit E – Gladstones' settlement reply/non-response trail

[mouse]

Wow @b789 so glad I checked with you. Im blown away by your excellent expertise and truly grateful for everything you have provided so far with this. 

Do I email the court explaining I'm going to be filing and to clarify the amount also how it can be paid.

Im getting mixed information regarding the application and fees, is it £123 or £313 and can this application be emailed or does it have to be hard copy  and posted?
Sorry lots of questions today 

Thanks

[b789]

Do not send a separate speculative email first. File the N244 application by email to Nottingham with the N244, witness statement, draft order and exhibits attached, and in the body of that same email state that this is an application on notice, that the Defendant wishes to pay the applicable fee by debit/credit card, and provide the phone number for the court to call to take payment.

Since Gladstones have been notified and have not consented, the safer assumption is that the fee is £313. If the court takes a different view, they will tell you, but do not underpay it on the assumption it is £123.

A good one-line payment paragraph for the covering email is:

"The Defendant understands that the applicable application fee is payable and requests that the court please contact me on [telephone number] to take payment by credit/debit card."

Remember that Gladstones must also be CC'd in the email with the application.