UKCPS claim form recieved

SamRose

Hi,

I got a private ticket in May, my husband was driving but the car is in my name so all letters have been addressed to me. I have been ignoring them but have now received a Claim form, it looks pretty official and now I am seriously worrying. Any thoughts or advice very much welcome please.

Thanks

Guys_Dad

What does the claim form say? Is it a Northampton County Court form or what?

A "claim form" is meaningless on its own, I am afraid.

SamRose

Thank you for replying. yes it says money claim online, northhampton county court. it says I have 14 days to reply

SamRose

PS, the amount is £150 plus £25 court fees. The paperwork asks for bank details, how much I earn and what my out goings are. It also gives me the option t defend myself.

Guys_Dad

SamRose wrote: »

Thank you for replying. yes it says money claim online, northhampton county court. it says I have 14 days to reply

Thanks.

2 things.

First, read through this forum for current advice on acknowledging papers. There are lots of people with more experience of court than me here - I have only been on the other side of claims - and hopefully one will come along with procedure if you can't find it in other threads.

I am not sure if at this stage you can contact the PPC telling them that you were not the driver and giving your husband's name

Second, you need a defence.

Can you gibe a few details so we can tailor a defence? Dates, what happened, where it was, how long over etc, etc, - see other threads. I wouldn't worry too much at this late stage about giving too much away as the court papers are out.

Coupon-mad

SamRose wrote: »

Thank you for replying. yes it says money claim online, northhampton county court. it says I have 14 days to reply

Oh dear...you should not have ignored the fake PCN as you could have appealed it and won. 'Ignore' has not been our advice since Easter and earlier (except Scotland)!

Did this claim form come directly from the Court? Not as a random attachment with a letter from the scammers? Which firm, Parking Eye or UKCPS or Civil Enforcement?

Here's my standard advice posted by me as SchoolRunMum on pepipoo (where there are hundreds of people currently defending small claims by these scumbags):

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=82744&st=0&gopid=862298&

You should learn from all the links leading from that post, that you have to acknowledge the claim if it has come from the court (and is a real one), this extends your time to submit a skeleton (outline) defence form to 28 days instead of 14.

Please read all the links from the links on that pepipoo post I made, and the links from those links! Do that first so you can see that this isn't such a big deal as it may seem and can be defended, and you will learn how to defend. Please take time to read all those links and other threads that leads from the links.

Fake PCNs can even be cancelled if you complain (it's never too late if it was a retail car park and you were a customer with or without a receipt):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62837690#Comment_62837690

Tell us which scumbag sent the PCN and is it from the court?

Was it an alleged overstay? Or what?

Did the firm send a Letter before Action first?

And do you have any mitigating circumstances {e.g. if the driver - or a passenger that day - was elderly, disabled, were ill or have any long-term medical condition that would have slowed them down - if this was an overstay allegation...even if it wasn't a 'mobility' problem and even if they had no Blue Badge}. {If you are a Mum of a new baby, delayed when breastfeeding the baby in the car when you first arrived and parked, to settle the baby before your shopping outing, or if there was a pregnant or ill passenger...}?

SamRose

Thank you guys, its so good of you to give your time.

By the look at the time on the ticket we had only been in the cinema about 5 mins when we got it. We parked outside of a marked bay, dozens of other cars were parked the same way, we were not blocking any access, preventing people walking safely etc so I really don't understand the ticket?.


There are 2 reasons really why I haven't dealt with this (very out of character for me). Firstly, everyone and I mean everyone I have asked have said ignore - clearly out of date info!. Secondly all this happened around the second year anniversary of the death of our son who died in June 2011 from cancer. What tends to happen for us around anniversaries is that we function at a reduced level and so this just didn't get any head room. I am now forced to address it, even though it is increasing my anxiety and panic attacks and again would like to say thank you for both your time and advice.

Stroma

Please try not to panic over this, it's just a civil matter , no matter whether you win, lose or pay this to go away, it will not impact on your life, meaning its not a criminal matter. Even if it goes to court and you lose you will not get a ccj providing you pay within 28 days.

Now please follow the advice from Coupon , you put in a strong defence and they will drop this like a hot potato. Haswell their office manager is just a little coward who tries to bully people, if you stand up to him he slinks back under the stone he crawled out of.

If you ever have the chance to meet him, you will see that he's a nervous wreck in a small claim, he is not a nice person, I haven't had the pleasure but others here have had dealings with the scammer

Coupon-mad

SamRose wrote: »

Thank you guys, its so good of you to give your time.

By the look at the time on the ticket we had only been in the cinema about 5 mins when we got it. We parked outside of a marked bay, dozens of other cars were parked the same way, we were not blocking any access, preventing people walking safely etc so I really don't understand the ticket?.

...all this happened around the second year anniversary of the death of our son who died in June 2011 from cancer. What tends to happen for us around anniversaries is that we function at a reduced level and so this just didn't get any head room. I am now forced to address it, even though it is increasing my anxiety and panic attacks and again would like to say thank you for both your time and advice.

You don't need to try to ''understand it', except to know that UKCPS are notorious and they do take people to court, but they also sometimes duck out before a hearing if there is a strong defence submitted! They are despicable and even take disabled people to court for parking in a disabled bay, like brookwald on pepipoo where the passenger was an elderly disabled person:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=79116&start=0&p=820471&#entry820471

They issue these fake PCNs whenever they have any excuse, because that's how they make a profit. It's how their protection racket works.

That thread above does contain some details about case law for a defence (but I am fairly sure it's already linked, off another link, in the previous post of defence links and advice I already gave you before, anyway). And here's a similar username to the other one on pepipoo, this time grunwald. He's an elderly man in a wheelchair, about to have his court hearing with a different PPC, Excel, next week (for parking in a disabled bay when he was disabled!)...if Excel show up:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=79002

It's 5 pages long but with lots of advice and case law and info which will also be very applicable to a strong defence against a UKCPS 'claim', and I noticed that anon45 had posted a good post a few weeks ago on there with links to case law to quote. Keep your eye on the outcome even though it's a different PPC.

So IMHO you'd be better prepared if you read the links from the pepipoo thread I gave you, to understand the stage you are at. It's not criminal court, not a terrible situation, no need to attend in person as long as you submit a strong defence (based on what you read on the links) and ask for it to be heard in your absence (so you don't lose by default for suddenly not turning up). And there is no effect on credit rating even if you lose, as long as you would then pay of course if it happened in your case.

Apart from the links telling you how to defend it I will show you the latest UKCPS case I know about, where the motorist actually lost (parked in a disabled bay - a UKCPS favourite). But look, even then jangofett only had to pay the amount of the fake PCN plus the court fee and of course there was no CCJ or anything so he paid less than the debt collector letters often scream for:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=76790

'' {the judge} wouldn't allow the claimant to claim for costs and even knocked down the claim amount saying they couldn't claim admin charges etc. they could only claim the parking charge, the dvla fee {£2.50} and the court fee. ''

Read it all, every page and every link already given.

No-one will blame you if you just settle and pay but I wanted you to be informed from the links that this isn't such a big deal, honestly.





P.S. So sorry to read about your son and the recent anniversary of his sad death; I have just suffered a very close bereavement myself and have lost my sister in the past at a young age too. I feel for you and hope you win this or can get the Retail Park (if retail you have a good chance) to cancel it if you complain as well. Even now.

SamRose

Thank you guys.

I am so sorry to hear that you have had a recent loss and that of your sister. Grief is so exhausting isn't it? People often think because you are functioning that you must be 'coping', not always the case.

I do feel very overwhelmed by all this but I just need to spend some time reading the links you have advised.

In the first instance do you think I should send the claim form back asking if I can have 28 days to prepare my defence rather than the allocated 14? and also write to the manager of the cinema asking if there is anything he//she can do to help?

once again, thank you

Sam

Stroma

Yes please do this, if its from mcol you can login into their website and do this. You need to acknowledge the claim, say you will defend in full, and ask for 28 days to draw up your defence.