Parking Eye Court Summons

Monty1963

Today I received court papers from Northampton for parking in car park monitored by Parking Eye in southern UK. This is the first notification that I have received and so am somewhat shocked, especially by the ludicrus amount the the crooks think they can ask for, including solicitors fees, which I could understand had a solicitor written to me. I am familar with the car park that they claim I over stayed in, but have never noticed any signage there to advise that you cannot park beyond a certain period. Moreover, on my first trip there I made a point of hunting for a pay and display machine, as there wasn't one I assumed that the parking was free and unlimited, so lomg as you used the shops which the car park serves. On the day in question I spent over £100 in one of these shops so I think it a bit rich that this company now come seeking money for overstaying my welcome. Shocking and worrying - what can I do to avoid paying these crooks a penny?

Coupon-mad

Monty1963 wrote: »

Today I received court papers from Northampton for parking in car park monitored by Parking Eye in southern UK. This is the first notification that I have received and so am somewhat shocked, especially by the ludicrus amount the the crooks think they can ask for, including solicitors fees, which I could understand had a solicitor written to me. I am familar with the car park that they claim I over stayed in, but have never noticed any signage there to advise that you cannot park beyond a certain period. Moreover, on my first trip there I made a point of hunting for a pay and display machine, as there wasn't one I assumed that the parking was free and unlimited, so lomg as you used the shops which the car park serves. On the day in question I spent over £100 in one of these shops so I think it a bit rich that this company now come seeking money for overstaying my welcome. Shocking and worrying - what can I do to avoid paying these crooks a penny?

Read other threads like yours is the best advice. There's no quick-fix answer except to read other threads & learn from them, because you have to acknowledge the claim and send a defence urgently (or you lose by default). So you are best just reading other threads where the title talks about a PE small claim (there are flippin' LOADS!). Go back as many pages as you can until your eyes glaze over(!) and then start reading all the PE Court threads on pepipoo forums as well!

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=60

Even more on pepipoo than on here! Tons of advice & links out there for you to learn how to defend this. And complain to the Retailer (management of course) for the harassment of their agent if you were a shopper that day. A receipt will not be that relevant to your court defence but very relevant to your complaint to the overall retail park or Store Manager/CEO who can sometimes insist that the fake PCN is cancelled by PE - who are just their agent after all. This isn't a summons, it's 'only' a small claim and you can pay it or defend it (I would do the latter of course and I have no legal training either).

Just don't miss your deadlines to firstly acknowledge and then to send your skeleton defence. EVEN if the retailer says they 'want it cancelled', that DOES NOT stop the clock on the small claim!

Umkomaas

OP - are you saying you've had no previous correspondence at all from PE?

Have you changed address recently with post going to your previous residence?

Is this really the very first time you have been made aware of the issue?

Monty1963

Umkomaas, yes this is the first corresponence that I have received. I moved back to the UK from Germany earlier this year, but this incident was after that and after the vehicle having been reregistered with DVLA, so that really should not have made a difference.
I have written a draft defence, which I plan to send on Monday. In the meantime I am appauled that these companies are allowed to carry on like this, it is tantermount to legalised robbery.

Coupon-mad

Monty1963 wrote: »

Umkomaas, yes this is the first corresponence that I have received. I moved back to the UK from Germany earlier this year, but this incident was after that and after the vehicle having been reregistered with DVLA, so that really should not have made a difference.
I have written a draft defence, which I plan to send on Monday. In the meantime I am appauled that these companies are allowed to carry on like this, it is tantermount to legalised robbery.

A defence based on what you have read on forum threads (can be good if you read the right ones) or do you have legal input?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62845730#Comment_62845730

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

HTH

Buzby

Remember - you are only giving your summary, you are denying the claims of the PPC and fully intend to defend your interests. You require a hearing at your local court (which is your right). The PPC then has to come to you - at their expense.

It has been known for cases like this to be vacated (abandoned).

Monty1963

Coupon Mad - Defence based on what I have read here and on the other website today. Some very interesting cases. However, I am quite angry due to what I see as bullying and the lack of foresight by the clowns at PE to send their correspondence by a proven means, rather than leaving the possible delivery in the lap of the gods!!! It strikes me that the modus operandi of this company is very underhand and is tantermount to legal robbery!:(

Monty1963

Thanks for that Buzby.

Buzby

For info - I've been chased for 2 from Northampton, and returned them as incompetent (due to them having no jurisdiction in Scotland) the cases are them cancelled and the PPC has to pay again to raise the action in my local court - they never did this.

Sadly, this does not work in retrospect - as if I ignored and then a default judgement is granted, the Northampton order can be processed as valid by Sheriff Officers in Scotland.

In your case, court pursuit via Northampton is often seen as an investment (for the PPC) as if ignored the recipient loses big time. But when a defence is filed with a request for a local hearing this stops, as the costs outweigh the benefits of pursuit and the profitable bottom line.

If there is little or no money to be made in pursuit, there is little point in continuing on a point of principle - as we all know, they don't have any!

zzzLazyDaisy

Monty, Buzby's advice is good if you live in Scotland (do you?).

If you live in England or Wales, you MUST deal with the country court papers by going to MCOL and filing an acknowledgment of service. This extends your time for filing a defence to 28 days.

Then you need to start preparing your defence. Coupon-mad has given you some useful links, so you need to get reading (we can help you, but we cannot do it for you - partly because we don't have the manpower, but mainly because it is essential that you understand what you are saying in your defence).

As a basic framework I would say something like:

1 I am Registered Keeper and the Defendant to this action

2 The Claimant's case against me is denied in full

3 I have not at any time received any correspondence in this matter prior to receiving the County Court Claim, in particularly:
a) I did not receive a PCN, or any other form of notification about the alleged parking breach whatsoever
b) I was not at any time given the opportunity to make use of the Claimant's own appeals process
c) The Claimant did not at any time advise me of my right to use the independent form of ADR set up by the Parking Industry to deal with these disputes (POPLA)
d) I did not receive a 'Letter Before Action' prior to the start of these proceedings
e) The Claimant did not notify me of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct, and did not take any steps to follow this procedure before starting Court Proceedings against me

4 For the reasons stated above, I respectfully request the court to make an Order staying these proceedings to enable the parties to comply with the Practice Direction, and in particularly to allow time for the parties to make use of the appropriate form of ADR set up by the Parking Industry for this purpose. I respectfully submit that this course would be of benefit to the parties and would ease the burden on the court.

5 In the event that the court should refuse my application for a Stay of these proceedings, a summary of the grounds for my defence is set out in the paragraphs below. I confirm that full and detailed evidence, together with supporting case references will be provided at the appropriate time.

6 [now continue to set out the grounds of your defence, in numbered paragraphs, rebutting every point made in the particulars of claim, and adding any additional grounds of defence that you wish to rely on. You need to provide enough information to enable the court and claimant to understand your defence, but you do not need to go into enormous detail at this stage].

7 >>>>

8 >>>>>

9 etc >>>

---

Once you have sent off the defence, you should then write a separate letter to the court quoting the case name and number, confirming that you have filed a defence, and make a formal application for a stay of proceedings. You need to state the grounds for your application (copy and paste para 3) and conclude by explaining why you believe a stay is appropriate in the case (copy and paste para 4).

Hope this helps

Daisy

Buzby

I disagree on providing full details of your case when the only issue is whether you plan to defend. (Irrespective of where you are domiciled). The time for providing the full nature of your rejection is when your case is considered - Norhampton is simply the initial stage to scrape of those who have no intention of defending.

Since your response to the the original citation is copied to the PPC, why on earth would you give them a full heads up on what you plan to do?