Just wait it all out and go to court?

Half_way

The county court, small claims track can be a lottery, and its in your best interests to steer this out of court without paying a penny.
I would advise that you take a look at the sticky thread, and prepare a comprehensive defence.
It wasnt me, I wasnt there you cant prove it, stands a good chance of not getting the right result

Castle

I'm guessing you didn't keep the ticket that was actually stuck on your windscreen in January; as it would prove the car wasn't in Middlesbrough at the same time.

Edna_Basher

Hmmm......

I'm pretty sure that Middlesbrough Leisure Park is infested by Excel Parking Services Ltd rather than Vehicle Control Services Ltd - Google Maps / StreetView suggests that this is the case.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.5758163,-1.2265071,168m/data=!3m1!1e3


Although under common ownership, VCS and Excel are completely separate legal entities. If the car park signs are all in the name of Excel Parking Services Ltd, there could be no contract between the driver and Vehicle Control Services Ltd.

I wonder if there's been an internal mix-up in VCS / Excel's records. if so, the mix-up would be to your advantage.

DrJogalog

No, I don't have a ticket from this time.

What exactly details a comprehensive defense if I have ALREADY submitted it online? I am not sure what more I can do because myself and car were just not where they say they were.

DrJogalog

There is definitely a mixup as it just didn't happen. I looked on Google street view and the signs are the same as the ones here in Sheffield. It looks like the same contact number too. I cannot see how they will pursue it further when the court gives them my defense wording before any hearing. They will look at my which is literally around the corner from Hillsborough, and then look at where they are issuing the ticket which is over 100 miles away. They would be stupis not to look at the pictures they have (if they have any), and as the PCC is also based in Sheffield, they will know the picturesshow Hillsborough leisure centre and not Middlesbrough Leisure Park. They must also have some original record of the ticket which would show the same.

I am not at all worried about going to court on this. They just cannot prove it and they will look stupid.

Umkomaas

A more 'detailed defence' to bring in other separate points will cost you £255 (IIRC) to put anything further before the court.

DrJogalog

Yes, I cannot add anything further. And as they have never given me any evidence to contradict or cross reference, I have nothing other than to say I wasn't there.

TW1234

Warning to others.

---

Do not be complacent about court procedures.
Judgement will be given based on probability, not certainty, and if statements of truth are made about the evidence, then in the absence of anything to the contrary submitted at the correct procedural time, they may be accepted.
If you are going to handle a court case by yourself and without legal training, then good luck, but it would be better to seek advice on here or elsewhere before jumping in and preventing yourself from fully fighting your corner.
You may not be allowed to present some vital point that you did not submit at the right time.

Coupon-mad

DrJogalog wrote: »

Yes, I cannot add anything further. And as they have never given me any evidence to contradict or cross reference, I have nothing other than to say I wasn't there.

I think you are not on such a sticky wicket as suggested. I think BW Legal (if it was them handling this roboclaim) will realise their mistake at Witness Statement stage and will try to change the location, citing an error. Be ready to absolutely object to that fundamental issue.

You are defending a charge where the PoC state that the location was Middlesbrough and you have rightly said you've never been there. Had you come here earlier we would have given you more to include in a defence but personally I think they will try to amend it and you can then object and ask the court to either strike the claim out as having no prospects of success, or in the alternative, to allow you sufficient time to plead a fresh defence about the other location without cost to you, due to the Claimant's own mess up.

I think this will be resolved without a hearing. I would hope it will be struck out when it all comes to light.

Are you at DQ stage now - soon you will find the case is allocated to your local court and then (as you will see from bargepole's thread linked in the NEWBIES thread) you will be able to write a WS and see what rubbish BW Legal try to slip under the radar in their WS, and write to the local Judge to immediately object to it.

DrJogalog

It had crossed their mind that they could change their location citing an error, but as you suggest, i'd tackle that head on. Every single piece of documentation they have sent, along with all the letters from B&W and Debt Recovery something, all stated this Middlesbrough location. Its not a spelling mistake or a typo, it's a completely different address. I cannot see how any court would allow them to change the entire claim at the last minute.

As far as I am concened, I received an invoice for a parking fine from a random party that was completely false. Therefore, I shouldn't have to respond to anything, wasting any of my time or resources to even acknowledge it. If they want to pursue it, that's fine, they can take me to court. I know they can't prove it, so there shouldn't be any kind of ruling against me at all. They shouldn't be able to change the location at this stage as my entire defense is that it didn't happen at the location they say it did. If they want to pursue me for the original offense, they should have to start from scratch and issue the PCN/NTK again. But, as far as I am aware, that has to have reached me within 14 days of the alleged offence.

Don't get me wrong, I understand it is far from the best approach to any of this and appreciate the knowledge and effort that guys, and girls, offer. I do stand by that justice should prevail. As if a court can rule for, what is a completely bogus claim, and a person cannot stand without legal representation in a county court to defend what should be an open and shut case, we have some serious problems in this country.

I also believe it won't go to a hearing either. If the continue after seeing my defense that they have completely the wrong location, the judge won't be happy as that would be contempt of court for bringing false allegations to the bench.

I'll keep this thread updated if anything changes. Thanks again for all your input.