Confused

gyronosaur

Ok briefly, I have been fighting this case for six months now with Premier Park. There have been many inconsistencies and untruths in their communications with me. I have taken it to POPLA but POPLA chose to disallow my appeal. Premier Park have now written to me stating POPLA's decision and asking for £100 payment within 28 days. They have stated they will commence court action if payment is not made before this date. They also state that they will try to recover additional charges and court costs which I believe under paragraph 4 sub paragraph (5) of POFA 2012 Schedule 4 they are not entitled to. My question at this stage is should I ignore this letter or reply in the strongest terms that the maximum they are entitled to claim against me is the £100 charge and I will defend my case in court and should the court find in my favour I would be claiming all reasonable charges and expenses off them???
Please help a newbie

twhitehousescat

has this at any stage been passed to a debt collection company?

gyronosaur

Hi twhitehouse, no not yet the POPLA final decision was on 7th Feb and Premier Park's last letter to me was written the same day. No mention of passing it to debt collection agency just commencing court action if payment not received by 7th March.

Redx

are you saying that their paperwork to the keeper failed POFA2012 ?

IE:- IT DID NOT REACH THE KEEPER WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIMESCALES ?

are PP stating that the keeper is liable under POFA2012 or are they going after the driver (which means POFA2012 does not apply ?)

do they know who the driver was ? YES or NO

have you stated who the driver was at any time ? YES or NO ?

did this happen in either england or wales ? or elsewhere ?

you do realise this could drag on for 6 years ?

BARRY BEAVIS was fighting his case for about 2 years

they can issue an MCOL and try to recoup the court costs , so a typical case could mean you lost around £175 if you lost in court, so I fail to see what POFA2012 has to do with court costs ?

Coupon-mad

gyronosaur wrote: »

Hi twhitehouse, no not yet the POPLA final decision was on 7th Feb and Premier Park's last letter to me was written the same day. No mention of passing it to debt collection agency just commencing court action if payment not received by 7th March.

Same as Janeo's case, he/she lost a POPLA appeal v PP:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=108902

That poster knows the score:

Result? Lazy, dumb response from POPLA that said little more than "No. Is not." then rejected my appeal. I'll wait till they start hassling me then send a "debt denied" letter in the strongest way, e.g. debt denied, only way I will pay is if they obtain a court order. Any other communication I will regard as unreasonable behaviour and will present it as such to the court.

gyronosaur

Thanks all, yes they do know I was the driver as my defence is based around the fact I personally was authorised to park where I did. Yes it was in England. Does that now mean that as POFA 2012 doesn't apply they can try to recover more than the original £100 charge? The most recent letter to me from Premier Park dated 7th Feb does not state whether they are pursuing me as the driver or the keeper. It mentions neither?

Redx

they can pursue the person they are "after" for as much as they like , up to a limit of £5000 in the small claims court

their PROBLEM , is proving that alleged debt and the amounts involved, whereas the small claims court has limitations to stop them claiming amounts other than certain court fees etc (on top of the typical figure of £100)

so a judge might deem you owe them between say £1 and £100 , plus court fees etc, so possibly a figure of say £175 , if you lost in court

they can and do try it on with extra charges, but these figures mean nothing at all until a judge puts an actual figure on them , in his or her "judgment"

until that has happened, it doesnt matter what is on paper , its just that , figures on paper, not actual money

the PPC`s lie and cheat their way through the system to try to obtain as much as they can , with the debt collector par@sites hanging on for their scraps too

but ultimately, its not real until a judge has made a court order

plus in court they will have to demonstrate who they are chasing and why , plus they would have to justify their costs too , and the claim amount , so depending on how good your defence is it makes life difficult or impossible for them

if you want to read about an actual case, read the lamilad thread to see how it all pans out, plus parking pranksters blog about that case or cases (which he won)

if you were authorised to park there , get a witness statement to that effect, signed , dated and witnessed , keep it safe for 6 years

gyronosaur

Thanks Redx, will do. So at this stage do you think it best if I reply with a letter on the lines of "see you in court" (obviously elaborated on) or simply ignore?

Redx

I would IGNORE until you receive either an official LBC from either the PPC or their legal representative (not a debt collector letter with WH or whoever on it , which isnt really from any solicitor at all, those are sc@ms)

OR

if you get an official MCOL from Northampton Court centre in which case the court claim has been started by the PPC or a solicitor (usually)

so an official LBC or an official MCOL, in the post , within 6 years

keep and file all paperwork and evidence and pictures of signage etc, ignore the PPC and any DCA letters and get on with your life or it will eat you up , put them in a folder for safekeeping

then return rested and willing to fight if they escalate this to LBC or MCOL stages , because you wont get anywhere now you are at the impasse stage , neither side giving way

if you lose in court , its typically £175 ish once all the non-allowed addons are removed (or objected to and then removed by the judge)

if you win you can claim up to about £90 in costs

also , if you win their could be a possible DPA breach in which case you could claim say £250 ( or up to say £750)

then the boot is on the other foot

sit tight and see who blinks first

its a game , learn to play it , like poker , with a straight face

remember , you have been at this for only 6 months , they have 72 months to play with

gyronosaur

Thanks again Redx for your advice.
Cheers