Claim Form County Court

katie33

Hi,
I need some help with a letter I received today.
Months ago I received a letter to say I had to pay to Parking Eye for a car park I parked in in Liverpool (Seel Street).
I appealed as when I parked in the care park there was an attendant on site. He told me to pay him £1.50 and that would cover the parking. He went on to say that if I over stayed the £1.50 if I typed my reg into the machine when I return to my car it would tell me how much I owed.

On returning to my car I typed in my reg like he said and the machine did he not tell me how much I owed. In panic I decided to just pay more anyway. I put £3 into the machine along with my reg. No ticket came out it just made a noise.

My dad was also parked in the same car park and parked for a further 2 hours than me, he paid £3 and this covered him the length of his stay with no ticket. I paid £4.50 in total and ended with a ticket.

I have today now receieved a claim form from court to pay £175

What do I do? I feel like i'm being robbed because I paid more than what was needed to cover my stay i'm also now worrying that this could effect my mortgage application.

Katie

waamo

At the top of this forum is a post that tells Newbies to read it first. There is a whole section on defending a court claim in it.

peter_the_piper

I wonder how many victims the "Attendant" scored, presuming he did not work for PE.

katie33

I've had a look at the section on defending a court claim. But unsure how to go about this. I have no evidence. I'm also very unclear on how to write it quoting different acts and legislation's (legally worded). All I have to say is that I paid the attendant.

Maybe I should just pay it?!

waamo

Read it a few times until it sinks in. There are links to templates of court defences. It isn't for you to prove anything, it is for the parking company to prove their case.

waamo

I forgot to ask have you tried haggling the claim down? The best result so far is Parking Eye settling for £60. All they asked for in the end was the court fees back. Not bad when you consider the original ticket was £80.

You can negotiate right up until you walk into the court room. Often it's a case of who blinks first.

katie33

No, I've not tried haggling yet.

Quentin

Your OP says you are worrying that this will affect your mortgage application.


This cannot affect your mortgage application unless you are taken to court AND lose (or ignore the court) AND fail to pay the judgement within a month.


So don't worry any more on that score!

Redx

katie33 wrote: »

Hi,
i'm also now worrying that this could effect my mortgage application.

Katie

we see this URBAN MYTH almost daily on here

not going to happen unless you ignore the judge and do not pay the judgment within 28 days

only then can you get a CCJ and only this non-payment and CCJ triggers a problem on your credit rating

please , please learn the truth on these matters

and if you lose in court , pay up , IN FULL , promptly , to avoid that situation arising

waamo

katie33 wrote: »

No, I've not tried haggling yet.

If you really can't face court, and many people can't, then it is worth a try. The court will offer mediation as standard. Normally we advise ticking no to this box when you get the form however in your case it might be worth ticking yes to mediation. That is if you aren't up for a fight.

Acknowledge the claim but do not enter a defence yet. Once a defence is in that is it. Adding to it is difficult so take your time to consider the options. Any questions or doubts then ask here before doing anything rash. If you don't cave in immediately you should be able to lower the cost.

Buying a house is an expensive game, you will need every penny you can save so think about things first.