Parking fine small claims track-mediation

tanitabellon

I wonder if anyone can advise me about responding at later stages.

I have been issued with a proposed allocation to the small claims track and offered mediation on a parking fine issued by Parkingeye Ltd when I was not driving the car but was at the time the registered keeper. I didn't respond when I first received the parking fine informing them i wasn't the driver. I received a court summons and responded with my defence being not the driver. I am now at the small claims stage as my defence was discounted because I didn't reply within the correct time period initially.

There is nowhere on the forms for me to write a defence so I have ticked the box for mediation.

Do you think I will have to accept this and pay the fine? The fine was issued because my ex-husband stayed for 20mins in a car park to make a phone call before driving out without paying.

Many thanks for any advice.

Redx

there is no "fine" , its an invoice called a Parking Charge Notice , or PCN for short (you made that f word up as its not on any of your paperwork)

there is no "summons" as this is a civil dispute between 2 parties , so an MCOL was received from Northampton CCBC (google it) , not a "summons"

if you have already submitted that defence as "not being the driver" , you will LOSE on the fact that the law changed 5 years ago and under certain circumstances made the keeper liable for a drivers actions

they will just cite POFA2012 and ask the judge to make you liable for the outstanding pcn

as you have already put in a poor defence , you cannot alter it now

the later stages are the witness statement and evidence , nothing to do with any defence

Ralph-y

Hi, and welcome to the forum .....

you need to read through the newbies thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822

especially the section on court procedures ....

have a read and then come back ... we will need to know what you wrote and where you wrote it ? and where did this take place ?

Ralph:cool:

tanitabellon

Hi Ralph
Thank you for replying to my post, I did read the thread but after I had sent off the court letter, so my only defence, not being the driver is clearly inadequate. I asked citizens advice before thinking about this site and they recommended me giving the driver's address as sufficient defence.
I know little about the 'offence' details as my ex took the letters and has refused to give me any details but from what I can remember on reading the first letter It happened at a swimming pool car park in Kent, a ticket wasn't bought and he exited after 20mins of being there. I gave him the parking fine letters which he told me he had dealt with but clearly didn't.
If mediation is as seems to be suggested on the threads mainly about agreeing how much to pay, I can't submit any sort of defence at that stage can I?
If I don't respond to the mediation email and take my chances of it being kicked back to a judgement would I really be in a worse situation? I have finally managed to get my name taken off as the registered keeper.
Tanya

Redx

if you wish to amend your defence I believe it will cost you £255 to do so , not cheap

POFA2012 makes the keeper liable if they have followed POFA

mediation tends to apportion blame and they will want you to pay an amount agreed by both parties

if you lose and there is a judgment , pay it IN FULL, within 28 days to avoid a CCJ on your record

CAB havent got a clue , very bad advice

has the CCBC or a judge said you can put in an amended defence ?
(due to it being discounted with being late)

have you had your POC so you have copies of evidence and paperwork and photos etc ?

Coupon-mad

I asked citizens advice before thinking about this site and they recommended me giving the driver's address as sufficient defence.

That is atrocious. You need to escalate a complaint about that terrible advice.

The defence you submitted in reply to the claim form is the only defence you have, thanks (NOT) to that CAB 'adviser'.

There is nowhere on the forms for me to write a defence so I have ticked the box for mediation.

You must be talking about the N180 DQ form. You can't write a defence there because you've already burnt those boats.

Unusually, I am going to say stick with the Mediation phone call and offer £50 and see where that gets you, because you have no defence and can only minimise the payment, now. You can also start an email conversation with PE now, offering £50 to settle it outside of a hearing:

enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk

They do settle for £60 - £75 sometimes, hence the figure I suggest you offer. When it's over, complain to the CAB.

[Deleted User]

Mediation can offer a range of outcomes the court cannot possibly hope to achieve.

If the claimant knows who the driver is and can still enforce a ticket against them (which they can given the long limitation) then there is an argument that an offer of £30 now to make it all go away makes sense for you and has a commercial value to them.

Most witness statements on here are perilously close to a written defence and are permitted, so I don't think the starting position is as weak as it may appear. In mediation you're looking at the BATNA - the Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. For both parties there is the common risk of trial loss.

The court may well be sympathetic that your ex- has left you a mess to sort out. It may be worth preparing a mediation bundle containing draft statements before any mediation.

tanitabellon

Hello again

Thank you for all the comments yesterday, they really helped and I have begun prepping for mediation, however, this morning I received a letter from the county court requesting a second DQ be submitted as I missed the deadline for the first one.

Do you think I could send in this second DQ now with a properly written defence and not continue with the mediation route? I have not yet replied to the mediation email which came yesterday.

Many thanks again

Coupon-mad

No, you can't send a defence with a DQ.