URGENT fighting County Court Claim for PCN

adambuzz14

So ive read all the newbie guides etc, and tried to take on board as much as i can.
on 10th Dec 2017 the driver parked on a bit of land in Nottingham which looks like the sort of abandoned land a business acquires for its staff to use. It was about 8.30pm at night, no business was open, pitch black, no lighting and at the time, no visible signs. driver said they had parked here before with with troubles so thought nothing of it.

They were parked there for maybe (Blanked out), and came back to car to a windscreen sticker that said driver had to log online to see the parking charge. Not wanting to go online and acknowledge it, and knowing that a lot of these things never go anywhere, they didn't go online to check it.

just over a week later i, the owner received a PCN notice to keeper letter from VCS dated 18th Dec saying payment for £100.00 was due, but if paid within 14 days it would be reduced to £60. I wrote back asking for evidence but never heard back, so i did some research into this and ignored it.

i heard nothing again until a letter dated 6th feb 2018 from Debt Recovery Plus limited chasing me for £160. I did some research on DRP and found they are in cahoots with VCS, a little like when wonga used to send out letters from fake debt recovery companies. Along with other tips from various forums and online advise, i again chose to ignore this.

DRP sent me 2 more letters, one dated 21st feb 2018 still demanding £160 and another on 8th march 2018 offering to reduce the debt to £136.00. again, with advice on tips from online i ignored.

I then got a letter from Zenith Collections dated 26th March 2018 stating they were working for VCS and are responsible for my debt of £160. They offered me a reduced charge of £79.99. Upon researching Zenith Collections, i see they are a trading name of Debt recovery plus, which made it more clear in my mind this is just a scam. They are using multiple names to chase this charge with legal threats. i ignored.

I heard nothing more about this charge, and so assumed, like many other i know who get these dodgy PCN's on private land, ignored them into giving up.

Then last week, i get a claim from the county court business center with a claim from the defendant VCS Limited for £160 plus £25 court Fees. I didn't get any final notice before court, i haven't seen any evidence i was actually parked there and have no knowledge who the land owner is.

The particulars of the claim are extremely vague, basically just saying my car was in the car park and i have failed to pay the charge.

I have been online and done the acknowledgment of service, but haven't submitted any sort of defense. I have some photos of the 'car park' showing the poorly lit conditions etc.

Any help would be gratefully received.

beamerguy

Good to see you have done your research.

YES ... DRP and ZENITH are just like WONGA especially
with their lies.

You were right to ignore these retards.
DRP is the one who added the fake extra £60 and so it
is passed on and on

You DO NOT OWE the VCS claim of £160 .... PERIOD

Did you not receive a letter before claim from VCS
which must prove their claim and give you 30 days
to respond ????

You can read up about the £60 DRP SCAM here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74439905#Comment_74439905

adambuzz14

I don't recall ever getting a letter before claim. I may be wrong, but going on the fact i have saved every other letter about this, plus i would have recalled if i had gotten a serious 'before court' letter, i really don't think i did get one.

The question now is, how do i beat this court claim?

onlyfoolsandparking

adambuzz14 wrote: »

I don't recall ever getting a letter before claim. I may be wrong, but going on the fact i have saved every other letter about this, plus i would have recalled if i had gotten a serious 'before court' letter, i really don't think i did get one.

The question now is, how do i beat this court claim?

By going to post #2 in the newbies thread which tells you exactly what to do and when to do it regarding court claim, learn more about the game you are now firmly in and you can beat these scammers

beamerguy

adambuzz14 wrote: »

I don't recall ever getting a letter before claim. I may be wrong, but going on the fact i have saved every other letter about this, plus i would have recalled if i had gotten a serious 'before court' letter, i really don't think i did get one.

The question now is, how do i beat this court claim?

You would know if you received an LBA as it contains
forms to complete, (which you don't)

It is a legal requirement for VCS to send a complete LBA
before any court action

KeithP

What is the Date of Issue on your Claim Form?

Can you please post the exact contents of the Particulars of Claim box on the Claim Form?

adambuzz14

KeithP wrote: »

What is the Date of Issue on your Claim Form?

Can you please post the exact contents of the Particulars of Claim box on the Claim Form?

Issue Date 25th Sep 2018
Particulars of claim:
The Claimants claim is for the sum of £160 being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant in respect of a Charge Notice for a contravention on **/**/2017 at *** LAne *** ***s (****).
The CN relates to the**** **** under registration Y*****L. The terms of the CN allowed the Defendant 28 days from the issue Date to pay the CN, but the Defendant failed to do so. Despite demand having been made the Defendant has failed to settle their outstanding liability.
The Claimant seeks the recovery of the CN and the interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% at the same rate up to the date of Judgement or earlier payment.

KeithP

adambuzz14 wrote: »

Issue Date 25th Sep 2018

With a Claim Issue Date of 25th September, and having done the AoS in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 29th October 2018 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Plenty of time to hone any Defence to perfection but don't leave it to the very last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as described here:

1) Print your Defence.
2) Sign it and date it.
3) Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
4) Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5) Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
6) Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
7) Wait for your Directions Questionnaire and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES thread to find out exactly what to do with it.

adambuzz14

What is my best defence? Do they have to prove the driver was even parked there? Do they have to prove i was driving? can i request photos? what amounts to poor signage?

I see a lot of people post their defence on here, but they seem very well written. are they using templates?

Why have they even taken it this far when every body i know who has EVER gotten one of these has just ignored it?

Cheers

Coupon-mad

I have been online and done the acknowledgment of service, but haven't submitted any sort of defense.

What is my best defence?

You need to show US your draft defence, not ask what to put in it.

Use as a base, the VCS one I linked in the NEWBIES thread last week.

I see a lot of people post their defence on here, but they seem very well written. are they using templates?

Yes, from NEWBIES PLEASE READ THESE FAQS FIRST, where the examples are.

Why have they even taken it this far when every body i know who has EVER gotten one of these has just ignored it?

Depends on the parking firm - and when your mates got a PCN. VCS are quite litigious with their back catalogue of victims at the moment, but many PPCs never are.

System

If you google the location, there appears to be a well signposted Pay & Display. Do you want to check it out a compare it to the pics they have of it. It may be you parked after Excel took it over but before they tarmaced it.

Alternatively there is a staff car park a few metres along the road with VCS signs in them. Pics from Google would be useful to illustrate the point about lack of illumination.

Which car park was it and it will come down to the pics and how a judge will interpret them.