Advice please - Letter Before Claim - Doncaster Airport - stopping in a no stopping zone

supertallguy

Hi, apologies I'm a little confused after doing the reading in the 'newbies' thread.


I have done the following:


1. Read the newbie thread and found the 'appeal' template.
2. Sent the appeal template provided in this forum that requests more information.
3. Along with the standard reply letter template and a copy of the signage (A4 size) they sent me a link to the video footage of the car and a copy of the 'no stopping' signs along with some grainy photos of the car.
4. I've then ignored the further PCN letters as the forum suggests i.e. not entering into any further conversation with them - waiting for the LBC.


I've now received the LBC and have until the 27th Oct to respond.


Do I use the template from the Newbies thread? Not the one from the 2013 thread as its been mentioned in a post not to use such old information.


I've read the letter template provided in the thread: Smart parking ,DRP charge, SHOCK


Though this says they have not sent photos etc - they have in my case.


My defence/situation:


I don't live in the area - I had travelled to visit my friend for his birthday and we went to the airport for a helicopter ride (a present from his wife) and we simply took a wrong turn and had to check the directions (poor) that the helicopter company provided on the booking information. That was when the filming took place.

What do I do next? I know I need to respond to the LBC but looking for some direction/can I use the letter in the above thread albeit tweaked?


I have contacted the airport (via email) to relevant contacts on their website but (unsurprisingly) not had a response.

I feel the 'fine' is very harsh (currently £160) for the amount of time I was filmed (less than 1 minute).


Thanks

KeithP

Smart parking ,DRP charge, SHOCK

Even that LBC response is eighteen months old.

Can you find a much more recent one - say, less than three months old?

When the time comes for a Defence, you might want to look at this one:

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=74456893&postcount=17

beamerguy

You need to reply NOT in the usual way (and not giving away the driver of course!) but just clearly informing VCS he/she will contest jurisdiction and will hold VCS liable for the £100 court fee:

THE WORDS .... DO NOT CHANGE
Should you proceed with a typical small claims track robo-claim, in the first instance be advised that I intend to contest jurisdiction.

Because of the existence of the Airport byelaws, clearly this matter should not be dealt with by the County Court at all. I understand the fee for contesting jurisdiction will be £100 and as such, be advised that I will hold VCS liable for my losses on the indemnity basis - including that £100 set aside fee - should you decide to waste my time with a claim, and/or if you later discontinue.

supertallguy

Thanks for the replies.


I'll redo a search and see what appears.


Keithp - I have seen that defence and it looks great - well structured - would I just need to tweak it to my circumstances?


Beamerguy - I cant just send them that papargraph!? I have seen an LBC reply asking for more details - is that the way to go - prior to compiling the defence?


I understand that I would have to compile a witness statement too?

beamerguy

supertallguy wrote: »

Beamerguy - I cant just send them that papargraph!? I have seen an LBC reply asking for more details - is that the way to go - prior to compiling the defence?

This comes from UP HIGH and please trust this.

KeithP will understand

supertallguy

Oh, I trust you guys, there is a lot of knowledge in this forum.


So do I find a suitable LBC letter to amend and add in the paragraph you mentioned above?

beamerguy

supertallguy wrote: »

Oh, I trust you guys, there is a lot of knowledge in this forum.


So do I find a suitable LBC letter to amend and add in the paragraph you mentioned above?

You are at the LBC stage and VCS are working on this
going to county court. Byelaw cases belong in the
Magistrates Court.

Does the above make sense now ?

KeithP

There are some very lengthy LBC responses on here, but in recent weeks the trend had turned towards shorter, more to the point, responses.

How about this one:

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=74898230&postcount=21

Not Doncaster Airport, but easily adapted to your circumstances.

You can even include Beamerguy's robust words if you like.

supertallguy

Hi, thanks for the reply and link to an example LBC reply letter - I will be using this as a template and amending with my details/situation.


And there's me thinking I've bitten more off than I can chew.


I think with this letter and that example of a defense I could win this - there is no chance i'm paying £160+ for less than a minute checking directions in a place I've never been before - sounds so simple.


Lets do this!!!

Quentin

supertallguy wrote: »

Hi, apologies I'm a little confused after doing the reading in the 'newbies' thread.


I have done the following:


1. Ignored the initial PCN letters as per what I read on here...….

For the benefit of other Newbies finding your thread, you DID NOT "read on here" to ignore initial PCN letters


The advice here is NOT to ignore these PCNs, but to appeal initially!!


Many do get cancelled at this stage, thus saving all the hassle of dealing with a LBC/Court Correspondence


(Maybe you will consider editing/correcting your OP and removing that misleading and incorrect "advice"!)

Quentin

beamerguy wrote: »

You need to reply NOT in the usual way (and not giving away the driver of course!) but just clearly informing VCS he/she will contest jurisdiction and will hold VCS liable for the £100 court fee:

THE WORDS .... DO NOT CHANGE
Should you proceed with a typical small claims track robo-claim, in the first instance be advised that I intend to contest jurisdiction.

Because of the existence of the Airport byelaws, clearly this matter should not be dealt with by the County Court at all. I understand the fee for contesting jurisdiction will be £100 and as such, be advised that I will hold VCS liable for my losses on the indemnity basis - including that £100 set aside fee - should you decide to waste my time with a claim, and/or if you later discontinue.

@ Beamer


Why will the OP be faced with a £100 set aside fee to pay over this???


You only pay a £100 set aside fee when applying for a set aside by consent, and that would be following receipt of a default CCJ, which the defendant wants to pay but is too late to do so and get the CCJ removed from the records.


This is not the case in this thread