Civil enforcement ltd /scam

Derek547

Hi,
Can anyone help me with the PCN from CEL, I've tried to be reasonable with them & have offered them £50.00to settle this claim, but they are insisting on me paying £236 for 21 minutes of waiting in a car park, it's extortionate & i am very reluctant to pay anything if i can.
I tried to appeal to their better nature, but this has proved futile, any advice & help will be gratefully received.

KeithP

Tell us more.

When was this parking event?

What have you done so far?
Did you appeal to CEL?
Did you appeal to PoPLA?
Have you received debt collectors letters?
Have you complained to the landowners?

What type of car park? Retail Park? Residential? Business premises?

Have you read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread?

Derek547

The date was 16/05/2018
It was a Business parking area
I have appealed to CEL & am awaiting a reply, have not yet appealed to PoPLA
I complained to the land owner, but they weren't interested & told me to take it up with CEL.
I have received several debt collection letters.
I entered the above car park to wait for the hand over of an ebay item, i didn't leave the car as i was on crutches & couldn't walk very far, i was there for 21 minutes, the car park was nearly empty, it was the nearest place to stop & wait.
I initially denied being the driver, but caved in under pressure & offered them £50.00 to settle this, but they refused & are demanding £236! Thanks for your help on this, Regards.

Coupon-mad

I have appealed to CEL & am awaiting a reply, have not yet appealed to PoPLA

You will not get POPLA at this late stage.

You appealed too late, if debt letters were arriving. Why didn't you simply research it when you got it? Had you sent the template appeal from this forum, the entire PCN would have been cancelled with one email, within 2 weeks. Next time!

I initially denied being the driver, but caved in under pressure & offered them £50.00 to settle this,

Awful. Stop offering them money.

You simply need to win this at court stage like everyone else does v CEL, thus far. Only one case was reported lost, as the poster didn't notice a court direction saying the Judge would hear the case on the papers...and the OP was waiting for a hearing...and failed to submit a decent WS and evidence.

No-one else has lost v CEL on here that I can recall, in 2 years of them trying these meritless claims. You need to read some, to see how all these cases are won, and come back when you get a small claim.

Derek547

Many thanks for your reply, i know i should of appealed sooner, but i just chose to ignore the letters from them, i will study the necessary posts on here & prepare myself to go to court, i will keep you informed of the outcome.

Derek547

I only entered the car park to wait for the hand over of an Ebay item, i had been recovering from a broken ankle & was on crutches, i couldn't walk to read the signs, so waited in the vehicle for the seller to arrive, can i claim i had a disability or any other mitigating circumstances?

The_Deep

Is this a letter before claim? Is a solicitor involved?

if so As you are probably aware, £240 is more than the law allows, they are trying to scam you into paying monies to which they/their client is not entitled. They know this but keep adding on these scam charges as people think that, as so solicitors they are correct, they are not.

Even if they won in court, the most a judge is likely to award them is iro £175 - £200, the rest is down market law firm scam money. If a solicitor is not involved the award would be about £60 less.

I urge you to report them to their regulatory body, the SRA, for claiming for costs they know are not allowed. This, imo is not only fraud, but conduct likely to bring their profession into disrepute.

http://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting)

Coupon-mad

Derek547 wrote: »

I only entered the car park to wait for the hand over of an Ebay item, i had been recovering from a broken ankle & was on crutches, i couldn't walk to read the signs, so waited in the vehicle for the seller to arrive, can i claim i had a disability or any other mitigating circumstances?

No, a broken bone is not a 12 month or more 'disability' under the legal definition.

And mitigation won't be a big feature of any defence.

Read a few CEL defence cases now, to see what is included. Come back if you get a claim.