Parking on Double Yellows

salll123

Hi everyone,

I have read through the newbies thread and also tried to find similar cases but can not seem to find anything similar.

I went to Robin Hood Airport (Doncaster Sheffield Airport) to collect my friends as they returned from their holiday. As it was my first time visiting and my SatNav not picking up the signal I took the wrong turning and ended on an industrial type area, surrounded by several businesses, I ended up parking up on double yellow lines for a few moments while I took out my phone to attempt to find the correct directions of the airport, however, I was issued with a parking fine for "parking in a no stopping zone" for doing so.

I followed the rules and did not respond to the threats received by VCS but I have now received a claim letter from the county court.

They are currently charging:
Amount claimed : £160.00
Court Fee: £25
Total: £185.00

Please can anyone help on how to proceed? Do I need to pay or can I dispute?

Umkomaas

Do I need to pay or can I dispute?

We don't recommend the former - but we do caveat that by saying if you are going to dispute it, the pursuit by VCS will continue and you will have to get over all the hurdles in your path now that a formal claim has been raised.

The NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2 takes you right through the process of dealing with a court claim.

You might also want to do some research over on PePiPoo where probably more of these VCS cases are raised.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=60

The_Deep

As this took place on land covered by bye-laws, as long as you do not tell them who was driving there is very little they can do but send scary letters, tell lies, make threats and throw lots of red ink around.

Read this and learn about the scam these companies operate.

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers be put out of business. Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers. Read this one which I wrote earlier

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Did this Claim Form come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

Umkomaas

As this took place on land covered by bye-laws, as long as you do not tell them who was driving there is very little they can do but send scary letters, tell lies, make threats and throw lots of red ink around.

I'm not sure it is actually land covered by Byelaws. It sounds a similar scenario to JLA where Peel Holdings also own the adjoining business park and allow VCS to maraud there too.

I took the wrong turning and ended on an industrial type area, surrounded by several businesses, I ended up parking up on double yellow lines for a few moments while I took out my phone to attempt to find the correct directions of the airport,

salll123

Yes, I think it is Peel Holdings which owns the land, would that affect the case?

The date on the claim form is 19 Dec 2018 and is from Northampton.

Umkomaas

salll123 wrote: »

Yes, I think it is Peel Holdings which owns the land, would that affect the case?

The date on the claim form is 19 Dec 2018 and is from Northampton.

It won't particularly affect your case, other than the fact that where your vehicle was caught by the camera van is more than likely beyond the airport where Byelaws might apply. Keeper Liability potentially comes into play.

So it's a process of putting up a defence, then jumping over all the hurdles necessary to avoid this becoming a default judgment against you.

Have you acknowledged service (AOS) of the court claim yet? You're getting a bit close to the time you have available to do this (hurdle 1) in order to 'buy' yourself a further 14 days to submit your defence.

Please don't sleepwalk into a judgment in default.

The NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2 takes you right through the court process, from where you are now to the actual court hearing (if it gets that far).

KeithP

salll123 wrote: »

The date on the claim form is 19 Dec 2018 and is from Northampton.

With a Claim Issue Date of 19th December, you have until Monday 7th January to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Having done the AoS, you then have until 4pm on Monday 21st January 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, 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 suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. 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'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.