Small Claim Received & Acknowledged.

big_dan_ldn

Ah!

Surely though, they will have to produce evidence to the contrary of my defence, which they won’t be able to do!?

It should be elementary that the court at least check the offence stated actually happened? It’s outrageous the hoops people have to jump through to beat this criminals and their opportunistic scamming!

If they rule in their favour, is there any sort of appeals process?

The_Deep

You should get your MP Involved - TODAY

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers, (very often former clampers), 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.

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.

Le_Kirk

big_dan_ldn wrote: »

If they rule in their favour, is there any sort of appeals process?

The small claims court is effectively the appeal process, they (the claimant) claim you parked without paying/permit/stayed too long etc., you defend it by saying no I didn't. Although defences are usually longer than yours, you might be able to recover it slightly when it comes to the Witness Statement (WS) stage. You cannot add to your defence but you can write your WS in your favour and introduce your evidence (that you were somewhere else) at that time.

nosferatu1001

Indeed, ideally you have evidence of being elsewhere.
You can also contest any photos by verifying if theyre your car, and getting them to PROVE where the photos were taken
You send a SAR to the claimant TODAY, asking for all PERSONAL DATA they hold on you
DO NOT ask for data that is NOT related to you - such as pictures of signs - just the PERSONAL DATA they hold.

You didnt read a court document correctly, and it may well cost you. It should be a lesson well learned.

KeithP

It might also be worth noting that since Monday 14th January, the Claimant has been free to ask for a Default Judgment against you.

Please login to MCOL and check the status of your case.

Hopefully it is now showing as 'Defended'.

big_dan_ldn

Hi All,

Ok Subject access request has been sent. On the MCOL website can't see the word defended anywhere on the Status Summary page, however under history I see my defence was submitted, and then half hour later my defence was received.

Anything I can be preparing or getting ready for before my SAR is answered or the claim progresses?

I will be contacting my MP today!

Thanks for all your help!

KeithP

big_dan_ldn wrote: »

...under history I see my defence was submitted, and then half hour later my defence was received.

That's good.

big_dan_ldn

Hi All,

I have received a questionnaire from the parking companies solicitors now, and it says they want it sorted on paper work.

I have sent a SAR request to the parking company.

What do I do about a witness statement, obviously my defense is only the one line, which to be fair the fact that the solicitor has got the address in the court documents completely wrong should be enough, do you think it's worth contacting their solicitors to notify them it's wrong? Are they likely to kill it their end?

Thanks,
Dan

Le_Kirk

Wait for your DQ to come from the court, then you can tick NO to "on papers"
Search the forum for Witness Statement (WS) and you should find some examples. The WS is your story of what happened on the day in your own words (written in the first person). You might be able to "enhance" your defence but you won't be able to add anything new to it, just make it sound better. You will also have to refer to any evidence you want to rely upon.

big_dan_ldn

Ok, but I am confused what my statement/defence enhancement would be. I did receive an unjustified parking ticket on the date in question from the PPC, but it was somewhere completely different to the address supplied by solicitors on court papers.

Is my story for this case that I got a ticket somewhere else that day so can't be liable for this one? Are the parking company going to just then start a new court case for the right one? (not necessarily a bad thing, I have photo proof of the lack of signage and will then be able to complete a much better defense).

If I email the solicitors/parking company and tell them they got the address wrong, won't this force them to cancel this case and start a new one for the right address?