Recieved CEL court claim form

Mrswhite123

Hi, I have just received a claim form from CEL regarding a parking charge from March 2018. Ignored the previous parking tickets as advised! But now have just received a court form after reading your forums I know I cannot just ignore this.So I have filled out the AOS and need help with my defence I was not the driver and have refused to name who was, asking for £182 plus interest which is less than the last demand of £236. Do they just pluck theses costs out of thin air! Anyway I would appreciate any help I can get with my defence letter have read some of the threads really loved berribears defence letter would you advise me to use this. Car was parked in pub car park , the pub was closed and driver did not notice any signs.

Redx

IN MARCH 2013 (YES 2013) this forum has advised people to appeal private parking tickets, not ignore them , so anything from one year ago is definitely NOT something to ignore

this should have been appealed 9 months ago and taken to POPLA as well

read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread and start to draft your defence and post it

also post the full POC and costs breakdown below, plus the DATE OF ISSUE on the claim form (but no personal info)

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Did it come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

Mrswhite123

Hi date of issue 14 Jan 2019 and yes County Court in Northampton

Coupon-mad

OK, so now do the AOS on MCOL as the NEWBIES thread shows you in pictures, and then show us your draft defence, based on the examples there in the sticky thread.

Mrswhite123

I did this(AOS) on the 25th of January on MCOL. Should I in my defence letter say when the car was parked the public house was closed and driver left before the pub opened and the car park was empty!

The_Deep

Yes they do pluck these figures out of thin air.

£240 is far more than the Law allows for this sort of claim. The down market solicitors whom the PPCs engage know this, but, because they are solicitors, know that a lot of people will pay up.

It is in fact double charging and non claimable debt collectors' add ons. Imo, this is fraud, or, at the very least, improper conduct.


The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

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 Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this 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.

Were this to get to court and they won, the judge would be unlikely to award the claimant more than £175 - £200.

I urge you to report this grubby law firm to their regulatory body, the SRA.

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page

as I am sure they do not condone this conduct.

Redx

Mrswhite123 wrote: »

I did this(AOS) on the 25th of January on MCOL. Should I in my defence letter say when the car was parked the public house was closed and driver left before the pub opened and the car park was empty!

your defence (no LETTER) should be based on legal arguments, see post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread

leave any "story" for the WS in a few months time


and you havent posted your POC or charges breakdown yet

KeithP

Mrswhite123 wrote: »

I did this(AOS) on the 25th of January on MCOL.

How did you manage that?
It's only 23rd January today.

Mrswhite123 wrote: »

Hi date of issue 14 Jan 2019

With a Claim Issue Date of 14th January, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 18th February 2019 to file your Defence.

That's nearly four 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.

Mrswhite123

Sorry meant the 18th of jan! �� what does Poc mean?

Redx

acronyms are in post #5 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread, please read it, as well as post #2