County court claim, Britannia parking...PLEASE HELP!!!(yes...I've read the newbie guide)

Sarzzz

Hello :-)

This is my first post on this website. first of all I'd like to thank everyone who has put up the effort of compiling the newbie guide. its very helpful. However reading it all I have realised that my case is different.

my story : we parked our car in a retail park in southampton a few years ago. my wife didn't realise and put the parking ticket upside down on the dashboard. we were issued a penalty charge notice. she then appealed to Britannia parking on their website, stating that she paid for the car park but admitted that she had put the ticket upside down on the dashboard by mistake. she had also sent them a picture of the paid ticket relating to the event. she send the email on my behalf with my details and email address.
I received the reply from Britannia parking a few days later saying basically that the penalty ticket was justified as I have not displayed it according to terms and conditions and gave me three options of either paying it or appealing to POPLA or be taken to court. i never replied to them.

now this was over two years ago, I started receiving letters and emails from BW LEGAL with outstanding debt related to that event and threatening to take me to court. i never replied to them.

Now the situation is that I have recieved a claim form from the County court a few days ago. I have sent them an Acknowledgement of service a few days ago and now need to plan a defence.

my issues are.
1. They have all my details as the driver as they had am email appeal a few years ago written on my behalf admitting mistake of putting the ticket upside down.

2. i do not have any picture or the original paid ticket any more, however i presume Britannia parking would have it as it was sent to them at the time of appeal via their website.

Taking above points into consideration , how can i plan a defence?? I do realise my mistake that I should have written to POPLA then and wouldn't have to go through this. Is it worth paying all the debt and forget about it???(that would be very hard to do)


I'd REALLY appreciate your help


thanks

Fruitcake

MSE has a very good success rate in court against scammers. In my opinion I would fight this. I certainly wouldn't want to fund the scam by paying so they can scam more people, but it's your money.

Have you complained to the landowner?

Have you complained to your MP?

Have you found the guide to court written by bargepole from post 2 of the NEWBIES?

If the scammers have an mage of the ticket they will only be too glad to show it to a judge, but sometimes the ticket number is reproduced on the back and can therefore be used to prove the correct payment was made.

Jetslick

You'd have a good chance defending this in court. Nonetheless, like Fruitcake said, you should desperately attempt to contact the landowner for the retail park as they can get this waived and you'd have avoided the hassle of a court case. I did this myself for 2 PCN's last month from Britannia Parking/BW Legal.

Also, send Britannia Parking a SAR (Subject Access Request). They will have that picture of the ticket on file as it's data relating to you. It's free to request too and will help your defence. Check the NEWBIES stickie thread for a SAR template.

The_Deep

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 five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 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.

Redx

if you HAVE read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread (using a laptop, not a phone) then you will have seen examples of defences in post #2 of that thread

start with the BARGEPOLE examples, but forget POFA due to blabbing about being the driver, then add to them your personal section and post below for any critique of the full draft

also email the DPO at BRIT a SAR like it tells you to do in that sticky thread, for the WS later on down the line (to get your data and docs and PDT info etc)

read up on "de minimis" , and look at other examples of court cases that are about a PDT parking scenario where the money WAS PAID


post the DATE OF ISSUE below , the full POC minus any personal info, plus the full breakdown of charges and total claimed from the MCOL form you received as well

Sarzzz

Thank you all for the great advice.

I have sent the SAR request to Britannia Parking via email.also have sent the letter to the local MP to complain too. In the mean time i have gone through all the previous cases as suggested by 'RedX' on the previous post and now in the process of writing a defence. I'll post it once its ready for reivew. in the mean time following are the link for the images of 'county court claim form' and the 'letter of claim' (unfortunately as a new user this website doesn't allow me to add links :-(

anyways following are the details

LETTER OF CLAIM
RECEIVED ON 14/11/2019
total amount 216.95

break down
principal debit + initial legal cost £130
Estimated interest £11.95
Estimated court fees £25
Estimated Solicitors cost £50
Estimated total £216.95

County Court claim issued on 09/01/2019
showing total amount £221.95

I have sent the AOS on 27/01/2019

What is the last date that i can upload the defence?

Let me know if there is any further information i need to upload.
thanks

KeithP

Sarzzz wrote: »

County Court claim issued on 09/01/2019

I have sent the AOS on 27/01/2019

Why did you leave the AoS so late?
Hopefully it will have been received by 28th January.


With a Claim Issue Date of 9th January, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 11th February 2019 to file your Defence.

That's just one week away. Plenty of time, 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.