Britannia Parking Fine - County Court Notice

ChloeOxford

Hi All,

I have come on here to look for help/advice and this is my first ever post so please bear this in mind and be kind (I've noticed other newbies getting shot down by others for asking what is considered to be obvious questions!!).

I have read through the newbies post and to be honest I find it overwhelming. I am no expert and there is so much information and written in such a way that I find it hard to pick out what is relevant to this case. Add to that the time constraints and there is a level of panic being experienced!

So the situation is as follows:

Car parked in a Britannia car park in 2017 (wasn’t aware it was Britannia until receiving their letter)

Ticket purchased and driver even went back to the car to display ticket despite being and Automatic Number Plate recognition car park (they didn’t realise that the time)

Letter received from Britannia re a fine addressed to the registered keeper who was not the driver and was actually away at a football convention with son at the time (booking confirmations and photos from that time to support)

Letter includes a link to a website which shows an image of the car in question (entering or exiting car park).

Further letters received from debt Collectors for Britannia. Advised by others to ignore letters due to being from Britannia and unenforceable.

Also checked this website at the time and that seemed to be the common advice

Registered keeper received multiple calls and texts from a number identified as being Debt Collectors as well as 14 year old son of registered keeper (how on earth do they get hold of personal information!!?)

Problems with post in area and receiving others post so could be letters not received/unaware of.

Last letter received just before Christmas.

Letter received this week from County Court.

Thinking back to the event the driver may of entered an incorrect registration number in error as wasn’t their car.

What are next steps?

Should the registered keeper contact Britannia, Debt Collectors or court?

Could the registered keeper say they have not received any correspondence before now?

Could the registered keeper ask them to check their records for an unmatched registration for that day? (understanding that if this is possibly what has happened that there will still of been a failure to input the correct registration but demonstrating that payment was actually made)

The charges are now listed at £245.00 (initial parking fine was £60) and includes an additional £60.00 added by Britannia or Debt Collectors

Any help gratefully received as reading the Court notice it would appear that there is only a certain amount of time to respond!!

Many, many thanks for your time.

Redx

did the latest letter include a court claim from the CCBC at Northampton ?
(I do not believe that this letter came from any County Court at all)


if yes, what is the DATE OF ISSUE on that court claim ?

also post the POC and the charges breakdown and total from that claim form, but no personal info whatsoever, so no VRM details and no reference numbers


the defendant needs to email the DPO at BRIT asap and get all the data being held

Redx

ChloeOxford wrote: »

Problems with post in area and receiving others post so could be letters not received/unaware of.

Last letter received just before Christmas.

Letter received this week from County Court.

Thinking back to the event the driver may of entered an incorrect registration number in error as wasn’t their car.

What are next steps?

1) Should the registered keeper contact Britannia, Debt Collectors or court?

2) Could the registered keeper say they have not received any correspondence before now?

3) Could the registered keeper ask them to check their records for an unmatched registration for that day? (understanding that if this is possibly what has happened that there will still of been a failure to input the correct registration but demonstrating that payment was actually made)

1) BRIT by email with a SAR to get all their data on the defendant , scan the V5C front page and attach it as proof of ID as well (or a picture from a phone or camera)

DEBT COLLECTORS ? = IGNORE

COURT ? - NO , but do the AOS online asap by logging into the MCOL portal and using the reference on the right hand side of your form, see post #2 of the NEWBIES sticky thread, it has a walkthrough

DO NOT put anything at all in the DEFENCE box, leave it alone and blank, you are only acknowledging the claim online for now, to double the time for your defence to be emailed as a pdf attachment in a few weeks time

2) NO, not without proof and irrelevant at this time, all they have to do is prove the letters were posted, not received, so of no use to you so do not dwell on it

you have a valid court claim, deal with it

3) see 1) above (include a PDT demand in the SAR email) as I suspect you are correct, its a VRM ENTRY ISSUE of some sort that caused all this

KeithP

ChloeOxford wrote: »

...as reading the Court notice it would appear that there is only a certain amount of time to respond!!

Absolutely right.

If you have a Claim Form you must respond within nineteen days of the Issue Date printed on that Claim Form.

As Redx has already asked, what is the Issue Date on your Claim Form and did it come from the County Court Business Centre of from somewhere else?

ChloeOxford

Hi Redx and KeithP,


Thank you both so much for your replies, I really appreciate your time and help.


I will need to go back to the Newbie post to see if I can translate the acronyms used so that I can check my understanding of what I am being advised to do.


The notice received did come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton and I understand that there is a certain amount of time to respond which I am sure I read starts from 5 days from the issue date (I'm guessing to allow time for the letter to get to reach the recipient). Date of issue is 11/02/19.


1) Redx - are you asking me to post the charges etc on here? Bit worried about Britannia lurking on here and being able to identify the defendant from this?


2) Redx - with regards to the V5c Doc, the situation is confused further as the defendant is no longer the registered keeper of the vehicle and so no longer has the V5 as proof of identity to contact Britannia to request all info they hold.


3) Understanding so far is that the court notice should be acknowledged online and then an email address obtained for Britannia and an email sent requesting all the info they hold on the defendant. Is this correct


4) At what stage does the defendant provide a defence to the court and what should be said?


Many thanks again for your time


Kindest Regards

KeithP

ChloeOxford wrote: »

Date of issue is 11/02/19.

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th February, you have until Monday 4th March 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. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Monday 18th March 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over a month 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.

nosferatu1001

Then use another form of identity
The claim number they've issued you should be sufficient proof of identity. After all they're happy to send personal data out to that claim number...

ChloeOxford

Fab, thank you noferatu1001. I guess I am just worried about giving them the wrong information/too much information!!

ChloeOxford

1) So,the AOS has been done and in the process of putting together the email to Britannia re access to information on the defendant. Have looked at the legal beagles outline and the acronyms on the newbies post but am unsure what the PDT demand is, mentioned earlier by Redx...what am I actually asking them to supply?
2) I have also read that they have a month to reply. The deadline for the defence is before then. What if they don't reply?


3) I'm also not sure what the defence is to be used in his case. We need to understand if the charge is for, not buying a ticket or overstaying as no idea what the charge is for at the moment


The Registered keeper was not the driver, a ticket was purchased, although can't be proven.
If not buying a ticket it could be the wrong number plate was input into the machine but is that a defence and how can it be proven?
If overstayed, no idea as the driver wasn't aware they had overstayed.


Thank you again for your help everyone.


Kind regards,

Redx

1) PDT = Pay & Display Terminal - the ticket machine where you pay and it logs your VRM ,if its a P & D car park that is

2) your defence cannot rely on them replying in time, which is why the example defences by member BARGEPOLE are there, it may help you later in the process, at WS + EXHIBITS stage though so read the thread by Dammitchloe today where their SAR helped them win

3) so state that in your defence, as the POC being sparse etc, as shown in many other defences, poor details is a defence point

bear in mind it is the job of a PPC to PROVE their case, so you make them prove it with PDT information etc , if they have no proof then their case may falter

the keeper is trying to get the case thrown out on a technicality, not on what happened

think of it as like BECKHAM getting off his speeding ticket last year, there is no doubt that he was speeding, but the Penalty notice arrived 24 hours too late , so he got off on a technicality, even though he was guilty and his lawyer inferred it too

ChloeOxford

Sorry I am getting really confused now, maybe emotions getting in the way as I am getting more and more anxious with this as I really have no idea what I am doing and find this site very hard to navigate and understand.

1.) What am I asking them for and why?

2.) If the defence can't rely on them getting the info to the defendent in time then what is the defence? I thought the whole purpose was to try
and get details of what information they have to identify some information that would help build a defence?
Have tried to find the posts by BARGEPOLE and Dammitchloe but unsuccessfully. I also have no idea what WS + Exhibits stage is.

3.) What does it mean 'as the POC being sparse etc', and 'poor details is a defence point'. I am really, really lost as to what I am supposed to be doing

4.) I read a post by someone else earlier where someone who replied stated that the defendent may have to convince a judge and made it sound as if the defendent would actually physically attend court. Will this actually go to physical court. I had no idea and thought it was just dealt with by the court am totally panicked now!!!!
An AOS has been submitted but I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing next and what the defence is. The defendents mortgage is due for reneawl and I am terrified this is going to cause issues

I appreciate your help but I am not a lawyer or a solicitor and although I consider myself an intelligent person I am really struggling with understanding the language and what I am being advised to do and it is very upsetting.

PLease, please, anyone who can helop and put it into simple language and steps of what I am meant to do I would really, really appreciate it.

Kind regards