HELP - Court letter Received from VCS - Advice needed

Nsmila07

Hello,

a few months ago I received a parking charge from VCS for parking in an incorrect bay at the train station. Following advice from researching online, i ignored those letters, i actually threw them away, i received three letters in total. I have now received a letter from the court dated 13th may claiming £185 but my concern is that I didnt received the pre-court letter that is mentioned in the NEWBIE thread. I have gone online and and done MCOL AOS but im not sure what else to do as I dont have the copies of the initial letters, I never appealed and I didnt receive the pre-court letter thats mentioned I should refer to in the defence.

Can anyone help me in forming a defence to send back to the courts?

Thanks in advance

Half_way

Can you please state where you found the advice to ignore?
what exactly so you have when you say court demand?
what railway station/train operating company?
Are they trying to pursue this under bye laws?
have you ignored everything, including court papers, ads as a result ended up with a default judgement against you?

The_Deep

Is the land on which you parked covered by Railway Bye-laws? Did the PCN mention Bye-Laws?

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams so complain to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 13th May, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 17th June 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 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 "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep 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.

Coupon-mad

but im not sure what else to do as I dont have the copies of the initial letters,

You do an URGENT email SAR then, like the NEWBIES thread tells you.

Nsmila07

Thanks for your responses.
@ half_way-

Can you please state where you found the advice to ignore? - i found the information here on MSE - Parking charges just ignore, they tend to just go away which they have done in the past.

What exactly so you have when you say court demand? - Its a Claims form from the County Court Business centre for a sum of £185 - I was only in the parking bay for 30 minutes

what railway station/train operating company? - It was Rowley Station in Birmingham, West midlands Trains and Chilten stop there.

Are they trying to pursue this under bye laws? - i dont recall any Bye laws being mentioned

have you ignored everything, including court papers, ads as a result ended up with a default judgement against you? I have just ignored the letters from VCS (Vehicle Control services) demanding this high amount of money - It was because i parked in a sharing bay which you apparently have to book to use.

Thanks all - so Ill email an Urgent SAR request today - I have been reading Newbie's thread but Im just not sure what to use in my defence?

Quentin

You certainly don't get advice in this forum to ignore!

(As you will have seen in the FAQ thread, which gives precise advice on appealing a pcn

Now concentrate on #2 of the FAQ.

That post covers Court claims right through to the hearing, with advice on every stage.

You will see links to near template defences to crib from

The_Deep

I have been reading Newbie's thread but Im just not sure what to use in my defence

Your defence will depend on whether this land is covered by Railway Bye-Laws or not, you need to find this out.

What is a sharing bay? What do the sign say about sharing bays?

Unless you are happy losing to a scammer in court you need to be more pro-active, ignoring is no longer an option..

nosferatu1001

You also must must must not identofy the driver of the vehicle

Edit your 2 posts so this cannot be worked out.

Coupon-mad

Im just not sure what to use in my defence?

Why not just search the forum? I wrote a VCS railway one last month.

Nsmila07

Hello Coupon,

I have tried searching but can’t seem to find the defence you wrote for VCS Railway, could you assist?