Count Court Letter - ParkingEye at Hospital

makem99

Hi all,

I have received a county count letter from Parking Eye and I am not sure if I have grounds to defend it.

I have been ignoring the letters from Parking Eye for the last 3 or 4 months (I think this may be old advise these days), who were trying to charge me £70 for parking in a hospital car park without paying. This is a pay when you leave car park, with camera that takes a photo of you entering and leaving. There are large machines at certain exits of the hospital buildings in which you enter your reg when you leave, they show you an image of your car entering the car park - it is at these machines that you pay the allotted charge (None of these machines exist at the exit i left the hospital from).

We had a new born baby and were back and forward to the hospital numerous times for the first few months after his birth with health issues, and on every other occasion I have duly paid the fee. I still hold copies of receipts where I have paid for a weeks pass for parking at this site around the same period as this charge relates. So I was not intentionally avoiding to pay.

On the occasion in question we were tired after many sleepless nights, it was late in the evening, and we were told by the doctor in A&E to go home and pack our bags as our baby would be going to another hospital for an emergency operation at 6:00am the next morning.

So as we rushed out of the hospital on a cold, dark winters night, with a poorly 6 weeks old baby in tow, paying for the parking was the last thing on my mind and I forgot all about it. As previously mentioned there were no machines on which to pay on my way out (and thus no reminder to pay), I would have had to go into one of the other main hospital entrances to find a parking machine. It was also dark when leaving so I saw little of any signage reminding me to pay.

Any advice on if this is worth defending would be appreciated please.

Thanks
M99

Le_Kirk

In the first instance go and find the PALS desk in the hospital and see if they can help.

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?

Coupon-mad

Everyone has grounds to defend a private parking charge.

I've typed that without reading ANY details of your post yet!

We had a new born baby and were back and forward to the hospital numerous times for the first few months after his birth with health issues, and on every other occasion I have duly paid the fee.

You REALLY should not have ignored this PCN which would have been easy for the Hospital to cancel with one email.

Now it is FAR harder as P/Eye have spent money on a claim. Try the PALS complaint, better late than never. But it would have been soooo simple, given your circumstances.

BIG MISTAKE when people do not complain to the landowners first.

The_Deep

Please read these

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles


IMO, PE signs leave much to be desired. I doubt that many judges would agree that they are capable of forming a contract, read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5972164/parking-eye-signs-oxford-road-reading

and enlist the support of your MP as they are obviously trying to scam you.

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, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

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

makem99

KeithP wrote: »

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

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

28th May 2019.

Yes, it's from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton.

KeithP

makem99 wrote: »

28th May 2019.

Yes, it's from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton.

With a Claim Issue Date of 28th May, you have until Monday 17th June 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 file linked 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 1st July 2019 to file your Defence.

That's a whole month 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.

makem99

If my defense of this claim loses, is it possible that I will have pay more than the amount stated on the N1SDT Claim Form?

i.e court fees or the likes?

Or is the amount on the form the maximum monetary risk?

tboo

Not sure on the amount but I think no it's less - someone experienced will confirm


Any hoo have you done the AOS?
and what about showing us a draft defence you have put together

The_Deep

If you were to lose a court case it would be very unlikely that you would have to pay more that £175 - £200, no matter how much the claimant thas asked for as costs are limited.

waamo

makem99 wrote: »

If my defense of this claim loses, is it possible that I will have pay more than the amount stated on the N1SDT Claim Form?

i.e court fees or the likes?

Or is the amount on the form the maximum monetary risk?

The amount on the form should include all court fees. What does it say?