Urgent advice needed - County Court Claim.

Resourceful

Hi all.
For one reason and another I find myself with 2 days to acknowledge service of a cc claim from PE. Without going into detail yet about the specifics of the claim can anyone advise me how to proceed?
I have been on the MCOL website and they are asking for a Gateway ID and password but the claim form says I need to use the claim no. and password. Do I need to register using the claim no. in order to obtain the ID?
Assuming I can access the area of the website where I can acknowledge service of the claim can I just write something really short such as 'service acknowledged'? I just need to buy myself a bit more time in order to prepare a defense, etc The last day to acknowledge service is Sunday 2nd and as I have to work all day tomorrow I am cutting this fine.
I fully intend to make a complaint to the landowner (a hotel) in addition to preparing a court defense but after several months of this I am losing the will to live! Is settling out of court for an agreed sum still an option to me at this late stage? I know it's not an ideal outcome but life is too short and I'd honestly be happy to just get them off my back as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Coupon-mad

For one reason and another I find myself with 2 days to acknowledge service of a cc claim from PE.

Haven't read the rest yet, but just do the AOS tonight then, online, copying the walk-through in the NEWBIES thread post #2. That buys you more time, extending the period from service of the claim to 28 days from that date.

I have been on the MCOL website and they are asking for a Gateway ID and password but the claim form says I need to use the claim no. and password. Do I need to register using the claim no. in order to obtain the ID?

The NEWBIES thread pictures of MCOL show all of this. You have to create a Gateway account FIRST and make careful note of the Gateway ID, as you don't get shown it again I seem to recall!

can I just write something really short such as 'service acknowledged'?

YOU MUST PUT NOTHING AT ALL IN THE DEFENCE BOX - EEEK - OTHERWISE THOSE WORDS BECOME YOUR DEFENCE!!

Is settling out of court for an agreed sum still an option to me at this late stage?

Not usually, but YES if the Hotel contact P/Eye, they are likely to settle for sixty quid to keep the Hotel sweet. Not just if you contact P/Eye yourself though, it has to come from pressure from the Hotel, to get a settlement (if you MUST! We wouldn't...).

What is the issued date top right of the N1 claim form?

KeithP

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.

Quentin

Everyone is asked to read up on this in the newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum before starting a new thread

Go there now to get an understanding of the game you are now caught up in

Specifically #2 there advises on court claims right through from receipt of the claim to the hearing

Submitting the AOS is covered there with a walkthrough on how to do it

It's unlikely an offer would be accepted at this stage! They would want the whole amount of the claim

waamo

Urgent: The Issue date. KeithP will post extremely valuable information on receipt of this.

Resourceful

Thank you all for your rapid responses. I wasn't expecting to hear from anybody at this time of night!
My apologies for just wading in with the questions, it's just that I'm really short on time. I have read a fair chunk of the NEWBIES thread but there are so many thread links that I may have just skipped over a few things today. I will go back and read the advice regarding AoS.

The issue date on the claim form is: 14th May. By my calculation that makes the service date the 19th and the deadline for acknowledgement the 2nd June.

KeithP

Resourceful wrote: »

The issue date on the claim form is: 14th May. By my calculation that makes the service date the 19th and the deadline for acknowledgement the 2nd June.

As 2nd June is a Sunday, you actually have until 4pm on Monday to do the AoS. But as said earlier, no point in delaying.


With a Claim Issue Date of 14th May, you have until Monday 3rd 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 17th June 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over two 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

Resourceful wrote: »

Thank you all for your rapid responses. I wasn't expecting to hear from anybody at this time of night!

We are pretty much sharing a voluntary shift here, with most waking hours being covered between us all.

We are determined to spend any spare time we can, helping people beat these PCN scams.

Resourceful

Well, I got my Gov Gateway ID only to find that the MCOL site is now down for maintenance! To be continued...

Resourceful

Thank you guys. I really appreciate your help, especially working the graveyard shift!
KeithP: I spotted the 4pm thing so feeling relieved now that I can get back to this on Sunday and still meet the deadline.
Once I've done the AoS, I'll fill you in with the details of my parking tale of woe...I bet you can't wait! ;-)
Long day tomorrow so I'll bid you all goodnight.

The_Deep

Concentrate on the signage.

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