Port of Wells POPLA Appeal Advice

Lizb59

My son is now getting solicitors letters and the fine of £100 has gone up to £182 to account for admin & legal fees. He received a letter today in which they are threatening to start court proceedings. They say if legal action is taken they will add on legal costs, the details will count against his future credit rating and bailiffs may be contacted. My son is currently unemployed and looking for work which is likely to be low pay. I am worried that the debt will increase and have negative affect on his mental health. I know that posts on here encourage people not to pay and to fight but I am worried that it will go to court and he will lose. Please can someone tell me what he should do and tell me how to win a case like this.

The original charge was at Port of Wells. He bought a ticket at 6pm from machine but the cameras registered his car arriving at 5:40. There were no signs in the car park apart from on payment machine. It didn't say anywhere that you had to pay within a minimum period. Letters he received say he is liable because they say payment should be made within 15 mins of arrival. Please can someone advise me.

Redx

nobody can guarantee a win

what I will say is that if the claimant PPC take him to court, plus he then loses in court , a judge will set the figure which is typically less than £200 to be paid by your son to the claimant , within one month

as long as that figure is paid , IN FULL , within one month , no bailiffs will appear and no trashing of the credit rating either

you lose , you pay up , promptly , IN FULL

so he pays it off promptly and end of story

the scare stories are for the non-payers who ignore the judgment issued by a judge , that is when enforcement and credit rating issues occur

dont be blinded by all the information, its simple

lose in court , pay the final figure set by the judge , within 28 days , paying it off IN FULL


if he wins in court, there is nothing to pay and he can claim up to £95 plus printing costs , travel and parking on the day


hope that helps ?

Lizb59

My son has now received a letter before action with fees currently at £182. I've sent him links from this site including post 2 of newbies to read but not sure he will have stamina to read through everything. He is on minimum wage so can't afford to pay fee. Should he tick box for debt advice or just tick box for appealing decision and how much detail does he need to include on the form? The main issue is that he paid for a ticket but after 15 mins without knowing that there was a time limit because the notices are only on payment machine. Have you any advice on how to proceed?

Redx

The forms are not to be filled in nor sent back either

Post #2 of the newbies thread answers your questions

He emails a SAR to the DPO

He replies and tells them to place the case on hold whist he seeks debt management advice (which they will reject)

His ability to pay or not doesn't enter into it , court claims are not interested in the ability to pay or not

FrankCannon

Hello, Lizb59. I had an LBA from CEL for this site a few weeks ago. I wrote a letter to the legal department requesting the information below, and they discontinued a few days later. Get proof of posting, but do not send it using the signed-for service as they can choose not to sign for it.

- A copy of the byelaws that apply to Wells Harbour and the car park at Port of Wells, including a map that shows the extent of the area to which the byelaws apply.
- A full, un-redacted copy of the contract that allows Civil Enforcement Ltd. to operate at Port of Wells Car Park, The Quay, NR23 1AT. If the un-redacted version is not to be supplied until Witness Statement stage of the proceedings, I will accept, under the PAP protocols requiring open dealing and efforts to resolve disputes, a partially redacted version providing that the dates, location, terms of service and the agreement are transparent, together with the hours, days and dates of enforcement and listed contraventions, and the agreed grace periods, parking charge and any exemptions or seasonal arrangements that the landowner set.
- Evidence of the time that the vehicle was parked ( NOT car park entry, payment and exit times ).
- Contemporaneous images of signs inside the area of the car park in relation to where vehicle xxxxxxx was parked.
- Contemporaneous images of signs and their location relative to the car park entrance ( to show how they would be seen by a driver approaching the car park on the B1105 road, from either direction, prior to entering it ).
- Contemporaneous images of signs in the car park erected by or belonging to the Wells Harbour Commissioners or other third parties.
- Details of improvements to signs and lighting that have been carried out by Civil Enforcement Ltd, Wells Harbour Commissioners or other third parties since DD/MM/YYYY. Please provide an explanation why the improvements were required.
- Details of changes to the terms and conditions displayed on the signage within the car park that have been carried out by Civil Enforcement Ltd, Wells Harbour Commissioners or other third parties since DD/MM/YYYY. Please provide an explanation why the changes were required.
- A copy of all ANPR images captured of this vehicle on the material date, given that this was early evening and there was likely to be some hold up of queuing traffic at the entrance and/or exit, and given that it has been reported that ANPR camera systems take several images over the seconds or minutes, as a car works its way in or out of a site where the road outside was congested with a nearby traffic light system and roundabouts. It will not be enough to merely repeat the 'first in/last out' images that the ANPR system defaults to process for penalty charges.
- All other evidence that Civil Enforcement Ltd. will rely on in court.
- A full breakdown of all costs that Civil Enforcement Ltd. is claiming, to show which costs are included within the original £100 invoice and those that are additional costs. I am concerned that there is an element of double recovery in the £182 that Civil Enforcement Ltd. is claiming, which the court will view as an abuse of process. Civil Enforcement must be aware that to claim in excess of £100 for a parking charge on private land is disallowed under the CPRs, the Beavis case, the POFA 2012 legislation and the CRA 2015, a view that has been upheld in multiple cases at the courts in Caernarfon and Southampton this year.

Lizb59

My son sent in an SAR and got back all the documents. He has also now received a claim form. Should he fill this in or ignore it?

Redx

if that is a court claim form from the CCBC in Northampton then he should NOT ignore it

post the issue date below so we can tell you (him) what needs to be done and when its to be done by

KeithP

No-one should ever ignore a County Court Claim Form, but at the same time, do not fill anything in.

What is the Issue Date on the Claim Form?

Lizb59

Issue Date is 21 Feb 2020. 

Lizb59

However they only arrived yesterday and he left them behind. So I will need to post or scan documents to him.