hi. I have received a county court claim form from Northampton.

Ballistic87

Hello there. First post here and absolutely clueless as to what to do here. A few months ago I was given a hire/courtesy vehicle after I was involved in an accident in my own. Anyway well after I had given the vehicle back I started to receive some letters fojr a parking fine from a company. In the letter they had an anpr picture of the car I had coming into and leaving a local car park. Anyway I ignored the letters and now I have recieved this letter from Northampton county court.

I would really appreciate some help as I don’t have a clue we’re to start. I have logged into the online system using the info on the lettter and it has given me some options. I intend to obviously deny this as it has reached £250 and I don’t have a clue about the fine. It’s not somewhere I would normally go (big johns chop shop) and if I did, I definitely wouldn’t have stayed as long as they say I did.

Any way the options they have given me are. ::

Aknowledgment of Service
*If you need 28 days (rather than 14) from the date of service to prepare your defence, or wish to contest the court's jurisdiction, complete the Acknowledgment of Service (AOS).

Response Forms
*If you dispute the whole claim or wish to make a claim (a counterclaim) against the claimant, complete the defence form.


*If you admit part of the amount claimed, complete the Admission and the Defence form.

*If you admit all of the amount claimed, complete the Admission form.

I was wondering which option I should choose? The letter is dated 4th September so I really need to respond as the 14 day deadline is coming up. Obviously I do not want to pay this as I do not agree with it. But at the same time I’m a little worried it could make it worse for me if I deny/try to defend myself????

Would anyone be able to give me Advice please? To start with, which one if the four options from above should I select? Thank you for your time I will check the thread regularly.

waamo

What is the issue date on your claim form?

Umkomaas

You need to urgently read the forum's advisory notes in how to deal with a small court claim from a private parking firm. It's all contained in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2. You just can't deal with this unless and until you can raise your own levels of knowledge and understanding of the whole process.

Just posting random questions to the forum (as you have in your opening post) will never work for you.

Ballistic87

Hi. The issue date on the form is 4th September.

The reason I feel my case is a little different is because it’s a hire/courtesy vehicle, and also that they have a picture of the car entering and leaving, although you cannot dee who the driver is.

The solicitor firm that is Claiming against me is Gladstone solicitors, the original charge I believe e was £60, went up to £100, now they are asking for £250.

KeithP

Ballistic87 wrote: »

The issue date on the form is 4th September.

With a Claim Issue Date of 4th September, you have until Monday 23rd September 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 7th October 2019 to file your Defence.

That's nearly three weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence could 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.

Ballistic87

Hi Keith and thank you. I know this might sound abit dumb, but would explaining that “it wasn’t me because I wouldn’t go there, especially for that long”, be a solid defence? Also the fact that it does not show any picture of the driver. Thank you for your help.

ShakeItOff

Welcome!

You need to read the NEWBIES thread, as others have mentioned above. It isn't just about whether you did or didn't park where they say, but about whether they have followed POFA, made their signage capable of creating a bind contract, whether the PPC has abused process somewhere along the line.

So, I would suggest you read the NEWBIES thread (post #2 specifically), complete the Acknowledgement of Service, and draft your defence. Post it up here when you're ready. And lastly, submit a subject access request to the PPC and any debt management company they used. You are unlikely to get this back before you need to submit your defence, but it will be handy when you come to write your Witness Statement.

Coupon-mad

Ballistic87 wrote: »

Hi Keith and thank you. I know this might sound abit dumb, but would explaining that “it wasn’t me because I wouldn’t go there, especially for that long”, be a solid defence? Also the fact that it does not show any picture of the driver.

No, that is not a defence. PLEASE read the NEWBIES thread properly.

You have not said yet, who the PPC even is, as far as I can see?

You need a hirer defence so search the forum for cases with those keywords.

Ballistic87

Hi. The ppc is UK car park ltd, and I do not have any letters from the agencies as I binned them all, also Gladstone Soliceters is representing them.

Umkomaas

Ballistic87 wrote: »

Hi. The ppc is UK car park ltd, and I do not have any letters from the agencies as I binned them all, also Gladstone Soliceters is representing them.

Name not recognised. Take another look please.

nosferatu1001

Indeed, give the full and PRECISE name exactly as it appears

Have you acknowlwedgdd your claim now? If not you MUST DO THAT TODAY

You will then have the precise time as already given by Keith for you to file your defence

Your case is in NO WAY different to the DOZENS of hirer cases.