Missed POPLA deadline, received claim form?

spursboy91

Hi all,

My brother-in-law received a ParkingEye fine on May 10 of £100, discounted to £60 if paid within 14 days, over a 39-minute overstay - at almost 10pm at night - at Lee Valley Waltham Abbey Gardens.

I recommended him not to pay up and instead reply with a first-stage appeal using a template on this forum (as it worked for me previously).

ParkingEye rejected that and offered him the chance to appeal via POPLA. Unfortunately, so long had passed that we forgot to file an appeal and, on September 23, he was issued with a County Court Claim Form asking for £175.

I have looked at the newbies thread for advice on what to do next, but I just wanted to clarify before I go any further - are we still perfectly entitled to go down the defence route with our chances intact, or are we better off just paying the sum (and learn from our carelessness for next time)?

Thank you!

KeithP

Is 23rd September the Issue Date on the Claim Form?

Did the Claim Form come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton?

I am going to assume the answer to both those questions is 'yes'. Please confirm.


With a Claim Issue Date of 23rd September, you have until Monday 14th October 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 28th October 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over 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.

Of course, everywhere I have said 'you' or 'yours' I mean the Defendant.

spursboy91

Thank you very much for the advice - I can confirm the answers are correct for the above.

I'll do exactly as you stated, while keeping you in the loop via this thread.

The_Deep

PE signs are usually rubbish, were they lit? Read this

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

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

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, 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