Cel - scc

WilmslowPete

Hi all,
I've just received a claim form from Civil Enforcement Limited in "County Court Business Centre, Northampton, dated 29 Oct 2019. Total amount £268
Briefly, this was from a parking charge received in January this year for parking in the Anthology pub car park in Wilmslow. The driver was actually visiting the pub at the time and have proof via bank statements that the driver were there.
I initially ignored the letteres but then did stupidly respond to one of their letters and explained that I was actually in the pub, of course they rejected this.
I have also tried to contact the pub several times with no response.
They also sent me a without predjucice letter a couple of weeks ago asking me to pay £65 (I think it was that much, I haven't got that letter to hand)
Any advice on the best way to fight this and prepare my defence would be greatly appreciated.
Also, is the AOS as straightforward as it seems? I have tried to follow the dropbox link in newbies post #2 but the link just times out.
Thanks

Umkomaas

Everything is explained in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2, which takes you through from where you are now (AOS stage) right through to the court hearing, should it get that far.

There is very specific advice on how to do the AOS, particularly in not putting anything in the Defence box - that will be a separate action outside of the AOS process.

I have tried to follow the dropbox link in newbies post #2 but the link just times out.

Are you using a mobile phone to access the forum?

fisherjim

That figure is ridiculous what is the breakdown they gave you to arrive at that?

The_Deep

Total amount £268.85

This is far more than the law alolows, read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

and complain to the SRA

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/complaints/make-a-complaint/

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten of these tickets are scams so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra work.

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.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.[/FONT]

KeithP

WilmslowPete wrote: »

I've just received a claim form from Civil Enforcement Limited in "County Court Business Centre, Northampton, dated 29 Oct 2019.

With a Claim Issue Date of 29th October, you have until Monday 18th November to do the Acknowledgement of Service. If possible, do not do the AoS before 3rd November, but otherwise 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 2nd December 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over four 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.

Just checked and the AoS dropbox file works ok for me.
Could it be that the computer you are using won't accept dropbox links? A work computer perhaps?

WilmslowPete

No it was my office PC, wll try again now I'm home, but basically the AOS just asks for DOB email and signature. Thanks

WilmslowPete

Thanks for all the replies, I'll have to go through all the advice given.
The claim form just said:
Amount claimed :-193.85
Court Fee £25
Legal representatives costs £50
Total 268.85

Coupon-mad

Amount claimed :-193.85

LOL, for £100 PCN, no chance.

WilmslowPete

Done the AOS and now preparing my defence.
I finally had a response from the pub in question via Facebook messenger:
They said once it goes beyond 90 days their contract with CEL doesn't allow them to cancel!
I had previously posted a bad review on Trip Adviser to which they responded by saying I should get in touch via email. I have emailed numerous times with no response.

MistyZ

Did you email the pub within 90 days?

If so, the obvious thing to do I guess is to copy the Facebook message, copy all emails with the earliest one at the top, state the obvious, i.e. that you did contact the pub on numerous occasions within that time frame and add that you are extremely disappointed by how unhelpful and evasive they have been.

Insist that the PCN is now cancelled, as it should have been long ago. There may be something in the '90 day cut-off' but they'll just have to find a way round that. Personally I would send a letter and an identical email. Do pretty much the same in a response on Facebook too, redacting as necessary of course.

nosferatu1001

Or, point out that you'l be suing them for your time spent resolving this, when its an error of their own making, and theyre liable fo rthe actions of their agents.