Newbie missed the boat - advice please?

BellaMayJune

In the summer I received two parking charges by a cowboy company with no photo of my car, no time stated for the time I was in the car park, and when I looked it up I think I had (stupidly) driven on two different occasions into that car park and not got out of the car and left again (obviously I would never do this again with any car park anywhere!) (Once I stayed for less than ten minutes but the other time I ended up taking a phone call so longer than I meant to). According to my diary however these were different days from even the dates they were charging me for, which made me also think that if I entered into the whole game it could never end as they also seem to just make up dates. I hoped that it would all go away which obviously didn't work. Particularly as they were so overly aggressive and the initial letter I received was so over-the-top and threatening I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of causing me so much distress. I realise this was a bad idea.

I received a letter today in a brown envelope with Northampton on the back which I think is from Northampton County Court. I have now read a lot of the Newbie parking thread and it appears I have in that case missed the 'Practice Direction' and it is suggested I therefore start a new thread asking for advice, which I'm doing here.

I couldn't face any of it so have not opened any previous letters, I received a letter previously from DWP Legal (or similar) (it is the same name as mentioned elsewhere as being one of the solicitors who have signed up to work for these cowboy companies). I am a very harassed single parent and just hoped for the best which was obviously a bad idea also. I also am totally without funds.

Any advice please? Does anyone know how long the process takes from here? If I don't attend Court, will an amount be awarded against me with only eg two weeks to pay? in which case I imagine Court-approved bailiffs could call, despite it saying everywhere on this site that no bailiff will call, as that doesn't include if the case has been won against you? I imagine there is a 50/50 chance from what I've read on here of the judge throwing the case out, but may just agree it?

Many thanks!

Redx

it wont be from any county court, none have been allocated yet

its from the CCBC in Northampton, a government office manned by civil servants who do all the paperwork for MCOL, before its allocated to a county court , usually your nearest civil court

so this needs the AOS doing and a defence preparing etc, details are in the NEWBIES thread post #2

the civil court process should take less than 6 months but can go on for longer, due to backlogs etc

it can be heard on papers too

if you lose , you have a month to pay IN FULL before enforcement can commence, possibly with a baliff being employed by the claimant

bailiffs call if a judgment has been issued in court, they dont come without a court order

email a SAR to the DPO at the parking company , to get your data , atatch a copy of the V5C and a copy of the claim form as proof of I D under GDPR


please post the issue date from the claim form below and the claimants name (the PPC who issued the pcn)

The_Deep

Nearly all of your questions have been answered in the stickies/FAQs, Please read them.

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

Coupon-mad

I received a letter today in a brown envelope with Northampton on the back which I think is from Northampton County Court.

What is the date of issue and is it a N1 claim form?

BellaMayJune

The issue date from the claim form is 7th Nov 2019.
The claimants name is District Enforcement Limited.

Many thanks, your help is so much appreciated!

BellaMayJune

7th Nov 2019 and it is a claim form which I can put a defence in for (although I don't see 'N1') so yes all seems according to the advice to follow on the newbies advice thread, many thanks.

KeithP

BellaMayJune wrote: »

The issue date from the claim form is 7th Nov 2019.

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th November, you have until Tuesday 26th November to do the Acknowledgment 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 Tuesday 10th December 2019 to file your Defence.

That's 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.

BellaMayJune

Thank you so much!

I have just spent all day so far just trying to get my head round it all reading the newbie thread 2 etc. Can I just ask;
1) I don't get how the timing of the SAR & letter to solicitor fits in - can I leave that until Fri 15th ie in a few days? So about five days from date of service. I am booking steps in my diary trying not to be as overwhelmed.
2) I have found examples for the SAR to the parking company but nothing for the solicitor - do I just say, ''I hearby request that you restrict data processing for the case of District Enf Ltd versus the driver in case number xxxx"?
3) Very confusing with the driver/keeper issue - I am not denying being the driver to present an honest case, my case is that I left the car park and did not even exit the car - so I assume I just refer to myself as the driver?

Many thanks!!!

BellaMayJune

PS I forgot to mention that I already know the case won't really be put on hold from the SAR/letter as the solicitor is somehow both mentioned that will refuse, was BW and mysteriously become Gladstones, many thanks!

Le_Kirk

If you want cases put on hold you have to state that, whilst you deny any debt exists, you are seeking debt advice and therefore require the case put on hold for 30 days in line with the pre-action protocol for debt claims.

Send the SAR now as the PPC has 30 days to respond to it. The results of the SAR will be more useful to you at Witness Statement stage.

1505grandad

Can you confirm what type of car park is involved - is it by any chance Council owned?