FIRST PARKING LLP court case

jamiee100234

Hi, I’ve read through many threads in immense detail however I believe my circumstances might be slightly different. 

As a naive  student I was parking at my university parking (clearly stated as permit holders only) I still continued to park there and was told to ignore tickets. I did so and received letters in the post which I threw away before my parents could see them. I then received a county court business centre, taking me to court if I don’t pay. I have taken pictures of the signs. They are almost impossible to read and are very high up. If I do deceive to take them to court what basis can I argue on? I don’t know if I have a valid reason that helps me. I’m not sure if they have any pictures of my car parked in these places. It’s by FIRST PARKING LLP. Do I still have time to ask them for proof. I have not yet acknowledged the court letter, I only have a week left to do so. Please advise me accordingly I’m really worried. 

Amount: £1180
date issues: 06/02/2020

KeithP

Is 6th February 2020 the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

D_P_Dance

Have you read the stickies?

Amount: £1180

No doubt that sum contains several unlawful amounts, read this

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

Also their signs may not satisfy a judge that they are capable of forming a contract, read this

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

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

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.

nosferatu1001

Assuming 06.02 is the ISSUE DATE then you 
GO ONLINE TODAY TO THE MCOL WEBSITE
Follow the advice in the newbies thread and *acknowledge the claim*. This gives you an additional 14 days to submit a defence
Were you a permit holder? Yes or no

jamiee100234

KeithP said:

Is 6th February 2020 the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

Yes 

jamiee100234

nosferatu1001 said:

Assuming 06.02 is the ISSUE DATE then you 
GO ONLINE TODAY TO THE MCOL WEBSITE
Follow the advice in the newbies thread and *acknowledge the claim*. This gives you an additional 14 days to submit a defence
Were you a permit holder? Yes or no

No I was not a permit holder. Do I have grounds to argue my case on? Because as far as I’m aware once I acknowledge the claim and decide to take it to court I cannot change my mind. 

Le_Kirk

jamiee100234 said:

nosferatu1001 said:

Assuming 06.02 is the ISSUE DATE then you 
GO ONLINE TODAY TO THE MCOL WEBSITE
Follow the advice in the newbies thread and *acknowledge the claim*. This gives you an additional 14 days to submit a defence
Were you a permit holder? Yes or no

No I was not a permit holder. Do I have grounds to argue my case on? Because as far as I’m aware once I acknowledge the claim and decide to take it to court I cannot change my mind. 

Do you have a solid reason why you parked there without a permit?  For example, you thought it was Pay & Display; you were just turning around; once you realised it was not P&D, having read the terms and conditions, you departed.
You can pay the invoice up until you walk through the doors of the court room, just makes it more difficult.

KeithP

jamiee100234 said:

KeithP said:

Is 6th February 2020 the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

Yes 

With a Claim Issue Date of 6th February, you have until Tuesday 25th February to file an Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To file an AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox file linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4816822 

About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having filed an AoS, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 10th March 2020 to file your Defence.

That's a 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:

1. Print your Defence.
   
2. Sign it and date it.
   
3. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
4. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5. 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'.
   
6. No need to do anything on MCOL, but do check it after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defence received". If not, chase the CCBC until it is.
   
   After filing your Defence, there is more to do...
   
   
7. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire. Nothing of interest there. Just file it.
   
8. Wait for your own Directions Questionnaire from the CCBC, or download one from the internet - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-n180-directions-questionnaire-small-claims-track , and then complete it as described by bargepole in his 'what happens when' post linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES thread - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4816822"]
   
9. The completed DQ should be returned by email to the CCBC to the same address and in the same way as your Defence was filed earlier.
   
10. Send a copy of your completed DQ to the Claimant - to their address on your Claim Form.

jamiee100234

Le_Kirk said:

jamiee100234 said:

nosferatu1001 said:

Assuming 06.02 is the ISSUE DATE then you 
GO ONLINE TODAY TO THE MCOL WEBSITE
Follow the advice in the newbies thread and *acknowledge the claim*. This gives you an additional 14 days to submit a defence
Were you a permit holder? Yes or no

No I was not a permit holder. Do I have grounds to argue my case on? Because as far as I’m aware once I acknowledge the claim and decide to take it to court I cannot change my mind. 

Do you have a solid reason why you parked there without a permit?  For example, you thought it was Pay & Display; you were just turning around; once you realised it was not P&D, having read the terms and conditions, you departed.
You can pay the invoice up until you walk through the doors of the court room, just makes it more difficult.

No I don’t have a reason. These are 5 tickets from a few occasions where I’ve parked there. They have given me 2 tickets on the 14/02 and 2 tickets on the 5/02. Can they give me 2 tickets a day?

jamiee100234

Thank you so much for your help i really appreciate it . i have done the acknowledgement of service and am now preparing my defence. im just so confused and everything is really going over my head. These things really do make you go to a dark place. Debt collectors and Private parking companies are probably the reason for many suicides. But thank you everyone for your help. I really appreciate it. 

D_P_Dance

For five tickets they should not be asking more that £500

These things really do make you go to a dark place. 

They should not, in the grand scheme oof things they are a very small deal.  Especially if you are prepared to pay hardball with them.