Would this Defense work in a Small Claims Court? Parking Charge Notice by Minster Baywatch

Kaleidosky

I received a Parking Charge Notice for being in a car park for 20 minutes and wanted to get feedback from experienced people on how effective this defense tactic might be if they wish to take me to a small claims court. The invoice they sent was Parking fee covering visit duration was not paid in full.

I received the first letter but as soon as a 2nd letter arrives, my plan is to respond to them and say I never received the 1st letter to begin with so I had no opportunity to rectify the issue. I would say that I have no memory of this taking place since it was over a month ago and they only have a picture of my car entering and exiting but not my face (unless they have other cameras that I am not aware of).

I did some shopping and was coming back from the store, I decided to find somewhere to park by the lakeside which was quite a challenge since a lot of public areas are blocked off in this lockdown.  I went to this location to park up and was planning to stay here for an hour. I then realised that I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere. Checked my shopping bags, called the store to see if I left it there, checked under the car seats etc. Still frustrated and panicking because it had my house keys inside the wallet, I decided to leave knowing that I could not stay here and everywhere else was blocked off.

To be honest, I would pay the £60 fine just to get these scammers off my back and not add anymore unnecessary stress but I had to close my business down and have no money to pay it off anyway.

·       Should I tell them that I will only pay for the time I stayed there and not the unjustified amount of £100?

·       Is it best to send them a letter and not provide them with an email address?

·       Could losing my wallet be down to my poor negligence and so the judge will rule it out?

Will keep this thread updated with uploaded letters and their responses soon as it arrives.

D_P_Dance

IMO very little works against a scammer.  A judge is however likely to take mitigating circumastances into account and apply common sense.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs, and in some cases, cancellation. 

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 later this year,

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

Umkomaas

I received the first letter but as soon as a 2nd letter arrives, my plan is to respond to them and say I never received the 1st letter to begin with so I had no opportunity to rectify the issue. I would say that I have no memory of this taking place since it was over a month ago

You'd actually write that in a Defence under a Statement of Truth and place before a Judge? Check out the following acronym on Google - PCOJ.

they only have a picture of my car entering and exiting but not my face (unless they have other cameras that I am not aware of).

That's all they need!

Should I tell them that I will only pay for the time I stayed there and not the unjustified amount of £100?

What do you think they'll say? Yes please, thank you?

Is it best to send them a letter and not provide them with an email address?

Why?  We never advise giving them your day-to-day email address, we suggest opening a throwaway Gmail/Hotmail address just for the purposes of dealing with this parking charge. 

Could losing my wallet be down to my poor negligence and so the judge will rule it out?

It's impossible to guess how a Judge might rule.  One might, the other won't. It's always 50:50 in the small claims court. 

You seem to be flailing around with half-ideas how to deal with this. You seem not to have read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, first post, which will help you plot your way through, giving you firmer-based actions to take. 

nosferatu1001

No. Just "no"
Dont even think of it
Noone else should read this and think this is a good idea
What you are suggesting would amount to at a minimum contempt of court, or PCOJ. PCOJ can result in actual prison time. 

nosferatu1001

Not least, its a stupid plan because youve broadcast it for everyone to see, and refer to. It wont be tricky for the PPC to link it here. 

Fruitcake

Your idea is just plain stupid. As already advised, DO NOT DO IT! DO NOT DO ANY OF IT!

Edit your post to remove information about who parked. Only ever refer to The Driver and The Keeper, who are two different people. In fact, delete most of it including the lies you are thinking of telling, and everything concerned with mitigating circumstances.

Read the sticky thread for NEWBIES that asks everyone to read it before posting, then send the appeal template in blue from the first post of the aforementioned NEWBIES.
After that, read up on what to do if/when it is rejected.

Coupon-mad

Why don't you imply follow what the NEWBIES thread tells you, about how to appeal and complain to the landowner?

How many minutes were you captured on site, is it within grace periods?

Kaleidosky

sorry i should have thought before I typed out. I've been thinking about this too irrationally and will take the time to follow the correct procedures on the website and adhere to better moral advise to resolve this. 

Le_Kirk

Kaleidosky said:

sorry i should have thought before I typed out. I've been thinking about this too irrationally and will take the time to follow the correct procedures on the website and adhere to better moral advise to resolve this. 

Bur BEFORE you do any of that you MUST edit your first post (if you can).  I am aware that new members may not have the EDIT button available, in which case send a PM to a board guide (Crabman, Savvy or Soolin) and ask one of them what to do.