I have had my initial Set Aside hearing and been given two weeks to prepare a defence

victoria121989

Hello, I am hoping somebody can please help me.
Can someone advise where I can find a template to prepare my defence and what I need to prepare?
I have been looking through numerous posts on the forum but am getting a little lost in all of the information. 
At the preliminary Set Aside the judge stated she believed I had been prompt with my correspondence and that it is completely reasonable that I had moved address since the ticket was issued in 2016. I have been given two weeks to prepare my defence. 
I appealed to Set Aside the parking ticket from 2016.
I was issued a parking ticket on my vehicle at the time, but I had paid for the parking using an automated payment system with my bank card. 

Please see a copy below of my witness statement  - 

1. I first became aware of the CCJ in question on the 05/03/2020 when it flagged on my credit report. The CCJ was entered on the 28/02/2020 for a parking fine which I believe to be incorrect from 19/12/2016. 

2. After noticing the CCJ on my credit file on the 5th I immediately contacted the County Court. I was sure there was a mistake as I have never defaulted on a payment

3. On the same day I spoke to ELMS Legal who advised it was for a parking fine from December 2016. I explained I had not received any correspondence as I had left the country in May and had only returned to the UK in November. At the time of the fine I was not at a fixed address to update my details. 

4. After being given the details I was confident I would have evidence of payment. During November and December that year I regularly used the car park in question and used to pay using their automated card payment system. 

5. I spoke to my bank Natwest who confirmed I had made a payment to Parkonomy who manage the parking payment system on that date and on other days throughout that month. As the statement was from such a while ago I had to request a copy via post. (I do not have online banking for this account). 

6. I went back to ELMS Legal on the same day and notified them that I would be providing a bank statement showing the payment had been made for the fine in question. I updated them with all of my contact details, address, telephone number and email address so they could easily get in touch if needed. I was not made aware of any time constraints. 

7. The first statement I received did not cover the correct dates so I had to reapply on the 20th of March. I have evidence on my recent Natwest statements to show the dates which I applied for the historical statements. I did not believe this would be an issue as I was not aware I only had 30 days to respond to the CCJ from the claim date. 

8. I received my statement highlighting the payment and sent this to ELMS Legal on the 6th of April. 

9. I received a response the following day asking for evidence of the ticket purchased. I responded explaining Parkonony does not issue a ticket and that the ticket is digital (giving reference to their website). I then asked what evidence I could present in this circumstance as I have proof of payment for that car park on the date, to which ELMS Legal replied saying there was nothing. ELMS Legal at no point made me aware that my proof of payment via a bank statement would not be accepted. Therefore ELMS Legal made it impossible for me to present any evidence to have the CCJ withdrawn.

10. I tried to further reason with ELMS Legal, and voiced that I felt I had not been given a reasonable opportunity to appeal and was not made aware of a 30 day window. My questions continually went unanswered to the point I escalated the grievance as a formal complaint on the 23rd of April. 

11. I spoke with ******* the Office Manager on the 29th of April and asked why I had not been made aware of the timescales. She said I should have been told but admitted they do not have any formal protocol that ensures this is mentioned. I asked if they recorded telephone conversations so she could hear it had not been mentioned, and she explained this is not possible due data-protection, as they regularly  take card details over the phone. 

12. I had spoken with the County Court and they had told me the CCJ could have been removed if the CCJ was satisfied within the 30 day window (essentially this was true as it should not have been issued at all). When speaking to ELMS Legal none of their staff would listen to this point. When I asked Reanne Martin why that was, she admitted it was because most people in the office do not understand the procedure and would just assume nothing could be done, please see attached copy of letter from ********* following the conversation. 

13. I have attached a PDF of all email correspondence between myself and ELMS Legal. 

14. To this date I still have not received any documentation regarding the CCJ in question.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give, 

KeithP

The second post of the NEWBIES thread has all the guidance you need.

Two weeks to file a Defence? Plenty of time.

Umkomaas

Which parking firm is involved?

Coupon-mad

Can someone advise where I can find a template to prepare my defence and what I need to prepare?

Read the two obviously relevant sticky threads at the top of the forum - one is even called TEMPLATE DEFENCE.

Fruitcake

It is not a fine. Please don't call it that on here or in any correspondence with the scammers, their agents, or the court.

D_P_Dance

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.

victoria121989

Thank you for your advice everyone. I think the forum views differently on your phone rather than the desktop so I have now managed to find the recommend posts. I'll have a look through them and try to get it all sorted. 
Just a bit daunting as the other side are saying they're now going to try and recoup all of the legal fees from me too. 

KeithP

victoria121989 said:

...the other side are saying they're now going to try and recoup all of the legal fees from me too. 

Well they would say that, wouldn't they?

You of course are going to try and extract your costs from them. 

Umkomaas

Trying to deal with a court case on a telephone is all but impossible. You wouldn't attempt to fly long-haul on a hang glider. 

bargepole

Umkomaas said:

Trying to deal with a court case on a telephone is all but impossible. You wouldn't attempt to fly long-haul on a hang glider. 

Trying to do almost anything online using a mobile phone is asking for trouble.

It's like trying to see into a room through the keyhole of a closed door. For serious stuff, ditch the phone and get a laptop.

nosferatu1001

There is almost zero chance of you ever paying their legal costs. You have to actu unreasonably. CPR27.14 tells you this.