County Court Claim Form - “offence” was over two years ago.

Perry11

I’ve received a county court claim form for a parking fine (SIP Parking Limited) incurred on 1/8/2018.
They say I’ve been sent 3 or 4 letters prior to this but I’ve definitely not responded to any of them. 

Is it worth defending or should I just pay the £185 & chalk it up to experience? I don’t necessarily dispute it, it was just such a long time ago & I wasn’t in the best of health at the time. I think I was advised to just ignore it?

I have a squeaky clean credit record & have never had a fine before.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Redx

It wasn't a fine , it was an invoice for alleged breach of contract , so you still haven't received a fine

Without knowing all the facts , nobody can or should answer your legal question above regarding payment , it's not our decision to make

If you wish to defend it , post the issue date from the claim form below

Your actions so far are why it's got to a court claim !!  They have 6 years to issue a court claim

Umkomaas

I think I was advised to just ignore it?

Great advice - who gave you that. Please don't say it was an Internet forum!

Is it worth defending or should I just pay the £185 & chalk it up to experience?

Depends if you've any 'fight' in you.  You're hardly likely to get advice to pay from a forum dedicated to fighting this. 

Please tell us the 'Date of Issue' shown on the N1 court claim form and @KeithP will give you a list of important dates and actions you have to take to defend this. 

The NEWBIES FAQ sticky, second post, is the most comprehensive step-by-step guide to defending a private parking small claims court claim. Please do read that before making any knee-jerk decision. That said, given that this is now a live claim, you do need to prioritise your actions.

Perry11

I’ve just been reminded of the circumstances by my parents who were staying with me at the time. I put the right money in for the amount of time I’d be there but it must have rejected a coin & I didn’t notice. I pressed the button for the ticket, displayed it & then went to work. 

I know I should have appealed it & explained at the time but I was ill & couldn’t handle the stress & I was told the notice wasn’t enforceable. I see a lot in the forum about “defending” the claim but I just want to know if it’s worth it in my circumstances.

Ralph-y

who is the PPC?

 the newbies thread/discussion

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822/newbies-private-parking-ticket-old-or-new-read-these-faqs-first-thankyou/p1
make sure you start at the first page not last

Oh ... and using a phone to browse the site can cause problems.. so please try a laptop/PC
other useful info

All all initialisms, and acronyms that the forum uses can be found in the newbies thread linked above

HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Use the 'red' search button at the top of this page (and most other pages)   Put your key word(s) in.
Using advanced will give more options. Do not  read any threads more than a year or so old as they may well have outdated info.

NEWBIES - HOW TO UPLOAD LINKS TO PHOTOS/SCANS TO MSE

To upload a photo/scan link, you first need to host it on a free photo hosting site (like Dropbox, Imurg or Tinypic), copy the URL, paste it here, but change the http to hxxp and we'll do the conversion. Newbies can't directly upload links to photos/scans until they've a few posts under their belt.

Ralph

Coupon-mad

Perry11 said:

I’ve just been reminded of the circumstances by my parents who were staying with me at the time. I put the right money in for the amount of time I’d be there but it must have rejected a coin & I didn’t notice. I pressed the button for the ticket, displayed it & then went to work. 

I know I should have appealed it & explained at the time but I was ill & couldn’t handle the stress & I was told the notice wasn’t enforceable. I see a lot in the forum about “defending” the claim but I just want to know if it’s worth it in my circumstances.

Yes, it is. Nothing to lose and everything to gain, as long as you meet all court deadlines and don't let it get heard on the papers in your absence if that gets suggested.

Hmmm...but what do you mean, a Gladstones claim (presumably) is for £185?  Surely not all told, in the boxes on the right? Must be more.

Please clarify that and what is the date of issue of the N1 claim?

Perry11

Sorry I think I’m in over my head here. I’m finding the site difficult to navigate & there is so much information. Most of which I don’t understand.
I know this is all my own fault & I just need to sort it out as best I can.
The issue date is October 8th so I’m already too late.

Coupon-mad

You may not be to late if they have not yet claimed judgment.  Use the template defence, top of this forum (NO LINK. SEE BELOW).

How do people find the site hard to navigate when:

(a) when you registered, the email would have given you a button or link about how to use the forum

and 

(b) you posted right under my signature that tells you exactly where the 'breadcrumb trail' to page ONE is...

D_P_Dance

It is certainly not pin the tail on the donkey, but it is not rocket science either,   You need to spend a few hours readng the stuff. 

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, sometimes it can lead to cancellation.,

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers. On 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, and hopefully this will become law shortly

Redx

Use a laptop on this site , not a mobile phone

Perry11

Thank you all.
I don’t have a laptop & I’m aware that I’m not very savvy with these things. I feel stupid enough about the whole thing & I don’t need to made to feel even more so.
I’ll just close the thread thank you.