Mysterious looking claim form

dilby

Hi all -
I've just had a claim form through from 'Vehicle Control Services' and I'm really not sure what to make of it. It's made to look like a government document, with a fake version of the royal crest (which I'm sure is illegal) and a low quality logo saying 'The Country Court' with the ER crown. 
It's for a parking breach back in march 2017, and in all honesty it's so long ago I can't even remember what defence I used. I had totally forgotten about it until I had a reminder through the door at xmas time and in all the choas at the time I never got back to it. I've now had this through the door asking for £160 plus a £25 court fee with a login to respond to the claim online. 
Is this legitimate and if my defence is poor due to bad organisation on my part and the length of time it's been am I best off paying?
Thanks

D_P_Dance

Do not dismiss this as a fake, real court docs often look pretty amateur, please read the newbies wrt court claims and complain to your MP., 

Coupon-mad

Come on - this is the same as all the other VCS cases - you have a court claim form!  It is a valid document.
You only had to compare it to Google images - it is real.

Is this legitimate

Yes.

and if my defence is poor due to bad organisation on my part and the length of time it's been am I best off paying?

Nope. That would be stupid.  They've added fake costs of £60/£70 that they can't claim, for a start.

 If you had read anything in post#2 of the NEWBIES thread before posting you'd know to get a SAR by email from VCS which will show you the photos, letters and all the evidence that you are missing, in good time before you get to Witness Statement stage (later).  Defence comes first though and it's a task you MUST do this month.

We win these all the time.  Read the NEWBIES thread post #2 and the TEMPLATE DEFENCE thread. and tell us the date of issue of the claim?

Ralph-y

Hi, and welcome to the forum .....

as well as reading the newbies thread....

try

direct link to court section in newbies thread
.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64350585/#Comment_64350585

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs#latest

you will see advice re a SAR to VCS

where did this heinous crime take place ?

Ralph

KeithP

As said - it is genuine.

It you want to prove that, why not look up the County Court Business Centre's phone number on Google and compare it with the phone number on the form.

Ring the number you found on Google and ask them to confirm the authenticity.

Redx

Login to the mcol website , using the reference on the bottom right , that will show you it's genuine and they sent it , so yes it will be real , so you should gpfight , not capitulate , the latter is for wimps with too much money and no sense

Email a SAR to the DPO at VCS asap

Post the issue date below

Redx

Login to the mcol website , using the reference on the bottom right , that will show you it's genuine and they sent it , so yes it will be real , so you should gpfight , not capitulate , the latter is for wimps with too much money and no sense

Email a SAR to the DPO at VCS asap

Post the issue date below

dilby

Coupon-mad said:

Come on - this is the same as all the other VCS cases - you have a court claim form!  It is a valid document.
You only had to compare it to Google images - it is real.

Is this legitimate

Yes.

and if my defence is poor due to bad organisation on my part and the length of time it's been am I best off paying?

Nope. That would be stupid.  They've added fake costs of £60/£70 that they can't claim, for a start.

 If you had read anything in post#2 of the NEWBIES thread before posting you'd know to get a SAR by email from VCS which will show you the photos, letters and all the evidence that you are missing, in good time before you get to Witness Statement stage (later).  Defence comes first though and it's a task you MUST do this month.

We win these all the time.  Read the NEWBIES thread post #2 and the TEMPLATE DEFENCE thread. and tell us the date of issue of the claim?

Thanks for your response.  I did look up images but they all came back different so it was hard to tell. I also realise it had likely been covered in the forums but in all honesty I find it all very confusing so I do appreciate the help. The issue date of the claim is the 7th of Jan this year. According to the template defence thread I now have waited enough days to send this, but it just says 'Print your Defence' which at this point I'm not sure what my defence is.

I have sent the SAR, but cannot find who the soliciors are for VCS to send the solictor letter stating I am waiting for debt advice.

So the key issue for me still is the defence; if I log on to acknowledge claim (called 'Acknowledgment of Service') I need to say if I am going to dispute all or some of the claim and I still don't know what to do as I don't know my defence!

KeithP

dilby said:

Coupon-mad said:

Come on - this is the same as all the other VCS cases - you have a court claim form!  It is a valid document.
You only had to compare it to Google images - it is real.

Is this legitimate

Yes.

and if my defence is poor due to bad organisation on my part and the length of time it's been am I best off paying?

Nope. That would be stupid.  They've added fake costs of £60/£70 that they can't claim, for a start.

 If you had read anything in post#2 of the NEWBIES thread before posting you'd know to get a SAR by email from VCS which will show you the photos, letters and all the evidence that you are missing, in good time before you get to Witness Statement stage (later).  Defence comes first though and it's a task you MUST do this month.

We win these all the time.  Read the NEWBIES thread post #2 and the TEMPLATE DEFENCE thread. and tell us the date of issue of the claim?

The issue date of the claim is the 7th of Jan this year. According to the template defence thread I now have waited enough days to send this, but it just says 'Print your Defence' which at this point I'm not sure what it is. So at this point should I still send that or email the Subject Access Request (SAR) - the order seems vital yet what I should do first seems different in each link. I'm also not sure if I should respond to online portal at all. I've checked at in order to ask time to prepare a defence I am required to state if I intend to dispute all or some of the charges and again I'm not sure what to put here. Thanks

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th January, you have until Tuesday 26th January to file an Acknowledgment of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an AoS, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an AoS, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 9th February 2021 to file your Defence.

That's almost four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service instructions.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that for filing a Defence.

dilby

Thanks @KeithP - I'm going through the defence doc now. Apologies for my stupid questions, I am finding it quite overwhelming, so appreciate the kind help and patience. Am I right in saying though that either way this will end up in court? I realise these people are cowboys and it goes against this whole forum, but i am under a lot of stress at the moment and my wife is not well; to boot her father went bankrupt when she was young and the idea of CCJ's and court etc is very triggering for her. If I was to pay now would that avoid court? The form itself is confusing in this regard.

Le_Kirk

If you pay you will avoid any further action but you will be funding the PPC for their next victim.  Why do you think you will get a CCJ?  If you have read the NEWBIE sticky and any of the many posts on here, you will see that the ONLY way to get a CCJ from a parking PCN is to go to court, lose and fail to pay within the timescale set by a judge.  Why not complete the defence, you ONLY need to edit paragraphs 2 & 3 and post those on here for help and guidance.  You then submit it and sit back and wait.  If the PPC decides to proceed, come back here for more guidance but also the guidance is already for you in the NEWBIE sticky.