Thank you - Notice of discontinuance received

sowb269

I just wanted to post a thank you to all of the contributors to this forum. Having followed the advice, I have just received a "Letter of Discontinuance" after 18 months of fighting.
I had parked up in a car park 'policed' by Excel Parking Services". I had 3 passengers who left the 'site' to sit a driving theory test, I went to the cinema to buy tickets and then went to McDonalds, both of which are on 'site' to wait for them to return. I paid cash and did not have any receipts. A parking attendant 'observed the driver leaving site'.
I did the online appeal to Excel and then IAS (which despite the acronym, are far from independent). I wrote to my MP who wrote to the MD of Excel and also to Savilles who were the land owners. Throughout this process I received the red warning letters asking for £60, £100, £160, rising to £235 including admin and court costs. Excel sent their own version of a 'Letter before Claim" which I ignored. They then got ELMS Legal to write to me to try to put some more pressure on me. They then served a genuine "Letter Before Claim". I followed all advice on the forum about the general defence letter with added costs plus my own unique defence circumstances. I received the court letters back and a date for the hearing was set.
During this process, infuriatingly, ELMS Legal sent another letter "Without Prejudice Save as to Costs" letter, offering me a reduced cost of £135 to settle to "save the court's precious time" which I thought was ironic as it could have been settled MUCH earlier than this. I obviously declined / ignored.
Yesterday, I received a "Notice of Discontinuance" from ELMS Legal. 
So, to anybody going through this charade of a process, please stick with it. It works and if you are in the right, see it through to the end. I have had many a late / sleepless night over this but the 'win' has made it all worth it.
Thank you again to all the contributors!!

Redx

Well done , the sc#ms know no bounds , especially the so called leaving site one !!

People who park and go about legitimate private business on or near a public place shouldn't have to put up with this

Elms legal dropped it because Excel were not prepared to proceed on such a shaky one , especially after their recent VCS or Excel court losses

Castle

sowb269 said:

I just wanted to post a thank you to all of the contributors to this forum. Having followed the advice, I have just received a "Letter of Discontinuance" after 18 months of fighting.
I had parked up in a car park 'policed' by Excel Parking Services". I had 3 passengers who left the 'site' to sit a driving theory test, I went to the cinema to buy tickets and then went to McDonalds, both of which are on 'site' to wait for them to return. I paid cash and did not have any receipts. A parking attendant 'observed the driver leaving site'.

If the Driver didn't leave the site, then your details have been unlawfully obtained.

D_P_Dance

They have wasted  your time now aste theirs, read this

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

D_P_Dance

Leaving site us problematic anyway   Supposing your new £300 Panama was blown off site, would you not run after it?t

Timeouts

Well done, it's all a game of musical chairs, you played the game and grabbed the last chair.
VCS LOST

Driver left site is such a pathetic reason

D_P_Dance

It iss also probably an unfair term in a consumer contract.

Coupon-mad

Brilliant news!  ANOTHER EXCEL ONE BITES THE DUST!

Now, please play your part and stick around here this Summer as this is important whether you are in England, Wales or Scotland:

Do come back regularly in August (please) to take part in the Government Consultation about the level of private parking charges and the proposed Appeals 'Charter' that should result in cancelled PCNs but at the moment, fails to do that and just incentivises PPCs to issue PCNs anyway, briefly offer twenty quid then rack it back up and pile on the pressure. 

The Appeals Charter is absolutely not acceptable in its current format which is effectively:

 'let us have £20 anyway even though the ticket was spurious, and if you don't pay up within xx days then we'll hike it back to full price, and add imaginary 'recovery costs' that we've never actually incurred, let alone paid... then we'll drag you to court months/years later, or get you a CCJ by default for a PCN the Government might think we've kind of cancelled.'

I believe the MHCLG will be asking about that, as well as the level of parking charges.  I read it in an article somewhere over the weekend so I hope the Appeals Charter will be one of the questions for the public.  

The MHCLG have listened so far - look what we've achieved already:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6252788/victory-for-motorists-mhclg-caps-parking-charges-at-50-80-in-london-with-mandatory-50-discount/p1

Come and join in the final push for fairness and to end the stranglehold that this greedy industry has had over motorists.  Come back and see when we post about the Public Consultation once it opens.  Be all over it!  

Snakes_Belly

Well done in sticking to your guns and not giving in to this pack of bullies.

VCS and Excel are having a bad spell what with the £1500 that they had to pay out and the other recent cases. 

Timeouts

Snakes_Belly said:

Well done in sticking to your guns and not giving in to this pack of bullies.

VCS and Excel are having a bad spell what with the £1500 that they had to pay out and the other recent cases. 

It cannot get any better for them .... even worse with the new code and appeals service is working

Coupon-mad

I really hope the contract for the Single Appeals Service is given to a competent body like TPT or London Councils.  No idea who is pitching for it but you can imagine that POPLA, the IAS and possibly Wright Hassall (all of whom have failed the public) or even roboclaim solicitors might be trying to make it look like they are competent to run an ADR and are independent. Sigh.

After all the effort, that's my worst nightmare that the Government award it to a party that is not independent or fair.  I truly hope a decent party has put itself forward.