Letter before court action - help respectfully requested

Cloth101

Thank you both for your help. I’ve been reading the Ipserv thread you linked. It seems like a horrendous amount of effort to fight something that is so grossly unfair. I don’t seem to be able to skip to the end of the thread, did the person win their case? 

I assume my options are: 

pay the invoice 
follow the Newbie thread and request a SAR and ask for a 30 day hold 

My question is, what then? If we follow this path and they continue with their claim, what are the chances the case is found in our favour? As Ipserv are run/overseen by the council it feels like a losing battle, but perhaps I’m being too pessimistic? 

Cloth101

Oh my gosh, that second link was a rollercoaster! Thank you for sharing that. 

Redx

It's still ongoing , it's at deadlock stage , but it's still interesting background information about Ipswich council etc

Nobody can predict the outcome of any court hearing case , there are too many unknowns in your case , so asking us to predict an outcome depends on knowing all of the following information

THE landowner contract with the parking company , unredacted
The signage on the site , including pictures
The location of every sign , plus a detailed map , unredacted
Copies of the PCN , unredacted

Checking all details against the relevant CoP
Checking all details against POFA 2012
Checking all details against the CRA 2015
Checking all details against the Barry Beavis case from 2015 and the Supreme court judgment

You pay a lawyer hundreds of pounds to do the above , with no guarantees of success , or do it yourself

We are forbidden by mse to offer legal services advice of any kind , just private opinions

Make of that what you will

Your choices are

1) Payment in full
2) Defending any court claim in full ( a loss in court is approximately £200 , or less )

3) it timing out after 6 years , due to the Limitations Act 1980

Cloth101

Thank you for your help, Redx. I will talk with my partner about this, as it’s him who will have to defend it. I have a feeling he will want to pay it rather than face the hassle (not that we can even afford it!). The way these companies operate is atrocious. 

If I compiled the information you outlined, would I share it on this thread? And that would help gauge the case? 

patient_dream

Cloth101 said:

Thank you for your help, Redx. I will talk with my partner about this, as it’s him who will have to defend it. I have a feeling he will want to pay it rather than face the hassle (not that we can even afford it!). The way these companies operate is atrocious. 

If I compiled the information you outlined, would I share it on this thread? And that would help gauge the case? 

Paying these people will only finance them to hurt OAP's and mums with their kids.

Don't look at it as hassle, it's good fun playing with these money grabbers and getting them spanked in court.  GREAT TO WATCH so stick with it. 

TIP:  The parking companies and their legals hate this forum

D_P_Dance

Have you complained to your MP?

Redx

Cloth101 said:

Thank you for your help, Redx. I will talk with my partner about this, as it’s him who will have to defend it. I have a feeling he will want to pay it rather than face the hassle (not that we can even afford it!). The way these companies operate is atrocious. 

If I compiled the information you outlined, would I share it on this thread? And that would help gauge the case? 

You won't get all the information I outlined , only some of it , or rather your partner , not you , because only he as defendant victim can obtain it , you are merely his P A !! Lol. 🙃🙃

You won't obtain the landowner contract nor the site map etc until a few weeks before any court hearing , at the WS plus Exhibits stage , long after any Defence is submitted

Nothing will change until at least summer 2022 , when the government mandatory CoP kicks in for the Parking Bill 2019 by Sir Greg Knight , the law !

By all means post the rest , redacted to remove Mr Cloths details and any references , VRM details etc , but it will be an incomplete list and an incomplete set of exhibits

When playing poker , the participants don't lay down their hands until called or they have no choice , if they fold. They also don't hold every card either ! Some are in the pack still !

I am afraid that your finances don't enter into it , they issued a £100 invoice which hasn't been paid

If you or your husband issued a £100 invoice for selling something , or for a service , which went unpaid , you would do the same , it's been that way since 1973 ! I remember using the small claims court not long after its inception , for an unpaid bill , eventually I received all of my money , but only after court Bailiffs were used , for a greater sum

It works both ways

Ps , I have no legal training , just experience over a lifetime plus 8 years of assisting on here and helping family and friends fight back ( but at the PCN stage , not the LBC stage or court claim stage )

I would never assess your legal case , but would give an opinion if it was worth fighting , they usually are , due to failures on technicalities

Coupon-mad

It worries me that you haven't yet read the NEWBIES thread 2nd post about how to win in court, otherwise you would have known we win 99% of defended claims.

Nothing to worry about and we have a template defence that takes half an hour to adapt, top of the forum next to the NEWBIES FAQS thread.

Of course it's worth it.

What worries me just as much, is that you have seemingly missed the point about a PCN that arrives after day 14, which can't hold your wife liable.

@Redx explained that the POFA isn't mandatory and straight away you jumped to a wrong conclusion that he meant it's a 'non point' for defence and you now seem to be ready to throw in the towel on a perfectly winnable case.

That's not what he said. Absolutely not, especially if your wife is the keeper snd you were driving,  of course a keeper can't be bound by a non POFA PCN.

You should start by reading the NEWBIES PLEASE READ THESE FAQS FIRST thread, first...because the POFA 2012 thing is fully explained there.

Redx

As above , POFA protects a non driving keeper , so the keeper has no legal liability under POFA if the claimant has failed POFA , meaning no case to answer , a watertight defence , wasn't me driving , I decline to name the driver , the claimant has failed to comply with POFA so please strike out the claim , in my favour as the defendant !!