CP plus /Moto complaint

mruncleman

Hi all.

I have read newbies thread. There is alot to take in. I have learnt i am to write a complaint email to Moto first but I just want to run by you that it's not shooting myself in the foot.

To give the full story first. 2 years ago I parked in Frankly services m5 North and went to sleep. Not sure how long it was overtime as I just binned all the letters expecting them not to chase me. This has been very successful in the past with other parking tickets but this time I have now received the court claim letter, not the threatening one the actual county court one which I have to respond to. The one with added legal fees which is now at £296 

So my question is how do I word this complaint and I believe i am not to admit I was the driver. 

'dear Moto ,

I am writing to you to complain about a county court letter I have received for the sum of £296, 

This letter refers to a parking fine that was apparently sent out to me 2 years ago. Being 2 years ago I do not know who was driving the vehicle but if it was me then I know i would have only have parked there for something to eat and a nap as at that time I did allot of long distance driving and would only ever pull onto a service station if feeling it is unsafe for me to be on the road due to fatigue.

I feel £296 is an extortionate penalty for the overstay on the car park and this has made me think twice about using your service station again.

Ref number,
My name and address'

Needs work but is the basis correct? 
And even though I have the court letter I am still to complain to the land owner first, then wait until day 12 or so to submit the defence template as response to the court letter?

go-on-then

Have you received a letter from county court business centre in Northampton ? The place that deals with the paperwork side of things,  not an ' actual county court'.

Please read over the Newbies thread as everyone is advised to do to understand what happens when and what to do.

Please read lots and lots of other threads to also give you an idea of how this all works and maybe pick up on other cases similar to yours.  

Wording is important.  
You wouldn't say.. ' but if it was me....'

mruncleman

I think it might be business centre. I will check when I get home. 

So how do I word it? How do I get my point across without admitting I was the driver?

I have read the newbie thread multiple times and lots of other threads. Been reading for hours but cannot find answers to my specific questions. Though I will continue reading I thought no harm in starting new thread

mruncleman

Yes it is the business centre

mruncleman

Also I will state i will update this thread with new info when it becomes available and the end result. Reading through so many threads to find no result is so annoying!

D_P_Dance

Have you seen this?

https://www.legalcheek.com/2017/08/parking-company-sues-top-qc-loses/

Umkomaas

mruncleman said:

Yes it is the business centre

That's the real deal and you mustn't delay the required process in writing to MOTO and waiting for a reply (that may not come). 

Please give us the Date of Issue shown on the claim form and forum regular @KeithP will join the thread with some key dates and actions to get your Defence underway. 

Meantime, send a SAR to CP Plus to get hold of copies of all those letters you have, rather foolishly, thrown in the bin. There's a link to a SAR template in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post.  That second post provides you with a road map to the whole process you will need to follow. 

mruncleman

Issued 21/02/22

Yea I've been driving 15 years now, had many parking tickets over the years and always ignored them. Apart from council issued ones. This is the first time it's not payed off 🤣

mruncleman

So I managed to find an old photo I took of the letter. I entered at 3.10 am and left 5.39am

29 minutes. In the dark. 

Jenni_D

I'm sure @KeithP will correct any mistakes, but

Claim Issue Date = 21-Feb-22
Do the AOS on 28-Feb-22 (i.e. not yet, give it at least 5 days after the issued date)
Then your defence will need to be filed by 4pm on Monday 28-Mar-22

Coupon-mad

mruncleman said:

Issued 21/02/22

Yea I've been driving 15 years now, had many parking tickets over the years and always ignored them. Apart from council issued ones. This is the first time it's not payed off 🤣

Things have changed so don't ignore these now.

Changed in a good way, once a proper appeals service exists in about a year:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333036/breaking-news-government-has-announced-the-statutory-code-of-practice-and-enforcement-framework/p1

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-parking-code-of-practice/private-parking-code-of-practice

You could have had it cancelled with one email at the time, but it's a bit harder at defence stage.  When he stops by the forum, I am sure you will get bespoke advice from @KeithP.