JBL123 vs. Excel Parking

JBL123

Afternoon All,

I have read all of the Newbie posts and lots of other reference threads but still think I have a daft question to ask! I'm sorry if it's covered elsewhere but I honestly can't figure it out.

I received an invoice from Excel last year as I incorrectly keyed my VRM. I've appealed via. Excel and the IAS and failed on both occasions. I'm the registered keeper of the vehicle and have also confirmed I was the driver at the time (maybe an error in hindsight).

I subsequently received letters titled 'Demand for Payment' followed by a 'Final Demand' which I ignored.

I have now received a 'Letter Before Claim' from Excel Parking dated 02/03/22 which contains an Annex 1 Information Sheet and Reply Form plus Annex 2 Financial Statement. It has a 30 day deadline to respond.

I've ready the Newbie post and it appears my next step is to raise a SAR which i'll do.

My daft question is: Do I have to complete the Annex 1 Reply Form and post it back to them at this stage? Or do I do nothing?
Am I getting mixed up with a formal court Letter Before Claim.

Thanks, John 

KeithP

JBL123 said:

I have now received a 'Letter Before Claim' from Excel Parking dated 02/03/22 which contains an Annex 1 Information Sheet and Reply Form plus Annex 2 Financial Statement. It has a 30 day deadline to respond.

I've ready the Newbie post and it appears my next step is to raise a SAR which i'll do.

My daft question is: Do I have to complete the Annex 1 Reply Form and post it back to them at this stage? Or do I do nothing?
Am I getting mixed up with a formal court Letter Before Claim.

Thanks, John 

Hello and welcome.

Yes, send a SAR to the Claimant.

In the first few paragraphs of the second post of the NEWBIES thread it says...

You already have the nearest thing to a 'formal court Letter Before Claim'. 

As also described in that NEWBIES post, now is the time to send a email to Excel instructing them to delay things for thirty days as you are seeking debt advice.

JBL123

Keith, thanks you, yes I read that paragraph and the thing that confused me was the term 'Real' LBC, I thought that meant one issued by the courts, I wasn't sure.

Righteo ... the guide said to email the solicitor which confused me. There is no solicitor in this case as the letter is recieved from Excels Litigation Department. 

To be clear, I don't fill in the forms they have sent, I simply email them (litigation@excelparking.co.uk):

(a) I am seeking debt advice but I deny any debt and the case must be put 'on hold' for not less than 30 days under the PAP for debt claims 2017.
(b) I have also sent your data protection officer a SAR

Umkomaas

Excel often work on their own rather than through a solicitor (although you might see other Excel threads where they do use solicitors - Elms Legal).  Whichever way round, you deal with them in exactly the same way. You are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by their non-use of solicitors. 

D_P_Dance

FWIIW  I very much doubt that, if they are daft enough to take this to court, they will prevail.  It is a trifling matter, read this

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de minimis

and judges take a di view of PPCs wasting court time.  Have you complained to your MP, it someomes results in a cancellation.  

JBL123

Court papers received .... time to do some more reading! 

KeithP

JBL123 said:

Court papers received .... time to do some more reading! 

Does that mean you have received a County Court Claim Form, or perhaps something else?

If you have a Claim Form, please tell us the Issue Date on it?

JBL123

I've received a County Court Claim form (N1SDT) from Northampton.

Issue date 31/05/22.

Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. 

I think the next step is to acknowledge the service before preparing a defence?

The initial charge was £100, they've added £70 'debt collection costs' so the amount claimed is £170.

Plus £35 court fee and £50 legal representative costs.

KeithP

JBL123 said:

I've received a County Court Claim form (N1SDT) from Northampton.

Issue date 31/05/22.

Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. 

I think the next step is to acknowledge the service before preparing a defence?

With a Claim Issue Date of 31st May, you have until Monday 20th June to file an Acknowledgment of Service. Do not file an Acknowledgment of Service before 4th June, but otherwise there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

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

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 4th July 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over 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.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

JBL123

Thanks you, all understood.

Just out of interest, what's the reason behind submitting by email? 

Mouse007

JBL123 said:

Thanks you, all understood.

Just out of interest, what's the reason behind submitting by email? 

Because you have not only proof of sending but also proof of delivery - postman Pat it, well who knows?