Highview Parking Limited - County Court Claim Letter

Coupon-mad

It's not your winning point but mention it.

Was anyone in the car disabled (and I DON'T just mean a Blue Badge holder, I mean disabled in a way that means they needed more time to shop)?

si_121

No, I can't claim there was but I think even if there were, I would have difficulty using this as my defence as the shops closed at 8pm and I did not leave the carpark until 9:30pm.

On a side note, it's very frustrating that the parking restrictions are in place 24 hours a day, even when the shops are closed.  Obviously this is an irrelevant point...just one that bugs me.

si_121

I should probably add that I went to speak to B&Q to get some form of witness statement after receiving the charge notice and they said they took my details and said they would contact HPL.  When I wrote to HPL, I asked them to advise if they had been contacted by B&Q and they never answered the question.

Coupon-mad

Send a SAR to B&Q after you've done your defence, requiring them to show you  emails and file notes held by staff locally or head office about your complaint that mention you/your car or the PCN number and their efforts made (if any) to cancel it with (name the parking firm) in (year)

si_121

Update - DCB Legal have advised that they intend to proceed with the claim. 

I am obviously keen to avoid going to court (although I always knew it was a possibility) so I wondered whether anybody can advise if it may be better to make an offer to the debt recovery company?  

Also, what is the most likely result of a court hearing?  If I lose, will the fine be as much as most recently requested by the PPC?

Thanks in advance for any advice. 

KeithP

si_121 said:

Update - DCB Legal have advised that they intend to proceed with the claim. 

You were expecting that, weren't you?
That checklist you were following when you filed your Defence includes...

Keep following the guidance in that checklist and in the second post of the NEWBIES thread.

si_121

Thanks KeithP.

I’ve now received the Small Claims Directions Questionnaire from the Northampton Business Centre and will continue to use the guidance from The Newbies Thread to complete this.

However before I do, I am a bit worried about any potential hearing as it was only recently that I started using the advice provided here.  As stated in my original post, I initially wrote to the PPC company and then went down the route of ignoring their letters for about 5 years.  

Other than speaking to a general manager at B&Q regarding my conversation with their security guard on the night in question (which as people have already pointed out, is hearsay) and taking a grainy image of one of the signs, I have very little evidence to support my defence/put in my witness statement. 

With the above in mind, whilst the advice provided is to select “NO” to mediation - could this potentially be a good option for weak cases or would the claimant settle for no less than the full amount on the claim form anyway?

There is some conflicting information on a couple of the posts here which I would love to be clarified.  

On the thread ‘Template defence to adapt for all parking costs where they add false admin costs’, it states the following at the end of the first post:

“you want a hearing and you can claim your costs if you win, and you risk nothing (no CCJ, no huge costs) by defending, because if you were among the handful who report a loss here you'd have 30 days to pay and it would be less than on the claim form (£175 - £200 total)”

However, on the ‘Court Claim Procedure’ thread, it states if the judge finds for the claimant, “you will have to pay the amount on the Claim Form, plus a hearing fee (£25 if the claim is under £300)”

Ultimately, what I’m trying to avoid is a court hearing if it’s likely that I would lose the case and have to pay the full amount on the recent Claim Form, plus £25 for the hearing fee and having to take a day off work for the pleasure. 

si_121

Can I also just check how I submit the Directions Questionnaire. The accompanying “Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track” states that this must completed and filed with the court office by the 30th June. Does this need to be posted and if so, do I need to ensure it is with them by the 30th (as opposed to me posting it on the 30th)?

also, the notice states I must serve copies on all other parties.  Forgive my naivety but how do I do this?

KeithP

si_121 said:

Can I also just check how I submit the Directions Questionnaire. The accompanying “Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track” states that this must completed and filed with the court office by the 30th June. Does this need to be posted and if so, do I need to ensure it is with them by the 30th (as opposed to me posting it on the 30th)?

also, the notice states I must serve copies on all other parties.  Forgive my naivety but how do I do this?

'filed with the court office by 30th June' means it needs to be filed with the court office by 30th June.
Did I really need to write that?

Can I once again please refer you back to that checklist I mentioned just a few days ago - on 6 June at 11:26PM? I see that you have quoted from that very same post today.

You will find that items 8, 9 and 10 on that checklist answer your current questions.

si_121

KeithP said:

si_121 said:

Can I also just check how I submit the Directions Questionnaire. The accompanying “Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track” states that this must completed and filed with the court office by the 30th June. Does this need to be posted and if so, do I need to ensure it is with them by the 30th (as opposed to me posting it on the 30th)?

also, the notice states I must serve copies on all other parties.  Forgive my naivety but how do I do this?

'filed with the court office by 30th June' means it needs to be filed with the court office by 30th June.
Did I really need to write that?

Can I once again please refer you back to that checklist I mentioned just a few days ago - on 6 June at 11:26PM? I see that you have quoted from that very same post today.

You will find that items 8, 9 and 10 on that checklist answer your current questions.

You’re quite right, apologies.  Although you have to appreciate that the threads here contain a lot of information with numerous links embedded, so sometimes things get missed.  

As for filing the questionnaire, I have no experience of the court system so whilst the answer to my question may seem obvious, I just want to make sure I’m doing things correctly.  Thanks for making me feel thick though.