County Court Fine PLEASE HELP

Mollyc977

Advice please...(sorry it's long)

I received a parking time last May after overstaying a beach car park for 20 minutes. I lost one of my contact lenses whilst on the beach and did not have my glasses with me so couldn't drive. I had to ring my insurance and get my boyfriend on my policy before we could leave the car park and after the stress of it all I didn't even think about that I may have potentially gone over the hour that I paid for. When I received the fine from SIP parking I appealed it and this was denied. I then appealed to the IAS and this was also denied. I then received a couple of letters to pay the fine, however, I ignored them. Fast forward 6 months and I have rexeived a letter from the "county court business centre" in Northhampton with a £195 fine (£100 fine, £65 debt costs and £30 court fees. I have submitted an acknowledgement with my intention to defend against this charge but I have no idea where to start?! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My main concern is getting a CCJ on my credit file as I am soon applying for a mortgage!

I Have read the NEWBIES thread but I really don't understand. I have also asked for some advice on a FB group and they have advised me to seek legal advice which I can't really afford to do.

Thank you

Half_way

This is not a fine, and of you act correctly you will not get a CCJ.
 who's cat park was it?
Its the drivers id known to the parking company?

Le_Kirk

If you have read the NEWBIE sticky second post you will have seen that you use the template defence and add your rebuttal of the claim in two paragraphs (2 & 3).  Post those two paragraphs here for critique and then add the rest of the template back before submitting it, in line with the instructions in the template defence.  Do NOT try to file a defence on MCOL.  Keep your defence short, punchy and use technical/legal arguments (look up vicissitude on the forum) and you can supply the full story at witness statement stage.

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?
Your MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

Mollyc977

Hi both,

Thank you for both responses, much appreciated.

Issue date - 08/06/22
AOS filed - 18/06/22

Do you think I have a good defence? 

Mollyc977

Half_way said:

This is not a fine, and of you act correctly you will not get a CCJ.
 who's cat park was it?
Its the drivers id known to the parking company?

SIP Parking, Lligway Beach Anglesey

Fruitcake

Yer tiz. Image capture date, December 2021. Spot how easy it is to read the Ts and Cs on the signs.

Wales - Google Maps

I suggest you defend as keeper and one of two drivers, but deny liability.

This is interesting. One person drove in, and a different one drove out. With whom was the parking contract made?
When did the first driver's contract with the PPC end, and the second begin? 
The first driver would have entered into a contract with the PPC when they arrived, but at the point where they were no longer capable of being the driver due to (effectively) a medical issue, then the second driver would have taken over responsibility of adhering to the contract. 

Add in frustration of contract because driver one became incapacitated, and you have the basics of your para 3 in my opinion.

KeithP

Mollyc977 said:

Issue date - 08/06/22
AOS filed - 18/06/22

With a Claim Issue Date of 18th June, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 11th July 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over two 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 at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline 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'.

Mollyc977

 

KeithP said:

Mollyc977 said:

Issue date - 08/06/22
AOS filed - 18/06/22

With a Claim Issue Date of 18th June, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 11th July 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over two 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 at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline 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'.

Thank you very much, fingers crossed! Once I have completed by defence is it ok to post on this forum for advice before emailing?

Mollyc977

Fruitcake said:

Yer tiz. Image capture date, December 2021. Spot how easy it is to read the Ts and Cs on the signs.


I suggest you defend as keeper and one of two drivers, but deny liability.

This is interesting. One person drove in, and a different one drove out. With whom was the parking contract made?
When did the first driver's contract with the PPC end, and the second begin? 
The first driver would have entered into a contract with the PPC when they arrived, but at the point where they were no longer capable of being the driver due to (effectively) a medical issue, then the second driver would have taken over responsibility of adhering to the contract. 

Add in frustration of contract because driver one became incapacitated, and you have the basics of your para 3 in my opinion.

ThanIs for this - really helpful. When I initially appealed by claim their argument was that regardless of the situation I still had time to go and purchase another ticket for the overstay. I suppose they have a point but I still feel like this is completely unjust given the situation! I will start to compile together my defence and hopefully win

KeithP

Mollyc977 said:

 

KeithP said:

Mollyc977 said:

Issue date - 08/06/22
AOS filed - 18/06/22

With a Claim Issue Date of 18th June, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 11th July 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over two 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 at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline 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'.

Once I have completed by defence is it ok to post on this forum for advice before emailing?

Yes of course, but only the paragraphs in the template that you have changed please.

You need to be reading lots of other threads and you will see that everybody does that.