Parking ticket from ncp is now at £170 after failing appeal

Hajr200

I’ve just had a ‘claim form’ through. I’ve had a look through the newbie thread, once it’s reached this stage is it too late to send an email? Does a ‘claim form’ mean that I need to go to court or pay the fine? (£255 now).

Umkomaas

So that forum regular @KeithP can provide you with some key dates and early steps to take to get things underway - what is the Date of Issue shown on your Court Claim form, and have you acknowledged service (AOS) of the claim, and if so, on what date?  If you haven't yet done so, you need to do that between days 6 and 19 following the Date of Issue on your court claim form. 

Is there a solicitor involved, if so which one please?

once it’s reached this stage is it too late to send an email?

What email, and to whom?

Hajr200

It was issued on the 6th of December.

I’m not totally sure what you mean by acknowledging service but I haven’t spoken to any one about the letter other than this forum.

In regards to the email; I saw a template to send to the solicitors on the newbies thread but I wasn’t sure if that was the right course of action now I’ve received a claim form. 

The legal firm is BE Legal

Hajr200

Sorry that’s BW Legal

Coupon-mad

Hajr200 said:

It was issued on the 6th of December.

I’m not totally sure what you mean by acknowledging service but I haven’t spoken to any one about the letter other than this forum.

The NEWBIES thread tells you how to acknowledge service and defend a claim.

I don't understand why you stopped reading it at the stage you are not at?!  The LBC email advice (which is not your stage) clearly says do not do the LBC response email if you have a claim.

Then it tells you what to do with a claim.  That's the part to read.

KeithP

Hajr200 said:

I’ve just had a ‘claim form’ through.

Hajr200 said:

It was issued on the 6th of December.
I’m not totally sure what you mean by acknowledging service...

With a Claim Issue Date of 6th December, you have until Thursday 28th December to file an Acknowledgment of Service but 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 8th January 2024 to file your Defence.

That's 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 guidance.

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'.

Hajr200

Hello,

I've written up a defense for paragraph 3 in the template defence. I've given a brief description 

In November 2022 the defendant parked in the Bolton Cheapside car park. The defendant purchased a ticket for the maximum length of time from the ticket machine in the centre of the car park. Before the ticket ran out, they purchased an overlapping ticket to see them through to the end of the workday. Sometime later the defendant received a letter from NCP for a PCN charge. The letter simply stated that the defendant did not have a parking ticket to cover the time they were parked. It did not state, as the defendant later found out, that the tickets purchased were for the directly adjacent car park (the parking metre being in between the two car parks). This was only made clear to the defendant after making a POPLA appeal, obviously a mistake had been made but since the defendant appealed the charge had now doubled to what felt like an unacceptable amount. The defendant intended to commit no wrongdoing and had paid for a parking ticket. The amount currently being claimed (£255) is malicious and surely catches out many individuals who also intend to commit no wrong doing.

I've had a look on google maps and its definitely a !!!!!! up on my part as i just went to the first ticket machine i saw and there is an NCP one with a sign (in luminous yellow) that i just missed. Concerned that theyve got a strong case against me and im gonna be out of pocket for a missed day of work on top of the charge. Obviously dont want to pay it but i dont want to be fighting a futile fight.

Honesty is appreciated.

Cheers

Le_Kirk

Hajr200 said:

I've written up a defense for paragraph 3 in the template defence. I've given a brief description 

In November 2022 the defendant parked in the Bolton Cheapside car park. The defendant purchased a ticket for the maximum length of time from the ticket machine in the centre of the car park. Before the ticket ran out, they purchased an overlapping ticket to see them through to the end of the workday. Sometime later the defendant received a letter from NCP for a PCN charge. The letter simply stated that the defendant did not have a parking ticket to cover the time they were parked. It did not state, as the defendant later found out, that the tickets purchased were for the directly adjacent car park (the parking metre meter being in between the two car parks). This was only made clear to the defendant after making a POPLA appeal, obviously a mistake had been made but since the defendant appealed the charge had now doubled to what felt like an unacceptable amount. The defendant intended to commit no wrongdoing and had paid for a parking ticket. The amount currently being claimed (£255) is malicious and surely catches out many individuals who also intend to commit no wrong doing.

I've had a look on google maps and its definitely a !!!!!! up on my part as i just went to the first ticket machine i saw and there is an NCP one with a sign (in luminous yellow) that i just missed. Concerned that theyve got a strong case against me and im gonna be out of pocket for a missed day of work on top of the charge. Obviously dont want to pay it but i dont want to be fighting a futile fight.

Important to use correct spelling when submitting you defence to court/CNBC especially as you got it right once and wrong once!  I don't think that "unacceptable amounts" or the fact that you didn't intend to commit any wrongdoing [not commit no wrongdoing] or "malicious amounts" is a good defence especially as there has been no wrongdoing anyway; it was a parking event not a criminal offence!  I see a better defence in the parking company deliberately placing the PDT in between the two car parks, inviting any motorists to fall into their trap!

Hajr200

I’ve been sent a letter stating they wish to take it to court. The figure currently stands at £255 and if the judge rules against me the letter says I could also have to pay additional costs. Is there a decent chance of me winning this or getting the balance reduced? If I’m just going to end up paying more I’d rather just cut my losses now. 

Coupon-mad

Hajr200 said:

I’ve been sent a letter stating they wish to take it to court. The figure currently stands at £255 and if the judge rules against me the letter says I could also have to pay additional costs. Is there a decent chance of me winning this or getting the balance reduced? If I’m just going to end up paying more I’d rather just cut my losses now. 

Eh? There are no extra costs and even if it went to a hearing and you lost, it would be LESS than £255.

This is already stated in the NEWBIES thread.  This is why everyone defends. No risk. Sounds like they lied to you.

Stop being spooked by each letter.