CCBC letter from hotel car park

lincoln_dj

I've received a letter from the County Court Business Centre (CCBC), I've never heard of them - are they a legit branch of the courts?

How likely am I to be able to get away with (or reduce the cost) of this now it's at this stage?

Here's the details:

• Parked at a Holiday Inn by mistake. Was visiting a Hilton which is next door, to view a wedding venue. Parked in a small car park belonging to Holiday Inn, didn't realise til we were walking away from the car. Was running late for the viewing so figured "it'll be ok for 20-30 minutes". An honest mistake.
• Got 2 letters from ParkingEye. No longer have them, but from memory the first was a typical "invoice" offering a lower payment if paid within xx number of days. And the second letter included forms asking how much I earned etc. I ignored these, since I've ignored similar in the past and they've gone away.
  Should I have had a NTK first??
• I've now got this CCBC letter, which looks more official. I've already missed the 14-days in which to reply as I was working away (I have proof of this). 

Actions I've taken so far:

• Called the number on the CCBC letter to see about having an extension to the 14-day deadline in the letter (due to my working away til yesterday). The phone line was next to useless.
• I tried to contact Parking Eye directly, to perhaps negotiate and pay the original fee (would tell them this CCBC letter is the first I've heard of this - "you know what Royal Mail are like eh..."). Parking Eye were also useless. Their WhatsApp chat bot only gives me options to pay or appeal. 
  Same goes when I tried a couple of different phone numbers for Parking Eye - only automated options to pay or appeal. Could find no way of speaking to an actual person.

I'm thinking of writing a letter (mail seems like the only option for this) to the CCBC, telling them this is the first I'm hearing of this, and due to my mitigating circumstance (working away) can I have more time to decide what to do / obtain any evidence.

I've browsed the NEWBIES thread, but it all seems geared towards the earlier stages - any tips on what I should do next please?? 

I'm going to visit the hotel later, see if I can appeal to anyone's softer side, although I suspect it's now too late for the hotel to do anything now the CCBC are involved...

Could I tell them it wasn't me driving? Get them to resend the original fine to my partner, who could pay the initial reduced sum?

Many thanks in advanced guys. 

p00hsticks

lincoln_dj said:

I've received a letter from the County Court Business Centre (CCBC), I've never heard of them - are they a legit branch of the courts?

County Court Business Centre (CCBC) - Find a Court or Tribunal - GOV.UK (find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk)

Umkomaas

What is the Date of Issue shown on the court claim form please (top r/h side)?

Could I tell them it wasn't me driving? Get them to resend the original fine to my partner, who could pay the initial reduced sum?

Do you know Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce?  Anyway, now that court proceedings have commenced, you cannot transfer liability, even if you were prepared to lie wanted to.

Coupon-mad

County Court Business Centre (CCBC), I've never heard of them - are they a legit branch of the courts?

Yes, you have a court claim.  Easy to defend 

Could I tell them it wasn't me driving? Get them to resend the original fine to my partner, who could pay the initial reduced sum?

Nope, not now.  Easy to see off, though.  But not by post and certainly NOT writing about mitigating circumstances - eeek no!

We have a Template Defence.

What is the Date of Issue shown on the court claim form please (top r/h side)?

lincoln_dj

Umkomaas said:

What is the Date of Issue shown on the court claim form please (top r/h side)?

Could I tell them it wasn't me driving? Get them to resend the original fine to my partner, who could pay the initial reduced sum?

Do you know Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce?  Anyway, now that court proceedings have commenced, you cannot transfer liability, even if you were prepared to lie wanted to.

Issue date is 19th July. I would have to get the letter to them on Monday to meet the 14 days (that starts 5 days after issue)

I believe the Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce thing was for speeding points, which is different IMHO.

lincoln_dj

Coupon-mad said:

County Court Business Centre (CCBC), I've never heard of them - are they a legit branch of the courts?

Yes, you have a court claim.  Easy to defend 

Could I tell them it wasn't me driving? Get them to resend the original fine to my partner, who could pay the initial reduced sum?

Nope, not now.  Easy to see off, though.  But not by post and certainly NOT writing about mitigating circumstances - eeek no!

We have a Template Defence.

What is the Date of Issue shown on the court claim form please (top r/h side)?

Thankyou for your reply, that's good to know (about the defence, not that they're legit lol)

Date of issue for the court claim is 19th July. Means Monday is the last day to send the acknowledgment of service and get the extension. Would like to think I can have more time since I've only just got back in the country yesterday...

Which is the template defence for this please? I've only found ones for earlier challenges so far (eg. found this: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/71287626#Comment_71287626)

Cheers!

Umkomaas

I believe the Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce thing was for speeding points, which is different IMHO.

That was the base, but they both went to jail for him passing liability for the offence to her, and she accepting it.  I'm afraid 'IMHO' doesn't really count where the law is concerned. Now you're in the court process, everything you put before the court will be under a signed Statement of Truth. But we've got your back covered to ensure you don't blow any toes off! 🙂

Coupon-mad

The Template Defence is a sticky thread.

It's also linked in the NEWBIES thread second post that you must read to find out that you don't send any letters and that there are a few stages of paperwork (not just defence, and never sent by post) before you hopefully win.

Please stop trying to ring ParkingEye.

YankeeBrit

lincoln_dj said:

Called the number on the CCBC letter to see about having an extension to the 14-day deadline in the letter (due to my working away til yesterday). The phone line was next to useless.

• I tried to contact Parking Eye directly, to perhaps negotiate and pay the original fee (would tell them this CCBC letter is the first I've heard of this - "you know what Royal Mail are like eh..."). 

I'm thinking of writing a letter (mail seems like the only option for this) to the CCBC, telling them this is the first I'm hearing of this, and due to my mitigating circumstance (working away) can I have more time to decide what to do / obtain any evidence.

If you're telling us that you received the claim a while ago but have only returned from being away, you will need to answer the questions above. What is the "issue date" of the claim form?

Add 19 days to the "Issue date" and if that date has since passed, you are in serious danger of already having a CCJ issued by default.

Umkomaas

Issue date is 19th July. I would have to get the letter to them on Monday to meet the 14 days (that starts 5 days after issue)

Yep, get the Acknowledgment of Service (AOS) to the CCBC during office hours on Monday (you could try over the weekend if you want to, but there have been weekend delivery/receipt issues previously). Whenever you do it, make sure you receive the vital auto-receipt email by return. 

Once the AOS is in, that will provide another 14 days to assemble and submit your Defence. Forum regular @KeithP will be along later to give you your key deadline dates, and some initial advice in getting your Defence underway. 

KeithP

lincoln_dj said:

Date of issue for the court claim is 19th July. Means Monday is the last day to send the acknowledgment of service and get the extension. Would like to think I can have more time since I've only just got back in the country yesterday...

You don't need more time.

With a Claim Issue Date of 19th July, you have until 4pm on Monday 7th August to file an Acknowledgment of Service. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread. An Acknowledgment of Service can be filed at any time of the day or night as long as you meet the 4pm on Monday 7th August deadline.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 21st August 2023 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 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'.