Smart Parking Ltd/ bwlegal

Milliered

Hello folks,newbie here so please be gentle!
Wondered if I could be given some advice please.
I have looked at the newbies thread for a few days but can't seem to get a grasp of it,not very technical or legally minded!
Last year in June,my young son(10 at the time) had gone away with his grandparents for a few days in Devon,first time since before the pandemic.
Had only been there two days before he became quite poorly and so I decided in the circumstances it would be best to go and pick him up that same day,to help him and to also protect my elderly parents. 
I live in the Midlands and so it was a fare journey. When I picked him up,my wife was quite upset to see how poorly he was so we left,virtually as soon as we got there.
Within 10/15 minutes of starting the return journey,I became aware that I had now got a untrue to top it all off.
I was looking for somewhere I could pull over at the side of the road but the roads were so narrow,it wasn't possible without it being dangerous for both myself and other road users.
Just as I was passing a small car park,my son then started gagging and then choking on his own vomit.
I just panicked and pulled up into the empty car park to deal with the situation of my son choking and the punctured tyre.... It was in the evening,after 20.00
I failed to notice anything about the car park such as signage or pay machines etc.
While my wife cleaned my son up and tended to him to calm him down,I dealt with the flat tyre .
Once we were ready,we left having been there for 36 mins according to the parking charge.
A few weeks later,I received a parking charge notice. This was dated 23 days after the recorded event.
This was the first parking ticket I have ever had and didn't have any idea about this site so before trying to find anything out,I just tried to appeal through them,which was obviously rejected.
I then appealed through popla,again rejected. However,curiously,the adjudicator stated that it was no excuse that I had tried to pay and wasn't able to! That would suggest that I knew that I had to ,and that I had attempted to pay. Which was completely wrong and at no point,did I state I had tried to pay.
In fact the situation that  I found myself in and the stress that it caused me was exactly why I don't even give it a thought to pay.
Moving on 11 months and I then received a Letter before Claim from CAT Law . Total amount outstanding £170.00 and to make payment to Debt recovery plus. So 3 different companies involved.
I unfortunately missed the 30 day deadline to respond so basically just thought there was nothing I can do now anyway.
So,after long,rambling post(sorry) have i:
1) got a valid enough argument as to why I didn't make payment in the first place due to the stressful situation I was in,which caused me to not see any noticed of private parking etc.?
2) is it too late to respond to the LBC that was sent in April 23?

I have tried to find out who the landowner is but to no avail. It looks like it may have been a garage that has ceased trading. In fact,when I have asked on the internet Smart parking has come up on the address!
I am also not sure if the parking charge notice from is even printed out fairly as the print is tiny. Is there anything that states it should be easily readable?
I can post the pictures up of both the pcn and the LBC if requested.
Many thanks

Milliered

Sorry,should be CST law!

Coupon-mad

No need to show us a Smart Parking PCN.  Just wait and see if CST Law try a small claim, and if they do there's no risk in defending and every chance the case will be struck out without a hearing.

Milliered

Hi Coupon-and
Many thanks for your swift reply,I really do appreciate it.
So sit tight and see if they take it further then.
And if they did,do you think the circumstances that led to the parking ticket would be a legitimate arguement in defence.
Sorry for the questions,just a born 2944834 I'm afraid.
Thank you

Milliered

Sorry about the predictive text,really must start proof reading it before I post

Coupon-mad

You certainly have a defence to add to our Template Defence which already covers a lot of ground.

ampersand

Milliered -

To edit a post, tap the 3dots ••• that appear in the top right corner.
This gives you a drop-down option to Edit or Delete. 
Hit Edit. 
Make your corrections, go to the right-hand base of your post and hit Save Comment, in the red box.
It's important for all documents, especially for Court. 🙂

Milliered

Hello Coupon-mad and ampersand
Thank you for the replies and advice.
To be honest,I was starting to wish I had just paid the initial £60 but having read the forum over the last few days and after the advice you have given,I am feeling a little more positive about taking them on.
I will await their next letter then which I assume will be a Letter of claim and then take it from there,is that right?
Sorry for the questions.
ampersand....noted about the editing,cheers.

Many thanks

UncleThomasCobley

Newbies/FAQ thread has all the advice. Ignore any debt collector letters and if/when you get an LBC, re-read the second post in the Newbies/FAQ thread for the next steps.

Fear not, you are dealing with the intellectually malnourished (not so) Smart parking.

Umkomaas

I will await their next letter then which I assume will be a Letter of claim and then take it from there,is that right?

I think you might be waiting a very long time. Smart Parking hardly ever issue court claims. You'd be one of the unluckiest persons alive if one dropped through your letterbox!

Milliered

Hi UncleThomasCobley
Cheers for the reply.
Great description of them!!
I have received an LBC back in April this year but missed the 30 days to repond(loads of stuff going on at the time). So just put it on the backburner and just thought it was too late to do anything about it and to just accept I will be taken to court.
Obviously that was before I started to look into it more of course.
Will have another look through as you suggest,really appreciate the help,time and patience you are all showing me.
Many thanks