Disabled parking fine...Court letter received

Moonella

HI, I need some help. I parked in a retail car parking space in August and forgot to display my blue badge. My car was not registered as disabled at the time but it is now. I have physical conditions where I get brain fog and am in alot of pain. The brain fog/pain makes me forget things. I simply forgot to display the Blue Badge. I have had parking fines before from private companies but not for not displaying a blue badge and they have simply gone away. 

However I now have a Court Claim form from DCB legal representing Parking Eye. And have 14 days to sort the form out. If I go to pay am I still liable for the £260 (the original parking fine is £175), or how do I defend this? Can anyone point me to the defence section as I dont do well with researching etc, obviously due to my conditions I have a low attention threshold, or just let me know what is the best way to go about this. I dont want a CCJ.

Moonella

The Particulars of Claim are as follows:

1. The defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicke  (MY REG) at Cockhedge Shopping Centre.
2. The PCN(s) were issued on 03/08/2023
3. The defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the terms on the signs (the contract). Reason : Failure TO Display Blue Badge
4. In the alternative the defendant is pursued as the keeper persuant to POFA2012, Schedule 4
AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS
1 £170 being the total of the PCN(s) and damages
2. Interest at a rate of 8%per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from thje date hereof at a daily rate of £.03 until judgement or sooner payment
3. Costs and court fees

Fruitcake

It is not a fine.

Do not fill in the forms on the claim.

Please tell us the issue date on the claim form.

Plan A is always a complaint to the landowner and your MP. Do it asap.

For the claim, complete the Acknowledgment of Service asap. Use the guide to court written by bargepole that you will find in the second post of the NEWBIES sticky Announcement you will find at the top of the main parking forum page where you clicked on the New Thread button.

For the defence, use the template defence template (all of it) that you will find in the sticky Announcements at the top of the main parking forum page.

Moonella

Thank you, the issue date is the  9th Jan 2024. By it is not a fine, do you mean it is an an invoice?

Fruitcake

Moonella said:

Thank you, the issue date is the  9th Jan 2024. By it is not a fine, do you mean it is an an invoice?

Yes. Only an authority, which an unregulated private parking company is not, can issue a fine.

Hopefully, @KeithP will be along to give you some useful dates in the near future.

I had to rush off and didn't get the chance to finish my previous post.

I suggest you also contact ParkingEye direct asap, and attach a copy of your disabled badge (and include the PCN and claim number) advising them of the information below.

To PE, and all your complaints, and in you defence, you should refer to the Equality Act 2010. Service providers (I find it sickening to refer to parking companies as such) are required by law to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities that are classed as protected characteristics by the Act. Your brain fog is a disability and therefore comes under the classification of protected characteristics.
ParkingEye and their agents, and the landowner/landholder that employed PE are all required by law to anticipate the needs of disabled motorists as defined by the Act. By failing to anticipate that a person with a cognitive disability might forget to display a disable badge, they have caused indirect discrimination, and committed a criminal offence.
Once they are aware of the disability, continuing to pursue you becomes direct discrimination, and a further criminal offence.

In all your complaints, and your defence, you need to refer to the EA2010 and state the above. Remind the landowner they they and their agents are jointly liable for the actions of their agents, and are therefore leaving themselves open to criminal charges.

In addition, the blue badge scheme does not apply on private land, but the EA 2010 does. An absence of a disabled badge is not an absence of disability. 

Half_way

Do as Fruitcake mentions above, post what you intend to say on here first so it can be checked.

Also whos car park was this and where was it?

 Its never too late for a landowner complaint making sure that they are reminded that they are jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agents , in this case the parking company

Moonella

It was Cockhedge Car Park in Warrington. Parking Eye.

Moonella

@Fruitcake, what do you mean, do you fill in the forms on the claim? Do I just fill out the Acknowledgement of Serivce, do it online or do nothing and contact the retail centre manager first? Sorry, a bit confused.

KeithP

Moonella said:

I now have a Court Claim form from DCB legal representing Parking Eye.

Moonella said:

The issue date is the  9th Jan 2024.

With a Claim Issue Date of 9th January, you have until Monday 29th January to file an Acknowledgment of Service.  Do not file an Acknowledgment of Service before 13th January, but otherwise 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 12th February 2024 to file your Defence.

That's over 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'.

Trainerman

Moonella said:

@Fruitcake, what do you mean, do you fill in the forms on the claim? Do I just fill out the Acknowledgement of Serivce, do it online or do nothing and contact the retail centre manager first? Sorry, a bit confused.

You really need to thoroughly read the 'Newbies' (pinned thread) and really understand the process, what happens when and how you respond.

Fruitcake

Moonella said:

@Fruitcake, what do you mean, do you fill in the forms on the claim? Do I just fill out the Acknowledgement of Serivce, do it online or do nothing and contact the retail centre manager first? Sorry, a bit confused.

You make the complaints first, asap, including the so very important comments about the breaches of the Equality Act, and the landowner's joint liability for this, and possible criminal charges being brought against them if the parking charge is not cancelled.
A landowner cancellation is the best way to get rid of this, but there is no guarantee they will do the decent thing.

You do not fill in anything on the claim form.

The claim form from the Northampton Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) will have included details on how to set up a Government Gateway and Login details including a password. Do not share this with anyone, but once you have set up your Gateway, this will then give you a Money Claim Online (MCOL) account.
Use this to complete the Acknowledgment of Service (AoS). As already advised, do not use the MCOL account to submit the defence.

Once you have done that, you can start on your defence, but you must do the complaints first, then the AoS.