Claim Form received - please can I check I've understood the advice on here properly

SBS_88

Morning

I stupidly ignored a PCN from Civil Enforcement Ltd a couple of years ago and I have now received a claim form. The issue date on the form is 15/05/2024. I was prepared to just pay it (£283.39) to make it go away - albeit in instalments as I'm already struggling with debt - but after reading the info on here, it sounds like that would be the wrong thing to do. 

I just wanted to check I understand what I'm doing now - do I have to acknowledge the form online by 3 June and then submit my defence (editing part 3) by email by 1 July? 

I've got a couple of questions:

1. I really have no defence. I didn't realise it was a car park you had to pay for at the time but I've been back and there is signage so it's just my mistake. Therefore, I don't understand what my actual defence is meant to be in part 3 of the defence template. 
2. There's some blurb on the claim form that says 'if this claim results in a judgement order against you, details will be entered in to a public register'. Does this mean that if you defend the claim and lose, you will still get a CCJ? 

Sorry to ask questions, I have tried to do research and not just start a thread but I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all and just paying it to make it go away feels like the easiest way at the moment. 

Thank you. 

Gr1pr

Keithp will likely give you exact deadline dates, but its day 19 and day 33 following the issue date if you meet the deadlines, do the AOS online on MCOL today or tomorrow if possible, no need to delay 

The claim has been artificially inflated with spurious charges, a typical loss in court is around £200 , saving over £80

1) everyone has a defence, especially if that claim form has poor POC ( but we have not seen a redacted picture of it yet. )

2) yes , but as long as you pay the judgment within 30 days, a grace period , then it won't go on the public register, so won't affect you in the future 

So if you lost in court, pay it off, promptly, and as M Lewis often says , IN FULL , definitely in less than the 30 days allowed, Ideally ASAP 

SBS_88

Thank you for coming back to me. I don't know if I'm missing the point but if I'm likely to have to pay £200 if I go to court, is it worth the hassle of fighting it?

It sounds like it'll take up a good few hours of time on paperwork defending the claim and then a day off work is needed to go to court itself... it almost feels like it's not worth it if the saving is only going to be around £85. 

Gr1pr

But the possible saving may be £285

But only you can decide, not us 

This is a money saving site, saving money is the key on here 

Its not a legal advice site, but a consumer site 

We will help those who help themselves 

SBS_88

Thank you for replying again. I suppose I'm trying to gather what ratio of people lose vs. win at court but I guess that's a difficult statistic to find out! 

Gr1pr

The government statistics office ( ONS )  or justice department don't gather or release that actual information about parking cases

But those who come here and follow the advice here have a win rate of well over 90%

KeithP

Gr1pr said:

Keithp will likely give you exact deadline dates...

Indeed he will.   

@sbs_88, you are mistaken with your Defence filing deadline.

With a Claim Issue Date of 15th May, you have until Monday 3rd June 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 17th June 2024 to file your Defence.

That's over three 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'.

Coupon-mad

It's a no brainer to defend. Almost everyone wins here and they pay nothing at all.

"Having signs up" (when they are CEL signs) isn't enough.  The £100 risk has to be prominent and it won't have been, or you wouldn't have parked 

SBS_88

Thank you for your replies, I do appreciate it. 

So my best course of action is to file the AoS by 3rd June then email by defence by 17 June. As I have little defence other than not noticing the signs, should my defence statement be as simple as that the signage was not prominent enough? I feel like every other post I've read on here people having a special reason for stopping or did actually pay for a parking ticket etc and I haven't got much to say in comparison!  

Le_Kirk

Please show us the claim form, redacting any personal data, reference number and password but leave the POC showing: if they are sparse and inadequate (most are) then you use the @hharry100 defence which doesn’t even need a reason/excuse and takes an hour or thereabouts.

Gr1pr

SBS_88 said:

Thank you for your replies, I do appreciate it. 

 As I have little defence other than not noticing the signs, should my defence statement be as simple as that the signage was not prominent enough? 

Certainly that aspect should be mentioned, plus take notice of the last reply above too