Face a £210 trial or accept a £135 settlement? Parking claim filed against a MoveGB member.

Askmywhy

Hi, and thank you for your assistance.

I am not British and unfamiliar with the local legal system, so I am seeking independent advice.

I parked on private land belonging to a hotel and have received a court claim from ParkingEye, filed through the National Business Centre. I submitted a defence stating that I was using my MoveGB membership, which allows for two hours of free parking, and argued that ParkingEye should recover their costs from MoveGB.

In response to my defence, they claimed I overstayed the allowed period by half an hour and provided photographic evidence. I was not aware that I had overstayed.

A mediation call was supposed to take place but did not happen for some reason, and now the case has been referred to the court.

The claim is for £210.

I would like to avoid damaging my credit rating and, if possible, minimise any financial loss.

What strategy should I adopt in this situation?

Gr1pr

If you lose in court,  pay in full before the 30 days deadline following the judgment date,  to avoid a CCJ and to further avoid credit FILE issues 

The amount that you would have to pay would be the £210 or less, depending upon the judge 

If you win, you pay nothing 

Did Parking Eye issue the claim   ?  Or DCB Legal on their behalf   ?

Askmywhy

That was Parking Eye who issued the claim. If I lose, will be charged any court costs on top of those £210 that the claimant demands?
If it goes to hearing, are there any other risks involved? My position feels a bit shaky as I overstayed and also ignored the PE reminder letters.

Gr1pr

Its £210, or less, as I said before,  you would object to any added spurious charges 

No risks as long as prompt payment is made to Parking Eye 

If you are concerned about your shaky position,  try to negotiate an out of court settlement,  of less money,  perhaps starting at £60  ?

Coupon-mad

Askmywhy said:

That was Parking Eye who issued the claim. If I lose, will be charged any court costs on top of those £210 that the claimant demands?

No, of course not. The NEWBIES PLEASE READ THESE FAQS FIRST thread already tells everyone this. It's a no-brainer to defend.

If it goes to hearing, are there any other risks involved?

No - unless you don't send a Witness Statement and/or act unreasonably such as not turning up. That can mean you'd be liable for their rep's costs but that's only if you are unreasonable. That's not going to happen.

You missed the Mediation phone call though. Why/how? They can paint that as unreasonable if it was your fault for not being available?

Anyway please paste your defence here, verbatim so we can see what you put.

Askmywhy

Coupon-mad said:

You missed the Mediation phone call though. Why/how? They can paint that as unreasonable if it was your fault for not being available?

That's difficult to say why the call did not happen,I tested my phone and it was accepting calls on the number I had provided them earlier but no one called on it. At a later stage, I found a email message requesting a phone number to call but it was too late. I sent an email asking to reconnect and also attemped calling on the number in the mediator's signature but that did not answer. 

D_P_Dance

It  looks as though the mediator is at failt here..  Others will tell you the likelhood of PE taking you to court but imo their signage usually sucks, read this.

Parking Eye Signs, Oxford Road, Reading — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Coupon-mad

As I said above:

Anyway please paste your defence here, verbatim so we can see what you put.

Askmywhy

Coupon-mad said:

As I said above:

Anyway please paste your defence here, verbatim so we can see what you put.

I will if it proceeds to a hearing. For now, I have sent an out-of-court settlement offer.

Askmywhy

Hey everyone,

After a few rounds of negotiation, I've been offered a settlement of £130 (the original claim was £210). I'm unsure whether to accept or proceed with the trial, which is already scheduled for July.

To give you a quick recap, I was following a MoveGB schedule that allowed me 2 hours of free parking, but they're claiming I stayed for 2.5 hours. They have evidence to support this, but I don’t have any proof to dispute it.

What would you advise? If I go to the hearing and lose, is there a risk I could end up paying more than £130?

ChirpyChicken

No you don't settle