Civil Enforcement Ltd Letter Before Action - advice on template response

cromer2013 · 28 April at 5:34PM

Hello everyone,

I have read the NEWBIES thread and Post 2 carefully before posting. I have a CEL LBA (direct from CEL, not via a solicitor) and would be grateful for advice on the correct response template to use and where to send it.

BACKGROUND

Date of Event: 19 January 2024
Location: IBIS Heathrow Hotel, 112 Bath Road, Hayes
Parking Operator: Civil Enforcement Limited (CEL) — BPA member
Entry: 21:29 | Exit: 22:10

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

I entered the hotel car park at 21:29 to briefly visit family who were staying at the hotel ahead of an early morning flight from Heathrow.
It was 1°C and very frosty that night. There was also a bit of fog. I do not recall seeing any parking signage on entering the car park.
After approximately 30 minutes with my family, I asked reception how to pay for parking before leaving. I was directed to a sign at the reception desk. I photographed the sign.
The sign instructed me to either download the 'Phone and Pay' app or call 0141 404 0000, enter site code 4032, provide card details and vehicle registration. At this point I did not notice the small print stating payment must be made within 15 minutes of arriving on the premises. I assumed it was a pay-before-you-exit system.
I sat in my car and called the number. The system required me to register an account first. I decided to complete the payment from home rather than sit in a freezing car. In my naivety, I believed the 10-minute journey home would itself count as additional parking time, meaning I would still be 'covering' the visit when I paid from home. I fully accept this reasoning was mistaken, but it was my genuine intention to pay and I was not attempting to avoid payment at any point.
On arriving home I called the number again and began the payment process. During this process, when attempting to input the elapsed parking time, the system would not accept a past start time, it kept erroring. It was at this point I realised this was a pay-before-you-park system, not a pay-before-you-exit system as I had assumed. This confusion, and time it took for the account registration process, meant the payment process took approximately 15 minutes to complete. When I was unable to enter the actual time of my visit, I paid for 1 hour from that point (22:42–23:42), reasoning this would more than cover the duration of my actual stay (21:29–22:10). I received an SMS confirmation from Phone and Pay confirming my vehicle [REDACTED] was registered to park at site 4032 - Ibis Heathrow, with expiry at 23:42.

SUBSEQUENT STEPS

Received PCN letter from CEL in February 2024 for £100.
Contacted the hotel and they said they could not intervene with CEL.
Raised a POPLA appeal and POPLA found in favour of CEL. CEL argued that other motorists paid on time and that my inability to see the signage was not a valid argument.
Refused to pay on moral/ethical grounds.
Debt sold to a debt recovery company. Demand letters followed, amount increased to £170.
Have been ignoring letters.
Yesterday received a "Letter Before Action- Claim for Debt" directly from CEL (not via a solicitor).

EVIDENCE I HOLD

Photo of the payment instructions sign located at the hotel reception desk (taken on the night)
SMS confirmation from Phone and Pay showing payment confirmed at 22:42 for site 4032
Ibis Heathrow, with expiry at 23:42, confirming my vehicle was validly registered to park at the time of payment

MY QUESTIONS

I have seen conflicting advice on the forum. Some threads for CEL LBAs say to respond using the LBC template in Post 2, while others suggest not bothering and simply waiting for a court claim. Given that the LBA is direct from CEL (not a solicitor), which approach is recommended in my specific situation?
Given my situation/context, is there anything specific I should highlight or add to the standard LBC template response?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am happy to defend this all the way to court if needed

Thank you.