Civil Enforcement Ltd Claim form

Bossbarr

Hi, first time poster. Feels like it could be a long one.

I parked in a private car park on Lark Lane in Liverpool on 25th January 2026. I paid for 1 hour (£4.56) and stayed for 1 hour 34 minutes. Upon returning from holiday, on the 2nd July I received a debt collector charge of £170 for this breech, without being given the opportunity to pay the reduced £60 or the actual £100 fine.

I followed the link on the letter and noticed that they had sent the fine to my lease company, and my car was still leased under my old address. So I wanted to speak with someone to try and explain this and see if I could just pay the original fine.

This is where it got frustrating.

I tried to appeal this on their website but I had gone over the appeal window.

So I drove to the car park to find out more information. The car park App was JustPark, so I rang them. They were helpful and told me they don't deal with fines but gave me a number for Civil Enforcement Ltd, which I rang but it just hung up straight away.

Then I noticed a phone number on the car park notice board, rang this and it was just a robot basically directing me to their web site then hung up, no "human" available to speak with.

I was Googling to try and get an email address or phone number for the company but simply could not find one anywhere (try it). So again on this notice board (which I had taken a picture of), I found a data protection email (dataprotectionofficer@ce-service.co.uk). I emailed this address in good faith, explaining the situation and how I was willing to pay the £60 given the opportunity. No reply.

I was getting a bit worried now, as we're looking to remortgage soon and I don't want a CCJ. So I drove to there office afterwork, the address was on the notice board which matched their address on companies house, in Liverpool, Exchange Flags. There was no Civil Enforcement Ltd in the building, the guy who was in the office where they should have been said "This happens all the time I need to call Companies House to ask them to change it." I then rang Regus (the owners of the building) they couldn't find Civil Enforcement Ltd anywhere on their books.

So I contacted the BPA (8th July) and explained my situation, they said I should raise a complaint via their website. But even then their complaints portal was broken (I have screen shots proving this).

After this, the BPA managed to get someone from CEL's legal team to email me. I explained the whole situation, how they had breached the BPA code on communication, and asked for the fine to be cancelled.

They refused, claiming my good-faith email to their Data Protection officer was an "appeal" and an "admission of liability". They offered a "goodwill" reduction to £100. I rejected this, pointed out they failed to comply with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 for lease vehicles, and formally demanded a POPLA code on the 24th and 28th July.

They ignored my request for a POPLA code entirely and have now issued a County Court Claim Form for £189, on the 24th August.

And now I'm here asking for any help or advice?

1. Does anyone have a recommended PoFA 2012/Lease Vehicle Defence template for CEL claims?
2. How should I best frame their refusal to provide a POPLA code and their total lack of functional contact channels in my defence statement?
3. Any advice on attaching my evidence (screenshots of broken portal, photo of signage, email thread)?
   

If you want any more information on this company just check out their Google reviews or their TrustPilot reviews. Unbelievable.

Gr1pr

Post a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below, plus post the issue date from the top right of the claim form below, or was that the 24th August. ? ( is it a CEL in-house claim. ? )

Its not a fine, its an invoice

1 you will be using one of the template defence drafts in the defence template thread

2 probably best to mention in your future Witness Statement bundle

3 no Exhibits are included with a defence

Le_Kirk

Assuming an issue date of 24/08/26 and providing you complete(d) the AoS before or on 12/09/26 your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 28/09/26

If this is a lease vehicle, whose name is on the N1SDT claim form, yours or the lease company? How did CE get your name? You will not get a CCJ unless you go to court, lose an thenf ail to pay within the timescale stipulated by the judge. Make sure that everybody involved has our correct address for service. You don't want letters or orders from the court going astray.

Castle

There's a PC Reference left showing on the POC.

Bossbarr

PoC1.jpg

Thanks, deleted the old one, for this new redacted version.

Bossbarr

Hi, below is going to be my defence statement, all look ok? I've left para 2 here in because I changed the last sentence as I'm not the registered keeper. I've left 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 as per your template.

2. The allegation(s) are vague and liability is denied for the sum claimed, or at all. The delay in bringing proceedings lies with the Claimant, making retrieving material evidence difficult, which is highly prejudicial. The Defendant has little knowledge of events, save as set out below and to admit that they were the lessee and hirer.

3.  Details of event

Lack of Notice & Misdirected Mail: The Defendant first became aware of this matter on 2nd July 2026 upon receiving a demand for £170 from a debt collection agency. The initial Notice to Hirer regarding an alleged breach on 25th January 2026 was never received by the Defendant, as it was sent to a former address supplied by the leasing company.

Denied Right to Appeal / Pay Discount: As a result of misdirected service, the Defendant was denied the statutory 21-day window to appeal and the 14-day discounted payment rate. The Claimant refused to reset statutory terms or reissue the notice upon tracing the correct address.

Non-Functional Contact Infrastructure: Upon discovering the demand, the Defendant attempted to contact the Claimant to resolve the matter in good faith. The Claimant’s telephone lines automatically disconnected, their registered physical office at Exchange Flags, Liverpool, was vacant/unoccupied, and their online complaints portal failed to submit (the Defendant holds screenshot evidence).

BPA Escalation & Denial of ADR: The Defendant was forced to escalate the issue via the British Parking Association (BPA) to obtain contact with the Claimant's legal team. The Claimant refused to cancel the charge, mischaracterized a good-faith inquiry to a Data Protection Officer as a formal appeal, and explicitly refused to provide a 10-digit POPLA Verification Code, denying the Defendant access to independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Gr1pr

Your paragraph 2 above is fine IMHO

But paragraph 3 should refute the POC, but doesn't seem to do so

Your proposed paragraph 3 is 4 paragraphs describing everything since the hirer was made aware, so more of a timeline that belongs in a WS , than a defence against the POC itself

CEL have been an entity for 15 years or more, probably under Creative, so all that confusion over names is not relevant to the allegation in the POC

MrJenkinsEsq

It was likely not an admission of liability in the true legal sense but they would say that if you identified yourself as the driver. Eg saying, "I parked" or, "I overstayed" instead of, "the driver parked". If you did that in writing then any pofa defence is now closed.

Bossbarr

I sent this email to their data protection officer

"

Hi, sorry to bother you.

I have been fined for parking in one of CE-Services parking lots (Location ID: 86287).
I have been given a £170 fine but I have not received any of the earlier fines,
because I think you've sent the fine to the car lease company (see attached).
I have tried appealing but it's gone too far. I've tried calling but your phone line does connect to a human. And I've tried visiting you at exchange flags all to no avail. Could you help me please?
I'm happy to pay the fine as I stayed in the car for 31 minutes longer than I'd paid for. But I like to be given the opportunity to pay the original fine as I didn't actually receive it.

"

Does this void my case?

Gr1pr

No, but a DPO can only provide requested data about a data subject, meaning you

There was no fine, just an invoice from a private parking company claimant for the alleged breach of the parking contract on that private property

Bossbarr

Any better?

3)

(a) The Claimant’s Particulars of Claim are vague, generic, and fail to set out the concise facts relied upon to establish a cause of action, contrary to CPR 16.4(1)(a) and Practice Direction 16. The POC fails to specify the exact terms alleged to have been breached, the exact conduct relied upon, or whether the Defendant is sued as driver or hirer.

(b) The Defendant draws attention to persuasive appellate authority in Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan [2023] E7GM9W44, where HHJ Murch struck out an identical CEL claim because the POC failed to set out the specific conduct amounting to a breach of terms. The Court is invited to strike out this claim under CPR 3.4 for the exact same failure.

(c) Without prejudice to the above, if the claim relates to an alleged overstay, the Defendant was denied statutory notice and due process due to the Claimant misdirecting initial notices to a previous address. Upon being informed of the Defendant's current address, the Claimant failed to reissue the Notice to Hirer accompanied by statutory lease documentation required under Schedule 4, Paragraph 14 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA 2012), forfeiting any right to hold the Defendant liable as hirer.

(d) Further, the Claimant operated non-functional communication channels and explicitly refused to provide a 10-digit POPLA Verification Code, breaching Section 23 of the BPA Code of Practice and intentionally obstructing independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).