Judgement for Claimant (in default) Received

bongo_drummer · 11 October 2018 at 12:07PM

Hello

I have just received, unexpectedly, a Judgement for Claimant (in default) notice from the County Court Business Centre requiring payment of £2xx, comprising £1xx for the debt and £97 costs. The claimant is Premier Parking via BW Legal. Payment is due in November.

Although I had received correspondence from BW Legal stating that they intended to make a claim I did not receive any N1SDT claim form prior to this and was therefore unable to submit a defence. The County Court Business Centre has said that claim form was sent out but also stated that unless it is returned undelivered by the Royal Mail that I cannot claim non-reciept.

The County Court Business Centre has advised that I can apply to have it set aside using an N244 application notice which is subject to a £255 fee.

I fully intended to defend the claim which was incurred in 2015 for parking in a disabled space in a private car park having paid the required parking fee at the time.

Now the stakes have effectively been doubled I am minded to just cut my losses and pay up rather than risk a further potential loss, but I would like to obtain the advice of the community here before doing so.

Should I fold and add to the profits of these disreputable organisations or should I try to fight?

Any advice or precedents would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Pete

The_Slithy_Tove · 11 October 2018 at 12:10PM

What date was the judgment made? If more than 28 days ago and you haven't paid, it becomes a CCJ against you, which isn't good from a credit score point of view. In that case, despite the potential costs, it's definitely worth getting a set-aside.

In any case, it should be contested, because they have, no doubt, claimed more than they should, and in all probability, it's a winnable case.

Is there a reason you received the LBA, the judgement, but not the claim form itself?

bongo_drummer · 11 October 2018 at 12:23PM

The judgement is dated 5th October so I still have time to pay without incurring CCJ against me.

I can only assume that the claim form "got lost in the post" because the correspondence address is correct. I actually did receive another claim form, again BW Legal on behalf of Premier Parking, for another PCN. So of the two claims one form was delivered the other one wasn't.

The_Deep · 11 October 2018 at 12:25PM

The County Court Business Centre has said that claim form was sent out but also stated that unless it is returned undelivered by the Royal Mail that I cannot claim non-reciept.

I would not accept this lying down, make a formal complaint to The Court Service and if necessary take it higher.

Are you in fact disabled? You do not have to have a blue badge to benefit from the reasonable adjustments service providers are required to make to cater for your protected characteristics. Have you read this

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P.
for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the House of Commons recently

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41 recently.

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

bongo_drummer · 11 October 2018 at 12:59PM

I am not disabled and had not realised that I had parked in a disabled space although it was indicated on a sign on an adjacent fence.

I was planning to contest on the basis that I had paid for parking and the T&Cs did not explicitly state that it was an infringement to park in a disabled space.

Umkomaas · 11 October 2018 at 1:05PM

bongo_drummer wrote: »

I am not disabled and had not realised that I had parked in a disabled space although it was indicated on a sign on an adjacent fence.

I was planning to contest on the basis that I had paid for parking and the T&Cs did not explicitly state that it was an infringement to park in a disabled space.

I think you'd need to find a very sympathetic (and anti-PPC Judge) to turn it around purely on that basis.

If you get a set-aside granted, you would likely have to defend and win in order to have any chance of recovering your £255 outlay. Lose in court and it's kerching, kerching - double trouble - £££££s.

bongo_drummer · 11 October 2018 at 6:13PM

Would my defence be likely hold up in court? The facts are:

I paid for parking using RingGo.
I mistakenly parked in a disabled space.
The car park signage did not specify that a penalty charge would be levied for parking in a disabled space without a badge, only that "vehicles must park within allocated bays".

I am loathe to just fork out the money to BW Legal without putting up a fight.

System · 12 October 2018 at 5:02AM

Would my defence be likely hold up in court?

You are asking the wrong question. At a set aside, the judge wants to know two things

1. The reason why no defence was made. You say I can only assume that the claim form "got lost in the post" because the correspondence address is correct

2. That there is a prospect of a defence. The judge does not assess the strength of the defence, just that there is one.

So #2 is OK in that there is a prospect of a defence but #1 is going to be a tall order as you'd have to have pretty strong argument of the claim being "lost".

It is your £255 as it is very unlikely any judge would order CEL to refund you. The courts certainly won't refund it. So you'd be left £255 light and then a further risk that your defence is just not good enough.

Your call if you want to pay £255 ++ for a fight.

bongo_drummer · 12 October 2018 at 11:14AM

Thanks for your reply IamEmanresu.

That makes my decision a no-brainer. If I'm going to lose £255 anyway I may as well just pay up to BWLegal and avoid the hassle. I was quite looking forward to contesting this too!

Quentin · 12 October 2018 at 11:46AM

Make sure you get proof that you have paid them!

It is their responsibility to inform the Court you paid, though they aren't compelled to, and some claimants don't bother

Should they not do so, then it is down to you to prove to Court you paid in time in order to get the CCJ expunged from the records

bongo_drummer · 12 October 2018 at 12:00PM

Would the following be an option:

1. Pay BWLegal requested sum and ensure that CCJ is removed from my file.
2. Raise a new County Court claim against BWLegal/PPS (at a cost of £25) in an attempt to recover the original sum plus additional expenses.

Judgement for Claimant (in default) Received

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