Private Parking - Court action

I am new to this Forum so apologies if it takes me a while to use it in the right way!! I am so angry with the situation I find myself in and want to be part of any group that tries to expose these guys. Surely, these private parking companies should be regulated by the Government!!

I have read previous threads regarding private parking invoices and have followed the advice given. However, I am now at the stage where its likely to be heard by the small claims court which is not a process I have been through before so would appreciate any advice. A little bit of history:-

- my car was parked on private land, a ticket purchased for all day parking (no adhesive on ticket) and the ticket was placed on the dashboard.
- when the driver returned to the car at the end of the day a parking fine was on the windscreen and when the car door was opened the ticket was between the driver's seat and door. There is no knowledge of how the ticket became dislodged. According to the weather forecast there were high winds on that day and this car park is situated in an exposed area. Apart from that, there is no knowledge of how this has occurred.
- As a ticket had been purchased, we didn't think it would be a problem, would just send a copy of the ticket to them which proved it had been paid for and the car registration was printed on the ticket so no problem!!
- This was not the case and as the owner of the vehicle, I have been bombarded with letters ever since from their solicitors because they say that I am in breach by not displaying the ticket and now the matter has been taken to the small claims court. They have stated that they "intend to request a special direction that the case be dealt with on the papers without the need for an oral hearing". I can see from previous threads that this is a standard letter.
- We have replied stating that we are going reject this option and prefer to attend in person . How can anyone be held responsible for a freak incident. I have also asked for the name of the landowner as we intend to write to them also to express my disgust with all this.
To add insult to injury, we have also found out that the appeal service used at the start (IAS) and the solicitors are the same guys!! Surely this is a conflict of interest!
Being a professional person myself, I am amazed that there are people out there who show no realism or professionalism and are only out to rip people off of their hard earned money.