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Legal matters

Parking eye ‘Letter before county court claim’ signed for.

7 replies

DoingItOurSelves · 07/09/2013 12:34

I know normal advice is to ignore them, and many say it will never happen, others that it has, but in the circumstances I decided to ask them to waive their fine, and if necessary go through the appeal system as I had good grounds and the backing of the store and Parking Eye seemed perfectly reasonable about it when I spoke to them and just asked me to send some evidence and didn?t think it would even need to go to appeal.

However they?ve since ignored me identifying myself as the person responsible (even though they?ve actually spoken to me on the phone) for accidental overstay and taking responsibility for the ticket and appeal, and ignored my appeal based on unreasonable time limit for a wheelchair user to manage, even though it resulted in (or a heck of a co-incidence!) an hour being added to the B+Q?s car park time limit very shortly after, and even though my blue badge is in their evidence photo?s, and they?ve continued to go after the registered vehicle keeper instead, and now are saying they can now no longer appeal as they?re out of time.

They?ve just accidently signed for a ?Letter before county court claim? warning, and are very worried they will be taken to court, lose and have to pay costs too and that I will struggle to cover them and want me to pay up, but only because it?s still at the £100 level and they?re scared it will double or treble leaving me struggling to cover them as well as costs for them having to go, and go myself as their witness.

Q1, (if proceedings happen) can I get them done locally?

Evidently they won?t deal with me and issue their claim against me, so they?ve failed to allow me Alternative Dispute Resolution or allow me to go through POPLA (parking on private land appeals service) by ignoring me putting my hand up and trying to take responsibility.

Q2 Can I now reasonably (as in legally) threaten Parking Eye with, and if necessary start, a separate small claims court case against them to cover expenses of fighting this and their fine if he is and loses, as this really is extortion against me through a third party, and it is me who is the end financial loser as a result of their behaviour?

Any advice and letter writing skills welcome.

OP posts:
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prh47bridge · 07/09/2013 16:03

This will be a small claim which means they can't claim costs. They can claim the court fee but not their legal costs. Fight it. Argue that they have acted unreasonably and that the amount claimed is excessive and is far in excess of any loss they have suffered.

Any hearing will be at your local County Court.

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twattock · 07/09/2013 18:15

they have to show that there is an accepted contract to park between the owner of the car park and the person driving the car under the terms and conditions including the charge. they can't sue the registered keeper of the car because they weren't there. it's a try on.

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prh47bridge · 07/09/2013 18:52

The law has changed. They can sue the registered keeper. That doesn't mean they will succeed.

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northoftheborder · 07/09/2013 19:29

How has the law changed?

My wife is now being pursued by them now and not only is it completely NOT her fault, but we also live in Scotland, so I would very much like your advice on what she should do now.

She has just received a ParkingEye "Letter Before County Court Claim" and innocently signed for it. When we read it we knew it wasn't her because one of the family had been using her car on the day in question. And it turns out, on further questioning, that same member of our family, has been meeting the postman and disposing of the evidence, which is why my wife only just found out when she received this registered letter.

The letter is dated 05 September 2013 and states she was notified on 21st of August 2013 that she was in breach of the terms and conditions at Welcome Break Charnock Richard (North) on 15th July 2013, but of course, she wasn't and wasn't anywhere near Charnock Richard on that date.

Apparently, they now want £100 within the next 14 days "or further action will be taken and court proceedings will be issued".

What should she do now? How do I best advise her?

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DoingItOurSelves · 07/09/2013 21:20

Thank you for responses. prh47bridge do you know if will they let me fight on the registered keepers behalf (has ASD and won?t do well) if they?re present?

Interesting that you feel they can?t get costs in a small claims court as letter states: ??action will be taken and court proceedings will be issued, which will incur further costs. (Their bold) These costs will include, but are not limited to £50.00 solicitors costs and £15.00 court claim issue fee.?



Northoftheborder I can?t offer you any advice, but is yours the same, and does the back have 4 points of ?further information? and no. 1. is:

?Please be aware that This Letter Before County Court Claim is fully compliant with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct. We must draw your attention to this Practice Direction (www.justice.gov.uk/courts/proceedure-rules/civil/rulespd pre action conduct) and in particular to paragraph 4 concerning the courts powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the Practice Direction?
but when you click you get a 404 error?

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WestieMamma · 07/09/2013 21:26

If you use a wheelchair don't they have to make a 'reasonable adjustment' to take that into account. Only allowing you the same amount of time as an able bodied parker seems wrong to me. Speak to the EHRC and see if they can give you any advice.

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prh47bridge · 07/09/2013 23:35

northoftheborder - The law has changed in that previously they could only take action against the driver as Twattock says. This was a problem for the companies as in most cases they were unable to identify the driver. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 they can now take action against the registered keeper provided certain conditions are met.

DoingItOurselves - It isn't a question of what I feel about court costs. Those are the rules - Civil Procedure Rules & Practice Directions Rule 27.14. They will only be awarded solicitors fees if the court thinks the registered keeper has acted unreasonably, which isn't going to happen in a case like this. They include a claim for solicitors fees if they take action but there is no way the court would award them. This is a clear attempt to intimidate by making statements they know to be false.

It is possible for the registered keeper to have the help of a friend or lay representative which could be you. Some Citizens Advice Bureaux can also help by offering trained advisors.

The link in their letter should point to www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct. It is, however, another attempt to intimidate you into paying by referring to sanctions that won't be imposed and pointing you at a document that looks frightening. Don't bother reading the document to which they link. The small claims court won't impose sanctions on you or the registered keeper unless you behave very unreasonably. If Parking Eye take action against the registered keeper just read the information you receive from the court carefully and follow the instructions.

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