Vehicle Control Services Court Claim

[riverpig]

Hi

My partner has received a court claim from Vehicle Control Services requesting a sum of nearly £300 for a parking ticket they allege my partner received in 2016.

Correspondence for this ticket has, until recently, not been received as the car which received the ticket was registered at her parents address. Last month a letter was received suggesting they traced my partner and now a court claim has come through.

Some additional information -

The car park is at her work. She has a permit to park there, on this day, the permit either wasn't visible or was forgotten.

The ticket dates back to July 2016. There is no way my partner can be expected to provide evidence to support her defence given these timescales.

Is this worth defending and if so, does it mean having to take a day to travel to Northampton to represent?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

[ostell]

She doesn't have to travel to Northampton, that is the processing centre for small claims. It will be transferred to a court of her choice.

I presume there has been no previous contact with VCS, hence the large amount being claimed in the hope of a default win.

Acknowledge the claim now using the details and password on the form. This gives you 33 days to get your defence to the court.

Write to VCS demanding copes of all the documents that they intend to rely on in court, as expected by the courts, in order to narrow the issues between you. As they must have these to hand you expect these by return or at the most within 7 days.

Post up a redacted Particulars of Claim

So she gets a letter from her employer stating that she is permitted to park where she is alleged to have parked.

Pictures of signage would help

[riverpig]

Thank you.

No previous contact with VCS as letters were going to an address my partner has not lived at for years.

Is it worth contesting due to time elapsed? Surely our ability to provide a rigorous defence is hampered, signage may have changed etc?

[ostell]

So there is a lot of letter writing to do to get the details of the claim.

So you can pay the £300 or make an offer or defend. If she still has the same employer then they might tell VCS to withdraw

[riverpig]

She doesn't have to travel to Northampton, that is the processing centre for small claims. It will be transferred to a court of her choice.

I presume there has been no previous contact with VCS, hence the large amount being claimed in the hope of a default win.

Acknowledge the claim now using the details and password on the form. This gives you 33 days to get your defence to the court.

Write to VCS demanding copes of all the documents that they intend to rely on in court, as expected by the courts, in order to narrow the issues between you. As they must have these to hand you expect these by return or at the most within 7 days.

Post up a redacted Particulars of Claim

So she gets a letter from her employer stating that she is permitted to park where she is alleged to have parked.

Pictures of signage would help

REDACTED POC
1. The defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicle xxxxxxx at xxxxxx. 2. The PCN details are 25/06/2016, XXXXXXX. 3. The PCN(s) was issued on private landed owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms on Cs signs (the Contract), thus incurring the PCN(s). 4. The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not. D is liable as the driver or keeper Despite requests, the PCN(s) is outstanding. The Contract entitles C to damages. AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS 1. £160 being the total of the PCN(s) and damages. 2. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £0.04 until judgement or sooner payment 3. Costs and court fees

[ostell]

Unless the signs say there wouldbe additional charges then they are trying it on. If they are claiming against the keeper then the max is the amount of the PCN

[riverpig]

Defence Help Needed -

Firstly, thank you all for your suggestions so far. This claim has been acknowledged and a SAR has been submitted.

I am now keen to progress with my line of defence and have some thoughts below which I am keen to get opinions on.

The POC are -

1. The defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicle xxxxxxx at xxxxxx. 2. The PCN details are 25/06/2016, XXXXXXX. 3. The PCN(s) was issued on private landed owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms on Cs signs (the Contract), thus incurring the PCN(s). 4. The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not. D is liable as the driver or keeper Despite requests, the PCN(s) is outstanding. The Contract entitles C to damages. AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS 1. £160 being the total of the PCN(s) and damages. 2. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £0.04 until judgement or sooner payment 3. Costs and court fees

Picture of current signage can be found here imgur.com/rtnr4Rg.png

Initial Thoughts

Parking was permitted in car park - believe they are stating my partner was parked outside of one of their allocated bays. The bays are numbered but don't state which companies can park where. The permit provided do not state this either.

At the time - not all units were occupied meaning there was numerous spare parking spaces and it was felt parking in specific bays was not required given the limited occupancy.

Has anyone seen any defence which can be used in this case? Pertinent points being my partner is allowed to use the car park, it's her place of work and she has a permit. Total PCN is being charged at £160 - signage states £100 with 'damages' being added without evidence of what these damages are.

Happy to go to Court with a common sense argument which I'm confident will limit the costs we pay but i'm struggling for a legal basis to help me beat this entirely. Any help would be hugely appreciated.