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Hi I am hoping someone can help me with my defense and some wording. I am not sure if I have a case to fight all of it but I shall outline the details and I really hope someone can help me.
I received 3 parking tickets at the same private property which was a residential block of flats. These were on my windscreen the first two dated 17/12/2016 & 19/12/16. I parked my car and entered the building and stayed for the weekend. I didn't see any parking signs and the person who I was visiting had no idea you needed a permit. I returned back to my car on the Monday 12 December to two parking tickets on the windscreen from UK Car Park Management Ltd saying I didn't have a permit and the charge was £100 or £60 if I payed within 14 days. Well I was out of work at the time so I didn't have the money to pay.
I did some research about what I needed to do to obtain a permit as I would be returning to park there regularly. I obtained a replacement permit, at the cost of £5 which was allocated to the flat number I was visiting and at the end of the process I took a screen shot of a dispensation code which I was instructed to write and show in my windscreen. I did this for the next time I parked and on the 31/12/16 I got another ticket despite clearly showing the code in my window. I then had to write a massive note in my window which covered the entire dashboard in large letters with the code and continued to park there for another few days and no more tickets.
So after some debt collection letters and solicitor letters from Gladstones I have now eventually got a court letter which was issued 11/7/17. I didn't do anything about the letters before for a few reason a) internet advice b) lack of funds to pay and c) I suffer from depression and anxiety and this was too much for me to handle at times and I didn't have the strength to fight them. I hoped they wouldn't take me to court but they are and now forcing me into action, which is distressing me a lot and I am worried about my ability to cope.
Sob story aside, I am being taken to court for a total of £583.07
So I genuinely didn't see the signs when I parked the first time and I felt that I needed to build up a case to see if their signage is up to scratch. Yesterday I drove the 220 mile round trip to go to the car park to take some pictures which I will post. The immediate entrance to the car park from the road has no signs, the one closest to where I parked was actually broken, with only a corner intact. There were two that I drove past on the way into this side road part of the car park and one of them was so high I definitely couldn't see it from my car and the second was on the outside of an electricity station thing, which had many other signs on that confused things. Also on this sign there is a spiky bush in front of it that looks like it has been chopped back at some point, so I feel that arguing that it was obscured by the plant could have been a reason why I missed it. There was a sign across the road from where I parked but this is really low and actually with a car parked in front of it, can very easily be missed.
I tried to do the acknowledgment of service online but the system glitched out on me and I will have to go analog. I have until Sunday to send that off which I guess I will have to do. It's the bit after I really need help with. How do I file a defence, what legal words will I have to do, sections I will have to quote etc. It is all very confusing,
Thank you so much in advance.
I received 3 parking tickets at the same private property which was a residential block of flats. These were on my windscreen the first two dated 17/12/2016 & 19/12/16. I parked my car and entered the building and stayed for the weekend. I didn't see any parking signs and the person who I was visiting had no idea you needed a permit. I returned back to my car on the Monday 12 December to two parking tickets on the windscreen from UK Car Park Management Ltd saying I didn't have a permit and the charge was £100 or £60 if I payed within 14 days. Well I was out of work at the time so I didn't have the money to pay.
I did some research about what I needed to do to obtain a permit as I would be returning to park there regularly. I obtained a replacement permit, at the cost of £5 which was allocated to the flat number I was visiting and at the end of the process I took a screen shot of a dispensation code which I was instructed to write and show in my windscreen. I did this for the next time I parked and on the 31/12/16 I got another ticket despite clearly showing the code in my window. I then had to write a massive note in my window which covered the entire dashboard in large letters with the code and continued to park there for another few days and no more tickets.
So after some debt collection letters and solicitor letters from Gladstones I have now eventually got a court letter which was issued 11/7/17. I didn't do anything about the letters before for a few reason a) internet advice b) lack of funds to pay and c) I suffer from depression and anxiety and this was too much for me to handle at times and I didn't have the strength to fight them. I hoped they wouldn't take me to court but they are and now forcing me into action, which is distressing me a lot and I am worried about my ability to cope.
Sob story aside, I am being taken to court for a total of £583.07
So I genuinely didn't see the signs when I parked the first time and I felt that I needed to build up a case to see if their signage is up to scratch. Yesterday I drove the 220 mile round trip to go to the car park to take some pictures which I will post. The immediate entrance to the car park from the road has no signs, the one closest to where I parked was actually broken, with only a corner intact. There were two that I drove past on the way into this side road part of the car park and one of them was so high I definitely couldn't see it from my car and the second was on the outside of an electricity station thing, which had many other signs on that confused things. Also on this sign there is a spiky bush in front of it that looks like it has been chopped back at some point, so I feel that arguing that it was obscured by the plant could have been a reason why I missed it. There was a sign across the road from where I parked but this is really low and actually with a car parked in front of it, can very easily be missed.
I tried to do the acknowledgment of service online but the system glitched out on me and I will have to go analog. I have until Sunday to send that off which I guess I will have to do. It's the bit after I really need help with. How do I file a defence, what legal words will I have to do, sections I will have to quote etc. It is all very confusing,
Thank you so much in advance.
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