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Hi All
I've tried to scan over all the information on the threads relating to the above topic but could still do with some help. I'll try and keep it as short as possible.
Basically i park at this particular car park quite often at least once a month/2 months and have always (as have had many others ) issues with parking. The first hour is free and then £1 per hour thereafter. On a couple of occasions i vaguely remember getting into my car to drive out well within the hour and getting stuck in a queue to get out and then subsequently receiving a PCN. I can't remember the amount that i was charged but it was a ridiculous amount so i ignored. I also vaguely remember their phone lines not working on one particular occasion. On another occasion i remember i drove out not realising it may have been well over an hour and genuinely forgot to pay. Recently, the salon where i go has adopted a method whereby which clients pay at reception for parking and they forward payment to company thus saving a lot of hassle. Since then there have been no problems.
Either way, my understanding was the amount charged by the private parking company was not reasonable and the advice was to ignore.
The problem is i have just received a claim form letter from Northampton court. Prior to receiving this letter i received 3 letters of action relating to 3 parking charge notices relating to June 2013, August 2013 and June 2014. I have no idea which particular 3 instances these relate to as they were 2-3 years ago I wasn't aware that the new advice was DO NOT IGNORE so unfortunately that is what i have been doing!
I am guessing the court claim relates to one of the letters of action or 2 letters of action both dated june 2016 . The 3rd letter of action is dated 7th july 2016 and i still have time to respond to it.
So I have a few questions and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Firstly, Is it worth me responding to the letter of action that hasn't resulted in a court claim yet? Will it most likely result in a court claim letter?
Secondly, is it likely the court claim relates to once incident or two incidents? Do i need to clarify which incident at this stage? If so how? There is a response pack enclosed. It seems simpler to just fill in and return. If at this point the only option is to fill in response pack and return, then which option do i pick?
option 1 agreeing with all of claim and paying in full £251.42 which relates to essentially once incident and includes court fee, legal representative cost etc. This is ridiculous and i do not agree!
option 2 agreeing with all of the claim and asking for time to pay. Again ridiculous, do not agree with amount
charged
option 3 admit only part of claim and fill in a form called N9A and defence form N9B. What does this mean? I don't mind paying for the few minutes i was stuck in the queue on way out of car park even though i was NOT parked for over an hour or for the time i forgot to pay for possibly half an hour or so over the initial first hour. Is this a viable option if it means settling this quickly? or am i tempting fate with this route?
option 4 disagree with entire claim and provide defence within 28 days. Not sure i am in a position to do this as i have 3 incidents . Can they bring into account the fact that i have three PCNs to make me look bad which i think frankly it does?
Sorry for the long message. Will be so grateful for some advice.
I've tried to scan over all the information on the threads relating to the above topic but could still do with some help. I'll try and keep it as short as possible.
Basically i park at this particular car park quite often at least once a month/2 months and have always (as have had many others ) issues with parking. The first hour is free and then £1 per hour thereafter. On a couple of occasions i vaguely remember getting into my car to drive out well within the hour and getting stuck in a queue to get out and then subsequently receiving a PCN. I can't remember the amount that i was charged but it was a ridiculous amount so i ignored. I also vaguely remember their phone lines not working on one particular occasion. On another occasion i remember i drove out not realising it may have been well over an hour and genuinely forgot to pay. Recently, the salon where i go has adopted a method whereby which clients pay at reception for parking and they forward payment to company thus saving a lot of hassle. Since then there have been no problems.
Either way, my understanding was the amount charged by the private parking company was not reasonable and the advice was to ignore.
The problem is i have just received a claim form letter from Northampton court. Prior to receiving this letter i received 3 letters of action relating to 3 parking charge notices relating to June 2013, August 2013 and June 2014. I have no idea which particular 3 instances these relate to as they were 2-3 years ago I wasn't aware that the new advice was DO NOT IGNORE so unfortunately that is what i have been doing!
I am guessing the court claim relates to one of the letters of action or 2 letters of action both dated june 2016 . The 3rd letter of action is dated 7th july 2016 and i still have time to respond to it.
So I have a few questions and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Firstly, Is it worth me responding to the letter of action that hasn't resulted in a court claim yet? Will it most likely result in a court claim letter?
Secondly, is it likely the court claim relates to once incident or two incidents? Do i need to clarify which incident at this stage? If so how? There is a response pack enclosed. It seems simpler to just fill in and return. If at this point the only option is to fill in response pack and return, then which option do i pick?
option 1 agreeing with all of claim and paying in full £251.42 which relates to essentially once incident and includes court fee, legal representative cost etc. This is ridiculous and i do not agree!
option 2 agreeing with all of the claim and asking for time to pay. Again ridiculous, do not agree with amount
charged
option 3 admit only part of claim and fill in a form called N9A and defence form N9B. What does this mean? I don't mind paying for the few minutes i was stuck in the queue on way out of car park even though i was NOT parked for over an hour or for the time i forgot to pay for possibly half an hour or so over the initial first hour. Is this a viable option if it means settling this quickly? or am i tempting fate with this route?
option 4 disagree with entire claim and provide defence within 28 days. Not sure i am in a position to do this as i have 3 incidents . Can they bring into account the fact that i have three PCNs to make me look bad which i think frankly it does?
Sorry for the long message. Will be so grateful for some advice.
Originally Posted by sammy79 
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