Parking charge -defence. Now ill.

[Guest]

Advice needed please. After sending me letters for a parking charge, the private parking co is taking me to court. I've had the initial letters from the court and have done the acknowledgement of service. The defence has to be sent soon!!! I've done a lot of research and had a good idea of what I would say! But this week was struck down with Covid! I've had a positive result. I'm ill and asked court if they'd delay deadline. They said ask the solicitor. I did they said, No, it's already with the court! I have proof I asked the court and I asked the person I spoke to at their solicitors to send me an email to say we'd had the conversation. They haven't done that! I also asked for a SARs! The next day I had a letter from the debt co, asking me for £160 from a previous unpaid charge from years ago. They had stopped pursuing me for that one, so I had a shock! This is the same parking company! Am now worried that historic one will be sent to the legal company, so they will be pursuing me for both. Could pay that one just to get rid of it, before it becomes £250!
Can anyone advise for a start if being ill - I have proof - should get you a delay in having to submit a defence? Should I just fill out the defence, keep it brief, say I have Covid so it's not how it would have been and there are no pics as I'm not allowed to leave the house?
Part of my defence is the driver put coins in machine, machine took them but didn't produce ticket. So how could driver know that they theoretically hadn't paid when they had done as instructed! Is it worth going into this, or not offering this much info, as I'm suffering with illness now?
Do you think it best, to pay off former charge from years ago to stop the increase if they keep pursuing that, or does that show I'm willing to pay, and they're less likely to drop anything?

Any advice appreciated!

[ostell]

If you have proof of having Covid then send it to the court and ask them to get a judge to delay.

How far complete is your defence? Can you complete it?

[Reb12]

Thanks. Think I can manage to put something together based on forums here. Deadline is Tuesday. I haven't seen any defence regarding malfunctioning machines though. Does this have any chance of success?

[ostell]

So have you got the original PCN they sent you? What did you say in your appeal to them? Have you identified the driver? Did they comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act to be able to hold the keeper liable?