County court claim form

[Mindabelle]

Have received a County Court Claim form for a parking fine - in own residents bay, with permit attached, for not showing Blue Badge in our own designated disabled bay.
This parking notice was revoked by our landlord.
Yet the debt collectors have continued to this extent.

[EnglandPi]

Who issued the parking fine?

Was it issued by your landlord?

Was it a fine from the council or a charge from a private company?

You need to defend the claim

[Mindabelle]

Thank you.

One Parking Solutions, a private company, issued the fine.

No, my landlord cancelled, revoked the parking notice.

However, it seems as if I still must defend the claim.

[EnglandPi]

Only the council can issue a fine, a private company issues a parking charge notice, there is a difference.

I don’t understand how your landlord can revoke the parking notice that he didn’t issue? Can you explain this a little more?

You must defend the claim and you only have a limited time to do so.

[Mindabelle]

The landlord contracted OPS to police the parking area.
After receiving the PCN, I contacted our local councillor, who contacted the landlord to say how ridiculous it was to issue a notice in these circumstances.
The landlord agreed, contacted me to say the PCN was revoked, & I assumed they had notified OPS.
It seems not, or else OPS are not accepting of this.

[ploddertom]

You mention a disabled space - is this solely for your use or could any BB holder use it?

[ostell]

So PCN received,,suitably redacted but leave dates. Photos of signs, photo of space area.

have you got documentation showing that the PCN was cancelled? Can you get a copy of the OPS contract that shows the principal can request cancel?

[Mindabelle]

The disabled space was solely ours.
Parking permits needed to be displayed to verify permission to park in any bay.
If I am not replying in order of questions, please forgive me.
I am unused to this method of communication!

[Mindabelle]

I no longer have a car, or use a Blue Badge, so the disability sign painted in the bay was removed.
I still have my residents permit allowing me to park a car in my designated bay.

This is extremely distressing for me - I was nursing my dying husband here at home.
When I received a telephone call from the landlord advising the PCN was revoked, I did not think to ask for a written copy.
However, I did remember a day or so later to email the news to the councillor, who had worked so hard to achieve this for me.
Really, I was letting him know, in order to say thank you.
It never occurred to me that the situation would escalate to this.

So no, I do not have any written confirmation.

I do not believe OPS will respond to any request.

[ostell]

So what does your lease say about parking?

OPS should listen to instructions of their principal

Suggest you go back to the landlord and keep him notified of the situation. He might be willing to give you a copy of the contract.

Why was the disabled space specifically yours?

[Mindabelle]

I really do not know.
I have lived here since 1997.
The parking permits were introduced maybe 10 years ago.
We did receive letters about these, obviously, but from the company issuing the permits, not our landlord.
OPS were only contracted in around 2017, I think.
We were never told by the landlord - it was after my complaint that the landlord did write to all residents to say to say OPS were now managing parking infringements.

I have health problems & am unable to recall all the details of such things.

We did not in any way break our lease.
The landlord acknowledged the over zealousness of OPS & revoked the PCN.

Sorry, I missed some of what you wrote.

I will attempt to trace the person who phoned me from the landlord.
What success I will have is uncertain.

Yes, the parking bays are all assigned to one flat only.
With a permit to be displayed at all times.

When we received our Blue Badges, there were no real parking restrictions, as in many residents parked anywhere.
Even though there were car spaces, they were not assigned to a specific flat.
This did change at a later date, firstly with flat numbers being painted on the bays, then, as I have said, permits were issued to be displayed when parked.
My husband asked the BB department if they could paint the Disabled sign on the bay we always parked in, in order to deter others parking there.
The council agreed to this.
The BB department told us to NOT display our badges, as we were in private property.
The police reinforced this in a letter, because BB's were being stolen from private residential car parks.

[ostell]

So again what does your lease specifically say about parking. Does it say you have to display a permit Does it say you you have to pay a third party if you don't. If you are a tenant what does your landlord's lease say about parking etc.

Photos of the signs may help

[Mindabelle]

I do not know what the lease specifically says.
There have been letters, as I mentioned, stating OPS is responsible for parking infringements.
Whether that constitutes an addition to the original lease, I do not know.

The parking permits, as far as I can remember, were not from OPS, & yes, we were told these must be displayed at all times when parked in our designated bay.
This was always done - the parking permits adhere to the inside of the windscreen.

OPS said we did not display a Blue Badge in a disabled parking bay.
Which was our own designated parking space.
I have written elsewhere we were told to NOT do this.

The letters, there were more than one, which came after my complaint, did state OPS were responsible for parking.

Sorry if I am not answering your questions.
I do seem to be repeating myself.
I am in poor health.
My concentration levels, my ability to comprehend is rapidly deteriorating.

I am house bound, so photographs of signs are not possible.
Not that I would know how to show them to you.
I am not really computer literate, nor do I understand all things digital.

However, I do appreciate you trying to assist me.

[EnglandPi]

So your parking permit was displayed but not your blue badge and that's the reason for the parking charge notice? You need to vigorously defend this and obtain written evidence from your landlord and councillor to backup your defence.

[Mindabelle]

Hello & thank you.

Yes, it is the Blue Badge not showing, in our own designated, disabled, private car space, with the parking permit prominently displayed on the windscreen.

I have emailed my councillor, who harassed the landlord to have the PCN revoked.
I do not expect to hear from him over the weekend.
I will phone him on Monday.

My real fear is not being able to properly concentrate to defend myself in the Claim form.
I might have appeared to be reasonably lucid here, but at a great cost to my well being.
I have needed to take extra medication to be able to be calm enough - this has then given me a huge headache - literally.
I always forget something - I have recognised, diagnosed, acknowledged by my doctor, cognitive problems.

Due to COVID -19, a lot of support seems very difficult to obtain.

However, I have also sent an online request to the CAB.
Maybe I should try Age UK as well?

Why do these letters arrive on a Friday night, or as in this case, Saturday midday?
Leaving people like me extremely anxious.

I do intend to defend this charge.

Many thanks again.