Hi Helen, i saw your comment and sent a private message about my situation and how i responded. to be honest until i received court papers i didnt reply at all. once i had a proper court letter (northampton) asking for information formally i ignored the whole thing. i did worry BUT try not to. it will be dropped because they are far to lazy to progress. i was quite prepared to go to court and say that their claim was complete rubbish. their inflated costs are ridiculous and i would have een happy to defend. it does effect credit to defend in court and in reality are they going to send someone out to court to argue against the hundreds of tickets they issue? No. im so glad that these people on the forum are around to help and i actually cant believe CEL and this situation is even legal. i have pictures of the machine etc if you need them at night time as well as in the day.

yes its the same ticket. i had written on the first thread (Ads-uk) as it was in the same area on the same car park and so was assuming you would prefer not to have hundreds of threads about the same thing. the post individually was when i was asked to do so. I didn't plaster it all over anything i was trying to provide an update incase anyone else was in my situation and then they could see that my court was stayed as CEL didnt pay. also it meant that you weren't keeping an eye out to keep giving advise. it would be helpful to remember that not everyone is familiar with the forums and the way the threads work. you are all great at providing help but this is normally a first time thing for most of us and its easy for you to forget that is quite worrying when you are dealing with it daily and it becomes the norm. im sorry if my above advise is incorrect and i did suggest that Helen follows the lead from the people here as you have been really helpful. i thought it may help for her to see that although i had done things wrong the case was still dropped. its such a huge con and completely shocking that these companies are allow to do this sort of thing and scare people and im so greatful for the advise recieved here. Thanks

Hi all. I know you told me to start a new threadicon but just to update this one.... I got a letter from the court dated the 5th sept saying cel haven’t paid the court feee and so the case is struck out. Yesterday I get a letter dated 29/8 saying I can pay 100 and they wouldn’t take me to court, too late of course! They sent me what looked like a standard format letter and a witness statement. It was received after the date so I guess it’s just a late attempt to get you to cough up! I’d suggest that cel will drop it as I hadn’t even sent my witness statement in.

helen, id lodge a defence, all i did was write that it was dark (it was 8pm for me) i did subsequently learn that you shouldnt admit keeper liability. The people on these forums are amazing. please dont panic and please dont pay. i know it is easy for me to say now that mine was stayed but thwey are just trying to scare you. they have no right to take money from you. i decided that even if i had to go to court then id happily try to defend my case because they are robbers to say that you owe hundreds of pounds when a parking space is £2.50 for the whole day is disgusting and i would have been prepared to say that to a judge.

Hi all. I know you told me to start a new thread but just to update this one.... I got a letter from the court dated the 5th sept saying cel haven’t paid the court feee and so the case is struck out. Yesterday I get a letter dated 29/8 saying I can pay 100 and they wouldn’t take me to court, too late of course! They sent me what looked like a standard format letter and a witness statement. It was received after the date so I guess it’s just a late attempt to get you to cough up! I’d suggest that cel will drop it as I hadn’t even sent my witness statement in. Robbing b-dogs! Thanks for all the help!

Thanks for coming back to me i really appreciate it. Did you send the details to CEL direct? and provide a reference? Ive not contacted them direct at all and only sent my directions questionnaire via the courts email. i wonder if i need to change tact. they had to pay the £25 court fee by the 31st otherwise the case is thrown out and so im not sure whether thats been done yet. ill have 14 days to lodge my witness statement though so want to get it sorted out and submitted just in case it does go through. Another thread suggests i wait until they submit a WS but i dont want to leave it late and end up on the backfoot i am quite happy to go to court to try and argue my case about the car park but ideally would love it to be dropped to save taking a day off work etc. Also im just about to buy a house so worried about my credit report. i know ill not get a CCJ as long as i pay straight away. its still a worry.

im not sure i can mention anything to do with Keepers resonsibility as in my earlier defence i mention that i parked there. so i left that point out of my WS as i didnt want to contriict myself you see. Ill definately use the other points and amend my document. they had until the 31st to pay the court fee so im guessing ill find out shortly if they want to proceed. i really hope not

hi i beloeve the N180 is the directions questionnaire and i sent this to the ccbcaq email address because thats what it asked me to do. am i supposed to send the information through to CEL also? I havent done that at the moment.

When you say them, do you mean CEL or do you mean the courts? I've had nothing at all from CEL and only one letter chasing a PCN which i ignored at the very beginning. the courts, i had adirections questionnaire which i completed and returned, they asked if id take mediation which i said i would and since heard nothing, apart from the notice of allocation (with a court date)

nope! i can do this now, my court date is the 28th September and it says on my notice of allocation that if they dont pay the court fee of £25 prior to 31st (today) it is thrown out. im crossing my fingers but think they will and want to be prepared. i only have until the 14th to file my witness statement because i have to give it to them 14 days before court. i don't mean to be stupid but is the request for informatrion you refer to asking CEL to provide a copy of their documents or to ask for the copy of the contract i entered into?

i understand it isnt a fine and instead its an invoice (for want of a better word) for payment as i breached their terms for using the land. it was just a term i was using to try to put my situation forward. Any help/feedback on my witness statement would be appreciated so that i can get it submitted. i guess the earlier i get it submitted the better. am i able to amend the WS once submitted? in addition does anyone know whether they are likely to pay the £25 court fee? they are then out of pocket and may be more likely to take me to court?

Hi There, In the first instance id like to highlight that i have already put forward a rubbish defence and may already have scuppered my chances of winning but thought i may be able to get some help and guidance to try and argue in court. I received a letter from LLP chasing a parking fine which i never received. the fine was in October last year. i ignored all letters until i received a directions questionnaire. i then responded and said.... I dont believe i should have to pay this fine because up until recently this car park was free. I didn't realise that a fee was payable, if i did o would have paid the 2.50 charge. You will note that i was on the car park late in the evening and normally most car parks are free at this time. I was visiting Khans (restaurant) and now they offer to pay parking anyway and so it wouldn't have been an issue. It was very dark and i drove in the entrance but exited by foot by the pedestrian access which wasn't sign written. I would hope at the very least due to human error the charge can be reduced if not removed. I know a number of people in the area have had tickets in the same situation. I believe the original fine is 40-60, which i cant see is fair as i would have had to be parked for a number of hours which i wasn't. I know here ive blown my best defense as ive said above that i was driving. im hoping to limit the impact though. ive now started to pull together my witness statement and have listed as below... 1- i parked at a car park, Address: Lambourne House, Bridge Cross Road Burntwood, WS7 2BX. on DATE, In order to issue and to pursue unpaid charges via litigation, the Claimant is required to have the written authority of the landowner, on whose behalf they are acting as an agent. CEL has taken no steps to provide evidence that such authority has been supplied by the Claimant or their legal representatives, and the Claimant is put to strict proof. 2- The parking signs were unclear on the route I took to visit the adjacent shops, it was dark, night-time and the signage was unlit and illegible, and neither were the terms at a height that could have been lit up by headlights. Hence there was no agreed contract nor any 'legitimate interest' excuse for the Claimant to avoid the charge falling foul of the penalty rule, and ParkingEye v Beavis is distinguished. (Exhibit x - photos of the unlit signs taken without a flash). 3- i have responded to the previous correspondence issued by the courts and offered mediation to CEL but they have not taken the opportunity to discuss the case directly or via mediation and have decided to pursue via litigation. Unconscionable and unrecoverable inflation of the 'parking charge' 4.1 In addition to the original parking charge, for which liability is denied, the Claimants have artificially inflated the value of the Claim by adding purported Solicitor's Costs of £50, which I submit have not actually been incurred by the Claimant. 4.2 Whilst £50 may be recoverable in an instance where a claimant has used a legal firm to prepare a claim, ParkingEye Ltd have not expended any such sum in this case. This Claimant has a Legal Team with salaried in-house Solicitors and it files hundreds of similar 'cut & paste' robo-claims per month, not incurring any legal cost per case. I put the Claimant to strict proof to the contrary because the in-house Solicitors cannot possibly be believed to be paid in the millions per annum for their services. 4.3. The added 'legal' cost is in fact an artificially invented figure, which represents a cynical attempt to circumvent the Small Claims costs rules and achieve double recovery. In Beavis, only the parking charge itself (£85) was pursued and the sum was scrutinised by the Supreme Court and held to already include a significant sum in profit; being a pre-set sum dressed up as a fee or charge agreed in contract. This was already significantly over and above the very minimal costs of operating an automated ticketing regime, and it was held that the claim could not have been pleaded as damages, and would have failed. 4.4. Similarly, in Somerfield a £75 parking charge was not held to be a penalty but a sum mentioned in the harassing letters of double that amount, almost certainly would be. 5. The defendant denies the claim in its entirety voiding any liability to the claimant for all amounts claimed due to the aforementioned reasons. The Court is invited to dismiss the Claim, and to allow such Defendant's costs as are permissible under Civil Procedure Rule 27.14. 6. I invite the Court to dismiss this claim in its entirety, and to award my costs of attendance at the hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14. Statement of Truth I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true. i have attached the pictures of the sign in daylight and the ticket machine which i took from another thread (ill re-fresh these before i submit) i have used some infor from MSE website to help get me on track but hoping for a little more help with regard to signage. i entered the site at 9pm and so will take a picture of the sign at the same time to help prove the case. also i exited the car park through the pedestrian access and so will take further pictures of the lack of signage in the walkway. ive attached the pictures i have. anymore guidance would be great. CEL have to pay court fees by tomorrow and then they can take me to court. if they do i only have till the 14th sept to get my witness statement in and so id appreciate help before then

ive had a ticket from the same carpark and im being taken to court at the end of september, are you able to update as to how you got on and what defence you used? am i able to use your pictures? i parked at night time and was visiting Khans, didnt realise i would have to pay at 9pm, plus it was dark so missed the signs. im really hoping that at the very least i just pay the parking charge of £60 as now the charge is at £300 and i just think that is disgusting!