Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello,

Currently involved in a small court claim with parking eye in regards to overstaying at a car park by 17 minutes. The overstay was not intentional at all.

The situation at the time is I parked my car at a parking area that was run by PE by a ship dock as I am a visitor at a cruise ship with a friend, required to pay for the amount of time either by their machine or Paybyphone app. Parked up at a spot, looked for my wallet to see what coins I have to pay for parking and helped my friend unload their luggage, this totalled to approx 3 to 5 minutes since entering location.

After I went to look for the pay machine to see the prices and hoped to pay by cash to which I found costed more than what I had in my wallet, so only other way to pay was using the Paybyphone app. So walking up to the machine looking at the price added approximately 1 to 2 minutes.

Now I'm trying to pay for the parking using the app. Tried a few times paying and entering my card details multiple of times and using different type of payment to no success due to end. I then went to play store to see maybe the app need updating as the last time I used the app was significantly long time ago, to which it did need updating and so I did do it and tried to pay for the parking again only to reach with the same outcome. Next attempt was calling to make auto payment using my keypad on phone, again entering my card details in the end it said it was declined. I know I got money on my account so I double checked and ensuring no payment was taken out. I do have money in card so attempted again as maybe it was just a one time system error, but again reached to same conclusion so I attempted again using another card to which I know had money, but again failed as it was declined. this really confused me and by this time approximately 5 to 7 minutes gone by.

Final attempt is to do it by Paybyphone on the online browser. Used exactly same details and card and this time it was a success. This only took approximately 1 to 2 minutes.

After being a guest at the ship and returning my guest pass the reception asked if I have a car in car parked, to which I said yes, they then responded to input my vehicle registration for the free parking. I declined the offer as I already paid for the parking and it is within time I leave. Admitedly getting back to the car, starting it up, inputting my next destination on sat nav and leaving the site have made me overstayed passed the 'end' time of my ticket by just under 5 minutes.

They have sent Parking noticed, but due to how busy I was, I was not able to open the letter and see it was from until after a significant amount of time passed to which then I oppened all my letters at once and looked at it to which it reached to small claims court. I have emailed them in regards to it and responded to the letter and now in its in the stage just after filling out the N180 (Directions questionnaire) form for the court. I get that is is my fault as not opeening the letters and if responded on time it would not reach to where it is now, yes my due delligence have made a stupid mistake. However, the proposal to settle without court they have given me seems unreasonable (to me anyways).

Their propasal is they are willing to lower the charge to £190 from £210 (supposedly to recover their cost) or go to court hearing. I do not fancy ccj on my credit file as it is very bad currently, topping that would damage it significantly more, What would people do in this situation or what advice can I get? Is it possible to fight it or should I pay their proposal? If paying for the proposal is it possible to make a payment plan with them as money falls very short and struggling with multiple thing at the moment.

Thank you in advance for any guidance/advice. (I may have missed some things out so please ask any question for clarification if needed)

Yes, This is by Myaflower dock in Southmapton. Sorry forgot to input location.

Thank you for your response.
1: I did not open my mail for a long time, maybe a month and half at most 2 as at the time there was so much going on. As I had free time time I oppened all my mails at once and sorted them into category. At that point I did not receive mail in regards to court, but I did get 'Letter before county court claim' so I decided to email them about the fine and told them I had made a payment, their automated email did mention about a response within 10 working days. However I think it was the next day or 2 I received mail in regards about going to court to which i respond to that mail.

2: Notice to keeper? I assume the original letter they (PE) sent first?

3: I have responded to anything that has anything court related quickly as it has frightened me and in particular don't want to go to court.

4: Please see attached (I'm assuming this is the form)

5: I have acknowledged service, have filed a defence, Today 31.03.2025 have received their response to the defence along with a proposal 'without prejudice (save as to costs)' letter to bring the matter to a conclusion without further costs to both parties they are willing to accept £190 in settlement to the original sum recovery of £210. Supposed offer is made as a gesture of goodwill according to the letter. the offer is open for 14 days from the date of the letter (24.03.2025), already 7 days gone but only got letter today 31.03.2025.

So basically worth fighting at court at worse case still have to pay if I loose the case and avoid CCJ?

If you are to have any chance of properly rescuing your mistakes, we need to see the following:

1. The Notice to Keeper (NtK)
2. Your response to the Letter of Claim (LoC)
3. Your exact wording you entered for your defence and whether you used the MCOL webform or sent it separately by email or post.

Without this information, we will be unable to assist properly.

If you'd come here as soon as you received the PCN, we could have had this quashed at POPLA. As the location of the alleged contravention was on land that is not relevant for PoFA, all you had to do was decline to identify the driver and there would have been nothing else they could do to hold you liable as the Keeper.

However, you are where you are and have possibly made several other mistakes in your response to both the LoC and our defence.

One thing you should not worry about is getting a CCJ on your record. Have a rad of the following to understand what the complete process is to getting a CCJ and having it remain on your credit record or not:

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) does not just happen—it follows a clear legal process. If someone gets a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from a private parking company, here's what happens step by step:

1. Parking Charge Notice (PCN) Issued

• The parking company sends a letter (Notice to Keeper) demanding money.

• This is not a fine—it’s an invoice for an alleged breach of contract.

2. Opportunity to Appeal

• The recipient can appeal to the parking company.

•If rejected, they may be able to appeal to POPLA (if BPA member) or IAS (if IPC member).

• If an appeal is lost or ignored, the parking company demands payment.

3. Debt Collection Letters

• The parking company might send scary letters or pass the case to a debt collector.

• Debt collectors have no power—they just send letters and can be ignored.

• No CCJ happens at this stage.

4. Letter Before Claim (LBC)

• If ignored for long enough, the parking company (or their solicitor) sends a Letter Before Claim (LBC).

• This is a warning that they may start a court case.

• The recipient has 30 days to reply before a claim is filed.

• No CCJ happens at this stage.

5. County Court Claim Issued

• If ignored or unpaid, the parking company may file a claim with the County Court.

• The court sends a Claim Form with details of the claim and how to respond.

• The recipient has 14 days to respond (or 28 days if they acknowledge it).

• No CCJ happens at this stage.

6. Court Process

• If the recipient defends the claim, a judge decides if they owe money.

• If the recipient ignores the claim, the parking company wins by default.

• No CCJ happens yet unless the recipient loses and ignores the court.

7. Judgment & Payment

• If the court rules that money is owed, the recipient has 30 days to pay in full.

• If they pay within 30 days, no CCJ goes on their credit file.

• If they don’t pay within 30 days, the CCJ stays on their credit file for 6 years.

Conclusion

CCJs do not appear out of thin air. They only happen if:

• A parking company takes the case to court.

• The person loses or ignores the case.

• The person fails to pay within 30 days.

If you engage with the process (appeal, defend, or pay on time), no CCJ happens.

In other words, even if you went through the whole process and were unsuccessful with the claim, you will never have a CCJ recorded on your credit file as long as the CCJ is paid in full within 30 days of it being issued.

Attached is the response to my defence from PE

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Show us the back of the NtK. Does it have a PoFA statement?

I don't think you have much chance if this goes all the way to a hearing and damage limitation is the best course of action for now. I will wait and see if anyone else disagrees and suggest another route.

However, given the admission of driver identity, absence of early appeal, and a weak initial defence, the cost of an N244 (£303) to request an amendment to your defence would be disproportionate and unlikely to yield a significantly better outcome. The most strategic route now is damage control.

I would suggest you send the following to the ParkingEye legal team and wait and see what response you get:

WITHOUT PREJUDICE SAVE AS TO COSTS

Re: County Court Claim No. [INSERT CLAIM NUMBER]
Vehicle Registration: YD09HGY
Date of Alleged Parking Event: 2nd November 2024

Dear ParkingEye Legal Department,

I write regarding the above County Court claim currently being pursued by ParkingEye Ltd.

In the interests of resolving this matter without the need for a final hearing and to avoid the incurrence of further unnecessary time and costs on both sides, I would be grateful if you could confirm whether you are willing to settle the claim for a reduced amount, and if so, what figure you would be prepared to accept.

This enquiry is made entirely without prejudice save as to costs and with a view to reaching a proportionate and mutually acceptable resolution at this stage of proceedings.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Full Name]

Depending on what they come back with, we can advise further at that time.

I don't think you have much chance if this goes all the way to a hearing and damage limitation is the best course of action for now. I will wait and see if anyone else disagrees and suggest another route.

Agreed - the defence essentially admits to the contravention alleged. Negotiating seems sensible.