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Excel Parking Services Ltd - Parked in a disabled space - Ivybridge Retail Park, Twickenham
Posted by notagain on 30 Jun, 2025 23:04 -
Hi all,
Looking for some help from the pros here, received some great advice last year.
I got a small money claim in the post, from Excel Parking Services Ltd, represented by ELMS Legal, regarding an alleged parking incident. Didn't know this was an issue until I got this letter from the courts.
Shortly after, I received a letter from ELMS Legal about notification of proceedings.
Due to limited time, I went ahead and submitted a defence without seeking help, possibly too quickly..so I'm hoping for some retrospective guidance from the experts.
Background..
Alleged contravention date: 12/01/25
Claim particulars mention parking in a disabled bay. I am the registered keeper. My father is a blue badge holder and does drive my car often.. but I don't remember what I had for tea last week let alone what happened in January.
Re: service of letters, I live in a tower block where mail often goes missing. We have an unmanned lobby where Royal Mail and other services leave letters and packages which often get stolen or lost.
Actions so far:
1. Defence submitted (attached for review).
2. Received "Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track" containing Form N180, and I’m unsure about Section D – “Suitability for determination without a hearing.”
I was going to tick yes, but now I'm thinking that might weaken my position if the claimant adds new evidence later and there's no chance to argue my side in person? Running the risk of having the judge decide based on whatever ELMS/Excel present.
Would be very kind if someone could help with the following:
1. Any input on how to handle Section D of the N180. Should I be pushing for the hearing? What can I expect?
2. Thoughts on my defence and whether I've missed something that could've been in my favour?
3. Any advice on what else I should be doing at this stage.
Attachments:
- Particulars of claim
- Letter from ELMS
- My submitted defence
Appreciate any help you guys can offer, thank you.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] -
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The defence is not too bad. Did you send that to the CNBC or did you use the MCOL defence webform?
Is Elms Legal still handling the claim or have Excel taken it back in-house?
As for the N180 DQ just follow this advice:
Having received your own N180 (make sure it is not simply a copy of the claimants N180), do not use the paper form. Ignore all the other forms that came with it. you can discard those. Download your own here and fill it in on your computer. You sign it by simply typing your full name in the signature box.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673341e779e9143625613543/N180_1124.pdf
Here are the answers to some of the less obvious questions:• The name of the court is "Civil National Business Centre".
• To be completed by "Your full name" and you are the "Defendant".
• C1: "YES"
• D1: "NO". Reason: "I wish to question the Claimant about their evidence at a hearing in person and to expose omissions and any misleading or incorrect evidence or assertions.
Given the Claimant is a firm who complete cut & paste parking case paperwork for a living, having this case heard solely on papers would appear to put the Claimant at an unfair advantage, especially as they would no doubt prefer the Defendant not to have the opportunity to expose the issues in the Claimants template submissions or speak as the only true witness to events in question.."
• F1: Whichever is your nearest county court. Use this to find it:
• F3: "1".
• Sign the form by simply typing your full name for the signature.
When you have completed the form, attach it to a single email addressed to both dq.cnbc@justice.gov.uk and info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC in yourself. Make sure that the claim number is in the subject field of the email. -
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Thanks a lot for looking at this for me.
- Yeah I sent it through the MCOL web form.
- Well I’ve never heard from Excel so I think it’s ELMS. And they’re listed on the claim form that was sent to me.
- Thank you for the advice with the N180! Will get this completed shortly.
- Since you think hearing is the best action to take, do you know what next steps will be? I think there’s mediation ?but I’m going to be asking them to stop the action and obviously refuse to pay a penny.
- If I have to do a hearing, what can I expect? What should I do to prep?
Thanks again!
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I f you used the MCOL to submit your defence, then I fear that much of it may have been truncated and it will certainly have no formatting.
I asked whether Excel had taken over as they often use Elms to file the claim and the dismiss them and take back control through their in-house litigation team. They would appear to have stopped doing this recently.
At some point the claim will be allocated to your local court and you will receive postal notification of the hearing date and deadlines for the claimant to pay the 27 trial fee and for both parties to submit their witness statements and evidence.
Do not submit your WS until you've seen theirs. As for what happens on the day, here is a short video that explains it:
https://youtu.be/n93eoaxhzpU?si=-RfIWKkLoP7jQQqT -
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Hello all,
Firstly want to thank everyone that has helped so far.
I had my mediation a little while ago, long story short they said they'd be pursuing because they claimed to have sent a Notice to Keeper. And they made an offer to settle for £180. I rejected, and counter offered an amount I deemed was worth not having to deal with the stress of the situation..£40. As you'd expect, they rejected this.
Following failed mediation, they emailed an offer of £145. In response, I asked for the evidence they intend to reply upon. They have sent images, as well as an NTK document, and an NTK reminder.
Emails, and evidence they emailed has been attached. Any assistance is sincerely appreciated, not too sure what my next action should be.
The image of the sign they sent is not readable at all, and images of the vehicle do not show that the vehicle was parked in a disabled bay.
Thanks!
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I hope your silly offer of £40 was made without prejudice! Any offer is an admission of liability and unless was made without prejudice, will come back to haunt you!
As the Keeper, you cannot be liable. Only the driver can be liable and they have no idea who that is unless you blab it to them. Without the drivers identity, you are going to win.
What they have sent you is not ‘evidence’. You must wait for their Witness Statement (WS).
Do not respond to that letter from Elms. Do not try and overthink this by accidentally admitting liability. Their NtK is not PoFA compliant and you will be relying on the persuasive appellate case of Brennan v Premier Parking Solutions (2023):where the judge rules that without a definitive period of parking noted on the NtK, it is not PoFA compliant and the burden of proof is on the claimant to prove that the defendant is the driver. How on earth do you imagine they can do that, unless you have blabbed it? -
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Yes sir - made without prejudice!
Hero - thank you for the advice. I will no longer reply to them, and will wait for their witness statement.
So essentially, I will be arguing that due to the NtK not containing a period of parking, the NtK fails POFA compliance and is inadmissible? Which then brings it back to the driver being liable, and I have no idea who that is. And neither does Excel/ELMS.
Am I on the right path here? Will search for the exact wording on the Brennan v Premier Parking Solutions case so I can prep!
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So essentially, I will be arguing that due to the NtK not containing a period of parking, the NtK fails POFA compliance and is inadmissible?
You aren't saying that it is inadmissible, but rather that because they haven't complied with PoFA, they cannot recover the charges from the keeper. Compliance with PoFA isn't mandatory, but if they don't comply, they can only hold the driver liable.
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Hi all,
Just want to thank you for all your help thus far.
I have my hearing at the county court tomorrow. Nervous. But I think my main point is the PoFA compliance.
I did want to just send a few documents in Excel's evidence pack. Perhaps just for a last minute sanity check (from any of you that may see this before tomorrow).
Please let me know if you have any further advice. Also - any advice towards do's/don'ts for this hearing would be very helpful as it's my first time doing this.
Thank you! Pictures below.
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Good luck. Get there at leat 30 minutes early so you can get through security and let the Usher know that you've arrived for your hearing. If the Claimant has sent an advocate, you can usually expect them to try and be really friendly and to try and persuade you that you have no chance. Politely refer them to the answer given in Arkell v Pressdram (1971) and you do not wish to discuss the case unless it is in the presence of the judge.
Remember your main defence is that the driver is not identified and their NtK is not PoFA compliant as it fails Paragraph 9(2)(a) because it does not state a "period of parking". You then refer to Brennan v Premier Parking Solutions (2023) which is a PERSUASIVE appellate case where the judge noted that without a specified "period of parking" noted on the NtK, (separate evidential photos with timestamps do not count) then it is not fully compliant with ALL the requirements of PoFA and the Keeper cannot be liable for the charge.
In addition to the above, remind the judge that their own Code of Practice requires a consideration period of at least 5 minutes for the driver to study the terms and conditions before accepting them and remaining parked or deciding to not accept them and leave. Without evidencing a minimum consideration period in their NtK, they have not proven that any contract was formed with the driver.
Remember, if you win, to ask for your costs of at least up to £95 for loss of earnings and any transport/travel and parking etc. If you drive, you can claim at 45p/mile round trip.
As for the day itself. have a watch of this short video of what to expect:
https://youtu.be/n93eoaxhzpU?feature=shared
Whatever the outcome, please remember to report back on how the day went, with as much detail as possible. -
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Thank you so much mate, you’ve been an incredible help. I will post back after the hearing tomorrow to let you know how it went.
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@notagain, how did your case go?
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