Free Traffic Legal Advice

Does anyone know a good legal advisor / solicitor (someone who i could speak to over the phone preferably? (Cheaper the better)

I don't personally know any. It's not an area many solicitors will be likely to have much expertise in (beyond expertise in contract law, which applies to this of course), as it's comparatively rare for people to instruct them on private parking matters, due to the usually small amounts of money at stake.

I'd be surprised if you found one that charged less than the cost of the charge as it currently stands.

As Hcandersen asks, what's your aim here, to negotiate a settlement or defend the claim?

Just to check a couple of things, can you show us:

• The original parking charge notice (both pages)
• The response they claim to have sent (included in your SAR), including any dates on there

Also, just to check, your SAR should include a copy of the appeal you submitted, have you checked that you definitely provided the correct postcode in there?
[/list]

So, to clarify:

• Your DVLA address at the time was in Worthing, and the last 2 characters in that postcode are "JG"?
• Your current address, that you provided them in your appeal, in in Worthing, and the last two characters of that postcode are also "JG"?

If the answer to Q2 is 'no', then what address is shown on the appeal on page 16?

If you're trying to negotiate payment, I'm struggling to see a scenario where you end up paying just £60. You can make an offer to the parking company to settle for £60, but if they decline, your options are to negotiate upwards, or go to court, where even if the judge agreed it should have been £60, it'll cost more than that with the limited fees for the case.

All of the above is assuming you don't run a defence against the whole charge, although so far we haven't seen much that would suggest a good one.

So the Hove postcode does not end in "JG"?

What postcode is on the appeal on P.16?

What postcode is on the appeal on P.16?

Please answer this

I thought it might be... How sure are you that you entered the correct postcode when you appealed?

All of the information in the SAR, including an apparent copy of your submissions, includes the wrong postcode, which to the casual observer would suggest you provided the wrong one.

I think the most positive thing from the pack was the proof of postage letters and the fact one wasn't included for the appeal rejection?
(If that is a proof of postage, but that's what it seems to be to me)

I'm not sure it's of much substantive benefit, especially if (as seems possible), you have provided the wrong postcode, as there's a good chance it would not have been received either way.

I certainly wouldn't be going to court on the basis of an incorrect postcode that you accept may have been an error on your part. Additionally, the original notice says the discount is available for 14 days - it says nothing about them extending this if your appeal is unsuccessful. It seems they did this anyway, but they could argue this was a gesture of goodwill, and you've no 'right' in law to goodwill. And finally, even if you did go to court and the judge agreed the charge should be £60, by the time you'd paid the court fee and legal rep's fee it'd probably be more like £145 anyway.

Nothing you've posted so far seems to suggest much of a defence, unless there's anything helpful in the signage?