Help! Threat of court from OPC - is this sign valid?

[brazilia]

Hi guys, would love some advice on how to proceed. Here's a quick sum up of where I am now:

- I parked in a resident's bay which I thought was a pay-and-display bay as it was next to a pay-and-display car park.

- I got a ticket for being in a resident's bay

- Ive sent a few appeal letters (all rejected) to OPC on the basis of a few things, mainly that the residents parking sign wasnt clear.

- Just recieved a letter from Windsor Smythe & Partners threatening to pay £200 or face court.

 

Please can you give me advice on what to do now. I know Ive made mistakes by contacting them in the first place, but as of now how should I proceed? I am adament this sign (attached) is totally misleading and not at all clear. It was impossible to read from its height & small text, but even when you can read it, it is unclear. See the word attachment to see a closer view of the sign so you can read the text.

 

I have a feeling they will follow through with the court threat and if they do I am fully prepared to fight it all the way. Guess I just want some unbiased views though please...

 

Thanks!

sign word.doc

Edited July 7, 2010 by brazilia
Update

[Michael Browne]

Plenty of OPC threads here:

opc: site:consumeractiongroup.co.uk - Google Search

[kiptower]

first its NOT A £200 fine they cannot fine you its an invoice, claiming you entered into a contract by parking there, thats where the [problem] falls over for them

 

its a mail [problem]

 

as suggest have a read of the many posts regarding these [problematic]

[Al27]

OPC have lost 6 cases out of 6.

 

One of those cases was solely on signage, which is very poor in OPC's case anyway. Why they thought a little map high up on a pole would be a good idea is beyond me.

 

Muppets.

 

PPC's very rarely do court, but OPC seem to like shooting themselves in foot. Court is unlikely but possible with them.

 

You wouldn't even need to get into the legalities to win this case - signage would be enough.

 

Don't worry if they go through with it and fancy throwing some more money down the drain. People on here will help.

 

If you're very lucky you'll get fake court papers. OPC have already been judged to have been in contempt of court and are staring at being classed as vexatious litigants.

[brazilia]

Thanks mate... that's kind of what I thought but good to get the reassurance- Im absolutely convinced their sign is ridiculous!

 

Is it even worth replying to the debt letter, just to say Im prepared to take the case to court and reiterating my defence or is that a complete waste of time? I just dont want to waste the time taking the day off work to go to court if it can be avoided, even though Im very confident of winning the case

[Al27]

If they want to go to court you can't really stop them I'm afraid.

 

You've done all you can though and told them their signage is flawed.

 

Win number 5 was awarded costs so you might not be out of pocket should they be silly enough to try it on again.

[brazilia]

UPDATE... Ive just received a claim via the courts (money claim online). I will defend this for sure and am very confident about winning in court. My question is about compensation though- do I need to file a counterclaim to get compensation (for time wasted writing letters, day off work to attend court etc) or can this be offered regardless of whether I formally claim against them? I do not want to complicate the case by submitting a counterclaim (and I would need to pay a fee to do this too).

 

Thanks for any advice...

[afcwben]

UPDATE... Ive just received a claim via the courts (money claim online). I will defend this for sure and am very confident about winning in court. My question is about compensation though- do I need to file a counterclaim to get compensation (for time wasted writing letters, day off work to attend court etc) or can this be offered regardless of whether I formally claim against them? I do not want to complicate the case by submitting a counterclaim (and I would need to pay a fee to do this too).

 

Thanks for any advice...

 

Based on what I have seen you will only be able to claim for proven losses such as a days pay if you lose a days pay, transport costs, parking costs (that would be funny)

[Michael Browne]

Loss of earnings is limited to £50 in Small Claims Court and even that is at the discretion of the court

[brazilia]

Thanks - so do I need to formally submit and pay for a counterclaim now when responding with my defence or can I just reject their claim without submitting a counter, but then ask for any costs / compensation at the end of court when I win?

 

Also, is there a chance they could drop the case upon seeing my defence and is that chance reduced by me counterclaiming? I basically just could do without the hassle of attending court, whether I get compensation or not!

 

Also... I will win this one yeh - can't see how they could possibly win based on that sign?!

[Michael Browne]

can I just reject their claim without submitting a counter, but then ask for any costs / compensation at the end of court when I win?

 

Yes, but you won't get compensation, only costs

[brazilia]

Thanks Michael... so what would you do in my position?

[Michael Browne]

Just enter a defence, no counterclaim. For now you can acknowledge the claim online (there should be a password on the claim form). You then have 28 days from the deemed date of service to enter a defence

[Al27]

PM sent

[lamma]

OPC have gone mental.

[kiptower]

next thing will be a message saying "please let us win at least 1 court case"

[phil_nottingham]

I would certainly get someone to go through your defence properly on here via pm with some of the more experianced peeps to go through a tooth comb and all that and to make sure its worded right etc.

 

(oh to avoid the prying eyes of guests *waves*)

[brazilia]

Thanks for all the comments everyone... and for the PM, which I've now responded to.

 

Just can't believe theyve taken this case so far, its crazy.

[phil_nottingham]

Let us know how you get on:)

[letshelp]

Looks like another easy win against OPC, surely they must be bordering on being classed as vexatious litigants by now. I am really surprised they haven't been spanked by a DJ on their POC alone.

regards

[afcwben]

Loss of earnings is limited to £50 in Small Claims Court and even that is at the discretion of the court

Is this right? A days pay for me is much more than this, surely if I prove exactly what my daily rate is that is a definite loss and I should be entitled to that back

[Michael Browne]

Practice Direction 27 7.3(1):

 

7.3

 

The amounts which a party may be ordered to pay under rule 27.14(3)© (loss of earnings) and (d) (experts’ fees) are:

 

 

(1) for the loss of earnings or loss of leave of each party or witness due to attending a hearing or staying away from home for the purpose of attending a hearing, a sum not exceeding £50 per day for each person,

 

PRACTICE DIRECTION 27 – SMALL CLAIMS TRACK - Ministry of Justice

[afcwben]

Practice Direction 27 7.3(1):

 

 

 

PRACTICE DIRECTION 27 – SMALL CLAIMS TRACK - Ministry of Justice

 

How about I invoice them for my days pay including VAT

[Michael Browne]

Loss of earnings is not subject to VAT

[afcwben]

Loss of earnings is not subject to VAT

My time is billed through my own Ltd company, this means my company will lose a days revenue that would not be classes as loss of earnings, would it?