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    • Yep, I read that and thought about trying to find out what the consideration and grace period is at Riverside but not sure I can. I know they say "You must tell us the specific consideration/grace period at a site if our compliance team or our agents ask what it is"  but I doubt they would disclose it to the public, maybe I should have asked in my CPR 31.14 letter? Yes, I think I can get rid of 5 minutes. I am also going to include a point about BPA CoP: 13.2 The reference to a consideration period in 13.1 shall not apply where a parking event takes place. I think that is Deception .... They giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other!
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    • Regarding a driver, that HAS paid for parking but input an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number.   This is an easy mistake to make, especially if a driver has access to more than one vehicle. First of all, upon receiving an NTK/PCN it is important to check that the Notice fully complies with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 before deciding how to respond of course. The general advice is NOT to appeal to the Private Parking Company as, for example, you may identify yourself as driver and in certain circumstances that could harm your defence at a later stage. However, after following a recent thread on this subject, I have come to the conclusion that, in the case of inputting an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number, which is covered by “de minimis” it may actually HARM your defence at a later stage if you have not appealed to the PPC at the first appeal stage and explained that you DID pay for parking and CAN provide proof of parking, it was just that an incorrect VRN was input in error. Now, we all know that the BPA Code of Practice are guidelines from one bunch of charlatans for another bunch of charlatans to follow, but my thoughts are that there could be problems in court if a judge decides that a motorist has not followed these guidelines and has not made an appeal at the first appeal stage, therefore attempting to resolve the situation before it reaches court. From BPA Code of Practice: Section 17:  Keying Errors B) Major Keying Errors Examples of a major keying error could include: • Motorist entered their spouse’s car registration • Motorist entered something completely unrelated to their registration • Motorist made multiple keying errors (beyond one character being entered incorrectly) • Motorist has only entered a small part of their VRM, for example the first three digits In these instances we would expect that such errors are dealt with appropriately at the first appeal stage, especially if it can be proven that the motorist has paid for the parking event or that the motorist attempted to enter their VRM or were a legitimate user of the car park (eg a hospital patient or a patron of a restaurant). It is appreciated that in issuing a PCN in these instances, the operator will have incurred charges including but not limited to the DVLA fee and other processing costs therefore we believe that it is reasonable to seek to recover some of these costs by making a modest charge to the motorist of no more than £20 for a 14-day period from when the keying error was identified before reverting to the charge amount at the point of appeal. Now, we know that the "modest charge" is unenforceable in law, however, it would be up to the individual if they wanted to pay and make the problem go away or in fact if they wanted to contest the issue in court. If the motorist DOES appeal to the PPC explaining the error and the PPC rejects the appeal and the appeal fails, the motorist can use that in his favour at court.   Defence: "I entered the wrong VRN by mistake Judge, I explained this and I also submitted proof of payment for the relevant parking period in my appeal but the PPC wouldn't accept that"   If the motorist DOES NOT appeal to the PPC in the first instance the judge may well use that as a reason to dismiss the case in the claimant's favour because they may decide that they had the opportunity to resolve the matter at a much earlier stage in the proceedings. It is my humble opinion that a motorist, having paid and having proof of payment but entering the wrong VRN, should make an appeal at the first appeal stage in order to prevent problems at a later stage. In this instance, I think there is nothing to be gained by concealing the identity of the driver, especially if at a later stage, perhaps in court, it is said: “I (the driver) entered the wrong VRN.” Whether you agree or not, it is up to the individual to decide …. but worth thinking about. Any feedback, especially if you can prove to the contrary, gratefully received.
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MBNA/Restons - CC hearing Mon 19 July - is it too late to do anything?


ernieB
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Firstly I do know how ridiculously late in the day it is to be thinking about a defence. Aside from ill health, work, death in the family, terminal sloth has also been a contributing factor. If anyone is able to give any help or any suggestions at all it would be much appreciated.

 

Brief timeline:-

 

June 09 - DMP with PayPlan started including Virgin/MBNA card. No payments missed to date on DMP. MBNA suspend interest and charges before handing over to Restons.

 

Feb 10 - First letter from Restons. Various correspondence but the amount I can afford to pay is not acceptable to them.

 

March 10 - Legal proceedings commenced

 

7 April 10 - My defence lodged with Northampton CC

 

13 May 10 - No response and Northampton confirm claim stayed

 

This is where I took my eye off the ball

 

Received N152 but did not respond

 

11 June 10 - N24 Notice of Hearing issued - again did not respond

 

Mon 19 July 10 - CC hearing due causing major panic attack on Fri 16 July.

 

 

I know the couldas and shouldas and I know that it is absurdly late in the day but if anyone could give me any advice at all I would be so grateful. I have no idea if any defence is even possible.

 

Thanks in nervous anticipation.

 

 

ErnieB

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Just be extremely polite and make a verbal statement about your circumstances. Try to write down something or type up a sheet to read to the account if you are allowed. Along the lines.

 

May I sir/madam make a brief statement about the matter at hand.

 

Explain timeline history of this, per your post and of the personal matters that affected you. Apologise to the court about not responding to the n152 and notice of hearing and ask for the help of the court to reach an amicable settlement. At all times make it clear that you have at no time avoided to negotiate making repayments at an affordable level.

 

I suspect the court will then arrange to assess your financial cirumstances, with a view to trying to come to an agreement on how to settle this debt.

We could do with some help from you.

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Thanks for that Uncle, I haven't been able to access this thread any earlier today.

 

I have put together details of payments made to the DMP and the other creditors. I am concerned that this CCJ will mess up the DMP and the other creditors will follow Restons' lead.

 

Restons have actually agreed to the terms of the DMP but I assume this has no legal standing in the County Court.

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If you had been making regular payment into a DMP to be received by Restons, the court would obviously then be interested as to why they are involving the court.

 

This is why you need to make it clear, you have never avoided payment and have always sought to resolve, without taking up a courts time.

We could do with some help from you.

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I have a letter from MBNA agreeing to the terms of the DMP. Restons also accepted the DMP with PayPlan. I have my payments record showing no missed payments since the DMP was started. I just don't know how much weight this will carry in court.

 

MBNA are not my biggest creditor, Lloyds TSB win that particular prize. I will tell the court that this is one of my main concerns, the knock-on effect a CCJ will have.

 

I have to say that I'm not too hopeful about the outcome. I expect that after a sleepless night fretting over the whole thing there will be 20 minutes of polite to and fro in court and then a rubber stamp for the CCJ.

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This will hold a lot of weight with the court. They will see that you have been making payments and will ask Restons why they are using the court.

 

The judge will ask why you had not brought this to their attention before, hence this is why I suggest you need to make a statement to explain the full circumstances.

 

If you see the person from Restons at the court before the hearing, give them a copy of the statement which you will make to the court if allowed to do so and copies of letters showing payments to the DMP.

We could do with some help from you.

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The judge will ask why you had not brought this to their attention before, hence this is why I suggest you need to make a statement to explain the full circumstances.

 

In your statement, you could say that part of your reason for not bringing this to the Courts attention previously is that you assumed Restons would have been honest and open about this and brought it to the attention of the Court themselves.....

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Thanks to all for your contributions. Only just finished work and am putting the finishing touches to my statement.

 

Will post on the outcome tomorrow.

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Back from day in court. Judgement for MBNA/Restons. No major surprise there.

 

Saw the barrister before for 10 min chat. To be fair she was about as helpful as the opposition barrister is going to be. She said if judgement went in their favour they were prepared to accept the monthly amount my DMP is paying them already. So why are they bringing this case then? Because they can.

 

I showed her the statement I had prepared and when we got in she told the judge about the statement herself. The judge read it through and then pretty much disregarded it. I explained that I couldn't see the point of bringing the case. He said that I didn't have to understand why. The law says they can bring the case regardless of the payment record because of the amounts I was paying, so they did.

 

I pointed out the absurdity of Restons being happy now to accept the amount I have been paying for 12 months and leaving me saddled with a £1200 legal bill. He did at least throw this out and charged me the fixed fee instead.

 

He also said that if I continue to pay the monthly sum 'these people won't bother you any more.' Yeah right. I am starting my homework on Charging Orders tonight because it was pretty obvious this is what they were ultimately angling for. Although the judge intimated that there would be no rubber stamp for a Charging Order.

 

Thanks to those who offered messages of support, all much appreciated. None of my friends and family know this is going on so knowing that folk are actually on your side was a great help. Thanks a lot.

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ernie

 

I suppose this is a win of sorts. Although you have incurred extra court fees and a CCJ, Restons would have the Barrister to pay.

 

What you now have to do, is maintain payments, otherwise they can return to court to seek other ways to obtain payment e.g. charging order. Also be aware that they can at reasonable intervals i.e every 12 months, ask for the payment amount to be reviewed.

We could do with some help from you.

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Sorry it didn't go your way.

 

As advised earlier, get the first monthly payment off ASAP; and then set up a Standing Order if possible to make sure restons get the regular payment.

 

If restons do start being antsy, it may be worth paying for the transcript of your hearing when your Judge has intimated that restons should not darken his Courtroom.............or indeed, if restons do stick their heads above the parapet.........write a letter addressed to the Judge reminding him\her of their comments. ;)

Edited by supasnooper
speeling

 

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I didn't know you could pay for the transcript. Thanks for tip. The judge definitely said if I keep up the monthly payments I won't be hearing from them again. Obviously I took this with more than a grain of salt and the barrister said after that this wasn't strictly true.

 

I'm not sure yet if I pay directly to Restons or if Payplan continue the payments through my DMP.

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Get the monthly payment set up yourself...........................and tell Payplan to stop paying restons.

 

You do NOT want to give Restons any chance to pursue you any further with a Charging Order.

 

Make sure that you get the first monthly payment off ASAP with a covering letter to Restons including a request to send you their bank details so you can set up a standing order.

 

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Back from day in court. Judgement for MBNA/Restons. No major surprise there.

 

Saw the barrister before for 10 min chat. To be fair she was about as helpful as the opposition barrister is going to be. She said if judgement went in their favour they were prepared to accept the monthly amount my DMP is paying them already. So why are they bringing this case then? Because they can.

 

I showed her the statement I had prepared and when we got in she told the judge about the statement herself. The judge read it through and then pretty much disregarded it. I explained that I couldn't see the point of bringing the case. He said that I didn't have to understand why. The law says they can bring the case regardless of the payment record because of the amounts I was paying, so they did.

 

I pointed out the absurdity of Restons being happy now to accept the amount I have been paying for 12 months and leaving me saddled with a £1200 legal bill. He did at least throw this out and charged me the fixed fee instead.

 

He also said that if I continue to pay the monthly sum 'these people won't bother you any more.' Yeah right. I am starting my homework on Charging Orders tonight because it was pretty obvious this is what they were ultimately angling for. Although the judge intimated that there would be no rubber stamp for a Charging Order.

 

Thanks to those who offered messages of support, all much appreciated. None of my friends and family know this is going on so knowing that folk are actually on your side was a great help. Thanks a lot.

 

Hi Ernie,

 

Sorry it didn't go your way, but to be honest I'm not surprised....this is Restons after all:mad:.

 

I too was making a payment through CCCS...no problems at all, interest frozen, then they decided to go for a CCJ as we are a home owner. Judge wasn't interested in anything I had to say and my payment to MBNA went from £40 to £200!!!! so my other creditors get alot less now.

 

Only advice I can give is to ensure you make your CCJ payment early. I always send via recorded delivery and ask for a receipt.

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My only consolation Julia is that the payments to Restons will stay the same.

 

It's a struggle to find the money for the DMP every month and I had to sit and listen to the judge and barrister with their six figure incomes saying the law is the law. They are not on the same planet.

 

Maybe anyone who earns over a certain amount should be barred from hearing such cases. At least then you may get someone with some understanding of what financial difficulties are.

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