LoC now court claim to Spring Parking for failure to supply SAR ***Paid in full***

[FTMDave]

I have a full day of work now but promise to post on your thread late this evening.

 

You can if you want start the process of suing Spring Parking for not replying to your SAR.  When you get time, read this thread  https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/452147-loc-to-ncp-for-failure-to-supply-sar-paid-in-full/#comments

 

Have a proper think if you want to do this and let us know. 

 

If you threaten legal action you have to be prepared to carry it out, otherwise you show yourself as a paper tiger and hand the initiative to the other side.

Edited November 10, 2022 by FTMDave
Typo

[FTMDave]

9 hours ago, hitman126 said:

However, for the SAR letter to Spring Parking, it was slightly inconclusive as it didn't confirm explicitly that the

letter had been delivered and/or signed for (please see attached pdf). I intend to visit the post office in

question today, to establish the true status of delivery and hopefully receive documentary evidence of it.

We didn't say to use Signed For.

 

We said to get a free Certificate of Posting.  There is a reason for this.

 

Some of the fleecers can - and do - refuse to sign for their mail.

 

If you send by normal 1st class the letter is legally deemed to have been received two working days later.

 

Anyway, go to the post office and see what they say.

[FTMDave]

Sorry.  My bad.  I thought Signed For and Certificate of Posting were either/or, not that you can get both.

 

Looks like you're good to go then.  Delivery will be deemed to have taken place after two working days.

 

I said to have a proper think about if you want to start the process of suing Smart Parking, but in reality I reckon you don't have much choice.  They are refusing to reply to the SAR, meaning you will have to produce a Witness Statement further down the line trying to bat off the six tickets - when you know nothing at all about four of them.  Yes, they will have to justify all six tickets in their Witness Statement but that would be at the very last minute.  Have a muse about doing what Moaning Crusader did.

[FTMDave]

While you're in the post office you might as well send Spring Parking a Letter of Claim.  You can use 99% of Moaning Crusader's, your situations are identical.  Posts 25 & 26 here  https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/452147-loc-to-ncp-for-failure-to-supply-sar-paid-in-full/#comments

 

[FTMDave]

Did you get a Letter of Claim off to Spring Parking?

[FTMDave]

Looks fine.

 

Before "To Whom It May Concern" put another heading with their PCN numbers and your VRN, as that's how they will "find" you on their system.

 

Get it sent off tomorrow, usual free Certificate of Posting from the post office.  First class post, no need for Signed For.

 

I've done some digging into Spring Parking and their use of a P.O. Box and suggest you send it twice, both to the P.O. Box and to their registered address of 220 The Vale, Golders Green, London, NW11 8SR.

[FTMDave]

Good point, you're right.

 

They should be able to trace you via the VRN.

 

That's aside from the fact they are a small company and you're likely to be one of the few people (in fact perhaps the only one) they're taking court action against, so the claim form number should wake them up too!

[FTMDave]

I forgot to say to complain to the ICO about Spring Parking as well.

[FTMDave]

Yes, you have to wait the 14 days.

 

Spring Parking seem to be a very small company run by just two people with the same surname.

 

What worries me a little about suing them is the question of enforcement, as we've seen other examples of these small companies hiding behind P.O. boxes and having the company registered at fictitious addresses.  It took me ages to find a website for them and it's gone down over the last few days https://springparking.co.uk/

 

Their registered address is: 220 The Vale, Golders Green, London, NW11 8SR.  If you look on Google Maps this is a residential area although there is an office building at 220  https://www.google.it/maps/place/220+The+Vale,+London+NW11+8TN,+UK/@51.5630867,-0.2152152,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x487610f344089c95:0xe558ec08deb00216!8m2!3d51.5630834!4d-0.2130265!16s%2Fg%2F11bw3hq1tr?hl=en&authuser=0

 

There are two company plaques on the door, one is not Spring Parking , and annoyingly I can't make the other one out.

 

As presumably you live in London, how easy would it be for you to go and have a look at the place, and see if Spring Parking are really there?  I'm just worried that you might throw good money after bad by suing them if it turns out the address is false.

[FTMDave]

Well, the clock is ticking on the Letter of Claim.

 

Have a think about what you want to do.

 

A Cagger did recently successfully sue one of the larger private companies for £200 in a SAR distress case identical to yours.

 

However, if Spring Parking are, as it seems, a small company that work out of one of the directors' front rooms, you risk wasting the £35 claim fee and later bailiffs' fees if the bailiffs can only find a fictitious address.

[FTMDave]

I agree completely that you shouldn't have to burden yourself with any additional address verification.

 

What worries us a bit is this.  We don't of course know what would happen if you sue them, but it is at least a strong possibility that they ignore the claim form as they have ignored the Letter of Claim, so you win by default, but they then ignore the court order to pay within 30 days, meaning you would have to enforce with bailiffs ... but you'd have nowhere to send the bailiffs.

 

They seem to be a small company hiding behind a PO Box and thanks to the detective work by @Nicky Boywe know they are using an accommodation address as a registered office without really being there.  Both directors have the same surname and they could easily be working from their living rooms.

 

On the other hand £35 to start the claim is not a huge amount and even if they do hide it would be useful to show the judge later that they have deliberately hidden information from you in breach of their statutory duty making it impossible to completely defend the claim.

 

Tough one.  Your call.

Edited November 25, 2022 by FTMDave
Extra info added

[FTMDave]

On 25/11/2022 at 17:24, hitman126 said:

@FTMDavetrust me, for the grief and wasting of my precious time this entire court claim has caused me, I'd happily fork out even three times of that £35 to give Spring Parking a taste of their own medicine.

Well their 14 days are up today.

 

You can start the claim through the MCOL site.  After all, you're already registered.

 

You can use @MoaningCrusader's PoCs almost verbatim, your two cases are a photocopy of each other's.

 

If you want us to double check first, post the PoCs up.

[FTMDave]

From your draft I've removed "despite further correspondence with the Defendant’s data protection team and reasonable response time given" as this happened in MoaningCrusader's case but not in yours.  Sorry, i should have spotted that before.

 

Looks good to go.

 

I think you should get papers served to the registered address rather than the P.O. Box ... but hang on a little while to see if the other regulars comment.

 

    

[FTMDave]

Don't send it to a director's address.  Sorry, I'm busy at work now, I'll reply when I can, there is a lot to look at when time allows.

[FTMDave]

Here I am at long last.

 

If you haven't already filed the claim, do so tomorrow at their registered address of 220 The Vale.  If they don't receive it, good for you, you'll win by default, and it'll be their own fault for lying about where they really work from.

 

Best not to send to a director, a director is a completely different legal identity from the company, we had someone recently who did just that and got into hot water.

[FTMDave]

I've started a new thread for your claim against Spring Parking for SAR distress.  There are two separate legal actions now.

[FTMDave]

When you have time, check on MCOL for the date the claim was issued.

[FTMDave]

It would be a good idea to check on MCOL when the claim was issued.  We must be getting near the time you can obtain judgement.

[FTMDave]

Merry Christmas Hitman!

 

Make sure Spring Parking do not have a good one in the morning

[FTMDave]

They have woken up at the last minute and acknowledged service.

 

Let's see if they try to defend.  I can't see how they can have any defence.

 

Interesting about the change of address.  If they use that as an excuse it will be an admission that they've been putting a false address as their registered address.  The Vale is still showing on their site and the Companies House one.

 

 

[FTMDave]

Yes, that clicked with me too, too much of a coincidence 21 & 23 December.

[FTMDave]

Even if mediation was a "mistake", methinks Spring Parking won't be happy.

 

In their usual arrogant way they'll have expected you to be terrified of the idea of court and to have given in and paid them their grand and a half.

 

What instead have they got?

 

A defended court case which is costing them money with DCBL.

 

Failed mediation - yet more money wasted with DCBL.

 

Rubbish PoCs which they seem blissfully unaware of which will come back and hit them very, very hard.

 

An actual court claim against them which they can't really defend but they'll have had to rush to The Vale to pick up the court papers and then beg DCBL for help just before Christmas - at yet more expense.

[FTMDave]

Have another look at what's happening on MCOL.

 

By my calculations their last day to file a defence is Friday.

 

They're sailing very close to the wind.

[FTMDave]

You should request judgement today, if MCOL will let you.

 

Don't delay.

[FTMDave]

I calculate.

 

Claim issued 5 December.

 

19 days to acknowledge service = 23 December (the date on the claim form counts as day one).

 

14 days to defend = 6 January.

 

Now my maths might be dodgy, or MCOL may not be working properly at the weekend which is common - or they might have filed a defence which hasn't filtered through yet.

 

Anyway, try again this afternoon and try again tomorrow morning.