06-26-2026, 08:41 AM
@SDC.99, nothing is ever certain. Anyone saying "they definitely will" or "they definitely won't" issue a claim is guessing.
The realistic position is this: if you pay the £20, it goes away cheaply, but you will live with the knowledge that you've been scammed. If you fight it, there may be a bit of "hassle", but the legal position is strong.
The next stages would usually be IAS rejection, then useless and powerless debt recovery letters, then possibly a Letter of Claim (LoC), and only after that a county court claim. Debt collector letters are not court proceedings. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything. Their sole excuse for being involved is to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear. A Letter of Claim must be dealt with. A county court claim must be defended properly.
The key unknown is who Countrywide would use if they tried litigation. I know that in the past, Countrywide have used BW Legal but it will depend on the day. If it ever ended up with DCB Legal, I know for a fact that a properly defended claim has a greater than 99% chance of being discontinued before hearing. With others, the discontinuance odds may be lower, but the defence itself would still be very strong.
This is a residential case with a long-standing tenancy from 2007, a visibly displayed permit, readable permit details, a defective NtK with no parking period under PoFA 9(2)(a), and a landlord/agent liability issue. Those are not weak points.
So the honest answer is: no, I cannot say it is guaranteed they will drop it. But if they do litigate, the odds of successfully defending are, in my view, well above 50% and probably much, much higher on these facts. The £20 offer itself suggests they know this is not a clean £100 claim.
Even in the unlikely event that this ever reached a hearing, the "hassle" is basically attending your local county court and explaining your side to a judge.
This is not a criminal matter. It is not the magistrates' court. It is not the High Court. It is a civil dispute in the county court about an alleged breach of contract. It is simply a civil process where a claim for money allegedly owed by a person or business is adjudicated by a completely independent arbiter, a judge. That is all that this process is.
There is no criminal record, no prosecution, and no finding of guilt. The worst realistic outcome, if you defended and lost, is that the judge orders you to pay a civil judgment sum. In the vast majority of these claims, any adverse judgment is for less than the original claim. Even then, if a judgment is paid in full within one month, it is expunged from the register. There is no record of it on your credit file. So, there is no danger of a "CCJ" affecting you.
A typical claim would be for the original £100 charge and then they try to add a fake £70 damages fee which almost no judge ever allows because that would be double recovery. The only other additional amounts would be a fixed £35 claim fee, £50 fixed legal costs and the £27 hearing fee. This is worst case scenario. A typical single PCN claim is around £285. The vast majority of any I have assisted in defending that actually get as far as a hearing are usually won. The very few that have not been successful have all been for less than the original claim.
For the vast majority of claims, they are hoping that the defendant is, as I have already explained, low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree who have no idea about the civil procedure and will simply pay up out of ignorance and fear. That is their modus operandi. That and the likelihood that many of their victims just bury their heads in the sand and they end up with a judgment in default.
So the real decision is not "will I be dragged through some terrifying court process?" It is simply whether paying £20 now is worth avoiding the admin and nuisance, or whether you would rather fight a weak charge that Countrywide already seem keen to settle cheaply.
If it were me, I would fight this. It is not about the £20. It is the simple fact that this is a scam that they invariably get away with because most people have not idea about their rights and how to fight them. However, it has to be your decision and how comfortable you are with learning about this process which will hold you in good stead for the future.
In order to try and reassure you about the actual court process if this ever reached a hearing, have a watch of this short video that explains what happens on the day:
https://youtu.be/n93eoaxhzpU?feature=shared
The realistic position is this: if you pay the £20, it goes away cheaply, but you will live with the knowledge that you've been scammed. If you fight it, there may be a bit of "hassle", but the legal position is strong.
The next stages would usually be IAS rejection, then useless and powerless debt recovery letters, then possibly a Letter of Claim (LoC), and only after that a county court claim. Debt collector letters are not court proceedings. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything. Their sole excuse for being involved is to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear. A Letter of Claim must be dealt with. A county court claim must be defended properly.
The key unknown is who Countrywide would use if they tried litigation. I know that in the past, Countrywide have used BW Legal but it will depend on the day. If it ever ended up with DCB Legal, I know for a fact that a properly defended claim has a greater than 99% chance of being discontinued before hearing. With others, the discontinuance odds may be lower, but the defence itself would still be very strong.
This is a residential case with a long-standing tenancy from 2007, a visibly displayed permit, readable permit details, a defective NtK with no parking period under PoFA 9(2)(a), and a landlord/agent liability issue. Those are not weak points.
So the honest answer is: no, I cannot say it is guaranteed they will drop it. But if they do litigate, the odds of successfully defending are, in my view, well above 50% and probably much, much higher on these facts. The £20 offer itself suggests they know this is not a clean £100 claim.
Even in the unlikely event that this ever reached a hearing, the "hassle" is basically attending your local county court and explaining your side to a judge.
This is not a criminal matter. It is not the magistrates' court. It is not the High Court. It is a civil dispute in the county court about an alleged breach of contract. It is simply a civil process where a claim for money allegedly owed by a person or business is adjudicated by a completely independent arbiter, a judge. That is all that this process is.
There is no criminal record, no prosecution, and no finding of guilt. The worst realistic outcome, if you defended and lost, is that the judge orders you to pay a civil judgment sum. In the vast majority of these claims, any adverse judgment is for less than the original claim. Even then, if a judgment is paid in full within one month, it is expunged from the register. There is no record of it on your credit file. So, there is no danger of a "CCJ" affecting you.
A typical claim would be for the original £100 charge and then they try to add a fake £70 damages fee which almost no judge ever allows because that would be double recovery. The only other additional amounts would be a fixed £35 claim fee, £50 fixed legal costs and the £27 hearing fee. This is worst case scenario. A typical single PCN claim is around £285. The vast majority of any I have assisted in defending that actually get as far as a hearing are usually won. The very few that have not been successful have all been for less than the original claim.
For the vast majority of claims, they are hoping that the defendant is, as I have already explained, low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree who have no idea about the civil procedure and will simply pay up out of ignorance and fear. That is their modus operandi. That and the likelihood that many of their victims just bury their heads in the sand and they end up with a judgment in default.
So the real decision is not "will I be dragged through some terrifying court process?" It is simply whether paying £20 now is worth avoiding the admin and nuisance, or whether you would rather fight a weak charge that Countrywide already seem keen to settle cheaply.
If it were me, I would fight this. It is not about the £20. It is the simple fact that this is a scam that they invariably get away with because most people have not idea about their rights and how to fight them. However, it has to be your decision and how comfortable you are with learning about this process which will hold you in good stead for the future.
In order to try and reassure you about the actual court process if this ever reached a hearing, have a watch of this short video that explains what happens on the day:
https://youtu.be/n93eoaxhzpU?feature=shared
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. - Mark Twain
