Defence of Parking Fines

Loadsofchildren123

I thought you'd already got set aside? therefore isn't the first section of the defence irrelevant? I'd include mention of it and say that this resulted in a successful set aside.


The defence needs to be put into the third person. So you refer to yourself as "the Defendant" and "he", not me/I. I'm going to make some comments in red on it now, but I'm not going to put it into third person, it'll take me too long!

Loadsofchildren123

WillMD2501 wrote: »

1. Default Judgement
1.1. [STRIKE]I understand that [/STRIKE]the Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against [STRIKE]me as [/STRIKE]the Defendant on x date. However, the[STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] court has accepted that the claim form [STRIKE]has not been [/STRIKE] was not properly served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement. On that basis, default judgment has already been sent aside[STRIKE]When I was doing a routine check on my credit file I became aware of the judgement on 27/4/2018. I understand that this Claim was served at an old address xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. However, I moved to a new address on 17/08/2016. In support of this I can provide confirmation from County Council showing my updated details for the purposes of paying Council tax.

1.2. I have also never received any previous documentation from the Claimant in this matter and I thus was never able to properly challenge the Claimant!!!8217;s claim.
[/STRIKE] I think this part is irrelevant now, you've won that argument
1.3. The Defendant has never been served with the claim form, even now that he has successfully set aside the original default judgment. [STRIKE]court papers contain no details of the alleged incident and[/STRIKE] I do not know what the Default Judgement relates to. all that the Defendant knows is that it must have related to the parking of his/her car, since the Claimant is a private parking company

1.4. The Defendant has made all reasonable endeavours to ascertain from the Claimant in writing what the claim is for and how it arose. The Claimant has not responded. [STRIKE]On 27/04/2018 I attempted to contact the Claimant using information given to me by Northampton County Court. Having issued the claimant both postal and email requests for further details regarding the alleged incident. [/STRIKE] include that sort of detail in your WS[STRIKE]I do not [/STRIKE]The Defendant therefore does nothave any details of the incident the Claimant alleges has taken place, other than the summary of charges now owed, which is shown on my credit score.

1.5. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendant!!!8217;s current and correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The Claimant!!!8217;s persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.

1.6. On the basis provided above I would suggest that the Claimant did not fulfil their duty to use the Defendant!!!8217;s current address when bringing the claim.

1.7. Considering the above I was unable to defend this claim properly. I thus believe that the Default Judgement against me was issued incorrectly and thus should be set aside. IF you've already got set aside, delete 1.6 and 1.7, they are now irrelevant



2. Order dismissing the Claim

2.1. I further believe that It is the Defendant's case that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for !!!8220;Parking Charge Notices!!!8221; which the Claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a motorist.

2.2. If the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, and used those details to make a claim for a !!!8220;Parking Charge Notice!!!8217;!!!8217;, I thus dispute the claim in its entirety as I do The Defendant does not know the terms wording of the alleged contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to have been entered into between the driver of the vehicle on the relevant date and the Claimant. come into force.



Insert para: The Defendant admits that he is the registered keeper of the said vehicle but denies that he was driving it on the date in question or that he entered into any contract with the Claimant.


In the absence of any information from the Claimant about the claim, which means the Defendant does not know the terms of any contract it is claimed was formed between the driver and the Claimant, or how it was formed, and having not received any valid Notice to Keeper, the Defendant denies that he can be liable as the vehicle's registered keeper. it is the Defendant's understanding that the Claimant does not comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and cannot therefore rely on the Defendant being liable for any claim as the vehicle's registered keeper.

2.3. If the Claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to a vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant would have needed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the Claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the Claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the Claimant does not include !!!8216;Protection of Freedoms Act 2012!!!8217; wording on the Parking Charge Notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the Defendant automatically liable for the alleged incident merely for being the Registered Keeper of a vehicle.

2.4. Further, it is a requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to finding out about discovering the Default Judgement, I submit the Claimant will not have complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case.

2.5. I further submit that the Claimant!!!8217;s claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:
2.5.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question, and will have no proprietary interest in it and the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its interest in the land and/or its authority to operate there. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in their own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder, and only they would have been able sue for any damages or trespass.
2.5.2. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so, they must demonstrate their actual, or genuine, pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the Claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any motorist of the vehicle of which I am the Registered Keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landholder (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be at most a few pounds. This is old hat since the Parking Eye/Beavis case.
2.5.3. Claimed charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the Parking Charge that the Claimant claimed, given it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged breach, is nothing but an unenforceable penalty. ditto
2.5.4. No contract with the claimant: Any contract requires an offer, acceptance and consideration passing between the parties. There is no evidence of what offer was made, or the terms of any offer. There is no evidence that the driver accepted any offer which was made, or that the driver breached its terms. the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its claim. There would not have been consideration from the Claimant to the motorist; the fee for parking benefits the landowners, not the Claimant. Therefore, there is no consideration from the motorist to Civil Enforcement Limited.

2.6. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety, or at least stayed until the Claimant has produced full particulars of its claim.
2.7. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as keeper of the a vehicle, I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the Claimant. write to CEL and list all the documents you want to see.




Statement of Truth:
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement I'm confused: isn't this a Defence? are true.
Full name:

Dated: 27/04/2018

Signed: ________________________________


Now i know this has been used before. Does this hold ground still?

My action plan is as follows;

1. Recontact CEL and ask for the particulars of their claim yes, this is urgent
2. Immediately contact the courts to request the particulars (set aside was on the 26/4/18) + covering letter
3. When I have time I will be writing to my MP

Some comments, I hope the strikeout comes through, otherwise it will be a bit confusing!

Loadsofchildren123

some of the strikeout didn't come through so I'm reproducing 2 onwards with the s/o



2. Order dismissing the Claim

2.1. I further believe that It is the Defendant's case that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for !!!8220;Parking Charge Notices!!!8221; which the Claimant believes are due as a result of an alleged breach of contract for parking by a motorist.

2.2. If the Claimant has obtained details of the vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, and used those details to make a claim for a !!!8220;Parking Charge Notice!!!8217;!!!8217;, I thus dispute the claim in its entirety as I do The Defendant does not know the terms wording of the alleged contract nor do I know the means by which the contract was alleged to have been entered into between the driver of the vehicle on the relevant date and the Claimant. come into force.



Insert para: The Defendant admits that he is the registered keeper of the said vehicle but denies that he was driving it on the date in question or that he entered into any contract with the Claimant.


In the absence of any information from the Claimant about the claim, which means the Defendant does not know the terms of any contract it is claimed was formed between the driver and the Claimant, or how it was formed, and having not received any valid Notice to Keeper, the Defendant denies that he can be liable as the vehicle's registered keeper. it is the Defendant's understanding that the Claimant does not comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and cannot therefore rely on the Defendant being liable for any claim as the vehicle's registered keeper.

2.3. If the Claimant can evidence that the alleged incident relates to a vehicle for which the Defendant is the Registered Keeper, any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant would have needed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Otherwise, the Claimant is required to prove the driver of the vehicle they claim was involved in the alleged incident. I submit that the Claimant cannot provide such evidence and further submit that the Claimant does not include !!!8216;Protection of Freedoms Act 2012!!!8217; wording on the Parking Charge Notices they issue and therefore cannot hold the Defendant automatically liable for the alleged incident merely for being the Registered Keeper of a vehicle.

2.4. Further, it is a requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to finding out about discovering the Default Judgement, I submit the Claimant failed to comply will not have complied with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case.

2.5. I further submit that the Claimant!!!8217;s claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:
2.5.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question, and will have no proprietary interest in it and the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its interest in the land and/or its authority to operate there. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in its own name. Any consideration will have been provided by the landholder, and only they would have been able sue for any damages or trespass.
2.5.2. No Loss Suffered by Claimant: Their claim is presumably based on damages for alleged breach of contract. It is a fundamental principle of English Law that a party who suffers damages through breach of contract can only seek through court action to be put back in the same position as they would have been if the breach had not occurred. In order to do so, they must demonstrate their actual, or genuine, pre-estimate of loss. I submit that no loss has been suffered by the Claimant as a result of any alleged breaches of contract on the part of any motorist of the vehicle of which I am the Registered Keeper. I further submit that any loss to the landholder (which would be the only party able to claim such losses) would be at most a few pounds. This is old hat since the Parking Eye/Beavis case.
2.5.3. Claimed charge is an Unenforceable Penalty: I further submit that the Parking Charge that the Claimant claimed, given it is not based on any loss suffered due to the alleged breach, is nothing but an unenforceable penalty. ditto
2.5.4. No contract with the claimant: Any contract requires an offer, acceptance and consideration passing between the parties. There is no evidence of what offer was made, or the terms of any offer. There is no evidence that the driver accepted any offer which was made, or that the driver breached its terms. the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its claim. There would not have been consideration from the Claimant to the motorist; the fee for parking benefits the landowners, not the Claimant. Therefore, there is no consideration from the motorist to Civil Enforcement Limited.

2.6. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety, or at least stayed until the Claimant has produced full particulars of its claim.
2.7. In order to make informed decisions and statements in my defence as keeper of the a vehicle, I will require copies of all paperwork and pictures of all signs from the Claimant. write to CEL and list all the documents you want to see.

Loadsofchildren123

you also need to put in a para:


Since the Defendant is having to file this Defence without any sight of the Particulars of Claim or any pre-action correspondence detailing what the claim relates to, he requests leave to file an Amended Defence once such information/Particulars have been provided to him. [or her

WillMD2501

Thankyou so much. From a practical perspective how should the defence be addressed. Is it to the courts? The specific judge who oversaw the set aside?

I have contacted the courts today. Over the phone they said that there was no specifics on the claim form. Not even a location to where the fine was issued. They are sending me a copy anyway.

I have contacted CEL, again with a request for further detail.

Is there anything more i should include in my defence? I have edited it and have attached the new version below.


Default Judgement

1.1. The Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against the Defendant on 19th July 2017. However, the claim form was not properly served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement.

1.2. The default Judgement dated 19th July 2017 was aside on 26th April 2018 under Section 13.3(1a) due to the defendant having a real prospect of successfully defending the claim


1.3. The Defendant has never been served with the claim form, even now that he has successfully set aside the original default judgment. I do not know what the Default Judgement related to. All that the Defendant knows is that it must have related to the parking of his car, since the Claimant is a private parking company

1.4. The Defendant has made all reasonable endeavours to ascertain from the Claimant in writing what the claim is for and how it arose. The Claimant has not responded. The Defendant therefore does not have any details of the incident the Claimant alleges has taken place, other than the summary of charges now owed, which is shown on my credit score.

1.5. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendants current and correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The Claimant persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.



2. Defence against the Claim

2.1. It is the Defendant's case that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for ‘Parking Charge Notices’ by a motorist.

2.2. The Defendant does not know the terms wording of the alleged contract nor the means by which the contract was alleged to have been entered into between the driver of the vehicle on the relevant date and the Claimant.

2.3. The Defendant admits that he is the registered keeper of the said vehicle but denies that he was driving it on the date in question or that he entered into any contract with the Claimant.

2.4. In the absence of any information from the Claimant about the claim, which means the Defendant does not know the terms of any contract it is claimed was formed between the driver and the Claimant, or how it was formed, and having not received any valid Notice to Keeper, the Defendant denies that he can be liable as the vehicle's registered keeper. it is the Defendant's understanding that the Claimant does not comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and cannot therefore rely on the Defendant being liable for any claim as the vehicle's registered keeper.


2.5. Further, it is a requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to discovering the Default Judgement, the Claimant failed to comply with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case.

2.6. I further submit that the Claimant claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:

2.6.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question and will have no proprietary interest in it and the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its interest in the land and/or its authority to operate there. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in its own name.
2.6.2. No contract with the claimant: Any contract requires an offer, acceptance and consideration passing between the parties. There is no evidence of what offer was made, or the terms of any offer. There is no evidence that the driver accepted any offer which was made, or that the driver breached its terms. the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its claim.

2.7. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety, or at least stayed until the Claimant has produced full particulars of its claim.

2.8. Since the Defendant is having to file this Defence without any sight of the Particulars of Claim or any pre-action correspondence detailing what the claim relates to, he requests leave to file an Amended Defence once such information/Particulars have been provided to him.

Loadsofchildren123

You need to put all of it in the third person. Eg:


1.1. The Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against the Defendant on 19th July 2017. However, the claim form was not properly served at my his current address and he was therefore was not aware of the Default Judgement.

1.2. The default Judgement dated 19th July 2017 was aside on 26th April 2018 under Section 13.3(1a) due to the defendant having a real prospect of successfully defending the claim


1.3. The Defendant has never been served with the claim form, even now that he has successfully set aside the original default judgment. The Defendant does not know what the Default Judgement related to. All that the Defendant knows is that it must have related to the parking of a car registered in his name, since the Claimant is a private parking company. In particular, the Defendant does not know where it is claimed the car was parked, or when, or how it is claimed that such parking gives rise to a cause of action against him.

Loadsofchildren123

WillMD2501 wrote: »

From a practical perspective how should the defence be addressed. Is it to the courts? The specific judge who oversaw the set aside? It's not addressed to anybody. You put the court heading at the top (case number, name of court, name of the parties), then under that in the middle between "tramlines" the word DEFENCE. When it's ready you sign it and send it to the court. This is all presumably in the Newbies thread which you need to read.

_________________________________


DEFENCE


_________________________________

Default Judgement

1.1. The Claimant obtained a Default Judgement against the Defendant on 19th July 2017. However, the claim form was not properly served at my current address and I thus was not aware of the Default Judgement.

1.2. The default Judgement dated 19th July 2017 was aside on 26th April 2018 under Section 13.3(1a) due to the defendant having a real prospect of successfully defending the claim


1.3. The Defendant has never been served with the claim form, even now that he has successfully set aside the original default judgment. I do not know what the Default Judgement related to. All that the Defendant knows is that it must have related to the parking of his car, since the Claimant is a private parking company

1.4. The Defendant has made all reasonable endeavours to ascertain from the Claimant in writing what the claim is for and how it arose. The Claimant has not responded. The Defendant therefore does not have any details of the incident the Claimant alleges has taken place, other than the summary of charges now owed, which is shown on my credit score.

1.5. I believe the Claimant has behaved unreasonably in pursuing a claim against me without ensuring they held the Defendants current and correct contact details. According to publicly available information my circumstances are far from being unique. The Claimant persistent failure to use correct and current addresses results is an unnecessary burden for individuals and the justice system across the country.



2. Defence against the Claim

2.1. It is the Defendant's case that the original Claim by the Claimant has no merit and should thus be dismissed. I understand that the Claimant is a Parking Company which seeks to claim for ‘Parking Charge Notices’ by a motorist.

2.2. The Defendant therefore assumes (but does not know) that the claim is for an alleged breach of contract relating to the parking of a car of which he is registered keeper. The Defendant does not, however, know the terms wording of the alleged contract nor the means by which the contract was alleged to have been entered into between the driver of the vehicle on the relevant date and the Claimant.

2.3. The Defendant admits that he is the registered keeper of the said vehicle but denies that he was driving it on the date in question or that he entered into any contract with the Claimant. you might want to "not admit" rather than deny, as you are claiming you don't even know where the car park is or when it is claimed the car was there. So this instead:
The Defendant admits that he is the registered keeper of the said vehicle but does not admit that he was driving it on the date in question or that he entered into any contract with the Claimant. Third parties are entitled to, and do, regularly drive the vehicle. The Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof that he was the driver on the relevant date.

2.4. In the absence of any information from the Claimant about the claim, which means the Defendant does not know the terms of any contract it is claimed was formed between the driver and the Claimant, or how it was formed, and having not received any valid Notice to Keeper, the Defendant denies that he can be liable as the vehicle's registered keeper. it is the Defendant's understanding that the Claimant does not comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and cannot therefore liability for any contract created between the Claimant and the driver cannot pass to the Defendant. rely on the Defendant being liable for any claim as the vehicle's registered keeper.


2.5. Further, it is a requirement of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that any Notice to Keeper served by the Claimant must be served within 14 days of the date of the alleged incident. Since I have not received any documentation from the Claimant prior to discovering the Default Judgement, the Claimant failed to comply with the requirements of the Act and thus cannot claim this charge against me as the Registered Keeper in any case. - point already made above

2.6. I further submit that the Claimant claim is without merit due to substantial issues in law. This is for the following main reasons:

2.6.1. Lack of Standing by Claimant: The Claimant is unlikely to be the landowner of the car park in question and will have no proprietary interest in it and the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of its interest in the land and/or its authority to operate there. This means that the Claimant, as a matter of law, will have no locus standi to litigate in its own name.

2.6.2. No contract with the claimant: Any contract requires an offer, acceptance and consideration passing between the parties. There is no evidence of what offer was made, or the terms of any offer. There is no evidence that the driver accepted any offer which was made, or that the driver breached its terms. the Defendant puts the Claimant to full proof of the terms of any contract it relies on, how that contract was entered into and what its terms were.

2.7. On this basis I believe that the Claimant has not provided any reasonable cause of action and thus the claim should be dismissed in its entirety, or at least stayed until the Claimant has produced full particulars of its claim.

2.8. Since the Defendant is having to file this Defence without any sight of the Particulars of Claim or any pre-action correspondence detailing what the claim relates to, he requests leave to file an Amended Defence once such information/Particulars have been provided to him.



As said above, you need to put this into the third person - as if you are not you but someone else. So you don't say me, or I, you refer to yourself as he, him etc. I'm happy to comment on drafting, but haven't got the time to do this sort of amending for you.

WillMD2501

Thankyou so much for your help. Apologies for the mistakes. Never done anything like this before.