PLEASE HELP! CEL County Court Claim form received

NKay

Please could i have your thoughts on the below letter i am planning on sending. I found on another forum and have adapted.


CLAIM No: xxxx

BETWEEN:

Civil Enforcement Limited (Claimant)

-and-

xxxxxxx (Defendant)

________________________________________
DEFENCE
________________________________________

1. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.

2. The facts are that the vehicle, registration xxxxx, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was parked on the material date in a supermarket car park and had valid reason to be there.

3. The Particulars of Claim do not state how the Terms and conditions of parking were breached and therefore do not meet the requirements of Practice Direction 16 7.5 as there is nothing which specifies how the terms were breached.

4. Due to the sparseness of the particulars, it is unclear as to what legal basis the claim is brought, whether for breach of contract, contractual liability, or trespass. However, it is denied that the Defendant, or any driver of the vehicle, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, whether express, implied, or by conduct.

5. Further and in the alternative, it is denied that the claimant's signage sets out the terms in a sufficiently clear manner which would be capable of binding any reasonable person reading them. As it is a supermarket car park, it is reasonable for a customer to park there to use their facilities and no parking charge is required for parking.

6. The terms on the Claimant's signage are also displayed in a font which is too small to be read from a passing vehicle, and is in such a position that anyone attempting to read the tiny font would be unable to do so easily. It is, therefore, denied that the Claimant's signage is capable of creating a legally binding contract.

7. The Claimant is put to strict proof that it has sufficient proprietary interest in the land, or that it has the necessary authorisation from the landowner to issue parking charge notices, and to pursue payment by means of litigation.

8. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4, at Section 4(5) states that the maximum sum that may be recovered from the keeper is the charge stated on the Notice to Keeper, in this case £100. The claim includes an additional £70, for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery.

9. In summary, it is the Defendant's position that the claim discloses no cause of action, is without merit, and has no real prospect of success. Accordingly, the Court is invited to strike out the claim of its own initiative, using its case management powers pursuant to CPR 3.4.

I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.

Name
Signature

nosferatu1001

It is not a letter
Its a formal defence
Get that distinction CLEAR. With a letter you can correct mistakes for free. WIth a deefnce, to alter it you will have to pay.

Which other site? Give a link. Saves us guessing.

KeithP

Have you done the Acknowledgement of Service?

You would be wise to remove the Claim Number from your post above.

System

You would be wise to remove the Claim Number from your post above.

Read it as someone else's defence. But the @NKay will confirm

NKay

nosferatu1001 wrote: »

It is not a letter
Its a formal defence
Get that distinction CLEAR. With a letter you can correct mistakes for free. WIth a deefnce, to alter it you will have to pay.

Which other site? Give a link. Saves us guessing.

Got it from this site but another thread. wont let me post links as im still a new user.
So is this defense ok to go with or not enough?

@KeithP yes ive done the acknowledgement of service. Just trying to put a reasonable defense together

KeithP

Have you used your real name as your forum username?

Then your really should ask MSE to change it to something totally anonymous.

To help with that, you might like to read this short extract from The MSE Forum Guide - Frequently Asked Questions & Rules:

Q. How can I change my username?

A. In most circumstances, this is not permitted.

The only reason we will change your username is if it puts your privacy at risk. This usually means you've inadvertently registered using your name, email address or something that gives away your identity within your username.

If you fall into this category, email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com and request that it is changed, giving three alternative usernames in order of preference.

NKay

KeithP wrote: »

Have you used your real name as your forum username?

Then your really should ask MSE to change it to something totally anonymous.

@KeithP No I havn't. why are you saying that?

KeithP

Simply because the private parking companies trawl this forum just waiting for people to trip themselves up and can use your posts against you.