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County Court Claim - Defence - BW Legal
triggahappyhaza
Posts: 20 Forumite
Hello, my other half has been given a Count Court Claim. We've followed the advice given here but we're a little stuck on writing the defence. This has been going on since around 2016 so would be fantastic to get it out of the way.
One question I have is whether the fact that the claimant's company name is spelt wrong on all court documents, does that have any effect on anything?
If anyone would be kind enough to read the below defence we've written so far and give some pointers it would be very much appreciated.
######################################################
Claim Number: ********
BETWEEN:
Norwich Traffic Control Ltd (Claimant)
vs
*********** (Defendant)
___________________________________________________________________________
I am ******* of ****, ***** defendant in this matter.
The claim is denied in its entirety except where explicitly admitted here. I assert that I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, or any amount at all, for the following reasons, any one of which is fatal to the Claimant's case.
i. The signage of the area does not offer a contract with the motorist
ii. The signage in the area was not clear, there were no readable signs in the area at the time the ticket was left.
iii. New signs were placed during the day, tickets were then placed on vehicles.
i. The signage of the area does not offer a contract with the motorist
At the time of parking no visible signs were in the area stating that parking was prohibited, therefore no contract was entered with the Claimant.
ii. The signage in the area was not clear, there were no readable signs in the area at the time of parking.
After closer inspection it appears that all signs in the area had been removed or destroyed. Leaving only a small unreadable part of the sign intact. It is the Claimant’s responsibility to maintain these signs to ensure all who enter the area are aware that it is private land and that parking is prohibited.
(I have entered an image of the destroyed / unreadable parking sign here)
iii. New signs were placed at the entrance during the day, tickets were then placed on vehicles.
As no visible signs were placed in the area no contract could have been agreed to by the Defendant. Only after the Defendant had returned to the vehicle would the Claimant’s signs have been read.
I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.
Name *******
Signature *******
Date ********
################################################
English isn't a strong point of mine so any criticisms are welcome.
Thank you in advance!
One question I have is whether the fact that the claimant's company name is spelt wrong on all court documents, does that have any effect on anything?
If anyone would be kind enough to read the below defence we've written so far and give some pointers it would be very much appreciated.
######################################################
Claim Number: ********
BETWEEN:
Norwich Traffic Control Ltd (Claimant)
vs
*********** (Defendant)
___________________________________________________________________________
I am ******* of ****, ***** defendant in this matter.
The claim is denied in its entirety except where explicitly admitted here. I assert that I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, or any amount at all, for the following reasons, any one of which is fatal to the Claimant's case.
i. The signage of the area does not offer a contract with the motorist
ii. The signage in the area was not clear, there were no readable signs in the area at the time the ticket was left.
iii. New signs were placed during the day, tickets were then placed on vehicles.
i. The signage of the area does not offer a contract with the motorist
At the time of parking no visible signs were in the area stating that parking was prohibited, therefore no contract was entered with the Claimant.
ii. The signage in the area was not clear, there were no readable signs in the area at the time of parking.
After closer inspection it appears that all signs in the area had been removed or destroyed. Leaving only a small unreadable part of the sign intact. It is the Claimant’s responsibility to maintain these signs to ensure all who enter the area are aware that it is private land and that parking is prohibited.
(I have entered an image of the destroyed / unreadable parking sign here)
iii. New signs were placed at the entrance during the day, tickets were then placed on vehicles.
As no visible signs were placed in the area no contract could have been agreed to by the Defendant. Only after the Defendant had returned to the vehicle would the Claimant’s signs have been read.
I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.
Name *******
Signature *******
Date ********
################################################
English isn't a strong point of mine so any criticisms are welcome.
Thank you in advance!
0
Comments
-
Hi and welcome.
What is the Date of Issue on the Claim Form?0 -
Hi keith, thank you for the welcome!
Date of issue is: 25 Sep 20180 -
With a Claim Issue Date of 25th September, and assuming* you have done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 29th October 2018 to file your Defence.triggahappyhaza wrote: »Date of issue is: 25 Sep 2018
Not very long at all. Best not to leave it to the very last minute though.
When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as described here:
1) Print your Defence.
2) Sign it and date it.
3) Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
4) Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5) Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
6) Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
7) Wait for your Directions Questionnaire and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES thread to find out exactly what to do with it.
*Can you please confirm that you have done the Acknowledgement of Service?
If so, when did you do it?0 -
With a Claim Issue Date of 25th September, and assuming* you have done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 29th October 2018 to file your Defence.
Not very log at all. Best not to leave it to the very last minute though.
When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as described here:
1) Print your Defence.
2) Sign it and date it.
3) Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
4) Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
5) Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
6) Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
7) Wait for your Directions Questionnaire and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES thread[/URL][/U] to find out exactly what to do with it.
*Can you please confirm that you have done the Acknowledgement of Service?
If so, when did you do it?
acknowledgment of service was submitted on 30/09/2018 at 20:11:27
acknowledgment of service was received on 01/10/2018 at 08:02:00
Those are the dates from MCOL
Is there anything obvious in the defence that I could add to, or if there is something which may assist in winning this claim at all? I'm not up for letting these companies win.0 -
As you haven't given us any clues about what the Claimant alleges that the driver did wrong, it's really difficult to say whether that Defence is good enough.
Your Defence appears to make no attempt to answer the Particulars of Claim. As we don't know what the PoC are, it's difficult to help with that.
Just a couple of small points:
1) there is no need for your address in the opening para.
2) you do not enclose (or insert) pictures in a Defence. A Defence is purely narrative. Pictures and other evidence comes later.
Have you read any of the Defences linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread?
There are several there to give you an idea of what's required. In particular, read the recent compact ones by Bargepole.
Also in that NEWBIES post is guidance on how to lay out a Defence.0 -
As you haven't given us any clues about what the Claimant alleges that the driver did wrong, it's really difficult to say whether that Defence is good enough.
Your Defence appears to make no attempt to answer the Particulars of Claim. As we don't know what the PoC are, it's difficult to help with that.
Just a couple of small points:
1) there is no need for your address in the opening para.
2) you do not enclose (or insert) pictures in a Defence. A Defence is purely narrative. Pictures and other evidence comes later.
Have you read any of the Defences linked from post #2 of
There are several there to give you an idea of what's required. In particular, read the recent compact ones by Bargepole.
Also in that NEWBIES post is guidance on how to lay out a Defence.
Hi Keith
I'll make the relevant amendments you've advised on the defence, thank you.
Thank you for the links, I'll take a look.
As far as what the Claimant alleges the driver has done, this is what was printed as the particulars of the claim on the claim form, this is all I have received so far.
The Claimant's Claim is for the sum of £100 being monies due from the Defendant to the Claimant in the respect of Parking Charge Notice (PCN) Issued on 08/04/2017 at 14:46:55 at *LOCATION*.
The PCN related to *other half's vehicle and reg*
The terms of the PCN allowed the Defendant 28 days from the Issue Date to pay the PCN, but the defendant failed to do so. Despite demand hacing been made the Defendant has failed to settle their outstanding liability.
The claim also includes statutory interest pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum a daily rate of £0.02 from 18/04/2017 to 24/09/2018 being an amount of £10.50
The claimant also claims £60 contractual costs pursuant to PCN terms and conditions.0 -
But that POC doesn't say whether you, overstayed, underpaid, failed to display a ticket, parked out of a bay, didn't display a permit, or whatever the contravention might have been.
So perhaps one point in your Defence should be that the claimant has failed to identify a Cause of Action.0 -
But that POC doesn't say whether you, overstayed, underpaid, failed to display a ticket, parked out of a bay, didn't display a permit, or whatever the contravention might have been.
So perhaps one point in your Defence should be that the claimant has failed to identify a Cause of Action.
Thanks for pointing that out, didn't know if they had to say anything in that part. But I'll add it to the defence, I'll have a read through the links you sent and check I've got everything. Once I've added the last parts to the defence I'll post it here for feedback, most likely tomorrow evening.
Unfortunately if it does go to court I will need to be a lay person for the Mrs as she doesn't understand any of this stuff. Is that still allowed for these claims?0 -
Yes, certainly is allowed.triggahappyhaza wrote: »Unfortunately if it does go to court I will need to be a lay person for the Mrs as she doesn't understand any of this stuff. Is that still allowed for these claims?
This short video may help too:
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