Defending a Claim against CEL (MCOL)

Parsley8899

Hello


I have just received a CCJ in the post regarding a parking fine from 6 Jan 2018 from Civil Enforcement Ltd. I have spent HOURS reading the 'Newbies' thread - you guys are so incredibly helpful and give a wealth of free advice so thank you - and I have followed the advice to create a new thread to ask for help with a personalised defence.


Do I now need to:
1) Post back the Acknowledgement of service to give me 2 more weeks to create a defence. I have registered with the Government Gateway on Money Claim.gov.uk but everytime I type in the claim number and password, it says it is incorrect.
2) Write a defence back - do I hand write it on the form that was sent with the CCJ? I would prefer to do it online but as I mentioned, it isn't letting me log on to the claim. Do you guys have a template example for how to write the defence?
My main worry is how to word/create my defence. Essentially I parked in a Mama and Papas car park which is right next to the main West Quay shopping centre in Southampton. I was in the shop (Mamas and Papas) for over an hour and therefore have received a parking fine as it turns out it is a maximum of one hour parking there. The sign detailing this is very small and not very clear. I unfortunately don't have the receipt and no bank statements to evidence my time spent in the shop. The other problem is this fine is from January and I didn't contact the shop (Having now read the Newbies thread, I know this would have been advisable).


However, based on the info I've said, do you think my defence could be:
a) Tiny unclear sign
b) One hour max in a huge shop like Mamas and Papas is unreasonable - it was the January sales (dates was 6 Jan) and so the shop was very busy with big queues.


I am going to complete the Acknowledgement of Service now so as to not upset the court and then I need to compile my defence within the next week.


I would appreciate any help; I haven't used Money Saving Expert forums before and I am amazed by how supportive and helpful the community is.


Many thanks.

KeithP

Hello Parsley8899, and welcome.

Good to see that you have managed to start a new thread.

Can I please ask that you now delete your earlier post?

Thanks.


Now... your case...

Please read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Amongst other things in there is a dropbox file which describes in the greatest detail how to do the Acknowledgement of Service.
I suggest you follow that rather than posting any forms.

What is the Date of Issue on your Claim Form?

Before doing anything else... you must read post #2 of that NEWBIES thread.

Do not write anything in the Defence box on any form.

Parsley8899

Hi Keith...my computer skills are clearly not great! I have deleted my previous post. :-) I look forward to any advice re:my CCJ parking fine defence.

KeithP

See my edit above.

Parsley8899

Hi Keith


Thanks for your reply.


I have read the #2 newbies post - I have opened and read the Drop Box file on hwo to complete the Acknowledgement of Service (very comprehensive!)but unfortunately when I logged on and created a Government Gateway account,the claim number and password didn't work. However not to worry as I've followed the advice on the drop box file and have just filled in the paper copy. I've ticked the first box - I intend to defend all of this claim - and will post it first class recorded delivery tomorrow.


The Issues Date is 17 Oct so date of service is 22 Oct so I'm ok re:time wise.


I now need to compile my defence and wondered if I could have any help with how to do this.


Thanks so much.

Parsley8899

Yes I wanted to do the Acknowledgement of Service online but after creating a Government Gateway account successfully, the claim number and password won't work so I can't access the next stage that I can see on the Drop box file. The only thing I could do as well as posting the Acknowledgement of Service (not the defence) is ringing the court tomorrow and asking them to log on for me.

Redx

firstly, edit the title of your thread and remove CCJ, do the same with the rest of your posts, this hasnt been to court yet so is an MCOL, a county court claim, NOT a ccj (not yet anyway)

the J is for Judgment, when a Judge makes one, so as a Judge hasnt even seen it ...........................

once you have posted the AOS (I do not think that the CCBC will do it for you) , you need to concentrate on drafting a defence, post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ helps you to do this, so draft it and post it below, for critique

meanwhile, tonight , post the full POC details word for word, omitting any personal info, plus post the itemised costs they are claiming, plus the total claimed too

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 17th October, you have until Monday 5th November to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. [STRIKE]To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread[/STRIKE].

Perhaps you could call the CCBC and ask them how to overcome your login issue.
I suspect the will say to email your AoS - in which case follow a similar process as described below for the Defence. Use the same CCBC email address.

Having done the AoS, you then have until 4pm on Monday 19th November 2018 to file your Defence.

That's three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but don't leave it to the very last minute.


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.

Parsley8899

OK thank you - I will email the A of S tomorrow as well as posting and ring them to sort out log on issue.


In terms of compiling my defence, are you able to provide any tips/advice on how much detail/what to write as a defence.


Thank you.

KeithP

Parsley8899 wrote: »

In terms of compiling my defence, are you able to provide any tips/advice on how much detail/what to write as a defence.

Yes - read more of post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

There are many Defence examples in there.

Defences get posted on here every day.

Parsley8899

Hi Red


I've tried to edit the title of the thread but can't seem to be able to - apologies.


Keith - I will spend the next couple of evenings reading the defences on newbies #2 and then post my defence here.


Here are my Particulars of Claim:


Claim for monies relating to a Parking Charge for parking in a private car park managed by the Claimant in breach of the terms and conditions. Drivers are allowed to park in accordance with T&Cs use. ANPR cameras and/or manual patrols are used to monitor vehicles entering and exiting the site.
Debt and damages claimed the sum of 236.00
Violation date: 01/01/2018
(Time spent there was 3 hours and I think it's only allowed to be one hour) - the specific times are written on the PofC but not sure if this is too much info to put on a public forum??
The Claimant claims the sum of 250.64 for monies relating to a parking charge per above including 14.64 intereest pursuant to S.69 of the County Court Act 1984
Rate 8% pa from dates above to 16/10/18.
Total debt and interest due - 250.64


Then there;s the court fees of 25.00 and legal rep costs 0f 50.00 but I assume this is standard.




Thanks so much both of you for your help.