Driver observed leaving site whilst vehicle remained parked on premises

Smaru

Hello ,
My spouse has received a County Claim Form in the post from BW legal for a #driver observed leaving the site whilst car parkd in the premises#.This was after a series of letters which we did not reply to, and adrressed to my spouse as Registered Keeper. We have only replied to a letter of claim from them in Octber .In this letter ,we asked for evidence of driver having left the site, the boundary of the car park etc as advised in other threads on this forum.They haven't replied to that but have sent us the County Claim. We are going to defend based on all the experiences of various members who have posted on the forum . My query is: am I allowed to represent my spouse(who is the registered keeper) ?
Grateful for advice and suggestions

KeithP

The Defendant named on the Claim Form is the person wo must Defend the Claim.

Of course you can do all the work beforehand, but everything must be done in the Defendant's name.

At any court hearing the Defendant must attend, but you can speak on the defendant's behalf. It is possible that the Defendant will be asked direct questions which of course must be answered.

But we are getting way ahead of ourselves.

What is the Issue Date on the Claim Form?
Has it come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton?

Smaru

Hello,
Thanks for quick response.Yes,it has indeed come from CCBC in Northampton.Issue date is 28 the November and we have worked out that the acknowledgement form should reach them with 14+5 days .So essentially, we are planning to post it tomorrow by registered post. \We have aslo received another letter from BW warning us that they have sent us the claim form and that we have few days more to settle !

Smaru

Hello,
Thanks so much for quick response.Yes,it has indeed come from CCBC in Northampton.Issue date is 28 the November and we have worked out that the acknowledgement form should reach them with 14+5 days .So essentially, we are planning to post it tomorrow by registered post. \We have aslo received another letter from BW warning us that they have sent us the claim form and that we have few days more to settle thier 'debt' !

Any further guidance will be gratefully accepted

KeithP

No, please don't post anything.

With a Claim Issue Date of 28th November, you have until Monday 17th December to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of [URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread[/URL].

Having done the AoS, you then have until 4pm on Monday 31st December 2018 to file your Defence.

That's nearly 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 suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. 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'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of [URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread[/URL] to find out exactly what to do with it.

The_Deep

A claim for a breach of contract for leaving site is very difficult for a PPC to get past a just.

First they must prove that all the occupants of the car let the site, not just the driver. Then they must prove that they took all possible actions in an attempt to mitigate their loss. A parking weasel hiding behind a tree would not impress a judge. Then they must convince the judge that it is not an unreasonable term in a consumer contract, and finally they would have to prove that it is not a breach of the Human Rights Act.

Obviously , if your brand new £300 Monte Christo Panama is blown off site you would go after it, it is a silly made up condition, and a scam.

Complain to your MP

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers be put out of business. Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers. Read this one which I wrote earlier

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially Smart}, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week), hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Smaru

Thank you for the very helpful suggestions We will do the AoS online, and then prepare our defence.

Smaru

So my AOS is done ; thank you Keith P for sending the instructions;it made the task pretty painless.
Now on to the defence bit ....and to write to my MP as suggested by the Deep.

Smaru

Hello,
Now to prepare the defence; any guidance will be gratefully accepted.

Do we divulge the driver's identy in the defence , and the fact that the attendant was hiding and waiting for the customers to the superstore to move away from the car before springing out and putting the Parking Charge Notice on the windscreen ?

Or

State that BW has not send any evidences of driver leaving the premises or the bouandaries of the premises etc even though we have requested for it ?
.. not sure what approach to take .

KeithP

If you haven't done so already, have a look at the examples of Defences linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to better understand what is expected. I've already given you a link to that thread.

Smaru

Thank you,spent a lot of time today looking through all the posts.Am more 'educated' now having gone through defence for various reasons ;still couldnt find any related to what I was after.