Please Help. County Court Claim Received. Unloading Van, defense viable?.

avagadro

Hi All


I have received a county court claims form on the 10th of December 2018, with the claimant UK carpark Management Ltd, represented by Gladstones Solicitors.


After reading through the Newbies sticky thread, I am following the advice and starting my own thread to seek advice on whether I have reasonable grounds to contest.


My first concern is that I am away until the 8th of January 2019. My understanding is I will have, after starting the AOS up till the 12th Jan 2019 (28+5 days) to submit my defence. Is this correct? I can do internet/email/printing/scanning while away but not collect physical evidence. Will this suffice? If I do have till the 12th, then I can obviously run around in that week and a bit getting pieces together.


Secondly, I am lacking a good record of prior correspondence between UK Carparking Management, debt collection plus then Gladstone. There will no doubt be some letters I can gather but I do not reside at the registered address and no doubt the resident has not kept all of the correspondences.


The incident in question is that on the 21/2/2018 my van (I'm the registered keeper) was unloading in a NW London location during the daytime hours. The car park in question backs onto the canal, and the van is shown in the pictures provided as evidence, not within any marked bay but backed up against the far edge of the car park, rear doors open, as goods and materials were being unloaded onto the towpath and into a nearby canal boat. The entire operation lasted some 15mins, during which time a non uniformed individual used their phone to take pictures which evidently resulted in this charge. The sign indicating the parking area was controlled by UK car parking management is visible in the background (but quite small/unclear as per usual).

I have not responded to any prior correspondence (bad advice perhaps) nor ever named the driver at the moment in question, although at that time only I have a specific insurance policy for the vehicle (although others can drive 3rd party on their policies).


After reading up a bit on the forums, I have felt these two cases present the best defence (new user can't post links, com removed):
forums.pepipoo./index.php?showtopic=113569&st=40

Excluding point 5 which is regarding a lack of repsonse to the defendants letters to Gladstone etc.


And then this case, Jopson vs Homegaurd:
forums.moneysavingexpert./showthread.php?t=5553131
Where it is set out in the court transcript (I have downloaded) that unloading for a short period of time (you can see in pics doors open etc) do not constitute parking. A key difference however is that I the keeper have no status of residency on that estate. I do pay a licence to CRT and live on the canal boat in question though.



Does this seem viable as a defence and will I be able to not miss any dates etc with being out of the country till the 8th Jan 2019?


Thanks in advance.


EDIT: I have not Started AOS yet as don't want to not have enough time to prep defence and make this worse so please even if you only can answer first question, would be much appreciated.

Umkomaas

Jopson seems good to me (but it's a legally untrained eye).

EDIT: I have not Started AOS yet as don't want to not have enough time to prep defence and make this worse so please even if you only can answer first question, would be much appreciated.

Starting the AOS later gives you no additional advantages - your max time limit is 33 days from the 'Date of Issue' shown on the claim form. If you miss sending it off by day 19, it's then too late to submit your defence, and you're staring down the barrel of a default judgment and a CCJ.

In terms of missing documentation - send UKCPM a SAR and ask them for everything they have on you.

Thread discussing SARs and the GDPR -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5849784

SAR TEMPLATE

From Legal Beagles

https://legalbeagles.info/library/guides_and_letters/court/subject-access-request/

nosferatu1001

Do your AoS now
There is literally NO possible down side

You will be aware, from reading POST TWO of th enewbies thread, that at THIS stage ytou are NOT submitting *any* evidence at all
You are simply submitting your defence
Which you should get writing.

avagadro

My concern is that if I start the AOS now but then do not have a solid defence I then have no choice but to see it through to a loss at the hearing and further incurred costs.



Do you think I've got a leg to stand on?


Cheers

Umkomaas

If they are currently asking for more than £200, it would likely be cheaper for you to lose in court than pay what they want now. Small claims court cases are seriously capped (£200+/- is around the cost award), there's no runaway legal fees or remortgaging requirements.

We never answer 'leg to stand on' questions - it's the Judge who will decide that.

nosferatu1001

Youre talking rubbish OP

Acknowleding simply means youve seenthe form

You are under no compunction then to end up at a hearing. You are entirely able to negotiate a settlement iwth the claimant before then, and they then withdraw the claim

Argue the toss if you want, itll get you nowhere fast. AOS has no downsides. Two people have toldyou this now.
Youve alreayd been given ONE defence point to use straight away. Stop panicking and READ.

KeithP

avagadro, what is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

avagadro

Hi Keith, the 10th December.


Thanks for your advice, Nosferatu1001 I'm not arguing, I'm asking and your tone aside appreciate your advice.


I will get the AOS done and get to work on my defence, which I will post here for review.



Cheers all.

KeithP

avagadro wrote: »

the 10th December.

With a Claim Issue Date of 10th December, you have until Monday 31st 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 14th January 2019 to file your Defence.

That's four 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.

nosferatu1001

You argued, because you kept asking if doing the AOS was somehow a problem. Youd been told already that it wasnt.
Im trying to get you out of your panic = mode, and to take a step back. Being told shaprly to stop arguing over these points - which have no help - and to focus on the defence and not panicking you have nothing, despite being told otherwise, is whats needed.

avagadro

See below my draft of defense. I would appreciate any advice.


IN THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No: xxxxxxxxxx

BETWEEN:

UK CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LTD (Claimant)

-and-

xxxxxxxxxxxx (Defendant)

________________________________________
DEFENCE
________________________________________

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

2. It is true, that on the 21/2/2018, the vehicle in question stopped in XXXXXX for the purpose of unloading for a period no greater than 10 minutes. At no point could the vehicle to be considered parked, and activity entirely different from unloading.

3. The Particulars of Claim state that the Defendant was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle(s). These assertions indicate that the Claimant has failed to identify a Cause of Action, and is simply offering a menu of choices. As such, the Claim fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4, or with Civil Practice Direction 16, paras. 7.3 to 7.5. Further, the particulars of the claim 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.

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 prorpietary 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 £60, for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery.




9. The Particulars of Claim submitted by the Claimant is not compliant with the Practice Directions. The Claimant has not attached the contract(s) it wishes to rely on that it alleges were in place at the time. The Claimant has not clarified whether it is seeking keeper liability and has not attached any confirmation that is has gone through the necessary steps to do so.


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10. 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
Date
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