Civil Enforcement Court Claim Urgent

Ellad1983

I have read the Newbies section but am really confused!

I have had an ongoing dispute with Civil Enforcement over a parking ticket issued in March 2018 and have now received a county court claim.

I was parked in a retail park where there was a 3 hour restriction which I was unaware of. If there were any signs, they definitely weren't obvious. The retail park is not near my home so I can't go back and check. Two weeks later I received the letter from Civil Enforcement as I had apparently exceeded the limit by 11 minutes. They sent photos of me entering and leaving the car park as evidence. I have been disputing the claim ever since.

Even if I had known there was a restriction I wouldn't have made it back to my car in time as I was locked in one of the stores and had to wait to be let out! I have contacted the store in question but they no longer hold any CCTV evidence.

Please can someone give me an idea of how to present my defence as all the examples I have seen are very 'legal' and I don't understand which parts would be relevant to my case.

The date on the court claim was 14/01/19 so I don't have long left to file the defence. I have completed the Acknowledgement.

Thank you.

Redx

you need one of those "legal" defences, linked in the NEWBIES sticky thread

also download and read the BPA CoP , read clause #13 , grace periods, as this is also relevant for an 11 minute "overstay" (one period before parking , and one afterwards to allow you to leave)

KeithP

Ellad1983 wrote: »

The date on the court claim was 14/01/19 so I don't have long left to file the defence. I have completed the Acknowledgement.

You have loads of time.

With a Claim Issue Date of 14th January, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 18th February 2019 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 the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.