Court claim

alcaw76

Hello all. I am finally at court stage after almost two years. I initially sent two appeal letters to UKCPM and have received the usual threatening letters periodically ever since. The last two (dated 30th October and 30th November 2018) were actually Letters Before Claim but I ignored these so haven't had the chance to send an SAR. As stated in my original appeal letter, the main defence point on which I am relying is that their Notice to Keeper was received outside of the 14 day limit imposed under Schedule 4, Section 9 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The issue date on the letter was actually one day after the 14 days expired! I also appeal against the penal nature of the charges.

They replied suggesting we use the IAS appeals service which I rejected and suggested we use an ADR Entity which does currently meet all of the regulatory requirements. They never acknowledged this so I guess I have this in my favour too.

Is it best at this stage to reply to the Claim Form with an Acknowledgement of Service and then send the Defence after that? And can anyone help with wording the defence? Many thanks.

ShakeItOff

Yes, you need to submit your AoS, and your defence thereafter.

What was the date on your claim form?

Have you now sent off the SAR? You should do, even if it arrives after your defence needs submitting.

Check out Post #2 on the NEWBIES thread to see the Bargepole defences - they're the best place to start.

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Did it come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

alcaw76

Thanks for your replies. Issue date on Claim Form is 22nd February.

alcaw76

And yes, it came from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton.

Umkomaas

Did the UKCPM NtK state that the keeper was liable for the charge? If so, you should complain to the DVLA that UKCPM have misled you and are now attempting to mislead the court.

ccrt@dvla.gov.uk

It may not halt proceedings (although there might be a chance), but if UKCPM have implied Keeper Liability, the DVLA can cause them quite a headache.

The_Deep

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

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 Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this year..

All five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 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.

alcaw76

The Notice to Keeper holds the DRIVER liable but states that it is writing to me as the registered keeper.

In my first appeal letter I outlined my main defence which was that their Notice to Keeper was received outside of the 14 day limit imposed under Schedule 4, Section 9 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Their reply letter rejects my appeal and says that it is "outdated, inaccurate and does not apply to your Parking Charge Notice".

Can anyone confirm that this defence is valid?

KeithP

alcaw76 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. Issue date on Claim Form is 22nd February.

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd February, you have until Wednesday 13th March 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 the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Wednesday 27th March 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over a month 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.

alcaw76

Thanks for the advice. Is it not best to file the defence via the MCOL website in the same way that the AoS was filed?

KeithP

alcaw76 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Is it not best to file the defence via the MCOL website in the same way that the AoS was filed?

To answer your question - no, it is not.

Post #2 of the NEWBIES thread - there's a link to that thread in my earlier post - explains why in the greatest detail.