County Court Defence Help Please!

Dognhog

Hello,
I have read the newbie post and have cobbled together a defence. I would really appreciate some feedback on it. The issue date is 7th March. The claim is for £182 but the "parking charges" are £100. The additional £82 is for "additional contractual charges".

The Case
In February 2018 the driver parked in a local park, which had only recently started to be managed by One Parking Solution. There were signs at the entrance but the writing was v small and couldn't be read whilst driving past. The driver parked in an area where other cars were parked and which didn't have a single sign in the area that the driver could see. The company gave the keeper a parking charge for "not being parked within a designated car park". The keeper has ignored all letters from them, and now over a year later has received a claim form. Interestingly, the keeper went back to the park yesterday and there are now three signs in the area the driver parked stating "no parking on the grassed areas". The keeper has photos of the area from when they gave them the parking charge and photos of how it looks now.

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

2. The facts of the matter are that the vehicle, registration XXXX, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was parked on the material date in the park. There were other cars parked in the same area and there were no signs in the area to indicate that parking was not allowed.

3. Accordingly, it is denied that the Defendant breached any of the Claimant's purported contractual terms, whether express, implied, or by conduct.

4. Additionally, as of 16th March 2019, three signs have been erected in the area in which the car was parked, stating that no parking is allowed on the grassed areas. These signs were not in place on the material date.

5. The Claimant is put to strict proof that it has sufficient proprietary 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.

6. The terms on the Claimant's signage at the entrance to the park 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 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 £82, for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery.

8. The Defendant has the reasonable belief that the Claimant has not incurred £82 costs to pursue an alleged £100 debt. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, in Schedule 4, Para 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.

9. In summary, the Claimant's particulars disclose no legal basis for the sum claimed, and the Court is invited to dismiss the claim in its entirety.

Statement of Truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this Defence are true.

Is this defence ok?
Do I need to do an acknowledgement of service?
I am rather looking forward to fighting this lovely company!

Redx

unless the driver has already been revealed , edit your post above , especially if you are relying on POFA 2012

the DRIVER parked on the day etc

anything after that day came by post to the KEEPER

only those words need to be used , no "MY , ME , MYSELF & I"

the AOS should have been done asap and do it now if not already done , online by logging into MCOL using the MCOL ref to do so (see the NEWBIES FAQ walkthrough to see how)

Dognhog

Thank you. I have done both of those things.

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th March, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 9th April 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, and it is good to see that you are not leaving 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.

D_P_Dance

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 become so widespread that MPs agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It became law today.

Dognhog

Is anyone able to assess the defence please? I would very much appreciate it.