County Court Claim Form Recieved - Excel - BW Legal

SavvySavey

Hi all,

Thanks for all the help published here. I didn't find this forum in time so haven't followed every step but I've now got my Count Court Claim Form.

I know "every case is the same" so I thought I'd only include a brief summary of what's happened.

1. I parked in a pay and display car park. For several reasons it took me 15 minutes to get my ticket including long queue, poor signage to pay machines and not knowing the price before hand and needing to know I need to know my reg meaning I had to go back to my car again.
2. Got a PCN from excel, appealed. Appeal rejected, told me that the signs clearly say ticket must be displayed within 10 mins (they did not). Did not appeal to IPC.
3. Got letters from BW Legal, which I ignored and then they phoned me (not sure how they got my phone number) and I told them I bought a ticket but no movement.
4. Now I've got my claim form and all it says I got a CN on my car for contravention on DATE at X Car Park and I did not pay despite demand.

I've gone through the forum and this is what I seem to have as my next steps.

1. File Acknowledgement of service (now done)
2. File my defence
3. Wait until allocated to local court and I get hearing date
4. File my evidence and witness statement

So this is what I have for my defence (based on templates, but modified to match my case (points 1 and 4)). Thoughts and advise would be great.

Do I need to submit anything else when I submit this defence or is everything else at the evidence stage?


IN THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No: xxxxxxxxxx

BETWEEN:

EXCEL PARKING SERVICES 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. The facts are that the vehicle, registration XXXX, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, received a Charge Notice “for a contravention on XX/XX/XXXX at the XXXXX Car Park” which has not been paid.

3. 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.

4. 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. They merely state that vehicles must be parked correctly with a ticket displayed at all times. Noting that it is impossible to have a ticket before one is parked, there is no clear given time for how long the defendant was permitted to buy the ticket and display it.

5. 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. The signs are also sparse in some places and are not immediately obvious from the parking bay in question. It is, therefore, denied that the Claimant's signage is capable of creating a legally binding contract.

6. 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.

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

8. 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

Le_Kirk

That looks like one of the Bargepole concise defences so should be fine. The only thing you've missed from your summation is that you will receive a DQ from the court asking which court you choose (your local one preferably)!

The_Deep

Read this

https://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2014/03/waiting-for-space-is-not-parking.html

they are trying to scam you, complain to your MP, they are very familiar with these scams and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these private parking companies. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

Until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies. .

SavvySavey

Thank you. It is a template. The only part that is changed is section 4.

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?

SavvySavey

Issue date is a few days ago, so I've got time and yes it came from Northampton.

Coupon-mad

If you please give us the issue date, KeithP will give you advice tailored to the case.

SavvySavey

The issue date was the 22nd of April.

KeithP

SavvySavey wrote: »

The issue date was the 22nd of April.

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd April, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 28th May 2019 to file your Defence.

That's a whole month away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, and it is good to see that you are not leaving it to the 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 "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep 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.

SavvySavey

Thank you for your help and everyone's help so far.


So about crafting this "perfect Defence", how do you think mine stands so far?



Do you think it needs to include anything about the fact that I did buy a ticket, it just took me longer than a few minutes?



Does it also need to include more about the lack of signage to find where the pay and display machines were?


Or leave this as they have not specified what the "contravention" is?

Coupon-mad

I'm guessing you didn't actually get a CN on your car, just a red card in an envelope saying 'this is not a parking charge notice'?

If so then use the template examples about VCS 'not a CN' from the NEWBIES thread. And add this as the facts, changing it from ''I'' to ''The Defendant'' if you wish/prefer to defend as admitted driver:

I parked in a pay and display car park. For several reasons it took me 15 minutes to get my ticket including long queue, poor signage to pay machines and not knowing the price before hand and needing to know I need to know my reg meaning I had to go back to my car again.
Got a PCN from excel, appealed. Appeal rejected, told me that the signs clearly say ticket must be displayed within 10 mins (they did not).

If you were not the driver then you can also add in POFA points.