Excel / myparkingcharge Final Demand

myparkingchargevictim

Yep so it is a County Court letter asking for now £185.

Tried to chase my MP but got an automated response saying no case work can be handled due to the general election.

Le_Kirk

If it has actually come from Northampton CCBC, you need to follow the advice in the NEWBIES sticky post # 2, find the drop box link and see how to complete the AoS and then read the 17 pre-written defences, pick one and adapt it to suit your circumstances.

KeithP

Have you received a County Court Claim Form?

If so, what is the Issue Date on it?

myparkingchargevictim

2nd December
And yes it is from Northampton (NN1 postcode)

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the newbies post, sorry in just a broke student who's freaked out haha

I'll come back on this thread with a drafted defence, I would appreciate some feedback!

Thanks guys

Coupon-mad

We will help you all the way and there is no point paying, no risk, no CCJ as long as you do defend and not ignore it or miss deadlines.

KeithP

myparkingchargevictim wrote: »

KeithP wrote: »

Have you received a County Court Claim Form?

If so, what is the Issue Date on it?

2nd December
And yes it is from Northampton (NN1 postcode)

With a Claim Issue Date of 2nd December, you have until Monday 23rd December to do the Acknowledgment of Service. If possible, do not do the AoS before 7th December, but otherwise there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox file linked 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 Monday 6th January 2020 to file your Defence.

That's over four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence could 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. No need to do anything on MCOL, but do check it 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 trying to keep you under pressure. Just file it.
   
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.

myparkingchargevictim

Thank you so much!

Just one thing I didn't quite get, why should I delay it til after the 7th December?
I was about to do the AOS now

KeithP

By filing an AoS before the five days allowed for service have passed you may be unnecessarily reducing the total time you have to file a Defence.

In other words, five days are allowed for service of the Claim. By filing an AoS before those five days are up, you are effectively stating that service occurred earlier.

Coupon-mad

And someone here reported that they got a default loss, as a result of doing the AOS too soon, then thinking they had 33 days from the claim issued date. But they'd ruined that by cutting their time short, and it's so unnecessary.

myparkingchargevictim

Hey all,
Done the AOS today and was browsing the newbies thread for a defence. I've got the following below:

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 was the registered keeper was parked in a bay at the site XXXX Car Park. The signage on entrance to the Car Park instructed the Defendant to pay at the window in the entrance however no one was present at the time of the contravention.

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. They merely state that vehicles must be parked correctly within their allocated parking bay, giving no definition of the term 'correctly parked', nor indicating which bays are allocated to whom.

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. 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

I'd probably think its worth adding the bit that '1505grandad' mentioned:

The IPC Code of Practice states:-

"Changes in Operator’s Terms and Conditions

Where there is any change in the terms and conditions materially affecting the motorist you may place additional (temporary) signage at the entrance making it clear that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who may be familiar with the old terms
do not inadvertently incur parking charges. This signage should be in addition to the signage ordinarily required."

Did this happen as in post #1 you say -"I've used this car park often so was confused. The ticket is for Failure to display a ticket."

Is this worth putting into the defence?