Help with PCN Court Claim

guyo69

Hello,

Thank you for putting this forum together. I have been racking my brain, trying to work out how to defend an unfair PCN received but not respond to. The company is Excel parking.

The allegation was from July 2019. The car was parked in a bay and £3 paid for a days parking. On returning to the car, there was no PCN or other ticket other than the one purchased. Around 2 weeks later a letter arrived stating that the car had been parked in a disabled parking bay and not displayed a blue badge. The driver had no idea the bay was a disabled parking bay and so they drove back to the car park to check.

When at the car park It was obvious that the bays are not clearly marked. All the parking bays had yellow lines. The bay parked the car had been parked in did have some faint chevrons but nothing more, no wall sign denoting disabled parking/blue badge holders and no wheelchair logo, there were no signs in the car park at all denoting disabled parking. I have photographs to support this. I have also taken photographs at another car park operated by the same company where the disabled bays are very clearly marked.

The driver would not have knowingly parked in a disabled parking bay and at the time they did park there were lots of other bays that could have been used.

The Keeper didn't respond to any of the letters sent, believing the claim was bogus but is now at the court claim stage, which has been acknowleged, the Keeper has until 27th November 2019 to send in a defence.

Having read the stickies I have attempted a defence using some of the examples. Can I get some help with the correct wording please?

Thanks once again,

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, was parked on the material date in a marked bay and had a valid paid ticket to be parked in that bay.

3. The Particulars of Claim state that the Defendant was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle. 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, nor indicating which bays are allocated to whom, as there was no clear signage denoting disabled parking and or blue badge holder parking.

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 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.

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

Coupon-mad

I have been racking my brain, trying to work out how to defend an unfair PCN I received and didn't respond to.

Your wife received. You said she was the rk.

I am now at the court claim stage, which I have acknowleged and stated that I am the defendant

But you are NOT the Defendant, you can't switch places with your wife unless the claim was addressed to you.

The person named on the claim form is the Defendant, and the bit on MCOL about putting in an 'alternative name' is NOT to switch to the driver!! It is for people who got married or divorced or otherwise had a name change.

At the moment, am I right to say the DEFENDANT (the keeper) has not done the AOS but a third party has? Clearly this is not allowed - it's a court claim!

Or did I miss something and you appealed and they know it's you who were driving?

Fruitcake

If the scammers don't know who was driving, then for heavens sake don't tell them.

Edit your post to remove information about who did what. Only ever refer to The Driver and The Keeper, who are two different people. Do it now before you do anything else.

If the keeper has received a court claim then it is them that must respond and defend.

guyo69

Hi, my wife completed the acknowledgement and signed it but put my name as the defendant. When she called to confirm they had received the acknowledgment they said they had it so I have assumed that I can defend the case. If this isn't correct, I still need to persue it as my wife is in hospital at the moment. From what you have said, the person on the form should defend the claim, that will still be the case but I would like to help get the defence sorted whilst she cannot.

Redx

you cannot defend the case because its not in your name , its in your wifes name , she is the defendant , not you , you are committing perjury or fraud by signing things in your name or by trying to defend it


we appreciate its difficult if she is in hospital, but only she can defend the claim , not you


please state that you understand


you can assist her , do all the donkey work etc, but only she can sign her defence etc, not you

Coupon-mad

guyo69 wrote: »

Hi, my wife completed the acknowledgement and signed it but put my name as the defendant. When she called to confirm they had received the acknowledgment they said they had it so I have assumed that I can defend the case. If this isn't correct, I still need to persue it as my wife is in hospital at the moment. From what you have said, the person on the form should defend the claim, that will still be the case but I would like to help get the defence sorted whilst she cannot.

Yes you can help and do all the groundwork.

You could do it for her - but of course, in HER NAME not yours. Or wait till she is out of hospital for her to sign the defence that you do the research for with our help (that's fine, but it is not 'yours' to defend).

You are not the defendant - your name goes nowhere, you sign nothing.

And when it comes to the hearing you could speak for her but only if she attends as well.

guyo69

I understand what you are saying and she will be able to attend a court hearing with me. Sorry for the confusion on my part

Redx

its the other way round , you will or can attend court with her , unless she does it on papers only (not recommended)

at the DQ stage she can state when she cannot attend court, after her defence has been signed and submitted

you do the work , she signs it , capiche ???

earlier on you said YOUR defence , but you mean HER defence , bear that in mind


this has nothing to do with you , you are her assistant and helper

guyo69

Yes I understand, thanks

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on the County Court Claim Form?

guyo69

Hello, the issue date is 28 Oct 2019