County Court form received

umbroshinpad

Thanks for your help guys, I'm making my way through 17 defences on the newbies thread. I'm not really sure they all apply to me. I'm not sure how many of them apply. This was a disused car park where parking was not allowed at all. The driver says they didn't see any signs. Obviously, that doesn't mean that they weren't there. I'm going to check whether or not there are signs there, but the car park is like 2 hours away from where I live so I'll have to check when I'm there next (which will be in time to compile a defence before the filing date.) I can't find the first letter they sent me to check the evidence the parking company has, so I hope the SAR comes through quickly so I can check to see whether POFA has been followed. Thanks guys.

Umkomaas

You only need one defence which is broadly similar for adapting.

In addition, why not do a forum search on keywords ESP forbidding signs defence as I'm sure there will be very germane defences dotted around. They will be almost oven-ready for you.

HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Hit your 'Back' button to get back to the forum thread list. On the bar just above the threads you'll see the 'Search' function. Click on the 'Advanced Search' button and on the following page place your keyword(s) in the 'Search By Keyword(s)' and make sure the 'Show Results As' button (at the foot of the window) is changed from 'Threads' to 'Posts'.

Redx

What applies to you is what I said earlier , a non driver so you question everything regarding your liability as a keeper who was NOT the driver

For a start , the concise defence by bargepole applies to everyone , everyone includes YOU , so start with that one and expand it , also doing what Umkomaas said above

umbroshinpad

Hello everyone. I have been working on my defence and I have some questions.

On the date that my car was parked, I had a salon appointment, which means that I cannot have been driving the car, as the registered keeper. However, I only have one other person named on my insurance. Therefore, if the defence is accepted that POFA was not followed, then the claim could restart for the other driver. Should I provide the evidence that I was not driving, or go with the line of argument that I have seen suggested elsewhere, that it was a long time ago so we are not able to recall who was driving at the time?

The driver at the time does not recall seeing any signs when they entered the car park. I am aware that not seeing any signs is not a defence. I have since visited the site and there are definitely signs present now, to the extent I find it hard to believe that they were not noticed. However, there has also been some building work that has taken place at the site, which may have changed the positioning of the signs. What evidence does the claimant have to provide to prove that they have signs? I have received a photo of one sign from a very close up position, that does not make it obvious where the sign is. Is that a pointless defence? Have I already wasted too much time on this rabbit-hole just by writing this message?!

We requested the SAR at the same time as we responded to the mcol. Therefore, it stands to reason that both are due at the same time. We have not received the SAR yet and defence is due on Monday. If that is not received by Monday, is it something to include in the defence or is that irrelevant and a complaint to be made elsewhere?

I have lost the original notice to keeper (our living room ceiling collapsed and a lot of bit of paperwork were damaged and throne out), so I am not able to say whether POFA was followed without the SAR. I know I need to talk about POFA in my defence or I can't use it later, how much detail should I got into if I am not able to evidence anything at this time?

My partner is currently writing the defence and said he would attend court and speak for me as he has experience of court for work. What is the process for him representing me?

I think that is all for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

KeithP

Please keep in mind what I wrote earlier...

...you have until 4pm on Monday 6th January 2020 to file your Defence.

The_Deep

Have they added on anunlawful £60? Is so, read this.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and in some cases, cancellation.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. 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, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but 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.[/FONT]

umbroshinpad

Ok, so as advised previously, I've looked through a load of the old threads and this is what I have so far. Is there anything that I have missed out of need to add?

IN THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No:

BETWEEN:

ES PARKING ENFORCEMENT LIMITED (Claimant)

-and-

(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 xxxxx of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was parked on the material date in a marked bay allocated to ES Parking Enforcement at xxxxxxxxx
3. The Particulars of this claim state that the Defendant was the registered keeper/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 the 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. The Defendant denies that they were the driver of the vehicle on the day in question. The Particulars of the Claim makes the assumption that the Defendant is both, which is in contradiction of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act. The Claimant must provide proof that they have adhered to the requirements of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which sets the terms for the recovery of unpaid parking charges.
5. The terms on the Claimant’s signage are 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 do so from a passing vehicle would be unable to do so clearly. Additionally, the signage is located at a separate part of the car park, which is not clearly visible unless parking within the vicinity. Furthermore, there is no signage at the entry of the car park.
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 reason given. This appears to be an attempt at double recovery. Furthermore, this process led to His Honour District Judge Josephs discharging claim number F5DP2D6Y due to an abuse of process.

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


Thanks everyone.

beamerguy

With all respect, you are not telling the judge why the claim should be dismissed for abuse of process

This is why coupon-mad has spent a lot of time providing you with the perfect defence on ABUSE OF PROCESS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

POST #14 in this thread .... USE IT

umbroshinpad

So take out my paragraph 7 and put coupon-mad's defence in from that point, or just go with the coupon-mad defence and disregard what I said?

Le_Kirk

My partner is currently writing the defence and said he would attend court and speak for me as he has experience of court for work. What is the process for him representing me?

The defence must be written in your name and signed by you. Your partner can turn up at court and accompany you and partner can be either Lay Rep (where they speak for you so just tell the usher when you both arrive at court) or McKenzie friend where you do the talking but they pass you papers and whisper in your ear what to say.