DCB Legal Letter of Claim for 3-4 year old PCN

hitman126

@Fruitcake and @Ralph-y, I did indeed pore thoroughly over the template defence posted here by @Coupon-mad on 26th February 2020, titled "TEMPLATE DEFENCE - NEW FROM OCTOBER 2020" and made some amendments in order to make it consistent with my case.

For starters,
1. The alleged parking contravention is said to have taken place nearly 4 years ago. I can barely remember where and when I parked 4 weeks ago, let alone 4 years ago (unless I have little else doing in my life). I therefore have absolutely no recollection of me, the registered keeper, or any other driver for that matter, committing any such parking contravention anywhere and I stand by that assertion 1000%. 

2. Reading through the template, unless I've got it completely wrong, a significant chunk of it appears to indicate that the Defendant is putting forward a defence to challenge the signage and/or the Claimant not adhering to the landowner's definitions, exemptions, hours of operation, etc (e.g. #4, #10, #14 and #16).
Well, my view is that if I am putting in a defence of not having any recollection of committing the alleged parking contravention, am I then not contradicting myself by challenging the signage and Claimant's contractual or legal obligations with the landowner at the alleged location, etc?
Besides, the Claimant has only provided a partial address of "1-3 Upper Green East" on the Claim Form and all previous correspondence, failing to provide the name of the town where the alleged contravention took place. How then can I put in an argument inferring that I know where the alleged event occurred? Again, does that not contradict my argument of not having any recollection of committing the parking offence in the first place?

@Fruitcake, also on the use of acronyms, you'll note that in bullet point item #11 of my defence statement, I've actually taken the extra step of providing the full names or titles for CoP, MHCLG, BPA and IPC, none of which are defined in the defence template.

I was under the impression that where necessary, this defence template was meant to be tailored to suit each case, rather than be adapted word for word and as a generic defence statement for all case types and circumstances. If I have got this all wrong, my bad. I am happy to go along with the advice and recommendation of you the kind and helpful contributors on here who've had vast experience and knowledge on these matters than the likes of me.

I greatly appreciate all the help and support. Thank you.

Coupon-mad

if I am putting in a defence of not having any recollection of committing the alleged parking contravention, am I then not contradicting myself by challenging the signage and Claimant's contractual or legal obligations with the landowner at the alleged location, etc?

Yes and no, because you only get one go at a defence and need to cover all the bases.  But yes you are right that you should edit it to suit.  So when raising 'signage' and 'no landowner authority' you can state that the Defendant has not seen the details but research has shown that the following is often an issue with this Claimant.  Then the template words can follow.

hitman126

@Coupon-mad thanks for the feedback.
So I guess the question is this. In your expert opinion:

1. Will I be better off simply adopting the template defence word for word (albeit with the odd tweak here and there)?, or
2. Does my draft defence carry any weight and can be used (again, albeit with some amendments like what you've just advised)?

Le_Kirk

hitman126 said:

2. Reading through the template, unless I've got it completely wrong, a significant chunk of it appears to indicate that the Defendant is putting forward a defence to challenge the signage and/or the Claimant not adhering to the landowner's definitions, exemptions, hours of operation, etc (e.g. #4, #10, #14 and #16).
Well, my view is that if I am putting in a defence of not having any recollection of committing the alleged parking contravention, am I then not contradicting myself by challenging the signage and Claimant's contractual or legal obligations with the landowner at the alleged location, etc?

The defendant (keeper - not the driver) visited the car park after having received paperwork and and carried out research which is why he/she knows so much!

nosferatu1001

Except the OP is saying they dont know where the car park is
Of course, as they have failed to identify the relevant land, it is another reason they cannot hold you, the keeper, liable
OP - you have a choice to make
You alone have to make the choice
Go in on a single point defence "it was 4 years ago, I cant remember anything, neither can any other of the X regular drivers, and as Keeper I cannot be held liable because the C failed to engage the requiremetns of POFA to hold me liable"
OR
The one point defence above
PLUS
signage
contract with landowner
amount
etc
I knwo what I would pick. 

Coupon-mad

I'd use the template defence but edit it as much as you like - but don't remove any section entirely.

hitman126

nosferatu1001 said:

Except the OP is saying they dont know where the car park is
Of course, as they have failed to identify the relevant land, it is another reason they cannot hold you, the keeper, liable
OP - you have a choice to make
You alone have to make the choice
Go in on a single point defence "it was 4 years ago, I cant remember anything, neither can any other of the X regular drivers, and as Keeper I cannot be held liable because the C failed to engage the requiremetns of POFA to hold me liable"
OR
The one point defence above
PLUS
signage
contract with landowner
amount
etc
I knwo what I would pick. 

@nosferatu1001 thank you very much. You couldn't have summed up everything any better, not to mention the two options put forward. You and @Coupon-mad truly deserve a medal.

As a matter of fact, after some further helpful feedback from @Coupon-mad late last night, I stayed up to edit my draft statement as I was worried the deadline was 4pm today (Feb 01) and came up with exactly what you both appear to suggest, i.e. use the template defence and incorporate it with the additional points from my original defence. I feel very relieved that at least this plan of action has some endorsement on here.

I have attached a copy of the second draft for a final review and feedback before tomorrow's 4pm deadline (confirmed by a Court Clerk earlier today).

Thank you.

KeithP

hitman126 said:

...I was worried the deadline was 4pm today (Feb 01).

...before tomorrow's 4pm deadline (confirmed by a Court Clerk earlier today).

 On 4 January at 3:55PM I wrote on your thread...

...you have until 4pm on Tuesday 2nd February 2021 to file your Defence.

Coupon-mad

Defence looks OK to me except a few paragraphs are not numbered.  All must be numbered so you can refer to them at the later hearing.

hitman126

@KeithP, you certainly did and that was the date I was going by............until someone else gave the conflicting advice that the deadline would be 4pm on Monday 1st Feb 2021. Naturally, I wanted to err on the side of caution last night, hence the panic. I am extremely grateful for your help. Thank you.