Do I Have a Case to Defend?

Easye37

Thank you for all your input. I have amended my defence as follows:

The Defendant attended a business meeting at Costa Coffee on the retail park in question, which was the first time that the defendant had visited this retail park. The Defendant made two purchases in Costa during the meeting of which are shown on the Defendant’s bank statements. The Defendant then went on to have lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken on the same retail park but paid cash. It is alleged by the claimant that the defendant overstayed by 39 minutes. At no point did the Defendant see any signage stating that the retail park had a 60-minute time restriction to park and therefore was completely unaware of this. If the Defendant had been offered a fair opportunity from prominent notices, meeting the famous ‘red hand rule’ to learn about this restriction then the Defendant would have left within the 60-minutes. The Defendant returned to the retail park at a later date to check for signage. The signage present was minimal and approximately 2.7 metres/9ft from the ground, it was also faded due to weather conditions. Therefore the Defendant denies any liability.

Would this be ok?      

Easye37

KeithP said:

Easye37 said:

Dear All,
After lots of reading and advice, I have just attempted to write my defence...               

Since my last post three weeks have simply vanished.
Remember...

...you have until 4pm on Monday 22nd March 2021 to file your Defence.

Thank you Keith. I’ll make sure this is submitted today. 

Easye37

Umkomaas said:

That's a rant, leave it out. Costa Coffee is a coffee shop where people go for a cup of coffee, it is not a business meeting venue .... unless they advertise it as such.  You're just leaving yourself wide open to a quicksilver lawyer counterattack!

I totally agree and have removed this. I appreciate Costa isn’t a business meeting venue but I’m sure you’ll agree if you’re meeting a friend or business associate it’s unreasonable to be restricted to 1 hour? 

blackdog2220

and what did costa manager say , when you returned back to the site , and produced your bank statements , did he offer to contact the land owner or the parking co to get the ticket cancelled as you were a paying customer 
I canrt remember , but back in march 2020 , were (covid) restrictions not in place regarding offices and number of workers allowed in building , and as such an external venue like costa , with facilities to sit outside drink your coffee and have your meeting seems appropriate 

there were also severe restrictions on numbers being in cafes , with long quese , (?) perhaps the 30 mins was down to reduced staff at both stores , and as such costa anf kfc should have informed parking co of those problems 

comment earlier "half empty car park " , YES because of covid restrictions and the parking co feeling the pain with no income due to shops closed , hence chasing you 
and PS 
and what did costa KFC manager say , when you returned back to the site told him you had been to costa then you sdhopped at his venue ,  did he offer to contact the land owner or the parking co to get the ticket cancelled as you were a paying customer 

Easye37

blackdog2220 said:

and what did costa manager say , when you returned back to the site , and produced your bank statements , did he offer to contact the land owner or the parking co to get the ticket cancelled as you were a paying customer 
I canrt remember , but back in march 2020 , were (covid) restrictions not in place regarding offices and number of workers allowed in building , and as such an external venue like costa , with facilities to sit outside drink your coffee and have your meeting seems appropriate 

Unfortunately I didn’t speak to the manager of either. I just went back to check for signage. Probably common sense but just didn’t think at the time. I’ll hold my hands up to that mistake. I really didn’t think it would go this far and beyond. 

I agree about the Covid situation and it was extremely relevant at the time. There was no financial loss to these businesses as a result of my car being parked for 39 minutes longer than allowed, especially at the beginning of a worldwide pandemic. 

Fruitcake

It is never too late to make a complaint to the landowner as well as the manager and/or CEO.

Snakes_Belly

Part of the problem is the total inconsistency regarding time limits in these retail parks. If you had gone into Costa where I live you could have stayed all day. 

Easye37

Good morning, 
I submitted my defence via email as per KeithP’s advice on the Defence thread but when I went to complete the Moneyclaim defence section online I was limited to 122 lines.
Do I just enter sections 2 and 3 of the defence template?
Thanks

Fruitcake

You do not put anything in the MCOL defence dialogue box. Nothing. Zero. Not even a full stop!

The bargepole guide to court tells you exactly what you must do, and what you must not do.

If you submitted your defence as per the guide, then that's it. You don't submit it anywhere else.
You should have received confirmation it was submitted, and should be able to check the status on MCOL, but it may take a day or so to update.

Easye37

Fruitcake said:

You do not put anything in the MCOL defence dialogue box. Nothing. Zero. Not even a full stop!

The bargepole guide to court tells you exactly what you must do, and what you must not do.

If you submitted your defence as per the guide, then that's it. You don't submit it anywhere else.
You should have received confirmation it was submitted, and should be able to check the status on MCOL, but it may take a day or so to update.

Thank you.