About to send defence letter - please help

GrubeLolo

Hi All!
A claim was made against me on 16/03/2021 and I have done my AoS on 20/03/2021. I have now also prepared my defence letter as per Coupon-mad: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs/p1 and I wrote the following on point 3 (kept all other points the same).

3.       The Defendant did not see the signs as it was dark, and the signs were not lit. The Defendant has parked the vehicle in parking space permitted by Golds Gym to use their facilities without expecting to receive any parking charges. The Defendant has parked his vehicle outside of Golds Gym to use their facilities numerous of times and has never received a parking charge. The Defendant has since then been harassed with numerous ‘debt recovery’ letters.

The story behind the fine: 

Outside Golds Gym in Dagenham there is parking space for gym members however EVERYTIME you park you have to register your car in the receiption. After attending the gym for a few months, there is going to be that one time you forget as we're all human beings! So there it was, I forgot to clock my car in and since then I have been receiving countless letters about the fine going up, to respond within 14 days etc. I ignored it all (the parking charge was from January 2020). BUT THEN, they didn't let go and made a claim against me (I'm actually furious). I parked at 8PM and left 10PM therefore in the defence letter I said I didn't see the signs (I haven't even bothered to look for one as I was attending the gym...) and I know for a fact they're not lit. 

Does point 3. make sense? Is it okay the way it is now? What do you guys think?

Thank you so much for your time!  

D_P_Dance

Have you written bad stuff on the gym's facebook page, website, etc?   Have you complained to your MP?  Have you read this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis#:~:text=De minimis is a Latin,refuses to consider trifling matters. 

GrubeLolo

D_P_Dance, I haven't complained to anyone about this and I don't intend to as I don't live in the UK anymore... De minimis meaning this defence will be in my favour? In other words, the claim will be cancelled due to the value of the claim? I don't quite understand...

Umkomaas

The Defendant has parked his vehicle outside of Golds Gym to use their facilities numerous of times

...... and has never seen the signs, yet complied with their requirements on every occasion prior to the PCN?  You need to have a rethink on that point of defence. 

Which parking firm, and which solicitors?

KeithP

GrubeLolo said:

Hi All!
A claim was made against me on 16/03/2021 and I have done my AoS on 20/03/2021.

With a Claim Issue Date of 16th March, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 19th April 2021 to file your Defence.

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

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.

GrubeLolo said:

I haven't complained to anyone about this and I don't intend to as I don't live in the UK anymore... 

Then why are you even bothering to defend this claim?

GrubeLolo

I didn't pay attention to those signs because parking was available for gym members, I now checked the signs on street view and it says "no unauthorised parking" (managed by UK Parking Control Ltd??? However Civil Enforcement Ltd is claiming against me???), since I had membership to the gym, I wasn't "unauthorised" to park there. Only on one occasion did I forget to register my car. It had to be registered everytime you attend the gym... I only wanted to point out the fact that it was dark and signs were not lit, which was an advise on the original defence letter template - which I can get rid of.

Parking firm Civil Enforcement Ltd and the claimants legal representative seems to be internal (Head of Legal) - just to point out they haven't actually signed the claim form, they just typed their name in the box without a date... 

Redx

Post your proposed paragraphs 2 & 3 , not just 3

For 2 , think about if it's as keeper , driver , or both , or driver not known

Think about your truthful answer if asked in court such as , were you the driver ??  Do you know who was driving ? Etc

Which parking company ?  What is the issue date from the claim form ?

GrubeLolo

Keith, thanks for advising about the dates - really helpful! However don't understand why you would question why I'm defending this claim? I don't want to pay almost £300 for attending a gym I was a member of. 

Redx, thanks! I rewritten my point 3 and added point 2 as per the below: 

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, but liability is denied.

3.       Defendant has parked the vehicle in a parking space permitted by Golds Gym to use their facilities without expecting to receive any parking charges. When entering the gym premisses there is a machine to register your vehicle for parking and the driver has on one occasion forgotten to register his vehicle. The Defendant has parked his vehicle outside of Golds Gym to use their facilities many times in the past and has never received a parking charge. The Defendant has since then been harassed with numerous ‘debt recovery’ letters.

This is the most honest answer. I can't imagine I would be held accountable to pay £300 for parking at a gym? That is exactly 12 months worth of the gym membership! (£25 p/m). Evidence that I was a member can be provided, I have it all on email.

Redx

KeithP is correct , you are out of UK jurisdiction , hence why he asks you why you are defending the claim ?

It's a civil matter , no need to attend anyway

In my reply I mentioned thinking about the driver , 2 should say keeper and driver based on 3

Ps , it's pointless mentioning darkness and signs if the driver is familiar with the routine of logging in at reception , darkness and unseen signage is for single usage unfamiliar with the car park 

KeithP

GrubeLolo said:

Keith, thanks for advising about the dates - really helpful! However don't understand why you would question why I'm defending this claim? I don't want to pay almost £300 for attending a gym I was a member of. 

But how is anyone going to enforce a Judgment against you if you are not in the UK?
The long arm of UK law isn't global.

GrubeLolo

My apologies. Well I have moved out of the UK in August 2020 and won't be back until early 2022. So I will be coming back and I don't want my credit score to be damaged by this claim. I would like it to disappear for peace of mind. 

Point 2 adjusted:

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and the driver of the vehicle in question, but liability is denied.