Looking for advice on next steps .. VCS Parking Fine

dav3

HI All,
I've been looking at the examples for paragraph 2 and 3 and i'm not really clear what I should be putting here .. 
For reference the particulars of claim are - 

"The claim is for a breach of contract for breaching the terms and conditions set on private land. The Defendant's vehicle ******* was identified in **** ********** on the **/**/2020 in breach of the advertised terms and conditions; namely Parked for longer than the maximum period permitted. At all material times the Defendant was the registered keeper and/or driver. The terms and conditions upon entering private land were clearly displayed at the entrance and in prominent locations. The sign was the offer and the act of entering private land was the acceptance of the offer hereby entering into a contract by conduct. The signs specifically detail the terms and conditions and the consequences of failure to comply, namely a parking charge notice will be issued, and the Defendant has failed to settle the outstanding liability. The Claimant seeks the recovery of the parking charge notice, contractual costs and interest."

Paragraph 2 - the facts , well the facts are I did overstay however it was unwittingly due to some unfortunate circumstances ..
Paragraph 3- So here do I just explain the events that happened ?

Or should I be looking to claim against some sort of technical error within the particulars, for example they do not state it was a 2 hour limit ?

Thanks again !

Coupon-mad

Paragraph 2 - the facts , well the facts are I did overstay however it was unwittingly due to some unfortunate circumstances ..
Paragraph 3- So here do I just explain the events that happened ?

Yes, if you have no other facts to add. At least the template gives you some other stronger points because admitting to an overstay is not a defence.

Redx

Paragraph 2 says keeper , or keeper and driver , or keeper and driver is unknown or forgotten , plus liability is denied

Nothing else

3 deals with legal matters and sets the scene

Your desire to tell a story should be curbed for several months , until your witness statement is due , which is when your explanations are required

dav3

Thanks ... 
So for paragraph 3 , as far as I can see the legal matters are all dealt with elsewhere in other points in the template, I don't think I have anything additional for this, so I'm a little confused as what to add here . sorry to be a pain!
Thanks,
D

Redx

dav3 said:

Thanks ... 
So for paragraph 3 , as far as I can see the legal matters are all dealt with elsewhere in other points in the template, I don't think I have anything additional for this, so I'm a little confused as what to add here . sorry to be a pain!
Thanks,
D

Well read more paragraph 3 in twenty other court claim threads on here until you know what to write

90% of your Defence has already been written , only you can add the other 2

Le_Kirk

You have written your defence point for paragraph 3 in your opening post.  Whilst you do not put it like that (a story or narrative) you say something like "the defendant's vehicle was prevented from leaving the car park due to a vicissitude, namely a 4-year old child being sick, which had to be cleaned up to make it safe for the vehicle to be driven".  You need to decide if you are defending a keeper and you weren't driving or as keeper and driver.
You can then expand on this in your witness statement.

dav3

Hi there,
Thanks for the further comments here, really useful ! there have been further developments. 
The landowner has now responded and confirmed that they have instructed VCS to cancel the PCN, VCS have confirmed that they have done this. I have asked them to also confirm if they have cancelled the court order, a couple of questions on this . 
I assume VCS should be able to do this if they wish ?
How would I confirm for certain to avoid any nasty surprises at a later date ? 
Thanks again!
D

Le_Kirk

Excellent result.  You should be able to check on your MCOL account since it hasn't gone beyond that stage.

ignavia

Well done dav3!  Would you mind sharing the contact details you used for the landowner? I'm also waiting for a response to my complaint about VCS at the Peel Centre, Gloucester. It's good to know this route might work.

dav3

Thanks @Le_Kirk , I did check MCOL but seems to be still active , will keep an eye on it over the coming week or so , perhaps they haven't got round to it yet.
@ignavia
- I PM'd you the contact details, not sure if sharing on here is the right thing to do ...