Help with MCOL defence- Issued by Gladstones Solicitors

Spacey786

Hi All,

I have received a County court notice for 2 x parking fines from UKCPM for parking in a residential area on the 8th of August last year, the particulars of the claim read The driver of the vehicle registered XXX parked in the breach of the terms pf parking stipulated (the contract) at XXXXX (place) the parking charges were not paid within 28 days of it's issue (only 1 x window PCN was received) The claimant claims the unpaid PCN's from the defendant as the driver/ keeper. Despite demands being made the defendant has failed to settle their outstanding liability. The claimant claims £100 per PCN, £60 per PCN contractual costs, together with statutory interest of £23.23 pursuant to s69 of the county courts ACT 1984 at 8% per annum continuing at £0.07 per day .

The letter issued by the court was 09/08/2021 & AOS was made 12/08/2021, question is how many days do I have left to submit my defence? Secondly, facts of the matters are as below,

1. No admission has been made to who the driver was, no contact has ever been made
2. The parking area is one of many parking areas within a street as you can see from the Ariel view (see last pic) where cars are parked in different streets
3. The main signage at the entrance of the car park is hidden by overgrown shrubs etc.
4. There is no charge for parking there, assumed to be a residents only car park
5. There is no parking markings anywhere in that parking area, so no bays
6. Car park is empty most of the times, various pictures have been taken on various days.
7. There is no mention of how long the car was there (grace period?)
8. There is a small car parking sign advising of the parking conditions at the very end of the car park quite far away from the alleged parking contravention.
9. The 2nd PCN was sent via a letter & There is also a 3rd being chase again no windscreen PCN

Would really appreciate your advice on this guys in how to put up a robust defence that it is thrown out & doesn't goes for hearing, I have been reading up on the post for newbies etc & have some kind of inkling to put a defence in, not sure of the format

Thanks ever so much...

KeithP

Spacey786 said:

The letter issued by the court was 09/08/2021 & AOS was made 12/08/2021, question is how many days do I have left to submit my defence?

Hello and welcome to the forum.

It looks like you have received a County Court Claim Form.

With a Claim Issue Date of 9th August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service on 12th August, you have until 4pm on Thursday 9th September 2021 to file your Defence.

That's a little over a week 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.

Umkomaas

Would really appreciate your advice on this guys in how to put up a robust defence that it is thrown out & doesn't goes for hearing

It won't be 'thrown out'.  Either UKCPM will discontinue (a rare occurrence by the most litigious car park operator in the country), or it will go to a hearing.  You have to keep going through all the motions to avoid a judgment in default. 

Spacey786

Umkomaas said:

Would really appreciate your advice on this guys in how to put up a robust defence that it is thrown out & doesn't goes for hearing

It won't be 'thrown out'.  Either UKCPM will discontinue (a rare occurrence by the most litigious car park operator in the country), or it will go to a hearing.  You have to keep going through all the motions to avoid a judgment in default. 

Thanks, what's your comment on the pictures? 

D_P_Dance

I have received a County court notice for 2 x parking fines from UKCPM 

They are not fines, please read the newbies. 

What was you reason for parking there,  are you a resident or were you visiting a resident,?

Spacey786

D_P_Dance said:

I have received a County court notice for 2 x parking fines from UKCPM 

They are not fines, please read the newbies. 

What was you reason for parking there,  are you a resident or were you visiting a resident,?

Thanks

Yes that's correct, these are not fines, but a debt claim, raised via a judicial service in a small claims court... the reason being parked was to access the centre across the road.

KeithP

What is 'the centre'?

By 'across the road' do you mean the other side of Dobson Road, or somewhere on the vast industrial estates that are just 'across the road'.

Le_Kirk

What is the "centre across the road"?  Is the area where you parked allocated to the centre across the road or just some random resident's area?  It seems to be parking for residents but it is impossible to read that large sign to see whether that is true or not.  It makes one wonder why, in what appears to be a residential area, with private driveways, there needs to be a parking control of any sort.  Can we assume you do not live there and have no official reason or permission to park there?

Umkomaas

Spacey786 said:

Umkomaas said:

Would really appreciate your advice on this guys in how to put up a robust defence that it is thrown out & doesn't goes for hearing

It won't be 'thrown out'.  Either UKCPM will discontinue (a rare occurrence by the most litigious car park operator in the country), or it will go to a hearing.  You have to keep going through all the motions to avoid a judgment in default. 

Thanks, what's your comment on the pictures? 

Well, the one showing the entry has a first warning sign that is heavily obscured by foliage, so you were not being made clearly aware that you were entering private property.  Something for you to use to your potential advantage. 

The picture showing a UKCPM sign, is, just that, a UKCPM sign - we've seen hundreds. What's your take on it?

The bird's eye view - I'm not clear what it is you are trying to show - is it just a contextual picture, or is there something within it which you feel helps your case?

Spacey786

Hi All,

Thank you for your comments/ views etc.. all the questions asked by fellow forum members are addressed as below..

I sometimes volunteer at a local Islamic centre (circle 2) there is limited parking there and some days it is so busy that an ambulance cannot go through.. for access & safety reasons the car is parked at circle 3, where there is  access through a small path covered with bushes that takes you across the road.

Circle 1 is  NHS mental health institute& due to building works there is just about space for staff.

Circle 4 is the main sign almost covered by  foliage

Circle 5 is where the small parking notice is erected far away from the entrance

Circle 6 is where there is further parking controls by UKCPM, the roads leading to these areas are owned by Sussex Highways and have double yellow lines halfway into the entrance to D road,  however free parking is available when residents/ visitors use the car park itself.

I am anchoring on these points, A) the signage is obscure, therefore no contract was entered into as the lack of a clear displayed sign at the entrance.. (with the current Skipton Ruling of abuse of process) Inflated admin charges C) generated so called roboclaims D) The particulars inn claim do not provide any details of the contract that was contravened, have not given details of how long the car was parked there etc etc.. 

Appreciate further comments on the above, many thanks

Spacey786

I am working on a defence statement thanks @KiethP will post it here for a review