Retail Car Park - Parking Charge Notice Defence Letter

Domdom1989

Hi,

I received 2 PCN's back in 2017. The first was 09/04/2017 and the 2nd was 03/06/2017. They were received at the same retail car park, owned by Aldi I believe. 

I have ignored all communication from the parking ticket company, UK Parking Control Limited, as I believe the ticket machine was hidden from plane site. 

I have received many letters from DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd), working on behalf of UKPCL, asking for me to pay the debt, which now stands at £320 (2 x £160).

I have now received a Claim Form, with the County Court Business Centre details on and the total amount on the claim is £551.72. In the particulars of the claim, it states "the driver agreed to pay within 28 days, but did not". I have never agreed to pay these fines.

I have read all the information on moneysavingexpert about fighting these claims. I have been on to moneyclaim.gov.uk to action my time to put a defence together and I have written my defence letter. Please could someone check my letter (see below) to see if I have added enough information and that my information is correct.

The facts as known to the Defendant:

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

Is there anything else I need to add here? Is the above sentence okay?

 

3.  [REMOVE AND REPLACE THESE NOTES! EXPLAIN WHAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR OWN WORDS]  

I remember thinking I could not see any payment machines, so if they were there, they were not easily located or visible from the car park in question, making it very hard to see.

Is the above enough? Do I need to add anything else?

Many thanks in advance,

D

Trainerman

I am sure experts will be along shortly, but they will surely need to know more details. For example, what precisely is the alleged contravention? The "agreed to pay in 28 days" is a red herring, I believe, and does not form part of your defence

KeithP

Domdom1989 said:

I have now received a Claim Form, with the County Court Business Centre details on...

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

Domdom1989 said:

I have been on to moneyclaim.gov.uk to action my time to put a defence...

Can that be translated to "I have filed an Acknowledgment of Service"?
If so, upon what date did you do so?
Your MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

Domdom1989 said:

In the particulars of the claim, it states "the driver agreed to pay within 28 days, but did not". I have never agreed to pay these fines.

The allegation is that by parking the driver agreed to the terms of the contract.

Those contract terms are the terms on the signs.

Almost certainly there is a term on the signs stating something like "if the driver doesn't park in accordance with the rules then he agrees to pay £nn within 28 days...".

Domdom1989

Hi Keith, thanks for your reply.

- Issue date on the claim for is 13/12/21

- Yes, sorry, I have filed an acknowledgment of service on 20/12/21, received on 21/12/21

- Ah, I understand this part now, thanks

Many thanks,

D

KeithP

Domdom1989 said:

- Issue date on the claim for is 13/12/21

- I have filed an acknowledgment of service on 20/12/21, received on 21/12/21

With a Claim Issue Date of 13th December, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 17th January 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over two 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.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Domdom1989

Hi Keith, 

I've already written my defence. Please could you take a look at what I've written in paragraphs 2 and 3.


The facts as known to the Defendant:

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

Is there anything else I need to add here? Is the above sentence okay?

 

3.  [REMOVE AND REPLACE THESE NOTES! EXPLAIN WHAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR OWN WORDS]  

I remember thinking I could not see any payment machines, so if they were there, they were not easily located or visible from the car park in question, making it very hard to see.

Is the above enough? Do I need to add anything else? 


Thanks, 

D

Redx

In 2 , if you are admitting to being the driver , condense it to one sentence , keeper and driver but liability is denied

Lose sentence 2 in paragraph 2

Keep it concise , keep 3 concise too , no My Me Myself & I

Le_Kirk

Domdom1989 said:

The facts as known to the Defendant:

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

3. This is a car park that apparently had no Pay & Display Terminal (PDT) or signs indicating that payment was required.  Upon research carried out after receiving the PCN the defendant discovered that the PDT was hidden from plain sight.   I remember thinking I could not see any payment machines, so if they were there, they were not easily located or visible from the car park in question, making it very hard to see.

Some suggestions for you.  Only put it if true but you need to set the scene for the judge without writing war and peace.  This will come later in the witness statement.  Don't forget to add in the rest of the template before sending it by e-mail as per the instructions in the NEWBIE sticky or defence template.  Do not put your defence in the box on MCOL.  Note that defences are written in the third person, therefore no "I", "me" or "my" but "the defendant".  Note that spelling and grammar are important so "plane site" becomes "plain sight".

Domdom1989

Thank you Le Kirk. I appreciate your advice and the spelling correction . 

When you say "set the scene for the judge without writing war and peace", what things are you thinking I could say, if true? And if not true, shall I add no more?

Thanks again.

D

Coupon-mad

You tell the Judge what sort of car park it is and how busy the site is, and what happened.

Domdom1989

Thank you Coupon-Mad.

Le Kirk, you say this 'setting the scene' part comes later in the 'witness statement', so I don't need to add this to my defence letter, or do I?

Thanks, 

D