County court claim

jenny3260

Hi All… please help me with this tricky one.  where to start.. To cut a long story short I got 2 parking fines back in 2017 for the same place but on different dates. To be honest with it being so long ago I can’t remember the exact details of them but I remember being totally under the impression that I had paid both times. I received a letter before claim for one of them in October last year and requested a SAR from UKPC in which they replied and told me about both claims and all the details, at this point I asked UKPC to consolidate the claims in which I never received a reply. I have today received a claim form for one of the claims which I’m guessing tells me they haven’t consolidated them together. One of the claims is now at court level, the other is still with dcb legal. Interestingly when I asked for the SAR I requested evidence of an unpaid ticket and they replied “PDT data is not stored”. So given this information I’ve got a few questions 1,) what do I do about the fact they haven’t consolidated both claims? Can I use this in my defence? 2,) if they don’t store PDT data how can they prove that I didn’t pay? Could I then argue that I paid because I’m almost certain that I did! 3,) can you please point me in the direction of a relevant defence example I can adapt to my case? To be honest I’m 33 weeks pregnant and the stress of all this is really getting to me any help would be greatly appreciated. Also the date on the court claim form is 23rd Feb, given it’s the weekend do I take into account non working days for leaving it until day 5 regarding the AOS? Thank you 

KeithP

jenny3260 said:

...the date on the court claim form is 23rd Feb, given it’s the weekend do I take into account non working days for leaving it until day 5 regarding the AOS? Thank you 

With a Claim Issue Date of 23rd February, you have until Monday 14th March to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 28th March 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over 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 again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service instructions.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that 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'.

Trainerman

Look at the 'stickies' at the top of the parking forum page. One is labelled "Newbies" ands another "Suggested template defence.....". That is the template to base your defence on and the Newbies gives all the underlying information.

Usually, you will only have to adapt paras 2 and 3, maybe adding one or two more. Regulars on here will help you get that right.

I think that if you beat the first claim, you can stop them trying another under 'cause of action estoppel'

jenny3260

Thanks both. If they don’t store PDT data is that a good enough defence to have this thrown out? 

D_P_Dance

Firstly, they are not fines. please read the newbies,  Have you read the neewbies and complained to your MP?

jenny3260

D_P_Dance said:

Firstly, they are not fines. please read the newbies,  Have you read the neewbies and complained to your MP?

Yes, I have misused the word ‘fine’ I meant invoice. I got all my information from the newbie threads back in October but I didn’t complain to my MP because to be honest I find him to be totally incompetent and useless going off a previous dealing with him. Plus because I ignored the letters at first I honestly thought it was too late 

Trainerman

jenny3260 said:

Thanks both. If they don’t store PDT data is that a good enough defence to have this thrown out? 

Well the burden of proof is on them, so if they cannot supply this data, how can they prove that you did not pay? So, if the reason on the PCN is "non payment", I think this will make it a very hard task for them. If you are sure that you did pay then say so and make them prove otherwise. Would you have paid by card and have records to help as evidence ?

jenny3260

Trainerman said:

jenny3260 said:

Thanks both. If they don’t store PDT data is that a good enough defence to have this thrown out? 

Well the burden of proof is on them, so if they cannot supply this data, how can they prove that you did not pay? So, if the reason on the PCN is "non payment", I think this will make it a very hard task for them. If you are sure that you did pay then say so and make them prove otherwise. Would you have paid by card and have records to help as evidence ?

I thought I had paid on an app. I can’t remember the app they used at the time and I can’t find anywhere online the app that was used back then. They have since been taken over with a new company but I’m going to drive over next week and see the signs. I’ve downloaded all apps for parking and can’t find any stored information on them - bloody nightmare! Feel very foolish now for not keeping all details.  Also, I have changed banks since and don’t have any details for payment on that either - annoying. 

jenny3260

So, today i have processed my AOS via the MCOL website, i want to crack on sorting out my defence today also. Having a read through the forum, it seems they have also added a false £60 fee - i have wrote to the solicitor previously for proof that UKPC paid a debt collector £60 but obviously no proof was provided and my email ignored. In this case, is it worth using @Coupon-mad suggested template for cases where they have added false admin costs? Do i just copy the full template adapting phrases 2 and 3 to my individual case?

Coupon-mad

Do this and - unlike that OP - please don't remove other stuff from the template (only replace the stuff about the Semark-Jullien case with my suggested new words and let's see what it looks like)!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79021699/#Comment_79021699

It will really help me to see someone try to replace the old words about double recovery with the new, because I'd then have something to work with to edit the current template defence:

I just have't had time yet!  Somewhat busy...

jenny3260

Coupon-mad said:

Do this and - unlike that OP - please don't remove other stuff from the template (only replace the stuff about the Semark-Jullien case with my suggested new words and let's see what it looks like)!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79021699/#Comment_79021699

It will really help me to see someone try to replace the old words about double recovery with the new, because I'd then have something to work with to edit the current template defence:

I just have't had time yet!  Somewhat busy...

Thank you, I will send you a version of my defence once it’s done.

I have had a breakthrough today! I have managed to find evidence of a payment made via text message on the date the company are saying I didn’t pay. My memory recalls there being 3 hours for free and then you had to pay for a 24 hours period. So, I drove into the car park at 11am and paid for 24 hours at 2pm via text message. I paid at 2pm as I knew that I would be staying longer thus I was under the impression this would extend my stay another 24 hours. I actually left the car park a couple of
hours after that. Therefore, would my defence be that the signs were misleading and unclear? I am so happy I found my payment evidence… 5 years or stress for something I paid for!! ***eholes!!