MB PCN, Claim Form Received, Defence in progress

raptor182

Hello Everyone, 

Firstly can I say that this forum is incredible and a wealth of knowledge that has already been taken advantage of.

So the Defendant in this case used a car park over a number of different days. Late evening (60p). Operated by Minster B. £100 fine according to their signage.

Received a number of PCN's which were never responded to or argued. Sometime later LBC received from Gladrags. Never responded. 

The D has now received a CCBC in excess of the PCN's with highlights on other fees added. 

D has sent off a SAR to the parking company and has replied to the CCBC to mark they are defending. 

The D used the car park over the days specified and did not pay for their stay. The D believes they paid at the beginning of the dates but doesn't have the ticket issued. Reason they didn't pay for the rest is, it was believed there was an agreement in place in the town where parking took place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that parking in the evenings was free. The D had previously parked in another car park just down the road that was free parking in the evening. Ticket was issued at the barrier and when going to pay for ticket at machine. No charge. 

Several people were there over these dates and could testify to parking being free at location (NOT MB SITE) 

The D is currently drafting their defence and is looking for any advice on doing so. They have found the template in NEWBIES and another from a previous post (Both extremely helpful and well written) 

T.I.A

fisherjim

raptor182 said:

Hello Everyone, 

Reason they didn't pay for the rest is, it was believed there was an agreement in place in the town where parking took place due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that parking in the evenings was free. The D had previously parked in another car park just down the road that was free parking in the evening. Ticket was issued at the barrier and when going to pay for ticket at machine. No charge. 

Several people were there over these dates and could testify to parking being free at location (NOT MB SITE) 


T.I.A

The terms and conditions at another unrelated site have no bearing on this at all, especially if the other site was operated by a LA.

Judges deal in facts and evidence not what you believed to be in place, you will need evidence of your assumption, and more arguments to present than this I fear.

Umkomaas

None of what you've suggested might be a defence is likely to hold up (IMHO - IANAL).  One possible 'escape route' could be signage. Please go and check it - and take photos, details of what they say, and location of the signs around the car park. 

Often with MB cases, the car park contract has been agreed with Bransby-Wilson, yet claims are made in the name of MB - a stranger to the contract, albeit that they have connections with BW, but they are still separate companies. The signage should help as it often in BW's name and shows on the signs. Otherwise when you get the Claimant evidence pack, some months down the line, there should be a copy of the actual contract with the landowner. 

You now need to provide us with a couple of dates please, so that regular contributor @KeithP can provide you with a timeline that you will need to work to.  

Please tell us what the 'Date of Issue' on the court claim form is, and confirm whether you have acknowledged service, and if so, on what date.

Trainerman

Umkomaas said:

Often with MB cases, the car park contract has been agreed with Bransby-Wilson, yet claims are made in the name of MB - a stranger to the contract, albeit that they have connections with BW, but they are still separate companies. The signage should help as it often in BW's name and shows on the signs. Otherwise when you get the Claimant evidence pack, some months down the line, there should be a copy of the actual contract with the landowner. 

There is another thread on right now with this exact scenario. Following that might help as it could give you a defence on contract forming

raptor182

Umkomaas

Issue date was 7/03. Acknowledgment. 14/03  

Umkomaas

raptor182 said:

Umkomaas

Issue date was 7/03. Acknowledgment. 14/03  

Thank you. @KeithP will be along soon to give you your key initial dates and other information to help get you started on your defence. 

KeithP

raptor182 said:

Issue date was 7/03. Acknowledgment. 14/03  

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th March, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 11th April 2022 to file your Defence.

That's 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.

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'.

raptor182

Thank you @KeithP.

Out of interest if there is a date on the CCBC that is incorrect does that have any standing at all? 

Coupon-mad

Not if it's the PCN issue date when they just mean the first notice date.  And not if they've used an American date that switches the month and day (seen before, no big deal to a Judge).

KeithP

raptor182 said:

Thank you @KeithP.

Out of interest if there is a date on the CCBC that is incorrect does that have any standing at all? 

I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.

CCBC stands for County Court Business Centre.

Perhaps you are talking about your Claim Form.

You say 'a date'. What date?
What's wrong with it?

Your queries need to be rather more fulsome to get a good meaningful answer.
Are you using a mobile telephone?

raptor182

If it is believed that the defendant doesn't have much of a case to defend on do they at least have the standing to reduce the claim being requested? The loss to the claimant for not paying the original ticket fee is minuscule compared to the amount that is being requested on the CCBC.