Claim Form - Llangranog Car Park HELP!

4rry

Hi, I've read newbies thread, have filed acknowledgement of service & requested SAR from One Parking Solution.

I have had a claim form issued to me dated end of March 2022. The car parking charge is for not paying within the allotted 10 minute time frame despite being stood in a queue and not being physically able to pay within 10 minutes unless I jumped the queue! I was helping others in front of me use the machine and then paid for my own once I was at front of queue. I sent proof of payment to One Parking Solution which I was told didn't matter as I hadn't paid within time frame. The appeal to POPLA didn't work as they told me I should have left the car park and made other arrangements if I couldn't pay within 10 minutes?!

Any advice on what to include in defence claim? I have used the template so have all key cases in there but looking for something more specific. Please can you also confirm how long I have to file a defence after the acknowledgement of service point. 

DCB legal are representing One Parking Solution Ltd. This is for the famous car park in Llangranog - SCUM!!

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

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

Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?
Your MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

4rry

Hi Keith

Issue date is 31st March 2022
Acknowledgement of service submitted on 6th April 2022
Acknowledgement of service received on 7th April 2022

Am I correct in saying I need to file a defence 28days from 31st March 2022? I will stick it in my diary and aim to have a response in a few days before this?

Have you come across any similar cases? I would like to read up on this to know whether I will win in court.

Also, is the amount they've charged me (c£270) the most they can get from me? Or would they be entitled to more costs in court if I somehow lost? 

Apologies - new to this! 

KeithP

4rry said:

Issue date is 31st March 2022
Acknowledgement of service submitted on 6th April 2022
Acknowledgement of service received on 7th April 2022

With a Claim Issue Date of 31st March, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 3rd May 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over three 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'.

Fruitcake

This entrapment car park is a frequent flyer on this forum, so you should search for other threads and posts about it, especially any by ParkingMad and Coupon-mad who have information about OPS and this particular site.

Found it.

Llangrannog Beach car park - PCNs when prevented from paying — MoneySavingExpert Forum

4rry

Thanks will take a look...

I have submitted a SAR to DCB legal and One Parking Solutions but have had no acknowledgement of receipt - should I wait till I receive this before filing defence? What happens if I don't receive it

KeithP

4rry said:

I have submitted a SAR to DCB legal and One Parking Solutions but have had no acknowledgement of receipt - should I wait till I receive this before filing defence? What happens if I don't receive it

Whilst you can wait a few days to receive a response to a SAR, there are two things you need to keep in mind...
1) the recipient has a whole calendar month to respond to a SAR, and
2) your Defence filing deadline is fixed at 4pm on Tuesday 3rd May 2022.

The response to a SAR will be more useful at Witness Statement time anyway.

4rry

Fruitcake said:

This entrapment car park is a frequent flyer on this forum, so you should search for other threads and posts about it, especially any by ParkingMad and Coupon-mad who have information about OPS and this particular site.

Found it.

Llangrannog Beach car park - PCNs when prevented from paying — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Struggling to find any useful information to find in defence - how do I get good data from previous threads, appears to be loads of information!!

Fruitcake

Use the template defence and amend paragraphs 2 and 3 to suit your case.
Your comment about the queue and being unable to pay within ten minutes, and unable to get a 'phone signal to make payment by any alternative method would be termed a frustration of contract because you were physically prevented from paying.
Mention that this is a common problem and that the claimant has known about this for several years, but has deliberately failed to rectify it.

Include comments by other posters at the WS/exhibits stage.

Show us your version of paras 2 and 3 for revue. Remember that a defence is written in the third person, so claimant and defendant, not you, me, myself, or I.

4rry

Fruitcake said:

Use the template defence and amend paragraphs 2 and 3 to suit your case.
Your comment about the queue and being unable to pay within ten minutes, and unable to get a 'phone signal to make payment by any alternative method would be termed a frustration of contract because you were physically prevented from paying.
Mention that this is a common problem and that the claimant has known about this for several years, but has deliberately failed to rectify it.

Include comments by other posters at the WS/exhibits stage.

Show us your version of paras 2 and 3 for revue. Remember that a defence is written in the third person, so claimant and defendant, not you, me, myself, or I.

Response below....

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

3. The defendant arrived in the car park, parked up and walked over to the pay and display machine and waited in a queue to pay. Due to the lack of phone signal, the defendant was unable to pay over the phone and therefore, stood in the queue and waited to use the ticket machine. The defendant assisted other members of the public in front of them in the queue to speed up the queue process. Once it was the defendants turn to pay, the fair was paid.

The defendant received an initial fine which was appealed as they believed this to be a mistake. The defendant sent photographic evidence showing proof of payment to One Parking Solutions Ltd. One Parking Solutions Ltd responded stating that although payment was made, it was not made within a 10 minute time frame. The defendant was unable to pay for parking within the 10 minute time frame due to being in a queue and being unable to get a phone signal to make the payment by an alternative method, therefore the defendant believes this is a frustration of contract due to being physically prevented from being able to pay.  

Fruitcake

Your para 3 immediately reveals the driver's identity. That may be okay if the NTK was PoFA compliant, and in any case, admitting to be the driver has the advantage that everything stated is first hand knowledge.

If you are going to admit to driving, then say keeper and driver in your para 2.

It is not a fine, so don't use that word. Fee would be a better word to use instead of fair, which should in any case be spelled fare.

You haven't mentioned that you have been made aware that this is a common problem known to the claimant, but they have failed to rectify it.