County Court Claim for *unadvised* militant approach

CourDeLion

Hi everyone,

I have received a Claim Form with an issue date of 7 Apr from DCB Legal who are representing UK Parking Control. The incident is from back in Aug 2019 when I was visiting my parents in a private residential estate. The lease is in my name, but my parents use the resident's bay and I park in a visitors spot (which seems to be outside my lease area as it doesn't show on the map attached to my lease).

It's been really long, so I can't even remember if I had put the visitor's badge on the dash and it had fallen down out of site, or if I didn't have it at all on the day. When I came back and saw the ticket, I decided (in hindsight, poorly) to ignore it and all subsequent communication. I have kept a copy of all letters received, but have never responded to any of them. Also the firm is no longer servicing the property and all signage has since been removed. I don't have any legible pictures of the property or signage.

A long time ago, I'd read about the militant approach and have adopted it a couple of times with success, so this time I did the same thing without taking the time to check if it was still the advised approach. I never thought it would get this far. Now I'm in receipt of a Claim Form and I didn't do a SAR.

From reading the Newbie post, I know that I now need to complete an AOS, but I haven't done it yet because I'm not sure if I can defend it and there are a few things about the Particulars of the Claim that didn't make sense to me and I needed advice from this forum. Questions below:

1. The Particulars of Claim say that "The PCN(s) was issued on private land owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of Terms on Cs signs (the Contract), thus incurring the PCN(s). The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not". I have not responded to any correspondence whatsoever, so how did they arrive at "the driver agreed to pay"?
2. The amount claimed is £280.96 whereas the original parking charge was for £100.00 with a "reduced charge" of £60. When they started using debt recovery in Oct 2019, they immediately went up to £160 which I believe is a Debt Recovery cost which is no longer permitted if I understand this post correctly [https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333036/breaking-news-government-has-announced-the-statutory-code-of-practice-and-enforcement-framework/p1]. The breakdown given in the Claim Form is "£195.96 (figure that's £160 + interest at 8%), £35.00 Court fee, £50 Legal rep costs which all totals to 280.96. I don't know how to address this...

I hope I've provided sufficient information for a first post. Please excuse me if I've missed any key pieces of information or answers in the forum; there is a lot to read on many different pages. Can I please request your assistance in what my next steps should be and what key clauses I should include from the template?

Thank you in advance,

CDL

Le_Kirk

You can submit the AoS now and that will buy you the maximum time to compile your defence using the template, which is one of the announcements on the first page of the forum, showing us your paragraphs 2 & 3 for critique.  One of our regulars @KeithP will be along to give you the correct deadline for submitting your defence plus where to find some useful tips.

The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not

Everybody gets confused with the above; you agreed to the terms and conditions by staying in the car park.

Fruitcake

Forget this, it's a non-point.

I have not responded to any correspondence whatsoever, so how did they arrive at "the driver agreed to pay"?

The signs will have said something like, "By parking you agree to the Ts and Cs displayed on the signs."

What happened when you complained to the landowner and managing agent if there was one?
What did your lease say about parking, visitor parking, permits, PPCs, PCNs, paying PCNs, and court? What it didn't say will be just as important.

Is the site, or perhaps the entrance visible on Google Streetview images as there may be some historic photos from 2019 that might help.

As above, do the AoS now then start on your defence using the template, and show us only the parts you have amended before you submit it. Remember, do not put anything in the defence box when you submit your AoS. You will be emailing your defence to the CCBC and claimant later.

CourDeLion

Thank you @Le_Kirk, I've submitted the AOS as you advised and am now starting to draft my defence letter. Will post here when done (might be later in the day as I'm still at work).

@Fruitcake, I have not contacted the landowner, managing agent or anyone. Just ignored it all completely. My lease has the following clauses pertaining to parking:

• Rights included in the demise: The right to the use of the Allocated Parking Space* for the purpose of parking a private motor vehicle not exceeding three tonnes gross laden weight.
• Covenants Enforceable by the Lessor and the Manager: To comply with and make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all persons living in or visiting the Demised Premises or using the Allocated Parking Space or any part of the Maintained Property shall comply with any Estate Regulations which may be in force from time to time.
  
• Covenants Enforceable by the Lessor and the Manager and lessees and transferees of the Properties: Not to use the Allocated Parking Space for any purpose other than for the purpose of parking a private motor vehicle not exceeding three tonnes in gross laden weight or motor cycle thereon and not to park or allow to be parked any motor vehicle wheeled vehicle or other form of transport on any other part of the Estate.

*Neither the lease text nor the map specify which allocated parking space. Worth noting that the visitors bays are not show in the map attached to the lease, so they may not be part of the lease for my building...

CourDeLion

Fruitcake said:

Is the site, or perhaps the entrance visible on Google Streetview images as there may be some historic photos from 2019 that might help.

Google streetview images are from 2015 and the signage is blurred out. The parking company no longer services the estate, so the signage will have been changed around 2020.

Fruitcake

It's a defence, not a defence letter. Remember, we only need to see the specific paragraphs you have changed, not the whole thing.

Plan A is always a landowner complaint. The advice to ignore a PCN has not been given here since the law changed nearly ten years ago.

There is nothing in that lease about a PPC or paying them, or visitors paying them. Your lease had primacy of contract over anything an unregulated private parking who was never a party to your lease has to say.
Does the lease also mention your right to quiet enjoyment?

A lease can only be altered if a ballot of all landlords and tenants has taken place in accordance with Part IV, paragraph 37 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, with a majority of at least 75% in favour and no more than 10% against. You should ask the landowner and management company when the ballot occurred, what was the result, and why weren't you informed that your lease had been varied by the introduction of an unregulated private parking company?

CourDeLion

Here is the current draft of my defence with all of the information I can think to include. To be honest, I don't know what more I could write... is there really a defence I can make? With what I've written so far, they're just the facts.

UK Parking Control Limited

(Claimant) 

- and -  

Defendant

 (Defendant)

_________________

DEFENCE

 

1. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.  It is denied that any conduct by the driver gave rise to a ‘parking charge’ and it is denied that this Claimant (understood to have a bare licence as managers) has standing to sue or to form contracts in their own name at the location.

 

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. 

3. The Defendant is a leaseholder of a property at the premises with the right to use the allocated parking space and to comply with and make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all persons living in or visiting the premises or using the allocated parking space or any part of the maintained property shall comply with any estate regulations which may be in force from time to time.

4. On the date in question, the defendant had parked his vehicle in a visitors bay as he was visiting his family who live at the property. The defendant was in possession of a visitors permit but this had slipped off the dashboard at some point between the vehicle being parked and the Parking Charge ticket being issued. The defendant has not responded to any notice or attempted correspondence from the claimant since the event.

CourDeLion

Fruitcake said:

It's a defence, not a defence letter. Remember, we only need to see the specific paragraphs you have changed, not the whole thing.

Plan A is always a landowner complaint. The advice to ignore a PCN has not been given here since the law changed nearly ten years ago.

There is nothing in that lease about a PPC or paying them, or visitors paying them. Your lease had primacy of contract over anything an unregulated private parking who was never a party to your lease has to say.
Does the lease also mention your right to quiet enjoyment?

A lease can only be altered if a ballot of all landlords and tenants has taken place in accordance with Part IV, paragraph 37 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, with a majority of at least 75% in favour and no more than 10% against. You should ask the landowner and management company when the ballot occurred, what was the result, and why weren't you informed that your lease had been varied by the introduction of an unregulated private parking company?

The scanned copy of my lease is from back in 2005 and really poor (can't search). I've called the new management company and asked them to dig up a better copy. Will get back to you on what I find.

KeithP

CourDeLion said:

I have received a Claim Form with an issue date of 7 Apr from DCB Legal who are representing UK Parking Control.

CourDeLion said:

I've submitted the AOS...

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th April, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 10th May 2022 to file your Defence.

That's almost 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'.

Le_Kirk

CourDeLion said:

4. On the date in question, the defendant had parked his vehicle in a visitors bay as he was visiting his family who live at the property. The defendant was in possession of a visitors permit but this had slipped off the dashboard at some point between the vehicle being parked and the Parking Charge ticket being issued. The defendant has not responded to any notice or attempted correspondence from the claimant since the event.

I wouldn't say that!  Why do you think you were responsible for the permit not being on display when you returned to the vehicle?  It was there when you left the vehicle.  If the PPC had provided a secure means of affixing it to the windscreen or dashboard, it would still be there now!  There is a possibility that the permit was dislodged by a person or persons unknown bouncing up and down on the bonnet!  Is there anything in the lease about having to display a permit?

Coupon-mad

You don't know that the permit had slipped off the dashboard, so don't say that!  This is their case to prove.

You haven't mentioned that the defendant felt that this was an entrapment area with inadequate signs.  You need to say it is your belief the signage was insufficient to draw the parking charge to the attention of drivers and that even if a sign was in the distance, the only large letters were
'NO UNAUTHORISED PARKING'.  The Defendant was decfacto authorised so cannot have been in breach of any clear terms.  The  Claimant is put to strict proof that the driver was unauthorised and wasn't merely fetching a visitor permit or unloading (both of which are not part of a parking period).

You haven't pointed out that the photos from UKPC are taken between just x minutes, which means they breached the 'consideration period' requirements of the BPA Code of Practice and unfairly penalised authorised persons who need a reasonable time on arrival to get a permit from the flat or indeed to load/unload bags or belongings up to their flat.

You haven't used the wording about primacy of contract that is in the Residential defence examples in the 2nd post of the NEWBIES thread. There are 2 examples there.