CASE WON Student Accommodation with free parking

Mouse007

My son managed to collect 4 PCNs on the first four days at his student accommodation last September, fast forward we now have a defense to submit by tomorrow. Using the suggested template I’ve drafted the following for the [EXPLAIN IN YOUR OWN WORDS... bit

Comments appreciated, am I doing this bit right? Anything we should add or remove?

The facts as known to the Defendant:

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

3.    The defendant had the right to park without conditions under an implied easement granted with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy at the property.

4.    Under this tenancy the defendants contractual rights and obligations were direct with the landowner.

5.    The Website listing for the property stated the rent included free parking on a first come first served basis.

6.    The Tenancy Agreement makes no reference to any requirement to register vehicle registration numbers with the landlord’s agent.

7.    The defendant had not at any time prior to xx September 2021 been advised there were any terms of conditions for use of the car parking spaces.

8.    On xx September the defendant was advised of the requirement to register Vehicle Registration number. The defendant was further advised by the Parking Enforcement Warden that after registration all Parking Charge Notices would be cancelled.

9.    The defendant was unable to contact the Landlord’s agent for several days to register his Vehicle.

10.    The Landlord’s agent have subsequently failed to cancel the PCN’s

11. The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  ... rest per template subject to any necessary edits

Coupon-mad

Why doesn't 2 say he was also the driver, as the Template tells everyone to change, if so?  Or are you the keeper and Defendant?

Which PPC?

Which legal firm?

KeithP

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

Has an Acknowledgment of Service been filed?
If so, upon what date did that happen?
The MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

I'm asking these questions because most people who come here for help seem to miscalculate their Defence filing deadline. And I say it with the best intention, hopefully you too have got it wrong and you have a few more days than you think.

For a start, I can say for definite... your Defence is not due tomorrow. Never will a Defence filing deadline be on a Saturday.

Mouse007

Coupon-mad said:

Why doesn't 2 say he was also the driver, as the Template tells everyone to change, if so?  Or are you the keeper and Defendant?

Which PPC?

Which legal firm?

Son was keeper, driver and defendant - I will change that

Premier Parking Solutions

BW Legal

Mouse007

KeithP said:

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

Has an Acknowledgment of Service been filed?
If so, upon what date did that happen?
The MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

I'm asking these questions because most people who come here for help seem to miscalculate their Defence filing deadline. And I say it with the best intention, hopefully you too have got it wrong and you have a few more days than you think.

For a start, I can say for definite... your Defence is not due tomorrow. Never will a Defence filing deadline be on a Saturday.

Issue date 11 April 2022, AoS filed 29 April 2022

While I count day 28 as being tomorrow, happy to be corrected

KeithP

Mouse007 said:

KeithP said:

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

Has an Acknowledgment of Service been filed?
If so, upon what date did that happen?
The MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

I'm asking these questions because most people who come here for help seem to miscalculate their Defence filing deadline. And I say it with the best intention, hopefully you too have got it wrong and you have a few more days than you think.

For a start, I can say for definite... your Defence is not due tomorrow. Never will a Defence filing deadline be on a Saturday.

Issue date 11 April 2022, AoS filed 29 April 2022

While I count day 28 as being tomorrow, happy to be corrected

Yes, you are right, the calculated deadline is tomorrow, but as I said earlier, never will a court deadline be on a Saturday.

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th April, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 16th May 2022 to file a Defence.

That's a whole weekend away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence.

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'.

Mouse007

KeithP said:

That's a whole weekend away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence.

I hope so, Son is coming home tomorrow so I will have him here to sign and submit on Monday. Thanks for link, I have used that in his draft. Any views on the "The facts as known to the Defendant:" in my original post?

KeithP

Mouse007 said:

KeithP said:

That's a whole weekend away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence.

I hope so...

No need to hope. 

This is confirmed in the Money Claim Online (MCOL) - User Guide, which explains that a Defence is never due on a non-working day.

On page 14 of that document it says:

How long does the defendant have to respond to my claim?

The court will send out a claim pack to each defendant once the claim has been issued and allows 5 calendar days from the date of issue for the service of the claim. Therefore the 'date of service' is the 5th calendar day after issue.

The defendant has 14 calendar days from the 'date of service' to file a response. If the last day for filing the response falls on a day that the court is not open (i.e. a weekend or public holiday), the court will allow the next full working day for a response. The defendant can extend the time to respond to 28 calendar days by filing an acknowledgment of service (AOS).

Mouse007

Defence updated to:

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 had the right to park without conditions under an easement granted in an Assured Shorthold Tenancy at the property.

4.    Under this tenancy the defendant’s contractual rights and obligations are with the land owner and no other party.

5.    The website listing advertising the property stated there was free parking on a first come first served basis.

6.    The tenancy agreement grants the defendant the right to use communal areas without specifying any uses or conditions

7.    The Tenancy Agreement makes no reference to any requirement to register vehicle registration numbers with the landlord’s agent.

8.    In Pace v Mr N [2016] C6GF14F0 [2016] it was found that the parking company could not override the tenant's right to park by requiring a permit to park.

9.    In Link Parking v Ms P C7GF50J7 [2016] it was also found that the parking company could not override the tenant's right to park by requiring a permit to park.

10.    The defendant had not at any time prior to 11 September 2021 been advised there were any terms of conditions for use of the car parking spaces.

11.    On 11 September the defendant was advised of the requirement to register his Vehicle Registration number. The defendant was further advised by the Claimant’s Parking Enforcement Warden that after registration all Parking Charge Notices would be cancelled.

12.    The defendant was unable to contact the Landlord’s agent for several days to register his Vehicle.

13.    The Landlord’s agent have subsequently failed to cancel the PCN’s

14.    The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  The Defendant should not be criticised for using some pre-written wording from a reliable source.  The Claimant is urged not to patronise the Defendant with (ironically template) unfounded accusations of not understanding their defence. This Defendant signed it after full research and having read this defence several times, because the court process is outside of their life experience.  The claim was an unexpected shock.

Rest of defence per template

Does this look OK to send?

Coupon-mad

Yes, it covers what you need.  Good stuff.

Mouse007

Defence filed by email, acknowledgment receipt received from CCBC