Advice needed for claim defence

Largefry

Advice needed please on writing a defence for a claim.

I filed my AoS on 17 July.

Have recently submitted a SAR

One year ago I received a Notice of Debt Recovery from dcbl for a contravention that occurred on 19th November 2019 at a car park where Highview parking operates.

The contravention was an overstay but due to the elapsed time the driver can't remember if they overstayed.
The notice states they previously wrote to me, the keeper at a different address so I don't have the original PCN.

I updated my V5 in January 2020 as I'd forgotten to do this when I moved home.

I've since ignored all letters.

Circumstances are the driver entered the car park in the evening in order to go to a nearby restaurant off site.

The driver didn't see the signs as they were unlit in darkness so had no idea of any parking restrictions.

Is it worth at this stage writing to the land owner or should I just focus on my defence?

Le_Kirk

Are you saying you actually have a CCJ?  Does this mean you have been to court and lost? OR could it be that you have a N1 claim form?  If it is a claim form and you have completed the AoS then just go to the standard defence template (on the first page of the forum) and use that as the basis for your defence.

Trainerman

From what you have written, you now have to defend a claim in the small claims court. There will not be a CCJ unless you both lose and do not pay in time. Have you read the 'newbies'? You need to understand the process, what happens when and what you need to do.


There is no harm in trying the landowner, it might work. I would also be sending a SAR to the parking company straight away. Once they answer, you will have more information from the original PCN, and all information they hold against you. It is possible that the PCN will not let them chase the keeper, and that might help.

No doubt regular @KeithP will be along soon to tell you when your defence needs to be in by, but yes I would start work on that now.

Edit to say, sorry I see you did SAR. When you have the details, tell us more

KeithP

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

Coupon-mad

This isn't about a CCJ, so the thread title needs editing when the OP has made about 20 posts.

It's a Highview court claim, therefore read any other 2022 Highview defence thread and copy.

But please also answer KeithP's question, as the deadlines are important.

Largefry

Issue date is 11 July

KeithP

Largefry said:

Issue date is 11 July

Largefry said:

I filed my AoS on 17 July.

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th July, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 15th August 2022 to file your Defence.

That's a little over a week 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'.

Largefry

SAR was sent last week.

I've checked google view and the images are from 2017 and the signage appears the same as the photos I took within last August.

I have found a copy of the original PCN that was requested via a SAR last year.

Paragraph 2 mentions keeper and not driver.

I this time I believe there were up to 3 people insured on the vehicle(I'm awaiting my previous insurance company to share the policy documents)and it would be hard to know who was driving at this time.

Would Highview go after one of the other named drivers if they can pin it on the keeper?

Le_Kirk

Largefry said:

Would Highview go after one of the other named drivers if they can cannot pin it on the keeper?

Did you meant to say cannot?  You do not have to give driver details AT ALL.  You can, if you want, transfer liability to a named driver but you would be throwing that person under the bus!  If one of the other persons is a stronger character than you and is better placed to fight the cause this is sometimes an idea, but if the PCN is not POFA compliant why would you?

Coupon-mad

Just defend as keeper copying any other Highview defence. Follow the process through as explained on the NEWBIES thread and you will win.

It is that simple.

Largefry

Thanks both.

Please can you check my draft defence:

2. The Defendant was issued with a Claim Form by DCB Legal acting on behalf of the Claimant Highview Parking Limited for a Total amount of £XXX (inclusive of £35 Court Fee & £50 Legal representative's costs). Through research the Defendant has come to understand the PCN(s) relates to a PCN(s) that was issued against the Defendant’s vehicle XXX, on XX November 2019 at XXX retail park, XXXX.

3. It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question but liability is denied. The identity of the driver at the material time is unknown to the defendant. The Defendant was not the only insured driver of the vehicle in question and is unable to recall who was driving on that unremarkable day over 2 and a half years ago.

4. In the Particulars of Claim ('POC') it is stated that the Defendant is liable as the driver or keeper but the Claimant has failed to provide any evidence that Defendant was also the driver. The Defendant cannot be held liable for the charges as the keeper of the vehicle. The Claimant did not properly serve a compliant notice to keeper in strict accordance with Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA).

5. Following on from [4] & [5] (in PoFA), where it is noted that the Claimant has elected not to comply with the 'keeper liability' requirements set out in PoFA, Claimant has included a clear falsehood in their POC which were signed under a statement of truth by the Claimant's legal representative who should know (as the Claimant undoubtedly does) that it is untrue to state that the Defendant is 'liable as keeper'.  This can never be the case with a Highview Parking Limited claim because this parking firm, same as any Group Nexus company, have never used the POFA 2012 wording, of their own volition.  Not only does the POC include this misleading untruth, but the Claimant has also added an unidentified sum in false 'damages' to enhance the claims.  So sparse is their statement of case, that the Claimant has failed to even state any facts about the alleged breach or the amount of the parking charge that was on the signage, because it cannot have been over £100. Which then leads to the question, how does the Claimant arrive at the Amount Claimed for a Total of £XXX. The Defendant has excluded the £35 Court Fee & £50 Legal representative's costs from the Total amount for the purposes of this defence point. 

6. The Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) and Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) Lead Adjudicator and barrister, Henry Michael Greenslade, clarified that with regards to keeper liability, “There is no ‘reasonable presumption’ in law that the registered keeper of a vehicle is the driver and the operators should never suggest anything of the sort” (POPLA report 2015).