UK Parking Control Countu Court Claim

IReallyDontNeedThis

Hi

I am a newbie here however this forum assisted me to appeal a parking ticket in 2016 so I know that the advice here is excellent.  To be clear, I am not the driver in this situation not am I the registered keeper of the vehicle, I am assisting the driver with this issue. 

A driver parked at car at a parking managed by UK Parking Control in 2017. 

A PCN was issued and an appeal was lodged on the UKPC website. 

The carpark in question has 3 hours free parking but one still has to display a ticket. This information was not known to the driver at the time as they were strangers to the area and were going to watch a movie and the 3 hours free is in bjg letters on the signage and the need to display a ticket is in small writing and the driver did not go up to the sign to read the small print.

The appeal included this information as well as the movie ticket showing when the movie started and the timings of the movie. The driver left after the movie and was within the 3 hours free parking so had not overstayed the allotted time. 
UKPC declined the appeal but sent no further correspondence, no NTK, no debt collection letters, nothing further was received.  

Until 3rd August 2022 when the driver was served with a County Court claim.  

I understand that the driver now has to submit an acknowledgement of service (as I read the newbies thread) and thereafter the driver will have 28 days to submit a defence and then appear in court.  

My questions are:

Can this acknowledgement of Service be submitted via the money claim online site? Or does the driver need to fill the form in and send that back? 

Should the driver submit photos of the signage ( bearing in mind that it's 5 years later so the signage might have changed in that time?  

Should the driver issue a counter claim or just offer a defence? 

Is the defence that parking is actually free for 3 hours, the driver did not overstay the free period and therefore there is no consequential loss incurred by UKPC a sufficient defence?

The only proof the driver has is the movie ticket of the movie that was attended. I am not sure if that ticket is still in  the driver's possession as it was 5 years ago. 

Is the fact that UKPC were suspended by the DVLA at all relevant? 

I really would appreciate assistance with preparing the defence please,  my personal circumstances are that the driver is chronically ill and cannot do this themselves. I have two disabled children and I am currently involved in court litigation for disability discrimination against one of my children so my mental resources are severely strained at the moment. I also am disabled, I have a learning disability so I am struggling with reading all the threads and information on here, although I am trying. 

I have downloaded the template defence that was kindly provided.

Thank you for your kindness and patience

Le_Kirk

You are correct, the AoS is done through the MCOL site BUT it must be done by (in the name of) the registered keeper/defendant (the person you are helping).  No evidence goes with the defence, that comes later at witness statement stage.  It is not as quick as submitting the defence (via the e-mail address given in the template defence thread NOT on the MCOL site) and then going to court!  The defence is sent by CCBC to the claimant who has a further 28 days to decide whether to proceed or not.  If you post here the date of issue of the N1SDT claim form then one of our regulars @KeithP will give an exact date for deadline for submitting defence.

IReallyDontNeedThis

I am not sure what a N1SDT claim form is but I assume it's the form sent to the registered keeper to say that UKPC are issuing a claim. If so, that form was dated 3rd August 2022. 

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

Your opening paragraph seems to imply that you know and understand the different roles of a driver and keeper, yet further into your post that distinction is lost.

Wasn't it the keeper that received the County Court Claim?
Isn't it the keeper that will be required to file a Defence?

Having said that, the distinction is irrelevant if UKPC already know the identity of the driver. Was that disclosed in the original appeal?

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

Le_Kirk

IReallyDontNeedThis said:

I am not sure what a N1SDT claim form is but I assume it's the form sent to the registered keeper to say that UKPC are issuing a claim. If so, that form was dated 3rd August 2022. 

The claim form is N1 but these days it is sometimes a N1SDT.  Is 3rd August the date of issue and did it come from County Court Business Centre in Northampton?

IReallyDontNeedThis

KeithP said:

Hello and welcome.

Your opening paragraph seems to imply that you know and understand the different roles of a driver and keeper, yet further into your post that distinction is lost.

Wasn't it the keeper that received the County Court Claim?
Isn't it the keeper that will be required to file a Defence?

Having said that, the distinction is irrelevant if UKPC already know the identity of the driver. Was that disclosed in the original appeal?

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

Yes, apologies. It is the registered keeper of the vehicle who has received the claim form and who needs to submit the defence. 

I am not certain what information was provided in the appeal. It's possible that the identity of the driver was disclosed in the appeal. 

I do know that no NTK was sent, the online responsr rejecting the appeal did not provide a POPLA code  either. 

I do not know what records of the original situation have been retained by either the driver or the registered keeper as the appeal was lodged online via UKPCs website and the response was sent via that system too. 

As no further correspondence has been received, the registered keeper has not had any opportunity to submit a SAR to determine what offence is alleged.

In the court form particulars, it seems to state that the registered keeper agreed to pay the PCN but that is fallacious. 

I have asked the registered keeper for the issue date on the form. 

KeithP

IReallyDontNeedThis said:

KeithP said:

Hello and welcome.

Your opening paragraph seems to imply that you know and understand the different roles of a driver and keeper, yet further into your post that distinction is lost.

Wasn't it the keeper that received the County Court Claim?
Isn't it the keeper that will be required to file a Defence?

Having said that, the distinction is irrelevant if UKPC already know the identity of the driver. Was that disclosed in the original appeal?

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

In the court form particulars, it seems to state that the registered keeper agreed to pay the PCN but that is fallacious. 

The allegation is that by parking the driver agreed to the terms of the contract.

Those contract terms are the terms on the signs.

Almost certainly there is a term on the signs stating something like "if the driver doesn't park in accordance with the rules then he agrees to pay £nn within 28 days...".

Fruitcake

Whilst you can assist your friend, they should still be involved and made aware of what you are trying to do for them. My advice is to them, but if you are acting as their advocate then everything must be done in their name.

Plan A is always a complaint to the landowner and the defendant's MP. It is never too late to do this.

Your friend should read the guide to court written by bargepole that can be found in the second post of the NEWBIES, as well as the template defence sticky Announcement that includes a crucial twelve step guide to follow.

They should complete the AoS on or very soon after day six from the issue date of the court claim, but they must not put anything in the MCOL defence box. Absolutely nothing.
They should then produce a defence using the template I already mentioned. They should show us the parts of the template they have changed, which will normally be paragraphs 2 and 3, before they submit the whole defence to the CCBC via email.

Your friend should also send a SAR to the DPO of the claimant as per the NEWBIES, and include non-photo proof of ID. This should flush out all personal data including NTK etcetera that can be used at the witness statement/exhibits stage of the claim.

Your friend should also get photos of the site and signage, and see if there are any historic photos of the site available on Google Streetview. Again, these will be used at the WS/exhibits stage.

Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

Fruitcake

IReallyDontNeedThis said:

.

My questions are:



Should the driver issue a counter claim or just offer a defence? 

No to counter claim, defence by email, yes.

Is the defence that parking is actually free for 3 hours, the driver did not overstay the free period and therefore there is no consequential loss incurred by UKPC a sufficient defence?

This went out the window with the Supreme Court ParkingEye vs Beavis case in 2015

The only proof the driver has is the movie ticket of the movie that was attended. I am not sure if that ticket is still in  the driver's possession as it was 5 years ago. 

It might help, but it is not crucial if the ticket is no longer available.

Is the fact that UKPC were suspended by the DVLA at all relevant? 

No, unless your friend receives doctored images.

I really would appreciate assistance with preparing the defence please,  my personal circumstances are that the driver is chronically ill and cannot do this themselves. I have two disabled children and I am currently involved in court litigation for disability discrimination against one of my children so my mental resources are severely strained at the moment. I also am disabled, I have a learning disability so I am struggling with reading all the threads and information on here, although I am trying. 

I have downloaded the template defence that was kindly provided.

Thank you for your kindness and patience

Answers to some of you other questions above.

IReallyDontNeedThis

Fruitcake said:

Whilst you can assist your friend, they should still be involved and made aware of what you are trying to do for them. My advice is to them, but if you are acting as their advocate then everything must be done in their name.

Plan A is always a complaint to the landowner and the defendant's MP. It is never too late to do this.

Your friend should read the guide to court written by bargepole that can be found in the second post of the NEWBIES, as well as the template defence sticky Announcement that includes a crucial twelve step guide to follow.

They should complete the AoS on or very soon after day six from the issue date of the court claim, but they must not put anything in the MCOL defence box. Absolutely nothing.
They should then produce a defence using the template I already mentioned. They should show us the parts of the template they have changed, which will normally be paragraphs 2 and 3, before they submit the whole defence to the CCBC via email.

Your friend should also send a SAR to the DPO of the claimant as per the NEWBIES, and include non-photo proof of ID. This should flush out all personal data including NTK etcetera that can be used at the witness statement/exhibits stage of the claim.

Your friend should also get photos of the site and signage, and see if there are any historic photos of the site available on Google Streetview. Again, these will be used at the WS/exhibits stage.

Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

The alleged event took place at the Odeon, St Stephens Place in Trowbridge Wiltshire. 

Fruitcake

The manager and/or CEO of the Oscar Deutsch emporium should be contacted and asked to intervene and get this cancelled then.

The site looks like it serves several other establishments as well, so may not be owned by the ODEON, but operated by a retail management company. Details of this company can often be found on the site's website or signs at the entrance.

Car park entrance on the right. Image capture May 2017. Entrance signs obscured by foliage.

St Stephen's Pl - Google Maps