Drafting a defence - advice needed (i have read the stickys so please be kind!)

aoldfolk

I have done my reading and think I have the gist of it - @Coupon-mad you are an absolute hero, so thank you. 

Q1. I have submitted my AOS - I received on the 12th September. Acknowedged on 19th. Can someone confirm which date I have to get my defence in by - is there any gain in leaving it late or just best to get it done?

Q2. I have copied the defence form from coupon-mad - do i leave it as it is but add my defence in? theres a lot of technical in there and im worried the court may ask about it?

Q3. here is my defence so far, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all your work in helping people, and doing so in your own free time. 

1. The parking charges referred to in this claim did not arise from any agreement of terms. The charge and the claim was an unexpected shock. 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 was a breach of any prominent term and it is denied that this Claimant (understood to have a bare licence as managers) has standing to sue or form contracts in their own name. Liability is denied, whether or not the Claimant is claiming 'keeper liability', which is unclear from the Particulars.

 

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.

 

3. Defendant entered the car park on xxth February 2018. Upon entering the car park, from the main road there was no signage outwardly visible from UKPC. Upon entering the specific section of the car park there was no signage facing outwards towards cars entering.

With a baby in the car and due to a lack of spaces available to be able to open the door wide enough, the defendant parked in the back corner of the car park in order to be able to access the baby seat and remove the baby. The defendant checked that the vehicle was not blocking any access points, there was no hatching or markings on the ground and checked the area for signs, of which there were none. This is in breach of the BPA Code of Practise 19.2. Videos, google maps and photos are all available to the court. 

Furthermore, there were no signs on any of the boundaries where the vehicle was parked (photos will be presented in court) or on the shop in which the defendant was visiting. 

4. UKPC did not directly contact the defendant (the keeper) of the vehicle to give them a chance to contest the invoice. 

5. UKPC only supplied the NTK (notice to keeper) to the keeper after they had instructed DRP on 6/6/2018 and the defendant made a subject access request to UKPC. This was supplied on 7/11/2018 (reference…….)

6. The route between the vehicle and the shops had no signage informing customers that the car park was managed by UKPC. There is 99 foot (as measured by the defendant) between where the vehicle was parked and the back of a sign. It is not visible from where the defendant parked. 

 

This is all I have added/edited to Coupon Mads template so far. Happy to take advice from anyone who knows more than me! 

 

KeithP

aoldfolk said:

Q1. I have submitted my AOS - I received on the 12th September. Acknowedged on 19th. Can someone confirm which date I have to get my defence in by - is there any gain in leaving it late or just best to get it done? 

You say you received the Claim on 12th September, but I am going to assume that is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form. Please confirm.

With a Claim Issue Date of 12th September, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 17th October 2022 to file your Defence.

That's two weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence and it is good to see you are not leaving 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'.

Coupon-mad

Looks fine, but what was the ticket issued for?

Yes you retain ALL of the template.

Have you read the DCBLegal thread by @Umkomaas and realise that your case will be discontinued, so you won't have to attend a hearing (almost certainly).  You will win when they give up around witness statement stage.

aoldfolk

KeithP said:

aoldfolk said:

Q1. I have submitted my AOS - I received on the 12th September. Acknowedged on 19th. Can someone confirm which date I have to get my defence in by - is there any gain in leaving it late or just best to get it done? 

You say you received the Claim on 12th September, but I am going to assume that is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form. Please confirm.

With a Claim Issue Date of 12th September, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 17th October 2022 to file your Defence.

That's two weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence and it is good to see you are not leaving 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'.

Yes that is correct... issued on... that's the date on the form.

Thanks 

aoldfolk

Coupon-mad said:

Looks fine, but what was the ticket issued for?

Yes you retain ALL of the template.

Have you read the DCBLegal thread by @Umkomaas and realise that your case will be discontinued, so you won't have to attend a hearing (almost certainly).  You will win when they give up around witness statement stage.

Coupon-mad said:

Looks fine, but what was the ticket issued for?

Yes you retain ALL of the template.

Have you read the DCBLegal thread by @Umkomaas and realise that your case will be discontinued, so you won't have to attend a hearing (almost certainly).  You will win when they give up around witness statement stage.

Hi coupon, and again thanks so much for your work on this and the time spent on the template for us all to use. 

It was issued for not parking in a bay. Parked next to bays, against a kerb, no signs around the area. The sort of parking you would do if you were on a public road, checked there was no yellows or signs and checked you weren't blocking access etc. 

I have read that, and yes that is certainly what I am hoping. But still, wish to put together everything properly now to ensure that outcome is more likely. 

Fruitcake

"Feet" not "foot", but it looks okay to me as well. An honestly written defence with hints that the stated facts will be proven by evidence later.

You do need to ensure you understand the other parts of the defence as well, but you have plenty of time to do that.

aoldfolk

Fruitcake said:

"Feet" not "foot", but it looks okay to me as well. An honestly written defence with hints that the stated facts will be proven by evidence later.

You do need to ensure you understand the other parts of the defence as well, but you have plenty of time to do that.

yeh i ummed and ahhed about feet vs foot. i did have it in metres (30.4) but the foot sounded better/worse! 

aoldfolk

Update:

They offered me a "settlement" of circa £250.

I rejected. COunter offered £15.

No reply.

Have now had the Notice of Proposed Allocation to the small claims track from CCBC

Whats the next step?

Select "no" to case being referred to small claims mediation service?

say no to small claims track?

and say no to determination without hearing? 

Can i email this? Or does it have to be posted? In which case, the deadline is 3rd december so need to move fast if have to post

Umkomaas

Select "no" to case being referred to small claims mediation service?

Yes - reject that. 

say no to small claims track?

No, that's where you want this heard - the small claims court. 

and say no to determination without hearing?

Absolutely, you will almost certainly lose otherwise. 

Can i email this?

Always email where possible. Don't forget, as well as emailing the court, you have to copy in the claimant's solicitors too, by email too. 

KeithP

Are you saying that you have received a Directions Questionnaire and are now looking for guidance on how to complete it and return it?

If so, can I refer you to that checklist you were following when you filed a Defence?

I think you'll find answers to most of your current questions there.

aoldfolk

Update on this. 

I filled in the questionnaire in November and sent back. I stated my holidays for the 6months. Requested my local court.

Received nothing back until last week. 

The hearing is now in August, on the 1st day of my holiday (so i cant attend)

Its also in London RCJ rather than my local court. 

So. UKPC has a deadline by which to pay the court fee. 

I can submit evidence, which I wanted to present in person. Do I 

A. submit the evidence now and see if it makes UKPC pull out?
B. tell the court now that i cant make it?
C. wait until their deadline in july to see if they pull out? If not, then submit evidence. 
D. something else.