DCB Legal - UKPC - County Court Business Centre

iw1234

This relates to an alleged parking infringement in September 2020.

They have now issued a county court claim - issue date is 29 November 2022 and I have submitted AOS on 3/12/22 and this shows as received on 5/12/22.

The particulars of claim reads:

1. The Defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to be vehicle AB12 ABC at ADDRESS

2. The PCN details are 23/9/2020, PCN NUMBER

3. The PCN (s) was issued on private land owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parker in breach of the Terms on the Cs signs (the Contract) thus incurring the PCN

4. The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not. D is liable as the driver or keeper. Despite requests, the PCN (s) is outstanding. The Contract entitles C to damages AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS
1.£160 being the total of the PCN(s) and damages
2.Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £0.02 until judgment or sooner payment
3.Costs and court fees

The total amount is listed as £275.72 comprised of £190.72 amount claimed, £35.00 court fee and £50.00 for legal representative's costs

I have done a SAR and received photos of the vehicle and some of the signs at the car park. I have also received a copy of the initial "ticket", Notice to Keeper, Appeal, Letter rejecting appeal.

The photos of the vehicle show that there was a parking ticket that had been purchased for the car park - however the vehicle was inadvertently parked in a space immediately adjacent to the paid spaces - there was a very small sign, hardly visible when I reverse parked into the space that states "Parking conditions apply" and indicates that the space was reserved for a local business. 

I gather that I now need for formulate a defence and lodge this, if I understand correctly via email. 

I am the registered keeper and driver. I have my own photos of the signage in this car park. 

I assume that I use the template by Coupon-mad?

I would be grateful for how to approach the formulation of the Defence given these circumstances. 

This is what I have prepared so far:

It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle in question.

On DATE, the Defendant parked the vehicle AB12 ABC at ADDRESS.  The vehicle was reverse parked into the parking space.  The Defendant understood that this car park was a pay and display car park.  The Defendant purchased a valid ticket for the duration for which the vehicle was parked and this was displayed.  The signs referred to by the Claimant in relation to this specific parking space are not clearly visible and the demarcation between pay and display spaces and other spaces in this car park is not clearly delineated. 

iw1234

This is the text of the appeal that they rejected:

I dispute your 'parking charge', as the keeper of the vehicle. I deny any liability or contractual agreement and I will be making a complaint about your predatory conduct to your client landowner.

There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. Since your PCN is a vague template, I require an explanation of the allegation and your evidence. You must include a close up actual photograph of the sign you contend was at the location on the material date as well as your images of the vehicle.

If the allegation concerns a PDT machine, the data supplied in response to this appeal must include the record of payments made - showing partial VRNs - and an explanation of the reason for the PCN, because your Notice does not explain it.

If the allegation involves an alleged overstay of minutes, your evidence must include the actual grace period agreed by the landowner.

KeithP

iw1234 said:

They have now issued a county court claim - issue date is 29 November 2022 and I have submitted AOS on 3/12/22 and this shows as received on 5/12/22.

Hello and welcome.

With a Claim Issue Date of 29th November, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 3rd January 2023 to file your Defence.

That's nearly four 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'.

Umkomaas

They have now issued a county court claim - issue date is 29 November 2022 and I have submitted AOS on 3/12/22 and this shows as received on 5/12/22.

Forum regular @KeithP will be along later to give you deadline dates and other information as you commence dealing with the early stages of defending this. The NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, and Template Defence Announcement, first post will also provide ongoing advice as you continue through the process. 

I thought I'd also draw your attention to this fairly recent thread which you might have not yet seen. You must keep going through all the necessary court procedure phases, but the hope is that your case will follow the same pattern as all those detailed in the thread. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1

iw1234

With respect to my proposed defence above am I making things very easy for the Claimant by stating that I did park there and purchased a ticket?

On DATE, the Defendant parked the vehicle AB12 ABC at ADDRESS.  The vehicle was reverse parked into the parking space.  The Defendant understood that this car park was a pay and display car park.  The Defendant purchased a valid ticket for the duration for which the vehicle was parked and this was displayed.  The signs referred to by the Claimant in relation to this specific parking space are not clearly visible and the demarcation between pay and display spaces and other spaces in this car park is not clearly delineated. 

Umkomaas

iw1234 said:

With respect to my proposed defence above am I making things very easy for the Claimant by stating that I did park there and purchased a ticket?

On DATE, the Defendant parked the vehicle AB12 ABC at ADDRESS.  The vehicle was reverse parked into the parking space.  The Defendant understood that this car park was a pay and display car park.  The Defendant purchased a valid ticket for the duration for which the vehicle was parked and this was displayed.  The signs referred to by the Claimant in relation to this specific parking space are not clearly visible and the demarcation between pay and display spaces and other spaces in this car park is not clearly delineated. 

From what angle do you consider you are 'making things very easy for the Claimant'? 

Coupon-mad

I think that's fine.  Them's the facts!

You will of course be using the whole template defence and that bit is just paragraph 3.

iw1234

Umkomaas said:

iw1234 said:

With respect to my proposed defence above am I making things very easy for the Claimant by stating that I did park there and purchased a ticket?

On DATE, the Defendant parked the vehicle AB12 ABC at ADDRESS.  The vehicle was reverse parked into the parking space.  The Defendant understood that this car park was a pay and display car park.  The Defendant purchased a valid ticket for the duration for which the vehicle was parked and this was displayed.  The signs referred to by the Claimant in relation to this specific parking space are not clearly visible and the demarcation between pay and display spaces and other spaces in this car park is not clearly delineated. 

From what angle do you consider you are 'making things very easy for the Claimant'? 

From the perspective of them arguing that I parked there, purchased a ticket and therefore accepted the conditions in force e.g. the sign next to the parking meter states that if you park in a permit only place having purchased a ticket then you will be fined

iw1234

Coupon-mad said:

I think that's fine.  Them's the facts!

You will of course be using the whole template defence and that bit is just paragraph 3.

Yes, I will use the entire template

Coupon-mad

 "the sign next to the parking meter states that if you park in a permit only place having purchased a ticket then you will be fined."

No, it doesn't.

iw1234

Coupon-mad said:

 "the sign next to the parking meter states that if you park in a permit only place having purchased a ticket then you will be fined."

No, it doesn't.

I will defer to your experience! The sign states "Please do not park in a parking bay reserved for permit holders, any unauthorised vehicle parked in a permit holder only bay will receive a parking charge" - this is on the sign with the tariff. 

It may well be that this does not cause an issue - have you come across similar cases?