county court claim disabled bay UKPC

JR91

Hey

I hope someone can please help me!

I received a county court claim letter on 5th January dated 29th December. The parking company is UKPC and the solicitors are DCB Legal. I understand that I need to file the AOS 5 days after receiving this letter online and then I have to email my defence to the court using the defence template in the newbie thread, amending points two and three.  Do I also create and send a witness statement at the same time? 

I also need to send the PC a SAR, asking for all photos taken (I don't think you can see the disabled bay in the original picture they sent but I can't remember), all letters sent, all data held and a copy of the PCN & NTK & then to notify the solicitors of this - I have also read that some people contact the land owners, is this something I should do? If so, what do I need to say in the email to them?

This is my amended version of points 2 & 3:

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

3. The defendant went to collect an item in a shop in the retail park where the parking is free and spent approximately 15 minutes inside.  - do I need to state that I parked in a disabled bay as this isn't specified on the claim form? What other information do I need to give here? I parked here as the car park was full and I intended to be quick, when I came back to my car the PCN was stuck to my window. Lesson learnt, I will not be parking in a bay not designated for me again!

The claim form says: 1.The Defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a parking charge(s) issued to vehicle MY REG at Valley Retail Park Hesterman Way, Croydon CR0 4YA. 2. The PCN details are 27/12/21, then a bunch of numbers. 3. The PCN(s) was issued on private land owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms on Cs sign (the contract), thus incurring PCN(s). 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. £170 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 judgement or sooner payment. 3. Costs and Court fees. Amount Claimed: £183.28, Court Fee £35, Legal representatives costs £50 - total £268.28


Many Thanks

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

With a Claim Issue Date of 29th December, you have until Tuesday 17th January to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 31st January 2023 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence and it is good to see that you are not leaving it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service guidance.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that 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'.

The filing of a Witness Statement is some months down the line, but it is good to see that you are thinking about it.
Keep following the guidance in the NEWBIES thread and you won't go wrong.

JR91

Thank you for your response! I have used the defence template and have amended points 2 & 3 as suggested, below are my amendments:

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

3. The defendant went to collect an item in a shop in the retail park where the parking is free and spent approximately 15 minutes inside. 

- do I need to state that I parked in a disabled bay as this isn't specified on the claim form? What other information do I need to give here? I parked here as the car park was full and I intended to be quick, when I came back to my car the PCN was stuck to my window. Lesson learnt, I will not be parking in a bay not designated for me again!

Coupon-mad

 I have also read that some people contact the land owners, is this something I should do?  If so, what do I need to say in the email to them?

Not in your case with a disabled bay, no.

Do I also create and send a witness statement at the same time?

Nope. Comes later.

You should read the section in the NEWBIES thread second post, under the red capitals heading: 'IMPORTANT: KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN'.

We cannot condone parking in an accessible bay.  That's selfish parking and must never happen again - but I see you learned that lesson (which is a good thing).  We will still help you defend the case because the industry is rotten with a despicable and toxic 'bulk litigation' culture, and neither UKPC or DCBLegal deserve any of your money.

They are also likely to discontinue before the hearing because we see time after time, that single PCNs are not worth them pursuing once they see a person is defending and later, that you have submitted a decent WS bundle.

They normally then give up and I recall that also happened last year in a similar disabled bay case, so the facts don't seem to matter to them.  It's all about the money and I predict they'll drop it.

Do not refer to the disabled bay if you cannot recall seeing any evidence of clear signs and lines. It is their case to prove.

You could add this to what you have already, as the rest of para 3 and a new para 4 (courtesy of a suggested defence by new poster A Geordie):

The Claimant has failed to properly plead its case in accordance with CPR 16.4(1)(a) for the following reasons:

3.1.         the Particulars of Claim:

(a)          states that a contract was agreed between the Claimant and the Defendant but fails to explain how or where the Contract was entered into;

(b)          states that the driver was in breach of the Contract but fails to provide any description or details as to what term(s) of the Contract the Defendant has supposedly breached that had given rise to the PCN(s);

(c)          refers to “PCN(s)” which implies that there are, or may be, multiple parking charges which the driver and/or the registered keeper are liable to pay. The pleadings fail to provide any adequate explanation as to the number of PCN(s) that the Claimant is seeking to claim against the Defendant together with an itemised list of charges related to those PCN(s) and evidence of incurring/paying 'fees' or 'damages'. The sum claimed is well in excess of the capped level of parking charge potentially allowed by the British Parking Association, of which this Claimant is a member.

4.  The Defendant will say that the PCN(s) are not enforceable because the signage at the car park was not sufficient to give the driver adequate notice of the parking terms and conditions. The Defendant is familiar with the retail park named and is aware that the car park is/was free for shoppers.  Specifically, there is/was no prominent signage at the entrance nor any legible terms which would clearly indicate that the car park (or a particular bay area) was subject to certain parking conditions. Given the Claimant’s poorly drafted particulars and their failure to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (failure to provide a copy of the sign showing the terms/contract they say was breached, making it impossible for the Defendant to know how to respond) the court is invited to apply sanctions (ref Part 16 of the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols). 

(Then re-number the rest of the Template Defence, not deleting any paragraph).

Umkomaas

They are also likely to discontinue before the hearing because we see time after time, that single PCNs are not worth them pursuing once they see a person is defending and later, that you have submitted a decent WS bundle.

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

JR91

Thank you for the additions @Coupon-mad I have added those and re-numbered the rest of the template & Thank you @Umkomaas

Do you think its worth adding the abuse of process points as seen in Aphex007 defence?


Very grateful for the help

JR91

I have also just submitted my AOS online

Coupon-mad

JR91 said:

Thank you for the additions @Coupon-mad I have added those and re-numbered the rest of the template & Thank you @Umkomaas

Do you think its worth adding the abuse of process points as seen in Aphex007 defence?


Very grateful for the help

Are you at defence stage or do you mean WS?

JR91

I’m at the defence stage I think, I’ve just submitted the AOS and followed the instructions in the PDF on the newbies thread 

JR91

@Coupon-mad

Coupon-mad

Then you are not looking at any statement or version by aphex007.

You are adapting/using the Template Defence as the NEWBIES thread tells everyone.  Standard stuff.