Help - Anything i need to add/remove to defence?

judo077

So i received a CST Law letter back in September/October for a fine of £170 for a parking offence in Feb 2022. All details were sent to my old address so this was the first letter I received after they obtained my new address from DVLA. I initially made contact to ask for details about the offence etc however when i called they almost laughed at me in a manner that said ''Too late for that mate.'' Therefore, i chose to ignore this CST Law letter. Fast forward to now, and multiple more letters, I now have a County Court Business Letter from DCB legal with the fees now totaling £269.20 with court fees etc. Please also bare in mind they haven't spelt my surname correctly either throughout every letter they've sent (Whether that matters or not, i don't know) . I have now complete my AoS - and used the template defense posted here. They seem to be trying to do me for parking there out of hours, therefore,  my arguement is as follows - I was parked at a Business park where many businesses such as Lidl, Home Bargains, a Gym etc etc all operate. I pulled into the car park through the OPEN double gates (which should be shut if out of hours) and stayed parked up for approx 20 minutes to find my inhaler (i am asthmatic) These gates should be shut if the car park is not open to the public, and effectively the entrance to the car park does not show any opening or closing hours, so i am already breaking this out of hours rule by entering? The signs are low lit and opaque and the writing explaining these hours is small, so i go on to explain this also. I also mention that they were unwilling to send over the details of the offence and evidence. So therefore, i have completed paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 as explained on the template. Now - Do i need to remove or edit any of the remaining paragraphs, or do they stay as they are? I have until 28th March at 6pm to submit the defence, so time is against me. Any help will be greatly appreciated - Thank you!

tacpot12

The incorrect spelling doesn't matter, unless the error is so bad that you are not identifiable. Have you gathered evidence to show that the signs are inadequate?  I think that showing that the signs are poorly lit is proably your best defence. 

I don't think the fact that the gates were left open will work as a defence, unless you can evidence that they are normally shut when the retail park stores are closed. However, this runs the risk that it shows that you knew the car park was on private land, and that there were parking restrictions.

It might help if you can justify why it took 20 minutes to find your inhaler. If you found your inhaler immediately, but had to wait for the inhaler to take effect before it was safe to drive, then providing the paient information leaflet and highlighting the section where is says how long to wait, especially if it mentions driving or operating machinery, should help. The regulars on the forum will point out that logic plays no part in the decision making process, until you get to court, and then it might. 

judo077

Thanks for your reply - Please see below what I drafted originally in  paragraph 3. (I have used 'XXXX' to block out the locations)

I have photos of the signs and in darkness they are clearly not visible. Even in daylight the opening hours part is hard to spot. As i say, i am asthmatic and therefore, i took my time before as i was suffering with what could of resulted in an asthma attack. If you think this is a bad defense , please feel free to suggest others. 

See below:

The Defendant left the main road (XXXX XXXX) and entered the car park for a brief amount of time as they urgently needed to locate an asthma inhaler within their vehicle. The entrance to the car park is through two gates which were open, indicating that the car park and facilities were still open to the public at this time of the evening (there are various retail stores within the complex eg. Aldi, Food Warehouse, Homebase etc.). The parking signs that are present once in the car park are low lit and opaque, placed at height and do not present any clear and obvious warnings regarding parking after hours. The defendant has subsequently obtained photo images of these signs and noted any reference made to the terms of unauthorised parking are detailed in an extremely small font and would not be readable from a realistic distance (eg. from within a vehicle). Furthermore, the UKPC operated camera system is focused towards the entrance slip road of the retail park, which means vehicle details are captured before the driver/defendant has an opportunity to read any restrictions signs, by which time it is too late as the Defendant is already in the car park and supposedly breaching any alleged conditions. Due to this, at the time of the alleged breach of terms, the Defendant was not of the opinion they were committing any offence by entering the retail park area, particularly as it was for a common sense reason and the time spent parked was minimal (entered and exited in under 25 minutes).

judo077

I have also just read on the NHS website that if you are suffering with an asthma attack or breathing difficulty - you can use your inhaler up to 10 times with a 1-2 minute break inbetween, and then it should take effect. This could be used to explain why i was there 20 minutes? 

Coupon-mad

Remove this from what we assume is your paragraph 3, this is not needed:

Due to this, at the time of the alleged breach of terms, the Defendant was not of the opinion they were committing any offence by entering the retail park area, particularly as it was for a common sense reason and the time spent parked was minimal (entered and exited in under 25 minutes).

Split the remaining big paragraph into two, so it becomes paragraph 3 and 4.

Then just use the recent defence posted this year by @Johny86 which uses the Template but has an extra (DCBLegal specific) paragraphs 5-11 that we recommend you should copy when drafting your defence.

judo077

Thank you! I will amend this accordingly. So this part that i put in after the paragraph above - should I remove it entirely as it won't mean anything, or keep it in? (See below)

''The Defendant would also ask the following circumstances to be considered;

The PCN issued by UK Parking Control would’ve been sent to XXXXX XXX XXXX , an address where the defendant no longer had access to receive any post, the Defendant had been moving from that address, to XXX XXX XXX  , subsequently to his fathers at XXX XXX XXX and then to his mothers address at XXX XXXX XXX  where he currently resides. This means the defendant had no knowledge of any alleged offence being committed until eventually receiving a legal/debt collection letter to his address at XXX XXX XXX several months later, by which time matters had escalated and the fine imposed had increased considerably. Upon receiving this correspondence, the Defendant (and his father – with authorisation) attempted to enter dialogue with both the debt collection agency and UKPC, politely and reasonably requesting full details of the alleged offence with photographic/time stamped evidence and copies of any initial correspondence that may’ve been sent to the XXX XXX address (the first address where i wasn't living). This request was refused with the only reason given that it was “too late”. Therefore, any opportunity to appeal or defend the situation was not reasonably granted, hence the escalation to this point in time. It should also be noted the Defendant agreed to address the issue within 28 days of the date of the letter received at XXX XXX XXX, however, it wasn’t possible to address the issue because the debt collection agency and UKPC were unwilling to provide copies of earlier correspondence (as explained above) – leaving the Defendant unclear of the details. Attempts to obtain these details directly via the UKPC website by using the PCN number issued also proved fruitless.''

XXX'S are the specific addresses and I know i have been on the move a lot! Haha

Coupon-mad

Actually that could be your paragraph 4.

Please remove the word 'offence' from your defence.  It is not an offence! It's an alleged parking event.

judo077

Ok, so keep paragraph 3 as it is , but remove : ''Due to this, at the time of the alleged breach of terms, the Defendant was not of the opinion they were committing any offence by entering the retail park area, particularly as it was for a common sense reason and the time spent parked was minimal (entered and exited in under 25 minutes).'' 

Then leave what i put above as paragraph 4 - then add paras 5-11 by jonnyboy who you linked - and then keep the rest of the paragraphs that are on the original template. Once I've done that, good to go? 

Appreciate this help a lot btw! I owe you a bottle of wine

Coupon-mad

Yes indeed.  Virtual white wine for this lady!

KeithP

judo077 said:

I now have a County Court Business Letter from DCB legal...
I have now complete my AoS...
I have until 28th March at 6pm to submit the defence...

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

Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?
Your MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

No court filing deadline will be 6pm.

judo077

Ok - So i filed my defence via email and got an automated response. DCBlegal have just tried to call me and left a voicemail. What are the next stages? Do i start coversing with them?