Claim Form - DCB Legal - Pregnant Wife

daviwantime

Hi everyone, I received a Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre today, dated 21/04/23, regarding a Parking Charge from DCB Legal.

I have been keeping up to date with the steps that have to be taken on the newbie's thread and think I get what I have to do.

What I wanted was opinions on whether my defence would be strong enough...

I parked in a fast food restaurant's car park for longer than the time that was permitted on their signage (I did not realise this was the case until I received the charge). The reason for this was I was talking to my pregnant wife who was in a bit of distress, I did not leave my car at any point and had to park up asap to deal with the emergency. I contacted the restaurant to explain myself once I had received the charge to see if they could do anything about it but I was dismissed and advised to just pay.

Nice to meet you all and thanks for taking the time.

Umkomaas

Which parking firm?

As you've provided us the Date of Issue of the county court claim, regular @KeithP will be along later with some key dates and information for you to help you through the initial stages of this. 

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

KeithP

daviwantime said:

Hi everyone, I received a Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre today, dated 21/04/23, regarding a Parking Charge from DCB Legal.

Hello and welcome.

Who is the Claimant?

With a Claim Issue Date of 21st April, you have until Wednesday 10th May to file an Acknowledgment of Service.  Do not file an Acknowledgment of Service before 26th April, but otherwise 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 Wednesday 24th May 2023 to file your Defence.

That's over four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave 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'.

daviwantime

Hey both @Umkomaas & @KeithP, thanks for getting back to me!

The parking firm is UKPC, thank you for sharing this information and I will follow the steps. 

Umkomaas

daviwantime said:

Hey both @Umkomaas & @KeithP, thanks for getting back to me!

The parking firm is UKPC, thank you for sharing this information and I will follow the steps. 

Almost certainly, UKPC/DCB Legal will discontinue, provided you meet all the court requirements up to the point they do discontinue. Stay with the plan. 

daviwantime

@Umkomaas ok great, does it not matter what the reason is, considering my case it would be on compassionate grounds?

Coupon-mad

It wouldn't be about compassionate reasons, because your paragraphs 3 and 4 will not talk about overstay or the reasons for it.  Just that the signs were inadequate and no parking 'contract' was seen, let alone agreed or breached.  If it was dark, say so.

Anyway, all DCBLegal Defendants are using and adapting the defence by @Johny86 which has specific extra paragraphs 5-11 for you to add into the template defence.

daviwantime

@Coupon-mad I see, that makes sense. Thank you for that.

@KeithPAcknowledgment of Service has been completed, on to my defence. Thank you for the guidance.

B789

Here is a sample defence you can use as it contains extra points about the woeful PoC in the claim:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5r7vbqttho3q948/2023 defence.pdf?dl=0

Make sure you also read the Template defence thread near the top of the forum. There is a 12-point checklist which you should take note of and refer to throughout this process.

daviwantime

Hey again everyone, I have compiled my defence here combining the info in the Template Defence Thread and the document @b78 shared here. Massive thank you for all your help.

The only thing I wasn't sure about was...

Remove this paragraph if the PCN was PoFA compliant or being the driver is admitted

I am not entirely sure what this means.

Here is an image of the sign I have been able to acquire from google maps.



Please see my defence here...

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

3. The Defendant visited the McDonald’s restaurant and ordered food through their drive-through, choosing to eat in the car, and remaining on-site throughout their visit. The signage around the car park on further inspection is inadequate and no parking 'contract' was seen, let alone agreed or breached.

4. The Defendant avers that the Claimant failed to serve a Notice to Keeper compliant with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Consequently, the claimant cannot transfer liability for this charge to the Defendant as keeper of the vehicle.

5. The Particulars of Claim ('POC') appear to be in breach of CPR 16.4, 16PD3 and 16PD7, and fail to "state all facts necessary for the purpose of formulating a complete cause of action”.

6. The Defendant is unable, on the basis of the POC, to understand with certainty what case is being pursued.

7. The POC are entirely inadequate, in that they fail to particularise (a) the contractual term(s) relied upon; (b) the specifics of any alleged breach of contract; and (c) how the purported and unspecified 'damages' arose and the breakdown of the exaggerated quantum.

8. The claim has been issued via Money Claims Online and, as a result, is subject to a character limit for the Particulars of Claim section of the Claim Form. The fact that generic wording appears to have been applied has obstructed any semblance of clarity. The Defendant trusts that the court will agree that a claim pleaded in such generic terms lacks the required details and requires proper particularisation in a detailed document within 14 days, per 16PD.3

9. The guidance for completing Money Claims Online confirms this and clearly states: "If you do not have enough space to explain your claim online and you need to serve extra, more detailed particulars on the defendant, tick the box that appears after the statement 'you may also send detailed particulars direct to the defendant.'"

10. No further particulars have been filed and to the Defendant's knowledge, no application asking the court service for more time to serve and/or relief from sanctions has been filed either.

11. In view of it having been entirely within the Claimant's Solicitors' gift to properly plead the claim at the outset and the claim being for a sum, well within the small claims limit, such that the Defendant considers it disproportionate and at odds with the overriding objective (in the context of a failure by the Claimant to properly comply with rules and practice directions) for a Judge to throw the erring Claimant a lifeline by ordering further particulars (to which a further defence might be filed, followed by further referral to a Judge for directions and allocation) the court is respectfully invited to strike this claim out.

KeithP

daviwantime said:

The only thing I wasn't sure about was...

Remove this paragraph if the PCN was PoFA compliant or being the driver is admitted

I am not entirely sure what this means.

In paragraph 4 of your Defence you state...

4. The Defendant avers that the Claimant failed to serve a Notice to Keeper compliant with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Consequently, the claimant cannot transfer liability for this charge to the Defendant as keeper of the vehicle.

You are clearly stating there that the PCN (i.e. the Notice to Keeper) was not compliant with POFA.

However, paragraph 2 of your proposed Defence admits that the keeper was the driver so there is no need for the Claimant to use the facilities of POFA to transfer any liability to the keeper.
This turn means that there is no need for you to mention POFA at all in your Defence.