CEL County Court Claim Form Received - Advice Pls

v209

Hi folks,

I have received a CC Claim form, dated 12/04/23.

Its from CEL (Civil Enforcement Limited) for a private charge notice from 18/09/21.

I don't have the original PCN, don't remember receiving it and it was so long ago, I don't even remember being the driver to be honest. I understand that it isn't helpful to have ignored the subsequent letters, but was hoping it wouldn't get to CC claim. It has now, so I'd be immensely grateful for any advice on how to handle this now please.

I'd consider settling the original ticket, but the Total amount on the claim is £289.74 - which is ludicrous. I would be grateful for any help for next steps please, particularly if there's any way of reducing the claimed amount.

thank you.



All images as single photos here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/prx2nnv7s6fzd5q/AABF0_Jmka2pAkWIZR991Zfsa?dl=0

All images in a single pdf here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f3pzwg4valr74dl/Parking Charge Pack_Redacted.pdf?dl=0


There is an open thread on this claim here:

forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=149427&st=0&gopid=1777138&#entry1777138

I've followed the guides and the great community there have suggested I also post here for comment.

They have helped me to the drafting of this defence (excerpt from full template):


2. It is admitted that on the material date, the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question; however, liability is denied. Due to the significant time that has elapsed since the dates listed on the Particulars of Claim, the Defendant is unable to ascertain with certainty who was driving the vehicle at the relevant times, particularly as multiple drivers had access to the vehicle during that period.
3. 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. The Defendant further requires the Claimant to provide strict proof of their claim, including evidence of compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and unequivocal proof that the Defendant was the driver of the vehicle on the relevant dates and times.
4. 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”.
5. The Defendant is unable, on the basis of the POC, to understand with certainty what case is being pursued.
6. 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 © how the purported and unspecified 'damages' arose and the breakdown of the exaggerated quantum.
7. 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
8. 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.'"
9. 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.

Am still awaiting response on the SAR - but am intending to send the defence on Tuesday.

I wanted to run this past you for any iterations/suggestions please? Any advice gratefully received. 

B789

Everything except the claim form and the LBC is to be ignored or used as emergency loo paper.

I'd consider settling the original ticket, but the Total amount on the claim is £289.74 - which is ludicrous.

You don't pay them a penny unless you want to become a part of the scam and fund their activity.

Have you filed your AoS yet? It should have been done by 1st of May. If you haven't, go and do it right now otherwise the claimant could seek a default judgment at any time. If you did the AoS then you will need to submit your defence by 15th May. @KeithP will be along to confirm the dates you need to be aware of.

With such poor PoC, you should use the defence by Johny86 which includes extra points about the PoC. An example of the template is here:

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

KeithP

As already advised, if you haven't yet filed an Acknowledgment of Service then do it today... NOW!!

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, you have until 4pm on Monday 15th May 2023 to file your Defence.

That's over a week 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'.

v209

thank you - AOS was done on the 20/04/2023

v209

B789 said:

Everything except the claim form and the LBC is to be ignored or used as emergency loo paper.

I'd consider settling the original ticket, but the Total amount on the claim is £289.74 - which is ludicrous.

You don't pay them a penny unless you want to become a part of the scam and fund their activity.

Have you filed your AoS yet? It should have been done by 1st of May. If you haven't, go and do it right now otherwise the claimant could seek a default judgment at any time. If you did the AoS then you will need to submit your defence by 15th May. @KeithP will be along to confirm the dates you need to be aware of.

With such poor PoC, you should use the defence by Johny86 which includes extra points about the PoC. An example of the template is here:

www.dropbox.com/s/5r7vbqttho3q948/2023%20defence.pdf?dl=0

thank you, re Johny86, have done that too.

B789

v209 said:
thank you, re Johny86, have done that too.

Then as long as you file by the deadline you then wait for your DQ N180.

There is a useful 12-point checklist you should retain for reference in the Template defence thread. I have taken the liberty of providing an example of it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lexezsjdz7rypct/CC_Checklist.pdf?dl=0

v209

Thank you so much - there is an update. They have returned the SAR.

Here is a copy of the bundle in a single pdf:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrvf2hymchhshgh/Scanned SAR Return - Redacted.pdf?dl=0

same with individual images if easier:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ycj248y9n59uuoh/AAD3hxVeJsMAStMQ9OqNkLUqa?dl=0

Is the NTK POFA compliant?

Any further advice regarding the defence please?

Coupon-mad

Was the claim filed by CEL or by DCBLegal?

B789

The PCN does appear to be PoFA compliant (just) but enough probably for a judge who is a bit lax or unfamiliar with PoFA to ignore the slight divergence from the requirements of the Act.

The back page of the original PCN, in the blue box, next to last paragraph has the wording.

v209

Coupon-mad said:

Was the claim filed by CEL or by DCBLegal?

the claimant is CEL 

v209

B789 said:

The PCN does appear to be PoFA compliant (just) but enough probably for a judge who is a bit lax or unfamiliar with PoFA to ignore the slight divergence from the requirements of the Act.

The back page of the original PCN, in the blue box, next to last paragraph has the wording.

thank you - would you have any advice about modifying the defence please?