DCB Legal court claim

debymajek

Hello everyone, and thank you so much guys in advance.

I have received a court claim from County court business centre issued 22/05/2023. The form had the standard POC and claim amount is £267.16, broken down as: £170 PCN plus damages, court fee £35, legal fee £50.

The reason for the parking charge was for overstaying, the duration was 3hr 11mins and the maximum stay was 3hrs so a 11mins overstay. The alleged offence took place on 21/06/2022 at Tower Retail Park DA1. There are notices in the car park stating 3hrs maximum stay which i was aware of. However, before parking i queued at the McDonalds drive-through located in the car park. The main road outside the car park was also closed due to a collapsed sewer which meant it took ages to exit the carpark due to traffic. I ignored the parking ticket, debt recovery letters and finally LBC. I need your expert advice on how to defend and how likely I am going to win in court?

I submitted the AOS on 05/06/2023. I've copied the defence template and summarised the first few bullets below. Is this ok?

1.The parking charges referred to in this claim did not arise from any agreement of terms. The charge and the claim was an unexpected shock. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.  It is denied that any conduct by the driver was a breach of any prominent term and it is denied that this Claimant (understood to have a bare licence as managers) has standing to sue or form contracts in their own name. Liability is denied, whether or not the Claimant is claiming 'keeper liability', which is unclear from the Particulars.

The facts as known to the Defendant:

2. It is admitted that on the material date the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle in question, but liability is denied. 

3. The Defendant was a patron of Mcdonalds, Currys and Boots store and did shopping there and remained on the site throughout entire visit. Prior to parking, the driver went through the McDonalds drive through which took some time due to queues hence the defendant didn’t park for a while.

In addition to this, the busy main road outside of the parking lot, Crayford Road, opposite the McDonalds was closed due to a collapsed water sewer. This caused traffic disruptions resulting in very slow movement and delays to exit the car park. The onus is on the claimant to prove the Defendant was “parked” for more than the maximum time allowed.

4. The Defendant asserts 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. 

...

KeithP

debymajek said:

I have received a court claim from County court business centre issued 22/05/2023.
I submitted the AOS on 05/06/2023.

Hello and welcome.

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd May, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 26th June 2023 to file your Defence.

That's nearly two 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 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'.

Coupon-mad

Very good research. Nice defence.

Remove para 4 (POFA is irrelevant to you as driver) and instead make your un-numbered paragraph above that, para 4.

Parking lot is a horrible Americanism people hear in  'movies' (aka films).  Please spare us and the Judge from that word!  It is a car park.

debymajek

Coupon-mad said:

Very good research. Nice defence.

Remove para 4 (POFA is irrelevant to you as driver) and instead make your un-numbered paragraph above that, para 4.

Parking lot is a horrible Americanism people hear in  'movies' (aka films).  Please spare us and the Judge from that word!  It is a car park.

Hahaha, didn't even notice the lingo:) Updated to car park. Thanks

debymajek

I've submitted my response now an will wait for the Directions Questionnaire. Thanks all

debymajek

I submitted the claim and received the directions questionnaire. A court date was set for April 6th. around 2 months  before the court  date I started getting calls from DBC offering to settle out of court if I pay the £170. I said no and they called again a week later asking to settle but I refused. 4 weeks before court date i received a letter that they were withdrawing the case which was great news.

Thanks for all your help, I'm glad I stuck to my guns and didn't pay.

Coupon-mad

debymajek said:

I submitted the claim and received the directions questionnaire. A court date was set for April 6th. around 2 months  before the court  date I started getting calls from DBC offering to settle out of court if I pay the £170. I said no and they called again a week later asking to settle but I refused. 4 weeks before court date i received a letter that they were withdrawing the case which was great news.

Thanks for all your help, I'm glad I stuck to my guns and didn't pay.

Yay... that's a win!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

I will add you to the DCBLegal discontinuances thread.  Could you show us a screenshot of the email (names removed) please, as evidence?

patient_dream

debymajek said:

I submitted the claim and received the directions questionnaire. A court date was set for April 6th. around 2 months  before the court  date I started getting calls from DBC offering to settle out of court if I pay the £170. I said no and they called again a week later asking to settle but I refused. 4 weeks before court date i received a letter that they were withdrawing the case which was great news.

Thanks for all your help, I'm glad I stuck to my guns and didn't pay.

WELL DONE .... The DCBL boys cried wolf again
DCBL are more tragic than a stick of Blackpool rock .. MADE IN CHINA