ParkingEye Court Claim from 2019 without previous letters

xavian1234

Hi,

So I've gotten a Court Claim from Parking Eye on the 21st of August 2023 pertaining to a fine from 2019 in Cambridge. At the time I was the driver of the car but left the UK in that year. My uncle was the registered keeper (living close to Bristol) and both of us were in the car insurance policy.
I already did my AOS and now am looking into the defence. Also might be of note to refer that we're not British but from the EU.

The claim is quite big so that's why I'm inclined to fight it if possible before just paying it off:

Amount Claimed

£596.13

Court Fee

£70.00

Solicitor Costs

£70.00

  

Total Amount

£736.13

Issue Date

21/08/2023

My circumstances are tricky because while I'm pretty much at native speaker level, my uncle isn't so a court appearance may be difficult to go through. I know I was the driver because he was nowhere near Cambridge at that time and I know the park in question isn't really that well signaled.

I've been going through other cases but they don't seem to align all too well with mine because I was the driver but I'm not in the UK, my uncle can't really communicate in a formal/court environment and I am quite stressed about bringing problems to my family still living in the UK.

To summarise:
1) The claim is from 2019, it arrived 21st Aug 2023 and there was no previous communication from ParkingEye before going in with a Claim. 
2) We are emigrants from EU. I moved away from the UK a bit after the fine's date, my uncle still lives in the UK. While I can speak English at native level, he will struggle immensely in a formal environment such as a court
3) The car was registered in my uncle's name, both of us were in the insurance, he lives close to Bristol, the ticket is from Cambridge where I lived at the time. I was the driver but there's no proof provided by PE


So far I've drafted this:

2. The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  Conversely, the Claimant sets out a cut-and-paste incoherent and sparse statement of case.  The POC is devoid of any detail and even lacks specific breach allegation(s), making it very difficult to respond. However, it is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle at the time of the claim date.

 

3. The claim in question pertains to the year 2019, more than 4 years ago, for which the Defendant has no recollection of parking in the location in question. The Defendant also states that no letters or previous warnings were received in the interim between said parking and the reception of the claim in question.

Some help will be much appreciated.

B789

If the car is registered in your uncle's name, how come the claim is against you? Did someone respond to the NtK and give them your name as the driver?

As the claim is in your name, your uncle no longer has anything to do with it. As you are not living/residing in the UK, you need to point out to the claimant or their solicitor, if they're using one, that they have no jurisdiction. Point out, that as you are not a resident of England or Wales, they should either discontinue the claim or reissue it to you at your foreign address (which they won't).

Point out to the intellectually malnourished eejits that should they proceed to a hearing, you will seek to recover your costs of travelling to the UK to defend a claim that has no jurisdiction.

As a matter of interest, what address are they using for the claim? 

xavian1234

The claim is in my uncle's name because the car was registered in his name but I was the driver. I was legally allowed to drive it because we were both in the insurance.
Sorry if that wasn't clear.

xavian1234

Forgot to comment to the second question.

They have sent the claim to my uncle's current address. There was never any letter addressed to this house other than the claim and I believe he has been living there for the past 4 years at least.

B789

If the claim is in your Uncle's name, you cannot defend it. It has to be defended by your uncle. You can do everything for him but he has to sign it. If it ever gets to a hearing, your uncle would have to attend.

xavian1234

Ok, that was what I was afraid of but will go through with the part where I can do everything except for the hearing. I will handle that when/if it gets to it. 

Having covered that point, can I get help with the defence? 

Thank you for the fast replies

Coupon-mad

I already did my AOS.

I hope you didn't!  Not in your name?

This isn't your claim. Everything must be in your Uncle's name.

You can certainly attend the hearing with him and provide a WS later on, in the process but you can't put your name to his responses as defendant.

Re his defence:

Copy & adapt a recent ParkingEye one that talks about them adding £20.  Search the forum and change 'best match' to 'newest'.

xavian1234

Correct, I'm doing it in _his name_.

xavian1234

Hi, as the date is near (issue date was 21st August) I need to submit the defense. I have no information regarding the addition of 20gbp, I only have the final value in the Claim.

I've drafted the following

2. The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  Conversely, the Claimant sets out a cut-and-paste incoherent and sparse statement of case.  The POC is devoid of any detail and even lacks specific breach allegation(s), making it very difficult to respond. However, it is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle at the time of the claim date.

3. The Defendant cannot recall why they were at the location on an unremarkable day more than four years ago and so has no knowledge of any signs or restrictions.  The Defendant is not in the habit of breaching rules and firmly believes that the signage was inadequate, and has no idea which terms they are alleged to have breached. No PCN was affixed to the car and there was no communication by mail for several years until now. There was no pre-action letter.  This claim was a shock and the Claimant has failed to communicate any information about the matter over the years. The Claimant is put to strict proof of the facts and signage, as well as the allegation (whatever it may be, given the fact that the Claim fails to specify it).

Coupon-mad

Where are the words about the added £20 as seen and copied from other recent ParkingEye defences? We've had several this Summer.  It's already here on the forum to be copied.

KeithP

xavian1234 said:

Hi, as the date is near (issue date was 21st August) I need to submit the defense defence.

I am going to assume that an Acknowledgment of Service was filed sometime after 25th August and before 11th September. Please confirm that - the MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer.

With a Claim Issue Date of 21st August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, the named Defendant has until 4pm on Monday 25th September 2023 to file his Defence.

That's a whole week 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 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'.

As you already know, everything must be done in the name of the named Defendant.