Claim against Parkingeye, unsure of defense arguments.

Preinama

Hello, I would really appreciate some guidance in defending against Claim form by Parkingeye.

This is for parking on big retail store car park in19/12/23. I did not receive any letter until August 23 when penalty was£155.00. I had updated my V5c on May23, previous to that I had the Post Office redirection service (so any letters i should have received but didn't).

I am not sure what to say on par 2 and 3 of my defence. I did overstay in big retail car park, this is very close to where I live, there was long cue to exit and decided to collect car later. Max stay was 4 hr I overstayed one hour.

My first step was request SAR, shortly afterwards I received letter of claim. I have Acknowledge service and now thinking of my defense. AS i said rather confused about what i could add on par 3, signals are clear however did not receive any letters until Amount Due:£155.

Many thanks for any advice you can offer.

UncleThomasCobley

Preinama said:

Hello, I would really appreciate some guidance in defending against Claim form by Parkingeye.

This is for parking on big retail store car park in19/12/23. I did not receive any letter until August 23 when penalty was£155.00. I had updated my V5c on May23, previous to that I had the Post Office redirection service (so any letters i should have received but didn't).

I am not sure what to say on par 2 and 3 of my defence. I did overstay in big retail car park, this is very close to where I live, there was long cue to exit and decided to collect car later. Max stay was 4 hr I overstayed one hour.

My first step was request SAR, shortly afterwards I received letter of claim. I have Acknowledge service and now thinking of my defense. AS i said rather confused about what i could add on par 3, signals are clear however did not receive any letters until Amount Due:£155.

Many thanks for any advice you can offer.

Did you park the Tardis at this location?  Considering we are only at the beginning of October 2023, you may need to adjust the date of the alleged contravention.

 knowing the actual date and your mention of when you updated your V5C, it is not possible, at this stage, to determine when they applied for your data from the DVLA.

What is the "issue date" of the claim? What is the location of this car park? Please show us the PoC. Is the claim from PE itself or are they using a solicitor. Your N1 claim form will say.

Preinama

Yes contravention on 19/12/22.

  Regarding data from DVLA , this is response from Sars request: 

:We can confirm that your name and address were provided by the DVLA on 23/12/2022. This data was provided as you were identified as the registered keeper of vehicle XXXXX in respect of a breach of the parking terms and conditions that took place within Eastgate Retail Park, Bristol on 19/12/2022

I will attach next PoC, thank you

(Image removed by Forum Team)

KeithP

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.

fisherjim

As per usual with Parking Eye (if still the same as July 2019 but probably worse now) is abysmal and not conforming to The BPA COP either within the site or at the entrance.

Terms not even readable at arms length as such small print.

Also no notification that ANPR is in use or what it is intended for.

Check BPA COP on signage, ANPR use, minimum requirements etc etc here> https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_Code_of_Practice_January_2020_v8(2).pdf

You needed photo evidence from the incident date to support you, but GSV and now (dated) would help as I doubt they have changed much.

PE will provide clear stock signage images as evidence which needs exposing.

Preinama

KeithP said:

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.

12 Sep 23 is the Issue Date
I filed AoS on 25 Sep23

KeithP

Preinama said:

KeithP said:

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.

12 Sep 23 is the Issue Date
I filed AoS on 25 Sep23

With a Claim Issue Date of 12th September, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 16th October 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 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'.

1505grandad

fisherjim said:

As per usual with Parking Eye (if still the same as July 2019 but probably worse now) is abysmal and not conforming to The BPA COP either within the site or at the entrance.

Terms not even readable at arms length as such small print.

Also no notification that ANPR is in use or what it is intended for.

Check BPA COP on signage, ANPR use, minimum requirements etc etc here> https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_Code_of_Practice_January_2020_v8(2).pdf

You needed photo evidence from the incident date to support you, but GSV and now (dated) would help as I doubt they have changed much.

PE will provide clear stock signage images as evidence which needs exposing.

Not forgetting PE mantra re signs:-

"There’s no sense in having rules on a site if there isn’t a way to inform people what they are. We’re taking a closer look at the critical role signs play in car park management."

https://www.parkingeye.co.uk/car-park-management/how-important-are-signs-for-car-park-management/#:~:text=Signs must be large enough, and easily understood&text=It's important that there are,have a parking charge appealed.

Preinama

I will attach below PoC.

Thank for responses so far. I see I can add signs not readable at arms length (except the 4 hour limit) and no sign at car park entrance, (there is mention of ANPR use in the sign although you have to get closer to see it).

Would these be enough arguments? and is the fact I never receive initial letters worth mentioning?

Thanks a lot.

Preinama

Here is the PoC

UncleThomasCobley

Just use the template defence but add the following after para #1, including the bold subheading:

Preliminary matter: The claim should be struck out

2. The Defendant draws to the attention of the allocating Judge that there is now a persuasive Appeal judgment to support striking out the claim (in these exact circumstances of typically poorly pleaded private parking claims, and the extant PoC seen here are far worse than the one seen on Appeal).  The Defendant believes that dismissing this meritless claim is the correct course, with the Overriding Objective in mind.  Bulk litigators (legal firms) should know better than to make little or no attempt to comply with the Practice Direction.  By continuing to plead cases with generic auto-fill unspecific wording, private parking firms should not be surprised when courts strike out their claims based in the following persuasive authority.

3. A recent persuasive appeal judgment in Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan (Ref. E7GM9W44) would indicate the POC fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4 and Practice Direction Part 16. On the 15th August 2023, in the cited case, HHJ Murch held that 'the particulars of the claim as filed and served did not set out the conduct which amounted to the breach in reliance upon which the claimant would be able to bring a claim for breach of contract'. The same is true in this case and in view of the Chan judgment, the Court should strike out the claim, using its powers pursuant to CPR 3.4