Claim Form Received - Defence statement for overstaying in car park

RegXYZ321

Hi,

I've received a Claim Form in the post recently (over a week ago) claiming over £250 from me for parking (overstaying) in a restaurant car park this year. I have followed the advice on the threads here on dealing with a Claim Form (MCOL registration completed and 'AOS' completed).

I believe the next step is to send my defence to the CCBCAQ email address. Therefore, I have left points '1', and points '4 to 30' from the template as they are written - alone, and have edited  only points '2 and 3' as follows below. Please could I get some feedback if this is the correct format or acceptable for my defence to submit?

"The facts known to the Defendant:

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 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". The Defendant is unable, on the basis of the POC, to understand with certainty what case, allegation(s) and what heads of cost are being pursued, making it difficult to respond. However, the vehicle is recognised and it is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver.

3. The Defendant was issued with a parking ticket but they believe it was unfairly issued due to mitigating circumstances that explain why the vehicle was parked where it was, and the charge be waived for the following reasons:

An acquaintance to the Defendant was suffering from poor mental health where suicide was a concern.

The Defendant being a facilitator for a mental health charity attended to the needs of the acquaintance as the Defendant has experience of managing his own mental health issues and supporting others with issues concerning issues with depression and suicide.

The Defendant parked at the Claimant’s restaurant car park to meet the acquaintance because it was a safe and secure public environment to talk with the acquaintance.

As the Defendant was attending to the needs of his acquaintance to mitigate the risk of possible suicide, this resulted in the vehicle in question overstaying in the car park by no more than 40 minutes.

Under the sensitive circumstances, the Defendant contacted the Claimant after receiving the parking ticket to explain the mitigating circumstances and asked the Claimant to waive the charge, but the Claimant did not reply to the Defendants request. Subsequently, further demands for payment from the Claimant were ignored as the did not engage with the Defendant's mitigating circumstances.

The restaurant car park was mostly empty for the duration of Defendant’s car park stay, so the Claimant would have suffered no loss to the business.

The car park was poorly lit in darkness where the Defendant was parked, and the Defendant did not see any clear signage."

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

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.

Who is the Claimant?

Coupon-mad

Please show us the POC (acronyms are explained in the 5th post of the Newbies thread).

Le_Kirk

Until we see the POC, as @Coupon-mad writes, it would be unwise to use that defence, as you are potentially defending against a claim that isn't there; don't do the claimant's job for them.

RegXYZ321

Hi all, thanks for your comments on this thread.

@KeithP my Issue Date is 09/10/2023.
The AoS was submitted on 12/10/2023.
Claimant is: UK Parking Control Limited.

@Coupon-mad @Le_Kirk
The POC is as follows (identifiable details are not included in case the Claimant can identify me):

Particulars of Claim
1. The Defendant(D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicle (xxxxxxx) at (a fast food car park xxxxxxx...).
2. The PCN details are (xx-Jan-2023 xxxxxxx...).
3. The PCN(s) was issued on private land owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms on Cs signs (the Contract), thus incurring the PCN(s).
4. The driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not. D is liable as the driver or keeper. Despite requests, the PCN(s) is outstanding. The Contract entitles C to damages.
AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS
1. £(xxx just over £160) being the total of the PCN(s) and damages.
2. Interest at a rate (xxx%) per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of (£xxx pence) until judgment or sooner payment.
3. Costs and court fees


As for the unwise defence I've shared above - unfortunately due to my lack of knowledge and ignorance at the time, I did send the above defence to UKPC (the claimant) through their online portal but they never replied to it. I've ignored all correspondence up to now, and then received the Claim Form through the post. Please let me know if I have a case to defend, or would it be best to pay? Thanks all.

KeithP

RegXYZ321 said:

Issue Date is 09/10/2023.
The AoS was submitted on 12/10/2023.

With a Claim Issue Date of 9th October, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service on 12th October, you have until 4pm on Thursday 9th November 2023 to file your Defence.

That's over two weeks 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'.

Coupon-mad

I don't know why you haven't used what the Template Defence tells you to add (I even give a link to wording) to strike the claim out.

RegXYZ321

Thanks @KeithP - I have noted the dates and will ensure my defence is submitted via email.

@Coupon-mad - I might be misunderstanding you here. I've created my own defence wording for section 3 in the defence which is the truth in my own words, and then intend to use all other sections in the template. Therefore, should I not do this? Thanks.

Coupon-mad

Including CEL v Chan as the Template links?

RegXYZ321

Coupon-mad said:

Including CEL v Chan as the Template links?

Apologies @Coupon-mad I'm not well rehearsed with how to communicate on here. Are you asking me to check out a link you've added to the Template article?... if so, could you attach it here, I'm struggling to find any links on the article: 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs/p1

Thanks.

Coupon-mad

It's already linked in the Template Defence.  We have no time nor reason to go get it and link it in every individual thread - and if I did, you'd miss reading what I say about it in the Template Defence in terms of context.

Please look again.