G24 Limited - Civil National Business Centre Claim

geepaddle

Hi everyone, 

In October 2022, I parked in a residential area on private land. I received a letter from G24 Limited to with a parking fine. Their evidence is a single still photo of my car. They do not have evidence of how long I was parked there. I ignored the letters as the case seemed fairly baseless. However, they have taken me to the Civil National Business Centre. The claim form is asking for £255. 

My questions are:

- Do I contest or just pay?
- If i contest and lose, could I end up having to pay more? 

I cannot remember the incident clearly - I believe I was parked on a small, private residential street. I therefore don't know if 'grace period' applies. This would be my defence (e.g. I got out the car, realised i'd made a mistake and moved it shortly afterwards). I think this is probably the truth, although in all honesty, I don't really remember the incident. 

Thanks so much in advance.

Coupon-mad

- Do I contest or just pay?
DEFEND IN FULL. EASY PEASY!

- If i contest and lose, could I end up having to pay more?
NO. YOU'D PAY LESS!
The claim is exaggerated.

See the second post of the NEWBIES FAQS thread.  You need to do the AOS first and that's all explained and easy.

What's the date of issue of the claim?

Which solicitor?

Please show the Particulars of Claim.

geepaddle

Hey, thanks for the advice.

Solicitor: [Removed by Forum Team]/BW Legal
Issue Date: 17 Nov 23

Coupon-mad

And the PoC please, minus your VRM.

KeithP

geepaddle said:

Issue Date: 17 Nov 23

With a Claim Issue Date of 17th November, you have until Wednesday 6th December to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it.. 

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 in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Wednesday 20th December 2023 to file your Defence.

That's four 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 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'.

geepaddle

Coupon-mad said:

And the PoC please, minus your VRM.

Particulars of Claim:

"the claim is for £170.00 due from the Defendant for an unpaid parking charge following a contractual breach which occurred on 21/10/2022 in the private car park/land at Paintworks Arnos Vale Bristol BS4 3AQ by the driver of ______ registration mark _______. The land was lawfully occupied by the Claimant. The displayed terms and conditions offered the driver a contractual licence, which were accepted upon entry by the driver, and subsequently breached. Unauthorised Parking Despite demands, the parking charge remains unpaid. The claim also include £70.00 recovery costs as set out in the terms and conditions and in the industry code of practice."

Amount claimed: £170
Court fee: £35
Legal representative's costs: £50
Total Amount: £255

geepaddle

KeithP said:

geepaddle said:

Issue Date: 17 Nov 23

With a Claim Issue Date of 17th November, you have until Wednesday 6th December to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it.. 

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 in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Wednesday 20th December 2023 to file your Defence.

That's four 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 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'.

Thanks that's really helpful, i'll go read the newbies thread and will take your advice. Final question - if i file a defence and the case goes against me, could i incur further costs (e.g. further legal fees). Or could it affect my credit rating?

Thanks again for all the advice, it's hugely appreciated.

Le_Kirk

Read the second post of the NEWBIE sticky,  then the template defence thread then the defence used by @hharry100.

Coupon-mad

geepaddle said:

Final question - if i file a defence and the case goes against me, could i incur further costs (e.g. further legal fees). Or could it affect my credit rating?

The NEWBIES thread second post already tells you that you DON'T risk a CCJ nor higher costs, by defending a claim. Of course not!

We would never put people at that risk here.

geepaddle

Hi everyone, thanks so much for the support. Please see my defence here: 

1. 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 in breach of any term.  

The facts known to the Defendant:

2. The claimant (G24 Limited) states that the defendant (XXXXXXXX) breached the terms of their agreement as follows: “Unauthorised Parking XXXXXXXX”

3. As evidence, the claimant has provided the defendant with two photographs, which supposedly demonstrate the defendant’s contractual breach and thus liability. Both images include a ‘capture time’ demonstrating the time and date of the infringement, as well as the length of time the defendant was recorded at the site (XXXXXXXXXXX):

4. The capture time of the first image is stated as “21 Oct 2022 10:41:45”

5. The capture time of the second image is stated as “21 Oct 2022 10:41:54”

6. The claimant has therefore provided evidence that the defendant was present at the site for a total of 9 seconds.

7. The defendant contacted the claimant on 30th November 2023 to ask whether a ‘10-minute grace period’ would be applicable within their case. A 10-minute grace period can be understood as a minimum amount of time given before a contractual infringement is deemed to have occurred. They received a reply via email on 15th December 2023 from XXXXXXX (Data Protection Officer, G24 Limited - acting on behalf of the claimant) stating: “We allow a 10-minute grace period across all of our [G24 Limited - the claimant] sites.”

8. If the claimant allows a 10-minute grace period - as established clearly in email correspondence between the defendant and claimant - then it is incumbent on the claimant to demonstrate that the defendant was present at the site in excess of 10 minutes of any contractual agreement established. To date, the defendant has not been provided with any evidence to this effect. The two photographs demonstrate that the defendant was present at the site for 9 seconds, falling far below the required threshold for a breach to have occurred.

Conclusion

9. The claimant has failed to provide any evidence that the defendant was in breach of the contractual agreement, when accounting for the accepted 10-minute grace period, that both the claimant and defendant agree was applicable and reasonable. With this in mind, the defendant believes that the charges against him should be dismissed.  

Statement of Truth

10. I believe that the facts stated in this defence are true.  I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

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All thoughts are fully welcome - i'm incredibly grateful for the support. I'm submitting tomorrow. I'm up against the deadline (in my defence, I have a 3 week old baby, so it's all been a bit hectic).

Thanks again.