Spring Parking Ticket County Court

MMM3

Hi all, I'm new here to forgive any errors or repetition. 

I have received a letter from the civil national businesses centre for a parking ticket from 2019. As background it was for the car park at the block of flats where I lived, it was a fob operated gate and also required permits to be displayed. I parked for around 10 mins without a permit (my flatmate and I 'shared' though she would rarely give it to me). 

I have been through all of the newbie threads and will submit my acknowledgment of service today, however I am struggling with the defense element - the claim particulars state the reason being not clearly displaying permit and I am aware that I was not displaying one - so in my mind do not have a defense? (See particulars of claim below).

Is there anyone who can advise on what my defense would be and how to proceed? Should I just accept my fate and pay it and move on, though I would have to request this be done in installments (will this have any other repercussions?) or proceed with defense?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Particulars of Claim

1. The Defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicle (reg and address hidden)

2. The PCN(s) were issued on 11/02/2019

3. The defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the terms on the signs (the contract). Reason:Not Clearly Displaying A Valid Permit

4. In the alternative the defendant is pursued as the keeper pursuant to POFA 2012, Schedule 4.

AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS

1. £165 being the total of the PCN(s) and damages.

2. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £.02 until judgment or sooner payment. 

3. Costs and court fees 

Fees:

Amount claimed £234
Court fee £35
Legal representatives cost £50
Total amount £319.

JerryJ64

What does your lease/AST say about parking? What it doesn't say is equally as important. Any mention of requiring to display a permit from a third party in order to park at your home?

MMM3

I no longer live there and don't have a copy of the lease unfortunately, I'll see if i can find one though

Coupon-mad

Should I just accept my fate and pay it and move on, though I would have to request this be done in installments (will this have any other repercussions?)

Eeek NO!

No-one pays a DCB Legal claim here.  And if you pay in instalments YOU GET A CCJ.

Defending it is dead easy. Loads of Spring Parking cases here this month to copy from.  There won't even be a hearing if it's DCBLegal. They give up at WS stage.

Please show us the claim form with the VRM, your data, QR code, the claim no. and MCOL password covered. 

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

KeithP

MMM3 said:
Issue date is 07/12/2023. I submitted the acknowledgement on 19/12/2023 so believe I have until the 19/01/2024 to submit my defence?

You have left your vehicle's registration mark showing on that image you have shown us.

You are mistaken with your Defence filing deadline.

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th December, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 9th January 2024 to file your Defence.

That's just one 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'.

MMM3

KeithP said:

MMM3 said:
Issue date is 07/12/2023. I submitted the acknowledgement on 19/12/2023 so believe I have until the 19/01/2024 to submit my defence?

You have left your vehicle's registration mark showing on that image you have shown us.

You are mistaken with your Defence filing deadline.

With a Claim Issue Date of 7th December, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 9th January 2024 to file your Defence.

That's just one 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'.

Thank you for correcting me on the timeline!

I've pasted below my draft defense, based on examples I've found on the forums - just the 'facts known to the defendant section, the rest is the standard template on the forum, any advise would be greatly appreciated!

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 Particulars refer to the material location as (address). The Defendant has, held legal title under the terms of a lease, to (address) at that location. At some point, the managing agents contracted with the Claimant company to enforce parking conditions at the estate.

4. The parking area contains allocated parking spaces demised to some residents.. Entry to the parking area is by means of a key fob, of a type only issued to residents. Any vehicles parked therein are, therefore, de facto authorised to be there.

5. There are no terms within the lease requiring lessees to display parking permits, or to pay penalties to third parties, such as the Claimant, for non-display of same.

6. The Defendant, at all material times, parked in accordance with the terms granted by the lease. The erection of the Claimant's signage, and the purported contractual terms conveyed therein, are incapable of binding the Defendant in any way, and their existence does not constitute a legally valid variation of the terms of the lease. Accordingly, the Defendant denies having breached any contractual terms whether express, implied, or by conduct.

7. The Claimant, or Managing Agent, in order to establish a right to impose unilateral terms which vary the terms of the lease, must have such variation approved by at least 75% of the leaseholders, pursuant to s37 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1987, and the Defendant is unaware of any such vote having been passed by the residents.

8. Further and in the alternative, the signs refer to 'Authorised Vehicles Only/Terms of parking without permission', and suggest that by parking without permission, motorists are contractually agreeing to a parking charge of £100. This is clearly a nonsense, since if there is no permission, there is no offer, and therefore no contract.

8.1. The Defendant's vehicle clearly was 'authorised' as per the lease and the Defendant relies on primacy of contract and avers that the Claimant's conduct in aggressive ticketing is in fact a matter of tortious interference, being a private nuisance to residents.

8.2. In this case the Claimant has taken over the location and runs a business as if the site were a public car park, offering terms with £100 penalty on the same basis to residents, as is on offer to the general public and trespassers. However, residents are granted a right to park/rights of way and to peaceful enjoyment, and parking terms under a new and onerous 'permit/licence' cannot be re-offered as a contract by a third party. This interferes with the terms of leases and tenancy agreements, none of which is this parking firm a party to, and neither have they bothered to check for any rights or easements that their regime will interfere with (the Claimant is put to strict proof). This causes a substantial and unreasonable interference with the Defendant's land/property, or his/her use or enjoyment of that land/property.

troublemaker22

KeithP said:

MMM3 said:
Issue date is 07/12/2023. I submitted the acknowledgement on 19/12/2023 so believe I have until the 19/01/2024 to submit my defence?

You have left your vehicle's registration mark showing on that image you have shown us.

@KeithP, I may be wrong but I don't think Newbies are empowered to edit their posts after they've been published.  Does someone know how to make this correction happen?  

KeithP

troublemaker22 said:

KeithP said:

MMM3 said:
Issue date is 07/12/2023. I submitted the acknowledgement on 19/12/2023 so believe I have until the 19/01/2024 to submit my defence?

You have left your vehicle's registration mark showing on that image you have shown us.

@KeithP, I may be wrong but I don't think Newbies are empowered to edit their posts after they've been published.  Does someone know how to make this correction happen?  

That's my understanding too.

Perhaps the easiest way to get that image removed is to simply hit the Report button below the appropriate post and ask MSE's Forum Team to delete that image.

I don't think MSE's Forum Team work outside a normal day shift, but they do act quickly within that constraint.

Coupon-mad

Good defence, 

MMM3

Coupon-mad said:

Good defence, 

Thanks for the help, I have sent off my defence today and received confirmation email, is it just a waiting game now?