Defense help needed for DCB Legal / Spring Parking claim issued on the 7th of Dec.

whichwaysup

A Parking Charge Notice was issued in 2018 by Spring Parking, stating the reason as “Not Displaying a Valid Pay and Display Ticket”.

A valid ticket had been purchased and it was displayed.

I still have both the Pay and Display ticket and the Parking Charge Notice.

I ignored the following threats from Zenith Collections, Gladstones Solicitors, Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd and finally DCB Legal Ltd.

(I now know that I should not have ignored them).

I’ve now received a claim form from the Civil National Business Centre.

I have responded online and disputed the full amount.

I’ve read the instructions and posts in this forum and tried to create my defense to send to the court, which I believe needs to be submitted to CCBCAQ@justice.gov.uk on or before Tuesday the 9th of Jan, based on the issue date of the 7th of Dec - Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Please could you provide any corrections, comments, guidance to help me with this?

I will attach redacted version of the Claim Form, the Parking Charge Notice and the Pay and Display Ticket.

whichwaysup

The time and date info has been removed, but the ticket was purchased on the same day before the "Observed Time" and expires at dusk, which is well after the "Date/Time of Issue"

whichwaysup

Redacted claim form

whichwaysup

Defense created from forum template.
(Paragraph 7 is unchanged and just included here to show continuation of template)

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. It is admitted that the vehicle was parked in the Bradgate Park Newtown Linford car park on the day of the alleged breach. However, the defendant had purchased and displayed in the vehicle a valid Pay and Display ticket covering the period for which the vehicle was parked and the alleged breach occurred.

4. Upon returning to the vehicle and seeing the Parking Charge Notice on the windscreen of the vehicle, the defendant made sure to retain the Pay and Display ticket. A copy of this ticket is included with this defence.

5. A complaint against the Parking Charge Notice was sent via email to Bradgate Park Estate Office, but this was met with the assertion via telephone call that it is not legally possible for Bradgate Park or Spring Parking to stop court proceedings.

6.  Further and in the alternative, the claim form is defective, per CPR PD 16, 2.1: "The claim form must include an address (including the postcode) at which the claimant lives or carries on business, even if the claimant’s address for service is the business address of their solicitor."  

A PO Box is not a valid registered company address, held HHJ Paul Matthews in Smith v Marston Holdings Ltd & Anor [2020] EW Misc 23 (CC).

7. The Claimant will concede that no financial loss has arisen and that in order to impose an inflated parking charge, as well as proving a term was breached, there must be:

(i). a strong 'legitimate interest' extending beyond mere compensation for loss, and

(Ii). 'adequate notice' of the 'penalty clause' charge which, in the case of a car park, requires prominent signs and lines.

KeithP

whichwaysup said:

I’ve now received a claim form from the Civil National Business Centre.

I have responded online and disputed the full amount.

I’ve read the instructions and posts in this forum and tried to create my defense to send to the court, which I believe needs to be submitted to CCBCAQ@justice.gov.uk on or before Tuesday the 9th of Jan, based on the issue date of the 7th of Dec - Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Hello and welcome.
Assuming you filed an Acknowledgment of Service sometime after 12th December and before 29th December, then you are correct with your Defence filing deadline.

There might be something useful here...

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 a few days 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'.

troublemaker22

The claim is against the Defendant as keeper or driver.  Unless the Defendant has studied the PCN carefully and concluded that it is in full compliance with the statutory requirements for keeper liability or has previously admitted to being the driver, I would redraft to avoid making that admission in the Defence. Also, you don't attach evidence to a Defence.  That is for the Witness Statement.  So delete 4.

Maybe 3 should read something like this:

3. It is admitted that the vehicle was parked in the Bradgate Park Newtown Linford car park on the day of the alleged breach. However, a valid Pay and Display ticket covering the period for which the vehicle was parked and during which alleged breach is claimed to have occurred was on clear display in the vehicle.

whichwaysup

KeithP said:

whichwaysup said:

I’ve now received a claim form from the Civil National Business Centre.

I have responded online and disputed the full amount.

I’ve read the instructions and posts in this forum and tried to create my defense to send to the court, which I believe needs to be submitted to CCBCAQ@justice.gov.uk on or before Tuesday the 9th of Jan, based on the issue date of the 7th of Dec - Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Hello and welcome.
Assuming you filed an Acknowledgment of Service sometime after 12th December and before 29th December, then you are correct with your Defence filing deadline.

There might be something useful here...

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 a few days 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 confirming the dates (and time) @KeithP. Yes, I had filed and Acknowledge of Service within those dates.

I did use the link you posted in the NEWBIES thread to create the initial draft of my defense in my post above. I'll update it based on the advise from troublemaker22 and repost.

whichwaysup

troublemaker22 said:

The claim is against the Defendant as keeper or driver.  Unless the Defendant has studied the PCN carefully and concluded that it is in full compliance with the statutory requirements for keeper liability or has previously admitted to being the driver, I would redraft to avoid making that admission in the Defence. Also, you don't attach evidence to a Defence.  That is for the Witness Statement.  So delete 4.

Maybe 3 should read something like this:

3. It is admitted that the vehicle was parked in the Bradgate Park Newtown Linford car park on the day of the alleged breach. However, a valid Pay and Display ticket covering the period for which the vehicle was parked and during which alleged breach is claimed to have occurred was on clear display in the vehicle.

Thank you @trou@troublemaker22.

There has been no admition of the defendant being the driver. Paragraph 2 was amended to include that based on the notes/advise in the template defense in post 2 of this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-cases-with-added-admin-dra-costs-edited-31st-july-2023

I have removed "and driver" from the end of paragraph 2 and updated paragraphs 3 & 4 based on your suggestions as follows:

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.

3. It is admitted that the vehicle was parked in the Bradgate Park Newtown Linford car park on the day of the alleged breach. However, a valid Pay and Display ticket covering the period for which the vehicle was parked and during which alleged breach is claimed to have occurred was on clear display in the vehicle.

4. The defendant has made sure to retain both the Parking Charge Notice and the Pay and Display ticket.

5. A complaint against the Parking Charge Notice was sent via email to Bradgate Park Estate Office, but this was met with the assertion via telephone call that it is not legally possible for Bradgate Park or Spring Parking to stop court proceedings.

6.  Further and in the alternative, the claim form is defective, per CPR PD 16, 2.1: "The claim form must include an address (including the postcode) at which the claimant lives or carries on business, even if the claimant’s address for service is the business address of their solicitor."  

A PO Box is not a valid registered company address, held HHJ Paul Matthews in Smith v Marston Holdings Ltd & Anor [2020] EW Misc 23 (CC).

7. The Claimant will concede that no financial loss has arisen and that in order to impose an inflated parking charge, as well as proving a term was breached, there must be:

(i). a strong 'legitimate interest' extending beyond mere compensation for loss, and

(Ii). 'adequate notice' of the 'penalty clause' charge which, in the case of a car park, requires prominent signs and lines.

Coupon-mad

Yep that looks good!

For lurking newbies, this isn't the entire defence; the rest of the Template Defence follows.

whichwaysup

Thank you @Coupon-mad

I submitted my defence via email to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk today, but tech issues meant it was sent after 4pm.

I got an automated response back titled "AUTO RESPONSE DO NOT REPLY - CCBC AQ Acknowledgment

".

Is this the only acknowledgement I'm expecting?

Or do I need to send it again before 4pm?

Thanks again

KeithP

whichwaysup said:

Thank you @Coupon-mad

I submitted my defence via email to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk today, but tech issues meant it was sent after 4pm.

I got an automated response back titled "AUTO RESPONSE DO NOT REPLY - CCBC AQ Acknowledgment

".

Is this the only acknowledgement I'm expecting?

Or do I need to send it again before 4pm?

Thanks again

Don't know why you think it might be late.
In my earlier reply on your thread I wrote...

...you have until 4pm on Tuesday 9th January 2024 to file your Defence.

That's tomorrow.

In that email auto reply It does say...

Thank you for emailing the County Court Business Centre, please accept this as a receipt of your email.

...which is all you need at this stage.