UKPC PCN at local retail park.

Puppydogdreemz

Hi all, newbie post on here so apologies for any skoolboy errors i might make and thanks in advance for any help offered by you knowledgable lot  .

some background: im dealing with a PCN issued by UKPC ltd to my wife, back in august 2023, for (taken from PoC of claim form from CNBC recieved last week, dated 8th jan 2024) 'parked in breach of terms and conditions provided by the signage (the contract) resulting in the PCN'.

I'm dealing with it 'cause my wife is dyslexic and struggles with forms/numbers etc, and also has suffered with with anxiety/depression in the past.

Anyway, when we recieved the first PCN through the post last year, (cant remember exact dates) i told her to ignore it and chuck it in the bin, which we did. We also dealt with all susequent requests for payment/threats of impending doom/warnings of bailiffs coming to knock down our door the same way...I know, I know - I can hear the collective groans from here...hindsight is a wunnerful thing...but anyway, thats where we are now.

So we've now got a claim form from CNBC for a sum of money a bit shy of £300.

I've read the newbies post as directed and loooked at the 12 steps to enlightenment and the various defences posted, registered on mcol in her name (she already had a GG number and password) to do the acknowledgement of service in a couple of days time, and am about to fire off some emails to Next and Boots where she was shopping in at the time. Not sure if that will get me anywhere as they don't own the car park - Legal and General investment management do - but I'm not sure where to address the email to re L&G - if any of you lovely people do know, please let me know?

The alleged infringement is for parking with the front wheel of the car just touching the lines/chevrons of the bay - she says the cars parked next to her weren't very well parked, and she didn't realise that she hadn't parked correctly - and anyway does this warrant an initial fine of £100 given that the parking was free (no purchase of ticket required) for customers of the shops? She was parked in a normal bay, hadn't overstayed the free time allowed and was legitimately doing some shopping in the stores. Incidentally the car park is now a 'park, shop and scan' (read scam...) car park operated by Horizon parking, with very ambiguous signage about what is free parking/what isnt/what needs a voucher from the shop you visited etc etc ...anyway, i digress...

My questions really are:
1. should i do a SAR for the (previously circular filed..) details of PCN held by UKPC and if so, how and when?
2. on the upcoming draft of defence, should i only address the points raised in the PoC and not make mention of any specifics related to placement of vehicle etc?
3. what sort of time frames are usually involved from sending off AoS on the mcol website and the next stage, and do you think this has a reasonable chance of getting chucked out before it goes to hearing (missus is having kittens at the thought of it...)?
4. if it does go to hearing, can I go with her, or go on her behalf? what are the rules?

The claim form was lodged directly by UKPC as far as i can tell...there are no solicitors names mentioned anywhere in the form, other than one Ang####a Brz######a, Claimants legal representative, who aparently works for BPA...surely this is a conflict of interests?

Please let me know if I need to supply any more detail, any help would be greatly appreciated...and thanks again if youve read this and can help out 

troublemaker22

Show us the first page of the Claim form. Redact the claim number, your wife’s name and address, any reference numbers, any vehicle number and the MCOL password but leave the date clearly showing. 

Do not contact UKPC or (if different) the solicitors who filed the claim.  

Coupon-mad

No SAR.

The alleged infringement is for parking with the front wheel of the car just touching the lines/chevrons of the bay 

But the POC do not state that, so obviously she just uses the hharry100 version of the Template Defence, clearly linked in point 3 of the Template Defence itself.  Easy peasy.

I'm not expecting UKPC to attend any hearings.  They'll discontinue later this year IMHO.

Of course you can go with her and speak for her (if there is a hearing).  Search the forum for Lay Representatives Rights of Audience.

Puppydogdreemz

ok, here it is.

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 8th January, you have until Monday 29th January 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 Monday 12th February 2024 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'.

Puppydogdreemz

Thanks for all replies, much appreciated. Further to emailing two of the stores and a PR exec at LGIM, I've had a response from Legal and General asking for the PCN details so they can look into it - I'm assuming it would be fine to send a jpeg of the front of the claim form without any redactions?
Hopefully they will get this one discontinued, will keep you posted. 

Coupon-mad

Yes of course but cover your MCOL password.

Puppydogdreemz

Hi all, had an update from a L&G senior asset manager, who basically said that by this stage 'their hands were pretty tied' but that she would liase with UKPC's legal team and get back to us early next week. She also pretty much said its my wifes' fault for not parking correctly (which she denies) and, "Had this been appealed then, we would have honoured the £60 reduced charge until the appeal was resolved. The legal and court fees are costs which have now been incurred by us because the ticket was neither appealed nor paid". Can copy in full email text if you wanna see it...?
It seems that L&G are taking a fairly hard line here and will be backing up UKPC's case, which is obviously giving my wife the heeby jeebies...if it was just me I would take it as far as i can and call their bluff, but I think the threat of court is looming a bit large for her.
Do you guys still think this is a winnable situation? I appreciate your honest opinions and know you have plenty experience in these dealings, but not sure if its worth the grief to be honest..
Thanks in advance 👍

1505grandad

Please take note of the post above by C-m  -  the Lady is an expert:-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80531102/#Comment_80531102

Your wife's case will I am sure be added to the following thread if you follow the forum's advice (there are still 3 more disco cases to be added)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations#latest

Coupon-mad

There will be no hearing and no money to pay.  EVERY defended DCB Legal case here gets discontinued.  It is so easy...

Puppydogdreemz

Hi all, quick update on this - Legal and General PR got back to me today. very nice letter but just said their hands were tied and the best they could do was reduce the charge by approx £60. She did supply a couple of photos of the car parked over the hatchings (which we hadn't seen before,) and it is pretty obvious its parked wrong...ill attach one with number plates out obvs..see what you think?
Any advice greatly appreciated