Claim Form for Private PCN. Never received initial PCN

Jono_56B

Hey guys hope everyone's good this Monday, I need a bit of help with a parking issue I've got. 

I am the registered keeper for a van which is rented out to someone else who drives it for work. Last August they got a PCN on private land and the claim letter which was marked Private and Confidential, sent last week, was the only letter that reached my desk. 

Am I able to defend this claim on any basis? Since there should be no keeper liability and in their letter they say that the keeper will be pursued as the driver (in accordance with POFA 2012 Schedule 4) since they could not ascertain who was the driver. However I was not aware there was a PCN and therefore was not given the opportunity to tell him who the actual driver was. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys.

Thanks a million

Coupon-mad

Is the defendant you personally, or a company?

Jono_56B

Its me personally. 

Coupon-mad

Am I able to defend this claim on any basis? 

Yes of course!  Easily done.

We do this every day and we win.  See the NEWBIES thread second post.

Which parking firm?

Which solicitor?

What's the date of issue on the Claim Form?

Jono_56B

I'm sorry I'm proper new to this site and I don't know where to find the newbie thread! 

The parking firm is First Parking LLP, the solicitor is DCB Legal LTD and the date of issue is 13 February 2024. I already called up DCB Legal to try and get liability transferred to driver but they said its too late for that and I have to respond to the claim now. 

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Jono_56B said:

I'm sorry I'm proper new to this site and I don't know where to find the newbie thread! 

Yes you do.

You just posted under my signature...

Jono_56B

Scratch that mate, found the newbies thread at the bottoms of your reply!

KeithP

Jono_56B said:

...the date of issue is 13 February 2024.

With a Claim Issue Date of 13th February, you have until Monday 4th March 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 18th March 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'.

Jono_56B

Thank you both Coupon-mad and Keith for your help.