UKPC & DCBL Claim for Overstaying

Valdor

Hi all,

I have spent the last week or so looking through the forum reading the defence and newbie threads and going over other successful defences of claims (usually ending in DCBL cancelling their claim).

I've filed my AoS with MCOL as can be seen below:

A claim was issued against you on 06/08/2024

Your acknowledgment of service was submitted on 13/08/2024 at 10:15:55

Your acknowledgment of service was received on 13/08/2024 at 12:05:21

I am now looking to submit my defence and have the template at the ready but I'm not sure what I should and shouldn't be putting in the defence.

Particulars of claim as follows:

I had visited a local retail park and the B&Q store there to have a lot of timber cut and buy a load of bits for a home project. Car park says 3hr limit, I was there for 3hr's and 22 mins and was in the B&Q store the entire time (and it's notoriously busy with traffic lights at the entrace so it takes a bit of time to get out).

I'm mostly confused with exactly what my defence should state, should it just be a defence against the vagueness of the PoC or should I also be stating things about my length of stay, difficulties exiting the car park, money spent on site, the fact I have ADHD and can struggle with timekeeping? I really have no idea what should go in here as you can probably tell!

I get I should be adding this stuff to paragraph 3 but I'm just lost as to what I should be putting in.

I did try finding the landowner to get it cancelled with no luck, same with speaking to B&Q. I've also had my local MP contact UKPC this week just in case that gets them to go away but I doubt it.

Any help would be much appreciated and if I've forgotten to add any info in to the thread I apologise in advance.

KeithP

Valdor said:
A claim was issued against you on 06/08/2024
Your acknowledgment of service was submitted on 13/08/2024 at 10:15:55
Your acknowledgment of service was received on 13/08/2024 at 12:05:21

Hello and welcome.

With a Claim Issue Date of 6th August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 9th September 2024 to file a Defence.

That's three 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 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'.

Valdor

Thanks Keith, I have read through the bits and pieces listed - I'm just struggling with what to actually write in the defence as stated above.
The advice threads are great but they don't seem to have much detail around what a good defence statement (paragraph 3) looks like so some help there would be greatly appreciated.

KeithP

What's happened in the two weeks (all but a day) since your last post?

In those two weeks there have probably been a couple of dozen or more Defences discussed and honed to perfection on this forum.

Have you seen these words in the second post of the NEWBIES thread?...

Here are some cases which should help you with ideas as to what to put in as 'case specific facts' at #2 and #3 of the above linked template defence:

...followed by examples.

Coupon-mad

Or just read a few! We see draft defences here every day posted on this forum.  Read half a dozen defences from August.

Valdor

Hi both, I have read a number and searched quite extensively.
I have read those examples but none of them are the same situation and I have no idea how much that matters?
I spent about a week looking through defences and threads on here before posting anything (because I didn't want to ask something I could have found the answer to myself).

I've struggled to work out what exactly should go in a defence, I've seen alsorts of advice ranging from only defending based on the quality (lack there-of) of the PoC, defending based on circumstances, grace periods, signage, etc. etc.
I'm really not sure what is exactly relevant for me and what I should and shouldn't use, hence the post.
There's a lot of replies in and amongst the defence threads that are making it hard for me to pick out exactly what I should be stating in my specific case.

I just need a bit of pointing in the right direction in terms of what should and shouldn't be included.
What's useful in these defences and what isn't?
I don't want to write a wall of text about the timber I was buying in B&Q if it's totally irrelevant.

In answer to your particular question Keith; in the last 2 weeks I have started a new job, spending the entire week working away in Oxford and was on holiday the week before so I have been a bit busy all told.

Coupon-mad

Please just type the number 3 then type why the driver was at the location and what happened.  Show us that.

Valdor

This is what I had put together so far:

3. The Defendant asserts that the parking charge is unjust and that no breach of contract occurred. On the date in question, the Defendant was visiting the B&Q store at Leeds Road Retail Park, Huddersfield, where the Defendant spent time having timber cut to size for a home project. The Defendant was utilizing the car park for its intended purpose—shopping at the store—and was contributing to the local economy by spending money in the area.

4. The Defendant suffers from ADHD, a condition that can make it difficult to adhere to strict time limits when engaged in a task. This medical condition contributed to the Defendant overstaying the 3-hour limit by 22 minutes, a minor and unintentional overstay.

5. The Defendant further asserts that all car parks where a time limit is in place should allow for a minimum 10-minute grace period to leave the site, in accordance with best practices. Leeds Road Retail Park is a particularly busy car park, and the traffic lights at the exit can cause significant delays when the car park is busy. The Defendant contends that these factors should have been taken into consideration.

6. It is the Defendant's belief that pursuing this matter through court is neither reasonable nor proportionate, especially given that no financial harm was caused, and the Defendant was using the car park for its intended purpose.

7. The Defendant never received the initial letters from UK Parking Control, as they were sent to the wrong address, thereby preventing any opportunity to appeal the charge in a timely manner. The first correspondence received by the Defendant was from the debt collection agency, DCBL, which has since refused to engage in discussions regarding the fine and has begun court proceedings without offering a fair chance to appeal.

I'd gone back to the drawing board though after reading other defences as I it seemed a lot of this doesn't really matter but my understanding of this subject is limited.

Coupon-mad

It's not a 'fine' so change that word.

And change this:

4. The Defendant suffers from ADHD, a condition that can make it difficult to adhere to strict time limits when engaged in a task. This medical condition contributed to the Defendant overstaying the 3-hour limit by 22 minutes, a minor and unintentional overstay.

to this:

4. The Defendant suffers from ADHD, a condition that can make it difficult to adhere to strict time limits when engaged in a task. ADHD meets the legal definition of a disability which affects daily life, including a delay in the ability to process information and a lack of immediate focus to make purchasing decisions (in this case involving extra pressure of complicated measurements and decisions to be made, as well as waiting for trained staff to be available to cut the timber).  ADHD is a 'protected characteristic' under the Equality Act 2010. As a service provider, the Claimant has a statutory duty to have a mechanism in place for service users to claim more time or exempt their vehicle from any fixed time limit, so that persons with protected characteristics are not unfairly penalised. It is an anticipatory duty to protect the affected population 'at large', thus there is no justification for the service provider to say "we use remote ANPR and didn't know about an individual's need". Councils typically allow an extra hour.  Private parking firms typically make no 'reasonable adjustments' of time at all. In this case there was no mention on any signage of any right or method to claim more time and this is illegal. The Defendant needed more time than others might need. The trite law doctrine of ex turpi causa provides that courts will not assist a party whose case is based upon an immoral or illegal act.

Nellymoser

You must not leave UKPC to hold a wrong address for you. If you haven't already done so email Data Rectification Notice to UKPC Data Protection Officer. INSTRUCT them and any of their agents to ERASE (use this word) your old address and replace it with your current address for service. Find DPO address in privacy policy on their website. Include non-photo proof of ID/address such as a redacted utility bill/bank/ card statement. Also update your address with DVLA...you can be fined up to £1000 for failing to do so.

https://www.gov.uk/change-address-v5c

Valdor

Thanks Coupon-mad that's great.

Hi Nellymoser, I updated my addres ages ago with the DVLA, I missed doing it when we moved two years ago (and also had a baby) - plus the aforementioned ADHD doesn't help.
I'll do the other bits though with UKPC thanks.