Claim form - no PCN no NTK received - Acting on behalf of father - WS Stage DISCONTINUED

durdledoor91

Hello all,
I hope you can help, I have read through the posts on newbies but am not 100% clear on how to approach my issue and want to make sure I sort this out for my dad. 

Claim Form and Issue
Sat 24/8/24 - My elderly father received a claim form for Claimant UK Parking Control issued by DCB Legal on claiming a parking charge issued 27/3/24 against his vehicle. Issue date: 22.8.24. Day of service is then 27.8.24 I believe so then defence submission will be 24.9.24
The claim references the reason as parking in a designated disabled space. Charges are £170 for the PCN + interest at a rate of 8% p.a and a daily rate of 2p + court fee £35 + rep costs of £50

As no PCN or NTK have been received - the claim form is the first time he's seen anything so we have had no opportunity to appeal a PCN if he was there or pay if he did park incorrectly, he does not hold a blue badge. We have no evidence through photos or anything that I imagine would normally come with the PCN?

Actions so far
As per the advice given here I have emailed the shopping centre however UKPC are no longer their parking control company as of July this year so not sure they can help although they did respond basically saying we should have had a PCN and NTK and asking if Dad has a blue badge which he does not. In addition I have emailed UKPC advising them that we intend to defend given this is the 1st we have heard of this.

Next steps/ Defence and Representation
I will send the AOS soon via moneyclaim online and plan to file a defence but in preparing I wanted to check a few things
1. I plan to act for him, he's finding this very upsetting and need help,  so on the AOS do I fill in my address / email etc but still leave Defendant name as him? Not sure where to put my name or do I not need to?
2. Do I then sign as Litigation Friend (as I am not a legal representative)
3. I have read the template defence linked from the newbie post but wanted to check if there is anything particular I should focus on here given the situation of not receiving any notice before or whether that is irrelevant now given they have issued this

Thank you all in advance for any advice 

KeithP

durdledoor91 said:

My elderly father received a claim form...
Issue date: 22.8.24. Day of service is then 27.8.24 I believe so then defence submission will be 24.9.24

Hello and welcome.

You are right with your Defence filing deadline, but only if you file an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner.

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd August, you have until Tuesday 10th September 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 Tuesday 24th September 2024 to file a Defence.

That's almost 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'.

This is important...
At this stage everything must be done in the name of the named Defendant. 

Later, if there is any hearing, you will be able to speak on behalf of your father, but he must attend any hearing.

durdledoor91

Thanks @KeithP so this link for defence adaptation is that correct? 
 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs/p1
On the AOS -  clear advice to to leave name as his but should/ can I still sign that as litigation friend or do you recommend I leave that as Dad's signature as well for now? Is it ok for me to put my address/ email there rather than his so I receive any correspondence though?

durdledoor91

Quick follow up :  I have drafted the below if you can help me check this over and advise if anything missing (have copied the rest of the template in full)

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.  The claim alleges that the vehicle was parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without displaying a valid disabled person’s badge in the X Shopping Centre, on x March 2024. The defendant is unable to recall if the vehicle was present on site on the day in question due to the alleged incident taking place close to five months prior to the matter first coming to the defendant’s attention via the claim form notification.

4. The defendant has not received, either on the alleged offence date, or by communication to the defendant’s home address any PCN (Parking Control Notice) or NTK (Notice to keeper). This matter has only been brought to the defendant’s attention on receipt of the Claim Form on 24th August 2024 and as such the claimant has provided zero proof of any violation to the defendant nor any opportunity to appeal any initial charge if indeed the violation took place as outlined in the POC. 

In section 2. As the POC does state the alleged violation and date etc and costs albeit £170 for the PCN itself which seems excessive and it also says PCN issued which is not true) do I need to amend the part in bold italics above? or leave as is

Thank you

Fruitcake

durdledoor91 said:

Thanks @KeithP so this link for defence adaptation is that correct? 
 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs/p1
On the AOS -  clear advice to to leave name as his but should/ can I still sign that as litigation friend or do you recommend I leave that as Dad's signature as well for now? Is it ok for me to put my address/ email there rather than his so I receive any correspondence though?

The AoS must be done in the name of the defendant. Anything else will cause massive problems. You, or someone else can (should be able to) represent the defendant at the hearing as a Lay Representative, but everything must be done by the defendant, (or in the defendant's name as if they are responding).

You can use any address/email address you wish as an address for service.

Coupon-mad

You aren't a Litigation Friend.  But no reason why Dad can't 'use' your email address for this stage. In other words, you do his admin.

There will be paperwork later that will arrive in the post. Make sure you see it quickly.

LDast

Can you confirm that UKPC were no longer contracted to operate at the location from July? You say the PoC state that the PCN was "issued" ( a bit of mendaciousness by DCB Legal as the PCN was actually issued after that date which is the date of the alleged parking contravention) in August.

Whilst this will be easy to see off as it is just one more of the many DCB Legal issued claims that, as long as the advice if followed and a defence (any will do) is filed, will eventually be discontinued. The modus operandi of the bottom-dwelling duo is to hope that the defendant is low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will capitulate out of ignorance as the hearing date approaches. As long as the defendant does not fold, they will discontinue before they have to pay the trial fee and go off in search of even lower-hanging fruit.

Regarding the contract UKPC have with the landowner, if it was no longer in force at the time they issued the PCN, they have obtained the keepers data unlawfully and you could sue them for breach of your GDPR. Please confirm if you are sure they no longer were contracted to operate at the location at the time of the alleged parking event.

durdledoor91

Thank you @Coupon-mad @Fruitcake - that's super clear will file the AOS with dad's details but my email address and will email the defence that way too - plus make sure he keeps all his post safe until I can check through it. @LDast the PCN was allegedly issued end March  they were still the parking company at the time of the supposed offence until July but of course we did not receive anything until 22nd August issue date of the claim form which is the only notification we have. Do you think then by issuing this after their contract has ended this is worth referencing? Thanks everyone it's so reassuring to have support here 

Gr1pr

A defence should ALWAYS question landowner authority, its probably in the template defence already, but leave all the background information etc until the WS stage in several months time , the defence just introduces topics to be discussed later 

Fruitcake

durdledoor91 said:

Thank you @Coupon-mad @Fruitcake - that's super clear will file the AOS with dad's details but my email address and will email the defence that way too - plus make sure he keeps all his post safe until I can check through it. @LDast the PCN was allegedly issued end March  they were still the parking company at the time of the supposed offence until July but of course we did not receive anything until 22nd August issue date of the claim form which is the only notification we have. Do you think then by issuing this after their contract has ended this is worth referencing? Thanks everyone it's so reassuring to have support here 

I believe you can put your postal address on the AoS and instruct the DPO of UKPC to erase his old address and replace it with your current address, and to instruct all their agents to do the same, and send the same to their solicitors, but again done as if it was him doing it. 
That way all post will come to your address so you won't have to worry about your dad losing it.

Make sure to use the word "erase" as it has a specific meaning where data processing is concerned.

Does your dad have a disability, whether cognitive or physical, that could be classed as him having protected characteristics and there fore covered by the requirements of The Equality Act2010.

durdledoor91

@Fruitcake thank you for the advice, I did the AOS with his address last night but will look to see if I can change it via the DPO as you say to UKPC and DB Legal, assuming I would need to indicate that to the court as well? He has no disability per se just more effects of old age generally so assume that's not an option unless there's specific protections for the over 80's?