PCN Parking Eye Retail Park - Help

MeterBeater

Hi MSE community, 

First of all apologies in advance if this thread has been covered somewhere before but I would greatly appreciate some thoughts/advice.

I have a PCN originally from Parking Eye for a retail park in the London Area. This was issued as I had stayed in a FREE parking area for longer than the 'allowable' time. The time allowed was three hours and I was in the parking area for 3 hours and 11 minutes. The cost of the fine was £100 but if paid in 14 days reduced to £60. My partner and I actually spent over £200 in various shops at the retail park. 

This happened back in Nov 2022 and I initially contested the PCN through parking eyes online portal with no response. I then received three debt recovery letters in 2023 from 'dcbl' (direct collections bailiffs Ltd) of which I ignored. More recently (October 2024) I received a Letter of Claim from DCB Legal. The cost had risen to £170.

This led me to investigate a little bit more and I came across this MSE forum. I emailed DCB Legal with the template given on the newbies section (17th of this month) and contacted the managing agent of the retail park. Whilst waiting for a response I then received the Claim Form from HM courts and tribunal service (19th of this month) and the cost went up to £283. I carried out the acknowledgment of service last night as per the info on the newbies section. 

Today I have recieved a response from both DCB Legal and the Managing agent.

Part of DCB Legal's response is 'To assist the Court in achieving its overriding objective, our Client may be prepared to settle this case. I can confirm our Client would be agreeable to £100 in full and final settlement of this Claim. The current outstanding balance is £283.64.' (Forum rules state I cannot post images yet).

The Managing agent has requested someone in their team to remove the PCN as a good will gesture.

My main questions are - Can the managing agent still cancel the PCN even though the claim form and AoS have been done? Do I have much of a case if it goes to court? Should I even entertain or respond to DCB Legal?

Any info is much appreciated! Apologies if this is a long one!

Nellymoser

You can't post links yet but I'm sure you can post images with the square picture and until your Newbie changes to Forumite you can't edit or delete your posts. 
I'll leave the experts to answer your questions. 

KeithP

MeterBeater said:

I then received the Claim Form from HM courts and tribunal service (19th of this month) and the cost went up to £283. I carried out the acknowledgment of service last night as per the info on the newbies section. 

Hello and welcome.

A court claim can be cancelled right up to the point where the parties walk through the courtroom door.

Can you please show us a picture of the Particulars of Claim - with all your personal detail hidden of course.

I think you are telling us that the Issue Date on the Claim Form is 19th November and that you filed an Acknowledgment of Service on 25th November. Is that right?

With a Claim Issue Date of 19th November, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 23rd December 2024 to file a Defence.

That's nearly 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 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'.

Coupon-mad

You can post pictures. Show us the POC.

The time allowed was three hours and I was in the parking area for 3 hours and 11 minutes.

Easy one and the D can deny overstaying (insufficient grace periods). The case will 99% likely be discontinued in 2025 before any hearing. You will pay nothing and will learn something about the court process.

All good life experience. No risk. No CCJ.

  

MeterBeater

Hi both, please see the POC image below. 



I have had a response from the land agent but the parking company has changed and is no longer parking eye so now the landowner is waiting for a response from parking eye. 

Yes Keith you are correct 19th issue of claim date and 25th I did the AoS.

Will put the defence together ASAP and maybe post it on here for you to review if that's okay? 

Thanks both for the prompt responses! 

Gr1pr

Only post the few paragraphs that you change, not the rest of the unchanged template defence 

KeithP

You need to be aware that those Particulars of Claim are totally inadequate.
Particularly this bit...

So it is alleged that the driver 'breached the terms on the signs (the contract)'.

And that allegation is then repeated - 'Reason: Vehicle Remained On Private Property In Breach Of The Prominently Displayed Terms And Conditions'.

Nowhere in those Particulars is there any explanation of what the driver is alleged to have done wrong.

This will be an easy win.

Coupon-mad

Which the Template Defence already explains and provides an alternative wording for you.

Umkomaas

Despite some possible cancellation by the retailer park, even if received, now you're in the legal process you must continue with that until you are told by DCB Legal and the court that the claim is formally discontinued. 

MeterBeater

Evening All, 

Apologies its taken some time to write but please see my draft defence below:

"Due to the passage of two years since the date in question, the Defendant's recollection is understandably vague. From what he can recall, he and his partner visited the retail center for Christmas shopping. He parked in an available designated parking bay and spent the morning browsing the shops on site. He departed some time later and returned home. Subsequently, he received a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) by post, indicating that he had overstayed in a time-restricted parking area.

The Defendant was unaware of any time restrictions at the retail center. He did not observe any signage near his vehicle indicating the terms and conditions of use. The signage present was obscured and unreadable from his parking location, thus failing to adequately alert motorists.

Upon reviewing the PCN, the Defendant noted that the charge was issued for exceeding the allowable three-hour period by eleven minutes. According to the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC), a grace period of at least 10 minutes should be provided for drivers to return to their vehicles and exit the parking area. Had ParkingEye adhered to these standards, the Defendant's overstay would have been reduced to a mere one minute.

Additionally, due to council roadworks in the vicinity at that time, entry and exit from the retail park were significantly delayed, making it challenging to leave within the allotted time. On the day in question, the Defendant spent over £200 at various stores within the retail park."

This will be what I write in section 3 of the template.

Your thoughts are much appreciated. On a side note Parking Eye have emailed me directly following the land agent contacting them, stating they would accept £70 for settlement. 

KeithP

MeterBeater said:

Your thoughts are much appreciated. 

My first thought is...
Why no mention of Chan?

My second thought is...
By using words like "He did this...", "He did that...", why are you effectively stating that the Defendant was driving?