Help Defending A Very Silly PCN From UK CAR PARK MANAGMENT LIMITED

Surj_iN

Well the date on the letter is dated 08/04 so I'm assuming that was the judgment date

Surj_iN

Can't sign into MCOL, password is incorrect 

Surj_iN

Johnersh said:

I'd have served by 04/04 to be fair.

Claim/PoC issued 03/03
Service +5 (08/03)
AoS must be +14 (by 22/03)
Defence must be +14 (by 05/04)

MCOL expressly states the service date for the claim form is the date, irrespective of business days. The cautious approach would always be to serve the day before, rather than after the weekend. The defence was largely done by 03/04.

When did the defence go in and when was judgment handed down? If the defence was filed before judgment or judgment incorrectly entered early, this is easily fixed.

So it was supposed to be in 05/04? 

Surj_iN

Here is the transcript after a conversation with agent at the Civil National Business Centre,   

Agent

We did not receive the defence from yourself, you had 33 days from the date of issue of the claim as you filed an Acknowledge of service with us but not a defence.

i sent it by email

Agent

when and do you have the auto reply?

i sent it in on the 07/04 and received a auto reply

Agent

It takes around 2 weeks to process defences, you can wait and see what the section does once they get to that defence, there is a possibilty they may refer it to a judge as it was received before the judgment was issued.

Agent

with the view of getting that judgment removed and your defence filed

when was the judgment issued?

Agent

08/04/25

Agent

what time was the defence sent in, before 4pm?

yes

it went in at 10.19 on the 07/04

am

Agent

Ok so the section should refer it to a judge as 07/04/25 was your last day to file your defence so it was in time.

so the judgment letter i received is not valid?

and if so what should i do?

Agent

at present a judgment has been issued, it would be once its referred to a judge and decides the judgmnt is not valid then it would be removed and your defence then filed.

so the defence was missed?

Agent

not necessarily missed, they havent got to your defence yet.

my apologies but what shall i do, wait?

i unsure of the process

Agent

yes, as long as it was received here at the CNBC no later than 4pm on the 07/04/25, we should be able to refer that to a district judge to get that jdgmnt removed and the defence filed.

sorry why has a judgment been made before my defence has been acknowledged

so i dont need to panic?

Agent

as its an online process if things are sent in by post or email that does not put a stop on the case to stop any judgment requests, if you were able to file the defence online that most likely would have stopped the judgment.

Agent

the claimant was at liberty from the 08/04/25 to request a judgment online, there was nothing on file to stop the request from going through, therefore the judgment was entered.

So will the judge revisit the claim

Agent

it will be referred to a judge to make the decision based on you getting your defence in on time.

and whats the time scale on that?

and when will i hear back?

Agent

2 weeks or more for it to be referred

so should i do anything now or just wait?

Agent

Did you receive an auto reply to say we received your defence?

yes

Agent

Ok keep a hold of that and the original email you sent, if anything does go awry we will need that from you so we can refer it to a judge. But at present you can only wait.

Sure

Agent

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

So this happens a lot?

I'm just sad my defence wasn't seen in time

Agent

In comparison to the amount of responses we receive a day, its a very small percentage that this happens to.

So has the judgment been put on pause?

Agent

I can understand where you are coming from but the processes for online claims isn't what we would expect it to be, there are scenario's like yours for example where things fall through the cracks.

As now time is ticking to pay

Agent

A judgment cannot be put on pause, it can only be cancelled or set aside.

Sure i understand

So I will hear from you soon? Via email, mail?

Agent

once the section which processes defences, gets to your defence they will have to refer it to a judge as it was received in time.

Agent

in the post.

so the judgment letter i received is dated 08/04 and in theory i have 30 days to pay the claim, so if theit takes longer then 30 days for it to be referred to a judge i would be in breach of the CCJ?

even though i had sent my defence in on time

Agent

wait for the results of it being referred to a judge, in the scenario where months have gone by after a CCJ is entered, as long as you have the evidences you sent in time we would refer to a judge then also, with the vies to get the jdgmnt removed and your defence filed.

Agent

we can't unfortunately guarantee its going to be removed to give you peace of mind, but I'll put it this way, I don't think I have ever seen in this scenario the judgment not being removed.

Thank you for you kind words, i do hope this is resolved soon

It's soo stressful

Agent

I can only imagine.

And it's just a silly parking fine, o well

Agent

would there be anything else I can help you with today?

No i think that it

Thank you so much

Agent

You're welcome.

Agent

Than you for your contact today.

Agent

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Me too

Bye

Agent

Bye

Coupon-mad

as long as it was received here at the CNBC no later than 4pm on the 07/04/25, we should be able to refer that to a district judge to get that judgment removed and the defence filed.

Yep.  That is what will happen, please don't worry!

They are wrong on one thing, in that you DIDN'T have to have emailed it before 4pm on 7th!

In fact, you just had to beat the Claimant in terms of time. So even an email sent on April 8th (a late defence) 5 minutes before the C requested judgment, would mean YOU prevail.  That's the case law; a rule change clarified all this in 2020, the Defendant wins the race:

https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/notes/litigation/2020-02/rule-change-to-clarify-default-judgment-cant-be-entered-if-acknowledgement-of-service-or-defence-filed-before-judgment

I would re-forward the defence and acknowledgement proof to them and refer to the online chat you just had, and say you await confirmation that the improper CCJ is set aside by a judge because the defence was in and acknowledged, a day before the Claimant requested judgment.

Johnersh

Agreed,  yep.  Defence filed pre- judgment means that the default judgment is wrongly entered. 

Surj_iN

Phew, breath! Thanks for your help, I was beginning to panic there. This whole things has been a bit overwhelming at times. I'll do as you say and re-forward the proof I sent my defence in time. I suppose it's just a waiting game now?       

Coupon-mad

Yes and it does only take a couple of weeks to be reset.

Surj_iN

Reset as in the default judgment wrongly entered set aside and a new one made?

Coupon-mad

Reset to where it should have been.  Defended case, of course.

Same issue from this person.  All too common:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81396615/#Comment_81396615