Help needed with county court reply please

r8chill91

Hello! 

I’m wondering if anybody would be able to help me with some paragraphs in defence pretty please (I have asd/adhd and all of this is extremely overwhelming 😅) …

I read through the newbies thread, I have submitted my acknowledgment of service (a few weeks ago) and have basically procrastinated on the actually defence letter but now is the time! I will copy the template in the newbies thread, super helpful! But I’m not really sure what to write as my own personal paragraphs?! 

Essentially - I parked in a car park in Norwich, paid £11 for the parking ticket to stay, all was fine. Evidently though, I parked in a bay that was for residents only, the public bays I should have parked in were in the middle of the car park 🙄 I didn’t realise this until the ticket was slapped on my windscreen! I had a look around the car park and there were no clear signs to say the bay I parked in was private, the only signs on the walls were either covered in foliage, or covered by vehicles that had parked so close to the wall they weren’t obvious, and the sign next to the ticket machine is about 7 foot off the ground so again, not obvious! There are no markings on the car park floor to indicate those residential bays are different etc, so there are signs, but it’s all a bit sneaky and feels like it’s been done at bare minimum so that it’s not completely clear! Plus, the car park was literally empty when I got a ticket, so it just seems totally unjust to now want nearly £300 for something I’d already paid £11 for! 

Now, how do I put that into words for a defence please because I’m utterly useless at all of this stuff! I would really appreciate some help with this 🙏🏼

Thank you in advance. 

Gr1pr

Post your draft paragraphs 2 & 3 below first 

Then you can get advice on any wording for paragraph 3.1, if anything at all

Post a redacted picture of the POC on the lower left of the claim form after hiding the VRM details first 

Post the issue date from the top right of the claim form 

Post the date that the AOS was completed on MCOL 

Post the name of the parking company plus the name of any lawyers too

r8chill91

Ok as follows:

The issue date is 30/05/2025

The AOS was completed on 04/06/2025

The parking company are Norwich Traffic Control, and the legal representative for them is Rohan Krishnarao. 

Wording this sort of stuff really isn’t my strong point so I’m still drafting paragraph 3 now, I will post what I have shortly

r8chill91

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 and driver.

3. The defendant denies liability for the claim. At the time of the alleged contravention, the defendant paid and displayed the correct parking fee and parked in what appeared to be a standard, unrestricted bay. The claim appears to rely on the assertion that the bay in question is located in a restricted area of the car park. However, the signage purporting to indicate any such restriction was inadequate and not sufficiently visible to inform a reasonable motorist.

3.1. Specifically, there was no clear signage upon entry of the car park. Signage near the bay was obscured by overgrown plants and foliage, or by other vehicles, rendering it unreadable. Additionally, the signage located at the nearest ticket machine was placed at an unreasonable height and contained text in such a small font that it was effectively illegible. There were no ground markings, coloured lines, or any other surface indicators to denote that the bay was restricted or subject to different terms than the rest of the car park.

3.2. The defendant contends that no clear or prominent signage was in place to notify drivers of any special restrictions, and therefore no valid contract could have been formed. In accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and principles established in case law such as ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, any terms relied upon by the claimant must be clearly communicated and transparent. In this instance, the claimant has failed to meet that standard. The defendant therefore requests that the claim be dismissed in its entirety.

Gr1pr

The Legal company is B W Legal,  irrespective of the name at the bottom of the claim form ( company,  not individual   )

Thank you for the information 

r8chill91

Ah yes, sorry about that I get what you mean now 🤣

r8chill91

Gr1pr said:

Post your draft paragraphs 2 & 3 below first 

Then you can get advice on any wording for paragraph 3.1, if anything at all

Post a redacted picture of the POC on the lower left of the claim form after hiding the VRM details first 

Post the issue date from the top right of the claim form 

Post the date that the AOS was completed on MCOL 

Post the name of the parking company plus the name of any lawyers too

Is the above information enough? Does all look ok?