Court summons received help please

pippinboo76

Hello
i am currently assisting a relative who has received a county court summons from dcb legal on behalf of euro car parks.
I have registered them on the MCOL and lodged an acknowledgment of service intending to defend . Claim is dated 9th July received 16th July acknowledgment lodged 20th (21st) I am now trying to assist with filing a defence.
please can you offer any assistance?
In summary car was used by a former neighbour who “paid” for parking. NTK received with “no valid pay and display/permit was purchased “ a copy of parking ticket and screen shot of bank statement was sent in response which was rejected with no further explanation. Then constant demands for payment over last 18 months and now summons issued. No further response/appeal was made as it was assumed that the ticket was issued due to Reg number not being complete on car park ticket.

Having now looked over everything provided to me I can see that the car was parked for longer than what was paid for so presumably why the response was rejected.
do we raise all of this in the defence as presumably that is then an admission ??
addiitionally if further explanation had been given at the time ie overstayed then may well have dealt with it differently and got the then neighbour to cough up!,,
any help with defence would be greatly appreciated 🙂

Gr1pr

They do not have a summons,  it's not a criminal matter   ( it's an important difference   )

Its an N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL by DCB Legal on behalf of ECP 

Use the template defence by coupon mad in announcements at the top of the forum 

Adjust paragraphs 2 & 3

Post the proposed 2 paragraphs below for critique 

Also post the issue date from the top right of the claim form below and a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below after hiding the VRM details first 

Paragraph 3 might state that the driver paid to park and proof of payment was submitted  ( for example,  but wont elaborate on the statement  , dont do their work for them  )  it's for the claimant to prove their case 

pippinboo76

Thanks very much I’ll look at the template defence this evening.
here’s s the other information requested 

Car1980

Defend the actual claim, not what it might be.

"A valid ticket WAS purchased and evidence was sent to the Claimant in the form of a bank statement and copy of the ticket. They simply ignored this and insisted on a £100 payment with no explanation or justification."

Plus the new defence template.

Theyll discontinue in the autumn anyway.

Gr1pr

They should get the AOS completed on MCOL ASAP,  by following the instructions in the second post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum,  if not done already,  because the 19 day deadline is close 

No problem if its already been completed 

The POC is claiming that no payment was made,  the defendant will be stating that payment was made by the driver and a copy of the payment was submitted at the time,  rebutting the POC 

pippinboo76

Thanks very much - I have already lodged the AOS on their behalf as I am aware that they will simply file for judgment if we didn’t!!

I will look properly at the defence template later today but I am grateful for all of your helpful comments 🙂

pippinboo76

Proposed paras 2and 3 for inclusion in defence template- keeping it as vague as possible- any further comments gratefully received 🙂

2. The allegation(s) and heads of cost are vague and liability is denied for the sum claimed, or at all. At the very least, interest should be disallowed; the delay in bringing proceedings lies with the Claimant. This also makes retrieving material documents/evidence difficult, which is highly prejudicial. The Defendant seeks fixed costs (CPR 27.14) and a finding of unreasonable conduct and further costs (CPR 46.5). The Defendant has little recollection of events, save as set out below and to admit that they were the registered keeper.

3. The defendant states that payment was made to park the vehicle by the driver at the time and subsequent proof of payment was submitted to the Claimant but disregarded.

Coupon-mad

Yep. All good! Submit the defence.

And while your case is quiet, we need you!

If you want to be part of the push to change things in future, it's very important that people like you join us to reply to the new Public Consultation, to tell the Government NOW that:

a) you have no faith in POPLA or the IAS and that there must be the SINGLE APPEALS SERVICE that the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 *almost* promised. As long as it is independent (and only ONE appeals service, not two involved in a race to the bottom) that will give a real option to resolve disputed cases out of court.

b).  THAT THE ENRICHMENT OF 'DEBT RECOVERY FEES' MUST BE COMPLETELY BANNED. DISPUTED CASES ARE NOT SOLVED BY A THUG THIRD PARTY DEMANDING MORE MONEY AND ENGINEERING A POINTLESS 'PAYMENT PLAN'.

c). Tell them about your experience and that your case proceeded to a claim precisely because (a) and (b) above mean there is no option, no safeguard for consumers EXCEPT court.

Responses are invited to the Consultation now:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-8-weeks-from-11th-july-2025/p1

Do it in August pleeease! We will discuss it all in more detail in the coming weeks on that thread.

pippinboo76

Thanks very much for the help and advice and yes will definitely respond to the consultation