Smart Parking/DCB Legal court claim form received (x2)

Hoppingfrog

Sorry for the radio silence - had a heavy few days!

Gr1pr said:

You cannot add to a submitted defence,  so no

But next year,  a few weeks before the hearing date,  you get to submit your Witness Statement plus Exhibits bundle to the court and to dcblegal,  so that is probably what you are inferring to, that point is when you have your say

Think of a defence as , how do you plead   ?  Not guilty 

Tell us why  ?  I will in my Witness Statement or on the stand 

Simplistic I know,  but no comment or not guilty tend to start things off in criminal cases, so as this is a multi stage process,  save it for the appropriate point,  next year,  perhaps in spring or summer 

That makes perfect sense, thank you.

Coupon-mad said:

There is an entire section about WS and evidence stage in post 2 of the NEWBIES thread.

Thank you. There are so many links within that section I always go off on a tangent!

Hoppingfrog

Le_Kirk said:

With an issue date of 25/11/25 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 29/12/25

With an issue date of 03/12/25 and providing you complete(d) the AoS after 08/12/25 and before 22/12/25 your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 05/01/26
My wife and I are fighting 2 x parking tickets received over 4 years ago (for 2 separate occasions on the same day)

Is this for two different cars?  If not, how come your wife AND you received PCNs?
Check out the Smart Parking group thread: -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6642762/smart-parking-claim-via-dcb-legal-group-info-thread/p1

Is it not 14 days from the issue date, and then an additional 14 days after submitting the AoS?

So with an issue date of 25/11, and AoS submitted in a timely manner, defence deadline is 23/12,
and,
with an issue date of 3/12, and AoS submitted in a timely manner (16/12), then defence deadline is 31/12?

I'm more curious than anything else. I want to leave it until the last minute before submitting anything, but don't want to mess things up by doing so

Gr1pr

Service date is 5 days after the issue date,  then it's 14 days after the Service date, making 19 days after the issue date,  but if the AOS stage is completed correctly,  it adds a further 14 days for the defence deadline,  making 33 days after the issue date,  providing that its not a weekend or bank holiday , which makes it the next business day afterwards 

But

Submit the defence when it's ready to go,  there is absolutely no need to delay the final draft, no need to get to the last day , minute or second,  so BEFORE,  definitely not after

Hoppingfrog

Thank you for clarifying that.
I definitely understand and agree with your point. My main aim was to drag it out for as long as possible, for no good reason really, other than I can.
I'll submit my defence at the weekend, and submit my wife's AoS as well.

Gr1pr

The courts will drag it out by months, next year,  so a couple of weeks is neither here nor there,  the current waiting time between mediation and a hearing date is quoted as 6 to 9 months,  it can even be over year

Le_Kirk

On your Claim form you will see this: -

You must send or submit either the completed acknowledgment of service form or 

a defence to the court within 14 days of the date of service. If you send or submit

the acknowledgment of service you must send or submit a defence to the court to arrive

no later than 28 days from the date of service. Date of service is five days after date of issue.