Defendant in County Court claim — private parking operator — POFA non-compliance — advice needed on

oddsop

Background

I am the registered keeper of a vehicle. I have received a County Court claim from a private parking operator (trading under one name but filing the claim under their registered company name). Total claimed: £263.50.

I have filed an acknowledgement of service and intend to defend in full. My deadline to file the defence is 13 June 2026.

Timeline

• February 2025: Alleged overstay at a retail park
• May 2025: Notice to Keeper issued (104 days after the alleged incident)
• September 2025: I wrote to the operator disputing the charge on the basis that the Notice to Keeper was issued outside the 14-day window required by POFA 2012 Schedule 4
• September 2025: The operator replied with a contradictory and incoherent response. They claimed they did not issue under POFA 2012, therefore my argument was irrelevant. They simultaneously asserted keeper liability via ANPR. They then directed me to liaise with their debt recovery agent rather than themselves, effectively washing their hands of the dispute
• August 2025: Case passed to a debt recovery company, who chased for £170
• October 2025: I wrote to the solicitors upon receipt of their Letter Before Claim, enclosing my original dispute letter to the operator setting out my POFA arguments in full
• 23 October 2025: The solicitors replied dismissing my arguments without engaging with any of the specific points raised, simply restating that £170 was owed and demanding payment within 7 days
• May 2026: County Court claim issued in the operator's registered company name, different to the trading name used on all original notices and throughout all previous correspondence

My arguments

1. POFA non-compliance. The Notice to Keeper was issued 104 days after the alleged incident. POFA 2012 Schedule 4 requires it to be issued within 14 days if the operator wishes to pursue the registered keeper rather than the proven driver. They missed this window by 90 days.
2. The operator cannot have it both ways. They claim they did not issue under POFA 2012 and therefore my POFA argument is irrelevant. However, if they are not complying with POFA, they have no lawful basis to pursue the registered keeper rather than the proven driver. The only mechanism available to pursue a keeper rather than a driver is POFA. They cannot opt out of POFA while simultaneously relying on keeper liability.
3. The charge is a penalty, not a genuine pre-estimate of loss. The charge of £100 rose to £170 and is now claimed at £263.50 including court and legal fees. The original £100 bears no relation to any actual loss suffered by the operator from an overstay.
4. Inconsistent conduct by the claimant. The operator directed me during the dispute process to deal with their debt recovery agent rather than themselves, yet they are the named claimant in the court proceedings. All original notices used their trading name. The court claim uses their registered company name. This inconsistency in how they presented themselves throughout is relevant to how seriously they engaged with the dispute.
5. Neither the operator nor their solicitors engaged with the substance of my arguments at any point. My dispute letter set out clear POFA arguments. The operator's response was incoherent and contradictory. The solicitors' response ignored the arguments entirely and simply demanded payment. At no point has the claimant or anyone acting on their behalf addressed the 104-day gap or provided any coherent legal basis for pursuing the registered keeper.

Questions

• Can you help me draft a county court defence based on the above?
• Is the ANPR/non-POFA argument the operator is relying on likely to hold up?
• Are there any additional arguments I should be raising?
• Does the 104-day Notice to Keeper gap give me a strong enough defence to get this struck out entirely?

I have all original correspondence available if needed.

Gr1pr

Name the private parking company claimant involved and any lawyers involved too

Which 2 parking company names are involved here ?

Post the Issue date from the top right of the claim form below

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

You will be using a version of the template defence in announcements near the top of the forum by coupon mad, regardless of the details etc

oddsop

Name the private parking company claimant involved and any lawyers involved:

• Claimant: Anchor Security Services Limited (trading as Ocean Parking)
• Lawyers: Moorside Legal Services Limited

Which 2 parking company names are involved:

• Ocean Parking
• Anchor Security Services Limited

Issue date from top right of claim form:

• 11 May 2026

Coupon-mad

You can copy the Smart Parking defence posted on 12th April by @Meltof and just adapt the wording where it says this Claimant 'has never used' the POFA to:

admitted on appeal that they had not complied with the POFA

Job done!

Follow the 8 steps in the Template Defence announcement thread but use the PoFA version by Meltof. No extra link needed.

Gr1pr

As Above, dont try war and peace at this early stage , keep it simple

Your actual deadline is 4pm on Monday 15th June ( never on a weekend. )

oddsop

Im really new to the forum - Im struggling to find

Smart Parking defence posted on 12th April by @Meltof 

I'm so sorry to bother you guys - but where do i find it.

Gr1pr

Click on their username above, click on the comments in their profile ( on the right hand side. ) select the 12th April comment

Copy and paste their template, then adapt it as described by coupon mad above

oddsop

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82016821#Comment_82016821

Thank you so much!! Found, amended with my details inserted and submitted!

thank you so much x

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 11/05/26 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 15/06/26. Your assumption/calculation of 13/06 is incorrect because 13th is a weekend, therefore you have two extra days.