Defending against Parking Eye Claim form for visit to GP

Aopg

I have received a County Court Claim Form from DCB Legal on behalf of ParkingEye relating to a parking event at a GP surgery used for NHS out-of-hours services on a Saturday in September 2025.

The facts:

• The driver attended the site for a legitimate NHS out-of-hours appointment accompanying a child
• The driver used the on-site registration kiosk in good faith upon arrival
• The registered keeper is not the driver — the driver is a family member
• The practice has provided a letter confirming the registration was entered into the ParkingEye system and that they submitted a cancellation request to ParkingEye prior to the court claim being issued
• A clinical letter confirming attendance on the date in question is available
• The practice website advertises patient parking with no weekend restriction
• We didn't do an initial appeal as was trying to go through practice and struggled to get evidence from 111 and then GP. They didn't request cancellation until May 5th but still three weeks before the claim form was issued.
• the parking charge letter just says that we somehow didnt comply with the signage ( we are trying to get a picture of the sign but it wasn't on the kiosk we entered the reg in or mentioned by the receptionist).

POFA position:

• The only ParkingEye letter we can locate is a Parking Charge Notice dated 4 days after the event
• We cannot locate a Notice to Keeper
• The claim form pursues the keeper primarily as driver, alternatively as keeper under POFA 2012

Procedural position:

• Claim form dated 27 May 2026
• AOS filed promptly ( did on 4th day as didn't catch you should wait 5 days)
• Defence deadline approximately 14 June 2026
• We have drafted a defence based on the MSE template

Specific questions:

1. Is the POFA argument strong given we cannot locate a Notice to Keeper?
2. Does the practice cancellation request significantly strengthen the defence or was it too late in the game?
3. Any specific advice on DCB Legal cases going to hearing?

Gr1pr

The postal PCN dated 4 days after the incident date, is the NTK, a postal Notice to the Keeper

Check it for POFA2012 compliance, because it clearly passes the 14 days test

See if the POFA2012 warning notice is on the back near the top

Properly defended DCB Legal cases tend to be discontinued just before the hearing fee deadline date, see the 855 cases in the discontinuations thread by Umkomaas for proof

A landowner cancellation is definitely a good defence point

Your deadline is 33 days after the issue date, not 14th June

Coupon-mad

"We have drafted a defence based on the MSE template"

The special linked one for cases where the breach isn't pleaded of course. In the Template Defence, linked there twice.

Please don't post it here! No need.

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 27/05/26 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 29/06/26

Aopg

Apologies for delayed response, dealing with family caring responsibilities.

.Thanks very much, I should have read more carefully re the NTK. They do cover themselves on the back.

Sorry I am not sure what you mean by the special template. I thought I needed to use the template and at point 3 provide the further information like this….. Do I not need to provide the evidence that I had parked appropriately.

Gr1pr

You have not shown us a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form, so its impossible to decide which defence is best, but if the breach is not pleaded then follow the advice by coupon mad above

NO evidence is submitted with the defence

Aopg

Sorry here it is

IMG_0716.jpg

Gr1pr

Breach not pleaded

Coupon-mad

Of course the breach isn't pleaded (we knew this) so as advised already, you are obviously using the special linked defence for cases where the breach isn't pleaded. It's right there for you in the Template Defence thread, linked twice to stop people missing it.

Please don't copy that bespoke defence here. We don't want to check it on thread after thread and there's nothing for you to add.

(I wasn't talking about the NTK).

Aopg

I have read through the newbie thread and will do so again, appreciate you are very familiar with this and are very fluent with the terms. I am new to this and for whatever reason am having a hard time with the language. I don't understand what breach not pleaded means. I thought by inserting the defence I was following the directions on the thread. From you are saying I go back to the template and just send it with only the specific details like name etc. at top and bottom and everything else remains as is since they have sent a generic claim? Never mind, I get it so send the 3. one saying the POC fails to state the breach. Thanks for your help.

Gr1pr

It is a generic claim

A breach could be non payment, or being outside of a marked bay, or a wheel over the line, or an overstay

Breach not pleaded means that they have not made it clear as to what it was that generated the pcn, yet they could have stated what it actually was instead of using a catch all there must be something in the site rules, maybe we will tell you later on in several months time

Imagine being arrested by the police, asking what law or rule you broke and being told that they know but aren't telling you

How can you defend against a silent allegation. ? Think about it ! A generic claim is refuted by a generic template

They could have pleaded the alleged breach, but didn't, a conscious choice, or they don't know