Civil Enforcement Ltd County Court Claim | Defence Help Needed (Overstay)

muzammil786

I’ve received a County Court claim from Civil Enforcement Ltd regarding a parking charge at a Starbucks car park. I’ve already filed the AoS on 15th Sep. I’m now at the defence stage and need some help.

To give you the context, this was three years ago (March 2023) around midnight. The car was a motability car parked at the disabled bay with the blue badge correctly displayed.

Although the claim does not provide a clear violation, I recall from the earlier letters that this was related to staying over the time limit (90 min). The sign displayed at the disabled bay did not state any such T&C however. I am attaching the sign for evidence:

I have visited the place once again to confirm and found the 90 min limit sign was displayed on the other side of the car park which I could not have spotted esp in the dark.

The 10 para template defence suggests

IF THE POC FAIL TO STATE THE BREACH (e.g. Civil Enforcement Ltd, Gladstones & Moorside cases currently all fail to specify an allegation) BRIEFLY REFER TO CEL v CHAN & CPMS v AKANDE.

But I see that the claim does mention about in/out time which might be sufficient to allege this is overstaying?

Should I use the boilerplate text that they fail to provide particulars, or should I mention that the signage was improper at the disabled bay where the car was parked? Apologies if I am overthinking.

For reference, here is the claim form:

Your advice will be greatly appreciated and I am really thankful for your help.

Gr1pr

Actual breach is not pleaded, so use the Chan and Akande defence template in announcements

MrJenkinsEsq

There's that up to again.

HoneydewLemon

Am I missing something, or is it complete nonsense that the only term on that sign is 'Blue Badge Holders only' and then below in the small print, in bold, is 'Blue badge holders are not exempt from these terms.'

Also there is no indication anywhere on that sign that one should have to look elsewhere for additional terms when parking in that space.

MrJenkinsEsq

The defence answers the claim as pleaded, not the claim you think CEL meant. Their particulars don't say what term was broken, which puts the burden on you to guess and then leaves you stuck with the guess. Which isn't the right way around.

Use the template with the Chan & Akande paragraph as para 3, which asks the court to strike the claim out for that reason. If they strike it out, job done.

If the court makes CEL file proper particulars, you can amend your defence to answer them. If it doesn't, CEL's witness statement will spell out their case, and yours deals with the other signs, time limits and visibility.

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 08/09/26 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 12/10/26

As stated use the template defence that refers to Chan & Akande

muzammil786

Thank you all for your valuable advice.

I have drafted Section 2 and 3 as follows:

2. The Defendant denies liability for the sum claimed, or at all. Due to the Claimant’s substantial delay in issuing these proceedings, considering the alleged incident dating back over three years, the Defendant’s recollection of events is limited, and retrieving material evidence has been rendered exceptionally difficult. This delay is highly prejudicial to the Defendant's ability to defend the claim other than admitting to being the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle at the material time.

3. Furthermore, the POC fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule ("CPR") 16.4(1)(e) and Practice Direction 16, paragraph 7.5, as they fail to set out the concise facts relied upon, including the precise conduct alleged to constitute a breach of terms and conditions. In Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan (Ref. E7GM9W44, 15 August 2023),HHJ Murch held on appeal that "the particulars of the claim as filed and served did not set out the conduct which amounted to the breach in reliance upon which the claimant would be able to bring a claim for breach of contract".Similarly, inCar Park Management Services Ltd v Akande (Ref. K0DP5J30, 10 May 2024),HHJ Evans held that"Particulars of Claim have to set out the basic facts upon which a party relies in order to prove his or her claim".The Claimant’s POC in the present case suffers from the exact same fatal defect. The Defendant respectfully invites the Court to strike out the claim pursuant to CPR 3.4(2)(a).

Can anyone please review and correct?

Thanks a lot.

Le_Kirk

If you copied that from the template defence, with the links to the special one where the POC is not pleaded, then you are correct.

muzammil786

Thank you everyone.

Defence submitted today via MCOL.

Now waiting for the NQ.

I will provide updates accordingly.

muzammil786

I have received the claimant's copy of N180 by post last week. But it's been several weeks after filing the defence (20th Sep) and still not received my own. Should I download the form from internet and submit the DQ by email, or should I really be waiting to receive one first?

Thanks in advance.

Gr1pr

You should actually be waiting until your MCOL claim history says its been posted, not waiting for delivery

Then you can download it, fill it in and follow the 8 steps in the defence template thread in announcements near the top of the forum

Nobody should be waiting for paperwork that may go astray