Defence Letter for PCN help

[CatKins]

Hi
I need some help to complete my defence for a County Court Claim I received on 25/11/2020 dated 23/11/2020 regarding a Parking Charge from claimant Premier Parking Logistics.

PoC:
1. The Defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s) issued to vehicle XXXX at St Johns Car Park
2. The PCN details are 11/10/2019, 9XXXX3 (no time stated)
3. The PCN(s) was issued on private land owned or managed by C. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms on Cs signs (the contract), thus incurring the PCN(s)
4. The Driver agreed to pay within 28 days but did not. D is liable as the driver or keeper. Despite requests, the PCN(s) is outstanding. The contract entitles C to damages AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS:
1. £160.00 being the total sum of the PCN(s) and damages.
2. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1994 from that date hereof at a daily rate of £0.04 until judgment or sooner
3. Costs and court fees
Amount Claimed: £174.18
Court fee: £25.00
Legal representatives: £50.00
Total: £249.18

The Letter of Claim states the PCN issue date but no time, the reason no ticket and the location St John’s Car Park however if they mean St John’s Car Park in Harborne there are two car parks East and West.
I am pretty sure that on 11/10/2019 my then boyfriend drove me in my car so I could meet up with a couple of my friends at the Brewers Social in Harborne just before 6pm. He drove as I was unable to drive due to a knee injury. He parked in St John’s Car Park East at the back of the pub so I didn’t have to walk far on my crutches then he dropped off some clothes for me at the charity shop nearby, before leaving. The most time he must have been parked was 10 mins. Neither of us saw any signs and I was never aware of any fine.
I then received a Legal Recovery Action letter dated 23.01.20 from a Debt Recovery company DCBL Ltd, which stated that I had failed to pay them £160.00. The letter did not say what this was for so I presumed it was probably a hoax. However, I rang them up just to check and asked for the details to be sent to my email address.
I had no further correspondence until the Letter of Claim which was sent on 12/10/2020. I did not receive this or the County Court Claim until 26/11/2020 after returning home from self-isolating with my current boyfriend.

Therefore:
I was not the driver
I did not have a PCN
I didn’t receive a NTK

I Have:
Been to the Car Park and there is a sign as you enter to the left of the car park but it could be obscured by vans or lorries as it is situated in front of one of the bays. It has a lot of wording taped over and doesn’t have the name or details of the claimant PPL or any contract details as alleged in the PoC. It looks the same as Google time line March 2019 - I have uploaded photo.
Acknowledged the claim and have until 23.12.20 to submit my Defence – does this need to be emailed by 21st Dec?
Sent a SAR to The PPL and a CPR 31.14 request to DCBL using your standard template requesting:

1. The issued PCN.
2. The Contract/Signage
3. Drivers agreement to pay within 28 days
4. The requests for payment

Had an email from PPL requesting vehicle reg and a form of identification to confirm my identity.

DCBL have replied by letter stating that at this stage as a claim has been issued they are not obliged to provide documentation unless ordered by the court. This means I am uncertain of all the details they have to be able to put forward a defence! I have sent an email stating they are obliged to provide the information as the claim has not yet been allocated to track. Not heard back todate with any!!

Do I have a contract with PPL as there is no mention of their name on the signage.
I would be very grateful if someone could advise me on how to word a Defence as the deadline is fast approaching.

[ostell]

Sign in on line using the details and password on the form. Try and acknowledge the claim, you are very close to the limit. Put nothing in the defence. You have 33 days from the date of issue to get your defence to the court.

So your only contact has been from DCBL and no other indication about a possible debt?

[CatKins]

Hi Ostell
Thanks for getting back to me
I acknowledge the claim on 27/11/2020 which was dated 20/11/2020 so I think I have until 23.12.20 to submit my Defence
I have had nothing more from DCBL on supplying the docs requested
I could do with some help on what to say as my defence

[ostell]

• You admit to being the keeper
• You deny being the driver at the alleged time because of injury to your knee
• In the car park where the breach is alleged to have occurred later inspection showed there is no name on the signs so there could be no contract created with the claimant.
• the claimant is unsure about who exactly they are claiming against. The uncertainty makes preparing a defence more difficult.
• There has been no PCN received from the claimant on the alleged date therefore under schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 paragraph 9 (4) the notice was not received within the relevant period of 14 days and therefore there can be no keeper liability.
• You do not believe the claimant has a contract to operate on that site and require the the contract to be provided to the court.
• you have requested that the claimants solicitor produce all the documents mentioned in the case under CPR 31.14 but they have refused the request.
• You ask the courts permission on receipt of these details to resubmit your defence and the cost to be borne by the claimant.

And anything else that others might point you to. Post up your response for critique before you send.

[CatKins]

Hi I have written up a draft statement which I think needs to be sent online tomorrow as the deadline is 23.12.20.

Could someone

Sample of Defence

IN THE COUNTY COURT
Claim Number:

Between

PPL
&

(MY NAME)
Defendant

Each and every allegation in the Claimants Particulars of Claim is denied by the Defendant.

It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question.
.
The Claimant has no cause of action against the Defendant on the following grounds:-

1. The Defendant was not the driver of the vehicle on the date in question. A witness statement will collaborate that the Defendant was not physically able to drive due to a knee injury.

2. There has been no PCN received from the claimant on the alleged date therefore under schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 paragraph 9 (4) the notice was not received within the relevant period of 14 days and therefore there can be no keeper liability.

3. In the car park where the breach is alleged to have occurred later inspection showed there is no name on the sign so there could be no contract created with the claimant, therefore no entitlement to damages is due.

4. I do not believe the claimant has a contract to operate on that site and require that the contract to be provided to the court.

5. I have requested that the claimant’s solicitor produce all the documents mentioned in the case under CPR 31.14 but they have refused these requests.

6. I ask the courts permission on receipt of these details to re submit my defence and the cost to be borne by the claimant.

I believe that the facts stated in this Statement of defence, (date I intend to send) are true."


Signed

Is this ok and should I also state that I have not had an answer to my SAR request from PPL?

Any advice would be appreciated.

CatKins

[ostell]

Sorry, missed it first time, there is a name at the top but insufficient information to create a contract. APCOA Parking, in that form, is not registered at companies house and no contact information is given on the sign therefore a contract cannot be created. 3 will need modifying. Sorry

in 2 at the end modify to cannot transfer liabity from the driver to the defendant as the keeper

In general change "I" to "the defendant"

[CatKins]

Ok thanks I have redone 2 and 3 as follows:

2. There has been no PCN received from the claimant on the alleged date therefore under schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 paragraph 9 (4) the notice was not received within the relevant period of 14 days and therefore liability cannot transfer from the driver to the defendant as the keeper.

3. In the car park where the breach is alleged to have occurred later inspection showed a sign situated in front of one of the bays which could be obscured by a van or a large SUV. Letters partially covered on the top of the signage do not correspond to the claimant’s name and there are no contact details, so there could be no contract created with the claimant, therefore no entitlement to damages is due.

What do you think?

[ostell]

. In the car park where the breach is alleged to have occurred later inspection showed a sign situated in front of one of the bays which could be obscured by a van or a large SUV parked in that position. The lettering at the top of the signage is partially covered by marks. The apparent name that is on the sign is not a name that is registered with companies house nor are there any contact details, so there could be no contract created with the claimant and therefore there can be no claim because of an alleged breach of a non existent contract.

[CatKins]

Thanks Ostell, you have been a great help.

One last thing - do I have to include the photo of the sign and the witness statement in my defence

[ostell]

Evidence comes later in the process

[CatKins]

Ok Thanks again for your help - I will submit this online and keep you posted