County Court claim received

[becks112]

Hi there

I'd really appreciate some help and your advice pls!

County Court Claim Form has been received for a PCN issued on the 06/01/2019.

The driver was not the registered keeper of the vehicle.

The Private car park is a rough patch of land at the bottom of a long single track lane that leads to a fairly quiet rural area. There is no option to park anywhere else - one has to enter the carpark and drive back out again to go back up the lane. The driver parked in the car park but could not get payment card to work on the machine. The card machine appeared to not be working. So the driver went for a short walk for about 45 mins (which was their purpose for going there that day) and then returned to their vehicle and left.

The private parking company sent the PCN to the keeper who forwarded it to the driver.

The parking firm then began sending letters to the driver. The driver ignored them after reading that it was best not to respond to these letters on an advice site. Then the driver was sent letters warning of court action from a legal firm representing the claimant. Again these were ignored.

Please could you advise if there is a case here and the best course of action?

I've attached the PoC below...

Particulars of Claim
The Claim is for the sum of xxx
being
due from the Defendant in respect of
a Parking Charge Notice (PCN)
for a contractual breach which occurred on
06/01/2019 in the private car park/land at xxx
in relation to a xxxx registration number xxxx

The PCN was issued as the driver
failed to comply with the terms and
conditions, as displayed.

Despite demands, the charge remains unpaid.
The Claim also includes Statutory Interest
pursuant to section 69 of the Countv Courts
Act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum (a daily
rate of £0.02) from 06/01/2019 to
27/04/2022 being an amount of xxx
The Claimant also claims £60.00 recovery
costs as set out in the Terms and Conditions
and in the ATA AoS Code of Practice.

[ostell]

So do they know the identity of the driver, name and serviceable address?

If so then they have no case against the Keeper of the vehicle.

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 gives them the right to claim from the keeper of the vehicle but only if they do not know the identity of the driver. If they know the identity of the driver then they cannot proceed against the driver. POFA 5 (1) (b)

Can you show they knew the identity of the driver? They cannot come back to the keeper just because the driver does not respond. Can you get copies of the letters to the driver?

Here's POFA Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)

Acknowledge the claim using the details and password on the form. Nothing in the defence. This will give you the lesser of 28 days from acknowledgment or 33 days from date of issue to get a defence to the court.

[becks112]

So do they know the identity of the driver, name and serviceable address?

If so then they have no case against the Keeper of the vehicle.

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 gives them the right to claim from the keeper of the vehicle but only if they do not know the identity of the driver. If they know the identity of the driver then they cannot proceed against the driver. POFA 5 (1) (b)

Can you show they knew the identity of the driver? They cannot come back to the keeper just because the driver does not respond. Can you get copies of the letters to the driver?

Here's POFA Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (legislation.gov.uk)

Acknowledge the claim using the details and password on the form. Nothing in the defence. This will give you the lesser of 28 days from acknowledgment or 33 days from date of issue to get a defence to the court.

Hi - thanks for replying. The keeper forwarded the drivers details to them. The demands and court claims are to the driver. They do know the identity of the driver.