CEL No mention of parking just outstanding debt and damages

[plumb123]

I've received an N1SDT i'm guessing in relation to a parking offence. There is no mention of parking or any details about the alleged infringement. It just gives a date, ref number,amount and a due date, then a breakdown of interest charged

My question is how do I defend it?

1. Defend it like a PCN
or
2. Like I know nothing of this as there is no detail about the claim

TIA

[luxardo]

You can't defend it like a PCN by making appeals as it has gone past that stage.
This a County Court claim and they don't have to give full details of the case at this stage.
Once you acknowledge it (and if you wish to defend it) they will have to send full details of the case including photos, statements, details of correspondence etc and you will get copies. They even kindly state this at the bottom of the claim even though they have no choice in the matter.
You claim you know nothing of this alleged incident so your initial defence, which you must file within 14 days (or 28 days if you ask for more time) should be that.
They will have to prove they sent out the relevant notices to you within the stipulated timeframes. They have your address to serve the claim, did you not receive any other notices from them prior ? It's highly unusual if you didn't.
Once you have all the details you can decide what your defence will be.

You could call them and ask them to suspend proceedings and send you all the details explaining that you know nothing of this matter. Then decide what to do once you have the facts. They may agree to this.

*

[Amethyst]

You should acknowledge service of the claim however you can't file a defence until the full particulars have been served on you as indicated by the claim form ( within 14 days). They should give you the full details of the PCN.

The time for filing defence doesn't start running until you are served with the particulars of claim ( 28 days) but you should inform the court if you don't receive the particulars within 14 days or need more than 28 days from the issue date on the claim form to file your defence ( because the court process through moneyclaim isn't very good with ' full particulars ' claims and you could end up with a judgment in default )

[plumb123]

I've acknowledged the claim on mcol on the 1/1/20 asking for another 14 days.*
Do they have 14 days from 20/1/19 or from 1/1/20 to provide the particulars?

I've had several debt collection letters from various companies but have just binned them, I am aware of what the details are. The charge relates to parking in a hotel car park without entering the registration number into the hotels iPad in reception (not a very obvious location) there is one picture of the van with not a great picture of the driver.

I intend to defend it all the way to go to court.*

Tia

[luxardo]

The court will send them a copy of your reply which will state that you deny the claim and demand that they set out their case in full. They do not have to send you copies of all documents, photos etc at this stage. Just particulars of the claim; times, dates allegations,details of letters they have already sent etc.

They have 14 days from the date they receive your reply to do this. It's not possible to give a particular date by which you should receive this as it depends on how busy the court is and how quickly they send them your reply.

Once you receive this you have 28 days to reply with your defence.

After filing your defence you will both get a form to fill in and send back attaching all evidence you intend to rely on in court. You will get a copy of what they send and they will get a copy of what you send. At this stage you will get all the photos, documents, everything they have.
I don't know what your defence is so I can't advise you on what to include.

You should also indicate you want the case heard at your local court. If this means their solicitor has to travel and pay hotel bills this may be more than they will recover if they win so they may just drop the case. They can't claim legal costs from you, only witness expenses.
You can also tick the box stating that you are willing to use the mediation service. I'd advise you say yes to this, they will decline but it shows to a judge that you were willing to be flexible and they were not (small brownie point in your favour).
Then you will get a date to go to court

You intend to defend it ? Good for you, what is your strategy ?

[plumb123]

Ok I received this today, stating all the facts, no pictures curiously. Can I use the defence that I don't know who the driver was?**

[luxardo]

Did that come from the court or from Civil Enforcement direct ?

They say they have your car on camera so that is how they got your name and address. It is highly unusual for them to not send anything at all prior to a claim, especially as they obviously have your correct address. Have you had any issues with your mail ?
It's possible they have noted the registration wrongly after applying to DVLA for details. It's also possible they simply forgot !!
I assume the registration mark they mention is your car though ?

You say you know nothing of this and that the first and only correspondence was a county court claim ? You are also adamant your car was NOT parked in the Holiday Inn at the time and date in question ? Is that correct ?

In this case your defence is :-
You admit you are the keeper of the vehicle described reg no. xxx xxx
You deny the vehicle was at the place in question at the time and date specified
You have no knowledge of this matter and have received no documentation from the claimant prior to this claim.*
You did not receive a notice to driver within 14 days of the alleged breach
You did not receive a notice to keeper within the relevant period
You invite the claimant to provide evidence of service of the above
You invite the claimant to provide photographic evidence your vehicle was present at the location and time specified.

If they can't provide any of the above, especially the photograph, they have no case.

[plumb123]

I think the waters are slightly muddied here

There has been several letters prior to the N1SDT

The letter came from CEL direct

The van was in the car park and they have a picture of it which was POSSIBLY sent within 14 days
The copy of the picture they sent was small in black and white and would have been difficult to identify the driver but easy to read the number plate.

It's a works van with no data log of use

*

[luxardo]

Well in your original post you stated :-
*2. Like I know nothing of this as there is no detail about the claim
So I assumed the N1SDT was the one and only item you had received.

OK ... moving on ... who is the registered keeper of the van ? If it is a*company van is it your own company ?

[plumb123]

I am the registered keeper (it is registered in my name)
It is my company (sole trader)

[luxardo]

So it is a privately owned vehicle. In my opinion you have 2 defences. 3 if you can prove they did not act within the law by sending you the notices within the time limits or the signage in the carpark was inadequate.

1. The instructions of how to enter your reg number were not clear ie where was the iPad ?

The problem here is
a) Is the carpark for customers only ? Does it state that on the signage ? Or is it open to the public as long as they enter their reg number ?
b) If not open to the public did you have any valid reason to be there ? Were you working there or delivering ? If you can obtain proof from the hotel you were that would be really useful.
If you had no valid reason to be there then you will be unable to use this defence. They will claim that even if the iPad was accessible you had no right to use it. In fact the reason the iPad was probably deliberately placed on the reception desk is so only customers/tradesmen can use it.

2. You can go to court and claim you were not the driver. You will be asked who the driver was and a judge will make a decision based on what you say.
If more than one person drives the van regularly you can claim you don't know who was driving. You can claim this is because you can't be expected to remember who was driving at what time 2 weeks ago. Or any other excuse you can think of.
It will be up to the judge to decide if, on the balance of probabilities, you were the driver or not.

Good luck.