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My daughter has just received a County court claim for a total of £269.92 from Defence Systems Ltd for a breach of parking terms, as she is the registered keeper of her car. She has been receiving several letters asking for payment for the PCN over the past year, which we routinely ignore. In truth, I was the driver at the time of the alleged breach, albeit I believe I had parked just over the edge of the relevant car park, but I guess the car was picked up by the parking cameras nonetheless.
So, reading through this forum for tips and advice, it looks like our immediate steps are:
(1) acknowledge the claim (online using the moneyclaim site); and
(2) send a CPR 31.14 request to Defence's solicitors requesting the documents that they intend to rely upon in court. On this, should I simply ask for all the documents they intend to rely upon to prove their claim or do I need to specify the documents (evidence of the breach (i.e. photos), PCN and letters and evidence of delivery, proof of Defence's rights in respect of the car park, evidence of notice in car park).
We shall await these documents, but they won't really impact upon her defence - which is that "it wasn't me, it was my dad"!
I know we are some way away from filing the defence. Whilst I expect there's no obligation to name me as the driver at the time, I'm sure it will help her defence if she was to do so. I am also happy to write a letter (or, if I really must, swear an affidavit) to confirm that I was the driver at the time of the (alleged) breach without (of course) any admission of liability in respect of the breach. Might this be sufficient to satisfy the court that my daughter was not the driver at the time. Any views on this ?
Of course, even if my daughter is successful, Defence Systems will then be able to bring a claim against me for the same offence. But, then here's the wrinkle. I live and work full time in Dubai where the County Court cannot really serve me with notice of any proceedings (I'm aware that there is a method of serving proceedings abroad, but I think that might be High Court + and be an involved and expensive process hardly suited to a CC small claim).
Lastly, this is not a legal point but a genuine concern I have. If the court finds against my daughter we will certainly pay the relevant award promptly so there is no question of enforcement action. But, my daughter is hoping to become a solicitor (which i don't think should be impacted by a CCJ that's promptly paid) and might also get a negative impact upon her credit rating.
So, whilst I don't believe we have breached any contract with Defence (because the car was parked just outside their boundary at the time) and I intend to make life difficult for Defence as far as possible, if push comes to shove I would be more inclined to settle (i.e. pay the claimed amount) rather than risk my daughter's career or credit rating.
Any thoughts, views or advice most welcome. If you've read this far, thank you!
So, reading through this forum for tips and advice, it looks like our immediate steps are:
(1) acknowledge the claim (online using the moneyclaim site); and
(2) send a CPR 31.14 request to Defence's solicitors requesting the documents that they intend to rely upon in court. On this, should I simply ask for all the documents they intend to rely upon to prove their claim or do I need to specify the documents (evidence of the breach (i.e. photos), PCN and letters and evidence of delivery, proof of Defence's rights in respect of the car park, evidence of notice in car park).
We shall await these documents, but they won't really impact upon her defence - which is that "it wasn't me, it was my dad"!
I know we are some way away from filing the defence. Whilst I expect there's no obligation to name me as the driver at the time, I'm sure it will help her defence if she was to do so. I am also happy to write a letter (or, if I really must, swear an affidavit) to confirm that I was the driver at the time of the (alleged) breach without (of course) any admission of liability in respect of the breach. Might this be sufficient to satisfy the court that my daughter was not the driver at the time. Any views on this ?
Of course, even if my daughter is successful, Defence Systems will then be able to bring a claim against me for the same offence. But, then here's the wrinkle. I live and work full time in Dubai where the County Court cannot really serve me with notice of any proceedings (I'm aware that there is a method of serving proceedings abroad, but I think that might be High Court + and be an involved and expensive process hardly suited to a CC small claim).
Lastly, this is not a legal point but a genuine concern I have. If the court finds against my daughter we will certainly pay the relevant award promptly so there is no question of enforcement action. But, my daughter is hoping to become a solicitor (which i don't think should be impacted by a CCJ that's promptly paid) and might also get a negative impact upon her credit rating.
So, whilst I don't believe we have breached any contract with Defence (because the car was parked just outside their boundary at the time) and I intend to make life difficult for Defence as far as possible, if push comes to shove I would be more inclined to settle (i.e. pay the claimed amount) rather than risk my daughter's career or credit rating.
Any thoughts, views or advice most welcome. If you've read this far, thank you!
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