A district judge friend of mine has suggested that if youre prepared to invest £313 for a summary judgment application, and its made before allocation to track, there is no limit to the costs you can seek under CPR 44.2, subject to the courts discretion. A costs schedule would be submitted (especially to include the £313 application fee and the £750 fixed costs recoverable under PD 45.8, even for litigants in person).
If you are not prepared to invest the £313 N244 application fee, then simply submitting the standard defence, the claim will eventually be struck out or discontinued anyway. However, that will not stop you receiving more PCNs and further harassment over this issue.
Alternatively, you can also submit a Part 20 counterclaim with the defence for compensation for breach of your GDPR under the Data Protection Act 2018.
Here is a summary of your position and options, I am happy to provide the necessary advice along the way:
Youre a litigant in person.
You will be submitting the Acknowledgment of Service (AoS).
Your deadline to file the defence is 21 July.
You should file:
A Defence
A Part 20 Counterclaim for unlawful data processing and GDPR breaches
You can also file a Summary Judgment Application under CPR 24.2, alongside or shortly after the Defence.
1. We would need to Draft and file your Defence + Counterclaim
Deadline: by 21 July
Include both in the same document
Set out clearly the Background, the Defence, then the Counterclaim section
2. File the N244 Application for Summary Judgment
You can do this at the same time, or shortly after the defence
Include:
The N244 form
A witness statement laying out your factual position
A draft order
An optional costs schedule (especially to include the £313 application fee and £750 fixed cost)
3. Serve the Counterclaim
As this is a Part 20 claim, the claimant will become a Part 20 Defendant and must respond within 14 days
You won't need permission to file the counterclaim if it's done with the defence
So, are you prepared to fight this and apply for compensation for the distress that this is causing you?
Please show us the N1SDT Claim Form. Only redact your personal details, the claim number and the MCOL password. Leave everything else showing, especially ALL dates. Once we've seen that we can advise further.
If possible show us the letter you received where they agreed to cancel the original PCN. I will also provide you with a template for a DVLA complaint, once we know the name of the parking operator (the claimant) and who is representing them.
If you follow the dive, this is how this is most likely going go...
A DVLA complaint will be filed because the claimant has failed to follow the PPSCoP section 7.3(d) which requires them to perform a manual quality control check on all images they collect. had they performed the required checks, they could easily have seen that the vehicle in the ANPR photos is not a motorbike as the DVLA data would show. This means that they have also breached the KADOE contract with the DVLA.
Also, by failing to carry out the require checks, they have requested your DVLA data unlawfully. If they'd performed the required checks, they would have seen that there is no reason to request your data. Additionally, they subsequently used you data unlawfully again because they have not only sent you a claim but they have distributed your data to third parties, so another GDPR breach of the Data Protection act.
The claim can be easily defended and a whole list of unlawful actions by the claimant can be used to apply for. summary judgment for strike out with a hefty costs order to go with it. Ideally, this would be applied for as soon as the claimant acknowledges receipt of the defence and intends to proceed.
AN N244 application for summary judgment would be made before the case is allocated to track for the following:
1. Strike Out under CPR 3.4(2)(a) and (b); and
2. Summary Judgment under CPR 24.2;
3. Alongside a costs order under CPR 44.2 for unreasonable behaviour.
All these would be the grounds for Summary Judgment:
1. No reasonable cause of action The Claimant is pursuing the wrong person.
2. Mistaken identity The Claimant's photos show a different vehicle (a car), not your motorbike.
3. Motorbike not in the UK It was SORN and exported 7 years ago.
4. No contractual liability You were not the keeper or driver of the vehicle involved.
5. Claimant previously admitted error DCBL closed the case after acknowledging the vehicle was not yours.
6. Repeated use of incorrect data PCNs continued after the error was admitted.
7. Breach of the Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) Failure to check ANPR images before requesting keeper data.
8. Breach of DVLA KADOE contract Keeper data was requested without a reasonable cause.
9. Breach of UK GDPR Article 5(1)(a) Data was not processed lawfully or fairly.
10. Breach of GDPR Article 5(1)(c) Data was excessive and irrelevant (wrong vehicle).
11. Breach of GDPR Article 5(1)(d) Data was inaccurate and not corrected.
12. Breach of GDPR Article 5(1)(b) Data was reused for incompatible purposes (debt recovery and litigation).
13. Breach of GDPR Article 6 No lawful basis for processing the data.
14. Breach of GDPR Article 17 Failure to erase data after the error was confirmed.
15. Misuse of personal data Data was passed to debt collectors and bulk litigators unlawfully.
16. Unreasonable behaviour under CPR 44.2 Continuing to pursue a baseless claim.
17. No compelling reason for a trial The facts are clear and undisputed.
18. Claim is without merit No real prospect of success.
You would also have grounds to sue them for the GDPR breach under the Data Protection Act. If you're interested in doing that, let me know as there is an obvious breach here and you are entitled to compensation for the breach.
So, show us the N1SDT Claim Form with the Particulars of Claim (PoC) and we can advise on how to proceed with this.