Free Traffic Legal Advice

You are wayyyy past any "appeal" process. You have received an N1SDT claim form from the CNBC. You must respond to and defend this.

Did you not receive a Letter of Claim (LoC) at least 30 days before the claims issued?

With an "issue date" of 11th September, you have until Monday 30th September to submit your Acknowledgement of Service (AoS). There is nothing to gain by delaying the AoS and by submitting it within the deadline, you then have until 4pm on Monday 14th October to submit your defence.

Apart from the N1SDT form with the Particulars of Claim (PoC), you can disregard all the other forms. You are not required to complete them and should not use them.

To submit your AoS, follow the advice in this document:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvqu3bask5m0zir/money-claim-online-How-to-Acknowledge.pdf?dl=0

Once that has been done, you can prepare your defence. We can provide the content for most of it and you would only need to add the claimants name [Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd], your name, the claim number and then sign it by simply typing your name and then dating it. No need to print anything or sign with a pen.

Under no circumstances use the MCOL webform to submit your defence. Not even a comma must go in that box otherwise that will be the sum total of your defence.

Your defence and a draft order will be sent as PDF attachments in an email to claimresponses.cnbc@justice.gov.uk. Before we get to the defence, looking the claim, you've redacted the location and possibly something else in the PoC.

You only needed to redact the VRM, which you haven't, and the PCN number if it was on there. It is important to see the rest of the PoC as Gladstones have failed to comply with CPR 16.4(1)(a) and there is persuasive case law to get this thrown out at allocation stage.

You have to imagine that you have no prior knowledge of this alleged parking contravention. If the Claim form was the first and only information you had about it, would you be able to provide a defence? Would you even know what the contract you are alleged to have breached is? Would you be able to know what was the term in the alleged contract that the driver is supposed to have contravened? Do you know exactly how much of the sum claimed is the principal and how much is damages or debt recovery costs? Do you know how the interest has been calculated because it isn't allowed from day 1. The list goes on.

Can you also show us a copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) received? You mention that it was originally for "parking in a disabled access bay without displaying blue badge, is that correct? You state you only reversed into the bay and then left immediately. What evidence did they have to prove you were actually parked there?

Can you also show us a copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) received? You mention that it was originally for "parking in a disabled access bay without displaying blue badge, is that correct? You state you only reversed into the bay and then left immediately. What evidence did they have to prove you were actually parked there?

On your question on leaving immediately: I may have stopped in the bay for 1-2 minutes as I waited for cars to clear ahead of me as its a busy car park. I never left the car. In the phots given in the evidence, car is already seen moving out of the bay.

WE don't need to see any debt collector letters. An LoC is a very specific letter that you will have received from Gladstones that actually said something like "Letter of Claim" or Letter Before County Court Claim" or something similar. It would have given 30 days to pay not the usual 14 days when it is just debt collector. It would have mentioned that if payment was not received within 30 days a claim would be issued without further notice.

An LoC is required as part of the Pre Action Protocol. If you received one, please show only that. If you didn't receive one, then that is something to add to the defence.

Also, please remove the redaction in the PoC except for the VRM and/or the PCN number. Everything else in those PoC needs to be visible to us.

I have uploaded
1. Keepers Notice
2. Letter Before Claim from Solicitors
3. Court Claim Form

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/6cvjkv37swwpq77on2v4t/AEWqgLgZkoH8YIz4tDM1pJc?rlkey=5bbnfhrgc1m1gyqqi8tf6l5xt&st=v1v6n5l1&dl=0

I am in process of filling out AoS. In the meantime, any pointers to defend the claim would be of great help.

With an "issue date" of 11th September, you have until Monday 30th September to submit your Acknowledgement of Service (AoS). Once the AoS has been submitted, you then have until 4pm on Monday 14th October to submit your defence.

You have been provided with a link to the PDF that explains how to submit the AoS. There is nothing to be gained by dealing the AoS.

As explained earlier, your defence will be submitted as a PDF attachment to an email. Plenty of time to prepare for this.

Here is the defence you will submit. You only have to edit the claimant and your details, the claim number and then sign it by simply typing your name for the signature and dating it.

There is also a draft order to also go with the defence. There is nothing to edit in the draft order.

This is the defence:

IN THE COUNTY COURT

Claim No: [Claim Number]

BETWEEN:

[Claimant's Full Name]

Claimant

- and -

[Defendant's Full Name]

Defendant

---

DEFENCE

1. The Defendant denies any liability for this claim.


2. There is a lack of precise detail in the Particulars of Claim (PoC) in respect of the factual and legal allegations made against the Defendant such that the PoC do not comply with CPR 16.4(1)(a).


3. The Defendant is unable to plead properly to the PoC because: 

(a) The contract referred to is not detailed or attached to the PoC in accordance with CPR PD 16.7.5;

(b) The PoC do not state the exact wording of the clause (or clauses) of the terms and conditions of the contract (or contracts) which is/are relied on;

(c) The PoC do not set out the reason (or reasons) why the claimant asserts the defendant has breached the contract (or contracts);

(d) The PoC do not state with sufficient particularity exactly where the breach occurred, the exact time when the breach occurred and how long it is alleged that the vehicle was parked before the parking charge was allegedly incurred;

(e) The PoC do not state exactly how the claim for statutory interest is calculated;

(f) The PoC do not state what proportion of the claim is the parking charge and what proportion is damages;

(g) The PoC states that the Claimant is suing the defendant as the driver or the keeper. The claimant obviously knows whether the defendant is being sued as the driver or the keeper and should not be permitted to plead alternative causes of action. 

4. The Defendant has attached to this defence a copy of an order made at another court which the allocating judge ought to make at this stage so that the Defendant can then know and understand the case which he/she/it faces and can then respond properly to the claim.


Statement of truth

I believe that the facts stated in this Defence are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed:


Date:

And this is the Draft Order:

Of the Court's own initiative and upon reading the Particulars of Claim and the defence

AND the court being of the view that there is a lack of precise detail in the Particulars of Claim in respect of the factual and legal allegations made against the Defendant such that the Particulars of Claim do not comply with CPR 16.4.

It is Ordered that:

1. Unless the Claimant do, within 14 days of service of this order, file and serve at court a further Particulars of Claim supported by a statement of truth which complies with CPR 16.4 and which sets out:

(i) the precise and concise factual allegations it makes against the Defendant and
(ii) the factual or legal [or both] basis of its claim and
(iii) the evidence relied on that the Defendant was the driver;
(iv)the evidence relied on that all the requirements of PoFA 14(2)(a) were complied with; and
(v)exactly how its claim is calculated (if there is a claim for a fixed sum)

then the claim shall be struck out.

2. For the avoidance of doubt the further Particulars of Claim must:

(a) refer to and have attached to them (clearly marked "A") a copy of the contract (or contracts) between the claimant and defendant relied on.

(b) set out the exact wording of the clause (or clauses) of the terms and conditions of the contract (or contracts) which is (or are) relied on.

(c) have attached to them (clearly marked "B") a copy of each of the PCNs which forms the basis of this claim.

(d) must state by what method each of the PCNs was first brought to the attention of the defendant. For example, attaching it to the defendant's vehicle.

(e) in respect of each alleged breach of contract, set out the reason (or reasons) why the claimant asserts that the defendant was in breach of contract.

(f) in respect of each alleged breach of contract, set out (i) the full postal address of where the breach took place and (ii) the precise date and time of the alleged breach and (iii) exactly how long it is alleged that the vehicle was parked before the parking charge was incurred.

(g) in respect of each alleged breach of contract, must state whether the defendant is sued as the driver of the vehicle or the keeper or the hirer of the vehicle.

(h) not plead that the defendant is sued in the alternative as the driver of the vehicle or as the keeper of the vehicle.

(i) state clearly whether the claim is brought under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and specify whether the defendant is pursued as the hirer or keeper of the vehicle. If the defendant is pursued as the hirer, the claimant must provide evidence of compliance with PoFA, including copies of the Notice to Hirer, the Notice to Keeper, and the relevant documents mandated in PoFA paragraph 14(2)(a).

(j) must explain the factual or legal (or both) basis of the claim for damages.

(k) set out a precise calculation of the claim for statutory interest up to the date of issue to include the date interest started running.

3. Permission to either party to apply to set aside, vary or stay this order by an application on notice which must be filed at this Court no more than 5 days after service of this order, failing which no such application may be made.

OK, that confirms that the NtK is not PoFA compliant. It does not fully comply with paragraph 9(2)(e)(ii):

9(2) The notice must—

(e) state that the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and invite the keeper—

(i)to pay the unpaid parking charges; or

(ii)if the keeper was not the driver of the vehicle, to notify the creditor of the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver and to pass the notice on to the driver;

Also, the NtK is non-compliant with paragraph 9(2)(f) of PoFA because it does not properly specify that the 28-day period starts “with the day after that on which the notice is given.” Simply stating "after 29 days" is not precise enough to comply with the strict wording required by PoFA.

There's not much of a material advantage/disadvantage to when you file the defence, as long as you do so before the relevant deadline.

My personal approach when submitting anything online is to try to leave myself at least 24 hours to do so, so that I have time to troubleshoot any technical issues if they arise.

As above. Don't rush it. Just don't miss any deadlines. Give it a day or so and then send the defence.

Great, Thanks!! Will do. Just to confirm, I don't need to send AoS by an email provided while submitting it. Only my defence needs to go in the email, correct?