Thanks — those PoC help. Why you have not told us which local county court, I have no idea so you'll have to do your own researcher the appropriate email address to sue for the court service.
Given the paper strike-out/judgment was made without a hearing, the cleanest route is:
1. Apply right now (N244) to set aside/vary the order under CPR 3.3(5), seek relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9, and obtain permission to file an Amended Defence (attached).
2. Ask for a stay of enforcement/registration pending determination.
3. Serve the application bundle on DCB Legal at the same time by CCing them in on the email to info@dcblegal.co.uk.
Below is everything you need, tailored to these PoC (UKPC/DCB Legal; three PCNs at Uxbridge Road Retail Park on 03/12/2023, 07/01/2024, and 21/01/2024; “not parked correctly within markings”; driver in the alternative keeper under PoFA; £510 + s.69 interest + costs).
N244 — wording for Q11 (“What order & why”)
Order sought:1. The order dated [date] striking out the Defence and entering judgment for £666.56 be set aside/varied.
2. Relief from sanctions be granted.
3. The Defence be reinstated and the Defendant have permission to file and serve the Amended Defence annexed within 14 days of this order.
4. Enforcement and registration of the judgment be stayed until this application is determined and, if granted, until further order.
5. Costs in the case.
Why (summary grounds):a) The strike-out/judgment was made without a hearing on a pleading point; the Defendant (a LiP) had filed the DQ and attended mediation. Any defect was form not substance and is now cured by a compliant Amended Defence.
b) The PoC are minimal MCOL particulars spanning three separate dates/events and relying on driver or, in the alternative, PoFA keeper liability. The proposed Amended Defence pleads to each allegation and narrows the issues.
c) Applying the Denton test: (1) any breach was not serious in context (case already progressed; no trial date lost); (2) good reason (LiP relying on a publicly available template; earlier court error had already occurred in this claim history); (3) all the circumstances favour determination on the merits.
d) Small-claims costs are limited; immediate enforcement/registration would be unfair and unnecessary if the matter is reinstated.
DRAFT ORDER (attach as a separate page)
UPON the Court’s order dated [date] striking out the Defence and entering judgment;
AND UPON the Defendant’s application dated [date];
It is ordered that:
1. The order of [date] is set aside and the Defendant’s Defence is reinstated.
2. The Defendant has permission to file and serve the Amended Defence in the form annexed within 14 days.
3. Enforcement and registration of the judgment are stayed pending determination of this application and, if granted, until further order.
4. Costs in the case.
Here is a concise witness statement you can use:
Witness Statement
1. I am the Defendant. This statement supports my application to set aside/vary the paper strike-out and for relief from sanctions.
2. Timeline: (a) I filed a Defence; judgment was wrongly entered; it was set aside by order of HHJ [name] on 7 April 2025; (b) I filed my DQ in early June; mediation took place in July; (c) on [date served] I received the order striking out my Defence as a “paste from the internet” and entering judgment for £666.56.
3. I am a litigant-in-person. I have engaged with the process at all times. Any defect in my earlier Defence was procedural only.
4. The PoC are MCOL-style and identify three separate PCNs (03/12/2023, 07/01/2024, 21/01/2024) at Uxbridge Road Retail Park, alleging “not parked correctly within the markings”, pursuing me as driver and, in the alternative, as keeper under PoFA for a global sum of £510 plus interest and costs.
5. I now tender a fully compliant Amended Defence responding to each allegation and putting the Claimant to proof on signage/terms, driver identity, and strict PoFA compliance (if relied upon), together with authority to contract and litigate, and quantum (challenging add-ons above any principal charge).
6. Applying Denton, relief should be granted: the breach (pleading form) was not serious in context; there is good reason (LiP relying on a public template); and justice favours trial on the merits.
7. I respectfully seek the draft order.
Statement of truth
I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement 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:
Exhibits:
A: order of 7/4/2025 (set-aside of earlier CCJ);
B: DQ;
C: mediation notice/outcome;
D: impugned strike-out order;
E: PoC details from CNBC;
F: proposed Amended Defence.
Here is an amended defence tailored to those woeful PoC:
IN THE COUNTY COURT AT [Name of county court]
Claim No: [Claim Number]
BETWEEN:
UK Parking Control Ltd
Claimant
- and -
[Defendant's Full Name]
Defendant
DEFENCE
1. The Defendant denies the claim in its entirety. No liability is admitted and no debt is owed.
2. The Defendant was the registered keeper of [VRM]. The Defendant does not admit being the driver on 03/12/2023, 07/01/2024 or 21/01/2024. If the Claimant relies on PoFA 2012 Schedule 4, strict compliance is denied.
3. The Particulars of Claim are inadequately particularised and do not comply with CPR 16.4 and PD16 7.3. No contract is attached or set out; the pleaded facts and quantum breakdown are insufficient.
4. In response to PoC §§1–2, it is not admitted that any parking charge was properly incurred at Uxbridge Road Retail Park on the dates pleaded. The Claimant is put to strict proof, for each date separately, of any period of parking, the vehicle’s position, and that bay markings were clear and enforceable at the time.
5. In response to PoC §3 (“not parked correctly within the markings”), breach is denied. The Claimant is put to strict proof that a clear and prominent contractual term required strict bay compliance with an associated charge, that such term was transparently conveyed at the entrance and on-site, that it was a contractual offer (not a prohibition), and that any departure was more than de minimis.
6. In response to PoC §4 (keeper liability), PoFA reliance is denied. The Claimant is put to strict proof, for each PCN, of full statutory compliance including identification of the creditor, specification of a period of parking, mandatory wording/invitations, and all applicable time limits.
7. Standing is not admitted. The Claimant is put to strict proof of landowner authority to contract for parking and to litigate in its own name at this site on the material dates.
8. Quantum is denied. The global figure of £510 is unparticularised; no lawful basis is pleaded for any sums beyond any principal charge (which is denied). Section 69 CCA 1984 interest is discretionary and not properly pleaded.
9. Each PCN is a separate event. The Claimant must prove liability and (if relied upon) PoFA compliance for each date; aggregation cannot remedy failures of proof.
10. The Defendant invites strike-out for failure to comply with CPR 16.4. In the alternative, the Defendant seeks an order that within 14 days the Claimant serve Further and Better Particulars identifying the exact terms relied upon and how incorporated, whether driver or PoFA keeper liability is pursued with the facts said to found it, a contemporaneous site plan and all signage/photos for each date, and a full breakdown of sums; with permission to amend within 14 days thereafter.
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:
To-do list• File N244 with: the Draft Order, the WS + exhibits, and the Amended Defence.
• Email it to the hearing centre on the order and CC DCB Legal at info@dcblegal.co.uk.
• In covering text, ask the court office to note the request for an urgent stay of enforcement/registration.
• If you are outside the 7-day window on the paper order, still apply and ask the court to extend time—explain you are a LiP and moved promptly once you had the PoC detail.
