Free Traffic Legal Advice

hi thanks to everyone, I have tried to gather as much knowledge as possible
from the forum, I have filed an AOS. but I now have 5 days remaining to file
a defence, i've looked through the forum with loads of defences but not sure
of they apply to me.  I have received a claim form for which I replied to with
an acknowledgment of service so now have 5 days left to file a defence and need
some help.<p>
particulars of claim are as follows:</p><p>
Particulars of Claim</p><p>
1. The Defendant (D) is indebted to the Claimant (C) for a Parking Charge(s)</p>
(PC) issued to vehicle 7XLVLV at Wickes Hertford Road Barking Essex, IG11 8BL.
2. The dates of contravention are 14/01/2025 and D was issued with (PC)s by
the Claimant
3. The Defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the
terms on the signs (the contract). Reason:Exceeding The Maximum Duration
Of Stay Permitted At.
4. In the alternative the Defendant is pursued as the keeper pursuant to
POFA 2012, Schedule 4.
AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS
1. £170 being the total of the PC(s) and damages.
2. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts
Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £0.03 until judgment or
sooner payment.
3. Costs and court fees
Issue Date 22 JUL 2025
Amount claimed 176.40
Court fee 35.00
Legal representative's costs 50.00
Total amount 261.40
thanks to anyone that can help me urgently.

Thank you for your swift response.

What is the issue date of the claim?
Issue Date 22 JUL 2025

On what date did you submit the AoS and how did you submit it?
AoS submitted on 07/08/2025 via MCOL - Money Claim Online

Who is the Claimant?
G24 Limited

Once you have answered these questions, we can provide the advice you need to submit the defence.

With an issue date of 22nd July and having submitted an AoS on 7th August, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 26th August to submit the defence.

Until very recently, we never advised using the MCOL to submit a defence. However, due to recent systemic failures within the CNBC, we feel that it is safer to now submit a short defence using MCOL as it is instantly submitted and entered into the "system". Whilst it will deny the use of some formatting or inclusion of transcripts etc. these can always be included with the Witness Statement (WS) later, if it ever progresses that far.

You will need to copy and paste it into the defence text box on MCOL. It has been checked to make sure that it will fit into the 122 lines limit.

1. The Defendant denies the claim in its entirety. The Defendant asserts that there is no liability to the Claimant and that no debt is owed. The claim is without merit and does not adequately disclose any comprehensible cause of action.

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 adequately comply with CPR 16.4.

3. For the avoidance of doubt, even if the phrase “Vehicle not permitted & grace period exceeded” were taken to be a minimal compliance with CPR 16.4(1)(a), the PoC remain defective. The Defendant is unable to plead properly to the PoC because:

(a) The claim is put on a contractual footing but no written terms are pleaded or exhibited, contrary to CPR PD 16.7.3(1);

(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 pleaded bases are internally inconsistent (“vehicle not permitted” vs “grace period exceeded”): either parking was prohibited (no contractual offer) or it was permitted subject to terms; it cannot be both.;

(d) No period of parking is pleaded, nor facts explaining how any breach is said to have occurred (a timestamp alone is insufficient);

(e) The PoC do not state precisely how the sum claimed is calculated, including the basis for any statutory interest, damages, or other charges;

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

(g) The PoC do not provide clarity on whether the Defendant is sued as the driver or the keeper of the vehicle, as the claimant cannot plead alternative causes of action without specificity.

4. The Defendant submits that courts have previously struck out similar claims of their own initiative for failure to adequately comply with CPR 16.4, particularly where the Particulars of Claim failed to specify the contractual terms relied upon or explain the alleged breach with sufficient clarity.

5. In comparable cases involving modest sums, judges have found that requiring further case management steps would be disproportionate and contrary to the overriding objective. Accordingly, strike-out was deemed appropriate. The Defendant submits that the same reasoning applies in this case and invites the court to adopt a similar approach by striking out the claim due to the Claimant’s failure to adequately comply with CPR 16.4, rather than permitting an amendment. The Defendant proposes that the following Order be made:

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 the particulars of claim do not adequately comply with CPR 16.4(1)(a) because: (a) they do not set out the exact wording of the clause (or clauses) of the terms and conditions of the contract which is (or are) relied on; and (b) they do not adequately set out the reason (or reasons) why the claimant asserts that the defendant was in breach of contract.

AND the claimant could have complied with CPR 16.4(1)(a) had it served separate detailed particulars of claim, as it could have done pursuant to CPR PD 7C.5.2(2), but chose not to do so.

AND upon the claim being for a very modest sum such that the court considers it disproportionate and not in accordance with the overriding objective to allot to this case any further share of the court's resources by ordering further particulars of claim and a further defence, each followed by further referrals to the judge for case management.

ORDER:

1. The claim is struck out.

2. Permission to either party to apply to set aside, vary or stay this order by application on notice, which must be filed at this Court not more than 5 days after service of this order, failing which no such application may be made.

Good. That means that G24 don't believe they have much chance should it go to a hearing, which is why they have farmed it over to DCB Legal to deal with.

Using the provided defence, the likelihood is greater than 99% for sure that this will be struck out or discontinued.