Received a parking charge notice mid June 2024 by Smart Parking as the registered keeper. Ignored it, and now as the registered keeper I have had a county court judgment come through which I have sent in a defence:
How much of the claim do you dispute?
I dispute the full amount claimed as shown on the claim form.
Do you dispute this claim because you have already paid it?
No, for other reasons.
Defence
As the defendant, I deny the claim in its entirety. The Claimant
seeks £280.56 arising from a purported parking charge. The
Defendant has been contacted throughout solely as the registered
keeper of the vehicle. The identity of the driver at the material
time has not been established and is not admitted. The Claimant
has no cause of action against the Defendant as keeper absent
strict compliance with PoFA 2012, Schedule 4, which the Defendant
puts in issue.
In the absence of a contractual relationship between the Defendant
personally and the Claimant, the Defendant owes no obligation
under contract law to pay any parking charge. Any contract for
parking — whether formed by entry onto the land, use of a car
park, or compliance with signage — could only have been formed
with the driver of the vehicle at the material time.
The Defendant was not the driver. The Defendant has not at any
point admitted to being the driver. The Claimant has never
established or identified who the driver was. It is therefore the
Claimant's burden to either: (a) identify and pursue the actual
driver; or (b) establish keeper liability under the strict
statutory regime of PoFA 2012, Schedule 4. The Claimant cannot do
both, and has thus far done neither.
Here's a link to the original letter they sent:
I’ve now received a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track.
I realise I should have sought advice upon receipt of the first letter, and instead took bad advice to ignore it.
What are my next steps?
