You have not answered the first and most important advice you were given: show us the Particulars of Claim (PoC), word for word. Without the PoC we cannot see what cause of action they are actually pleading, what they say you did wrong, or what elements they have failed to plead. With Moorside Legal in particular, their PoC are often so bad that they fail to comply with CPR 16.4(1)(a) that the whole claim can be attacked on that basis, but we need to see them to advise properly.
As for your defence, you have unfortunately made a bit of a mess of it.
First, you have admitted you were the driver. That removes a major line of defence in most private parking claims, because it gifts them the identity they would otherwise struggle to prove and makes the case simpler for them to run.
Second, you have given them a neat, claimant-friendly story by describing leaving the vehicle and walking to a shop. UKCPS and their solicitors love framing that as “leaving site” or “unauthorised parking”, even where the reality is that the driver was only trying to understand whether parking was permitted. You have done their job for them by handing them wording they can quote back at you.
Third, it is vague and not properly structured as a defence. It does not clearly rebut the pleaded cause of action (because we have not seen the PoC), it does not put them to strict proof of landowner authority, signage terms, contract formation, or the basis for any added sums, and it does not properly set out why no contract was formed or why no breach occurred. It reads more like a complaint narrative than a legal defence.
None of that is fatal on its own, but it is the sort of weak, imprecise defence that encourages a parking firm and their bulk litigator to press on. When a defence looks thin and concedes key points, they are more likely to believe you will fold, and they will often take it all the way to a hearing because they think you are an easy win or an easy settlement.
The good news is that you can still fight this properly, but you need to start following the advice you have been given. Post the exact Particulars of Claim and the key document, the Notice to Keeper (NtK) you first received about the alleged contravention.
The Witness Statement and evidence stage is where you can repair a lot of this by presenting a clear, coherent account supported by evidence and by forcing them to prove what they assert. This is where we can assist, but only if you start following the advice and showing us the PoC and the original NtK (we do not need to see anything else. No reminders and certainly no debt recovery letters)
Most importantly, on your own facts, you still have a sensible position: you were only there for a few moments because the signage did not make it obvious whether parking was permitted, you left the vehicle briefly to clarify, you were told it was not permitted, and you left promptly. That is entirely consistent with a reasonable consideration period and with the point that no contract can be formed if the terms are not clear and you leave as soon as you realise you are not authorised to stay. If that is genuinely the timeline, then you should be encouraged by it, but you need to stop drip-feeding and show the PoC so the advice can be targeted and you can build a proper case from here
