Free Traffic Legal Advice

I received a payment overdue letter on 13/10/2022 with a fee of £115; for insufficient fee paid on 31/8/2022. It referred to a Notice to Keeper sent on 6/9/22, which I didn't receive, nor was a ticket placed on the windscreen. I ignored this  as I thought it was a scam as no details on letter. Subsequently, 2 more letters fortnightly with additional charges to £160- again ignored.
On 9/11/2023 received another letter for £100 due- I then emailed SIP car parks to appeal and get further details, they sent a copy of the first letter sent dated 6/9/22 and photos of signs. They confirmed 2 hours were paid, 26 mins overstay (including 10mins grace period). They then sent a letter stating no further direct communication will be made. I was not the driver, but am the registered keeper named on V5C for the vehicle. I felt these charges for the overstay were just extortionate!

Now, I have a county court claim for money- issued 30/1/2025. Acknowledgment of service sent on 8/2/25 via Moneyclaim.gov.uk website.
I believe I must submit a defence before 4pm 4th March 2025, and have been looking at previous defence letters that have been adviced on this forum- of CPR 16.4 POC inadequate- will that apply in my circumstance?

I would appreciate your help to formulate a defence. Thank you in advance
I have attached the claim form with details redacted.

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Yes- I've attached the copy they sent through 1 year later.

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Having just discussed this with a district judge, they are in agreement that the PoC do not comply with CPR 16.4 for the reasons already stated.

So, here is the defence and link to the draft order that goes with it. You only need to edit your name and the claim number. You sign the defence by typing your full name for the signature and date it. There is nothing to edit in the draft order.

When you're ready you combine both documents as a single PDF attachment and send as an attachment in an email to claimresponses.cnbc@justice.gov.uk and CC in yourself. The claim number must be in the email subject field and in the body of the email just put: "Please find attached the defence and draft order in the matter of SIP Parking Ltd v [your full name] Claim no.: [claim number]."

IN THE COUNTY COURT

Claim No: [Claim Number]

BETWEEN:

SIP Parking Ltd
Claimant

- and -

[Defendant's Full Name]

Defendant

---

DEFENCE

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 comply with CPR 16.4.

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 adequately 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 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 attaches to this defence a copy of a draft order approved by a district judge at another court. The court struck out the claim of its own initiative after determining that the Particulars of Claim failed to comply with CPR 16.4. The judge noted that the claimant had failed to:

(i) Set out the exact wording of the clause (or clauses) of the terms and conditions relied upon;

(ii) Adequately explain the reasons why the defendant was allegedly in breach of contract;

(iii) Provide separate, detailed Particulars of Claim as permitted under CPR PD 7C.5.2(2).

(iv) The court further observed that, given the modest sum claimed, requiring further case management steps would be disproportionate and contrary to the overriding objective. Accordingly, the judge struck out the claim outright rather
than permitting an amendment.

5. 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 for the Claimant’s failure to comply with CPR 16.4.

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:

Draft Order for the defence

In an ideal world, you'd save the draft order as a Word document (.docx or .doc) and you'd include the header so that the judge can just amend the document and then sed it out. However, I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. On my to do list.

FOr now, you can simply combine the defence and the draft order into a single document and save as a PDF.

Tell your representative that all they have to do is offer £0 and that is it. It will be over in minutes. They are not obliged to discuss their defence to a mediator who is not legally trained. Everything in the mediation is without prejudice and cannot be used in court. It is not a part of the judicial process, No judge or lawyer is involved.

If the mediator tries to suggest anything about an outcome if you (or your rep) don't offer anything then make a note and submit a formal complaint. You won't be the first.

with a deadline for claimant to submit fee

What is the deadline for them to pay the fee?

That doesn't sound quite right. Please show us the allocation order with all the dates and deadlines and anything else in it.

DO NOT submit a WS before they submit there, even if you are a day late after the deadline. This is the small claims track. Most judges will not care about a slight delay in the WS being sent a few days late. It will not be reviewed until about 10 minutes before any hearing anyway!

Which county court?

Is Manchester your local court?