How does this sound for a response to the Letter Before Claim
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: Letter Before Claim
Reference: [Insert Reference]
I dispute the alleged debt in full.
Your client’s own evidence confirms that the vehicle was present for approximately 44 seconds. This is fatal to any claim.
The Private Parking Code of Practice requires that a driver must be allowed a minimum consideration period of five minutes to read signage and decide whether to accept the terms. A duration of 44 seconds makes it impossible for any contract to have been formed. No reasonable person could locate, read, and accept contractual terms within that timeframe.
Accordingly, no contract was formed, no breach occurred, and no charge is payable.
Further, your client’s Notice to Keeper is non-compliant with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. It fails to:
Specify the land with sufficient clarity (referring only to a broad industrial estate covering multiple roads and an incorrect postcode);
Specify any period of parking;
Properly identify the creditor.
As such, keeper liability does not apply.
In addition, the signage relied upon is prohibitive (“No Parking”) and therefore incapable of forming a contractual agreement.
Given the above, your client’s claim has no realistic prospect of success.
I require the matter to be placed on hold for 30 days and request full disclosure of all documents relied upon, including:
In accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, please provide the following:
A copy of the original Parking Charge Notice and all correspondence
All photographic evidence relied upon
A precise site map identifying the exact location of the alleged contravention and clarification of the postcode discrepancy
Evidence of the alleged period of parking, including full observation logs
Copies of all signage in place at the time, including wording and locations
A full unredacted copy of the contract with the landowner, including proof of authority to operate and litigate
Confirmation of the legal basis of the claim (contract or trespass)
A detailed breakdown of the sum claimed and the legal basis for any additional charges
Until this information is provided, the claim is not properly particularised and I am unable to respond substantively.
Should your client proceed with litigation, I will robustly defend the claim and seek recovery of costs for unreasonable conduct.
Yours faithfully,
[Your Name]
