Found this hard to believe.

esmerobbo

According to a FOI request at a Liverpool Hospital.

Quote!

1. How many drivers have been taken to court by the Trust (or by
agents acting for the trust?),

Due to the open ended time frame of your request, and the amount of work
involved to provide a response, we have imposed a timeframe of January
2009 to August 2010. In this time period our representatives have issued
369 individual claims.


http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/car_parking_3

I cant see one car park operator generating anywhere near that number of claims, without it being widely known. However we are talking Trethowans.

Reading on they never confirm the success rate!

taffy056

All it means imo is that many cases has been passed to the solicitors, they are counting that as a claim, really we know that it never goes to court , better to ask how much money they have received from the solicitors in recouping money from those 360 odd drivers, that way there is no third party.

AlexisV

Sweet!

Am going to have some fun with Aintree...

Coblcris

Ask HMCS.
Something along the lines of:-
How many claims have been filed in the county courts (including via Money Claim Online) by Trethowans, postcode NNX XNNP
How many of these claims have been abandoned or successfully defended.


You may wish to refine this such as to the local court as Trethowans seems to operate in several fields and in many places.

It will not provide a specific answer which tests their assertion of the number of claims but it is a start.

esmerobbo

I have found two on Pepipoo which have gone to court and and the PPC won. I have found another where a claim has been issued on CAG. I am wondering if it is a NHS thing pushing for these claims to be lodged?

AlexisV

There is another case where they lost. In fact, the one where they did win was because somebody had paid to park and his voucher had slipped off. I don't think I've ever seen such a legally incompetent county court judge in that instance. When you've got the lower courts clogged up with poacher turned gamekeeper ex-solicitors, justice is very much hit and miss at times.

Anyway, my FOI to Aintree:

Dear Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I would be grateful of you could answer the following queries with regards to 'Parking Charge Notices' issued in your car parks:

• 1. Previous information has yielded that 369 'claims' have been issued by your agent(s) - see link: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/car_parking_3
Please clarify the term 'claim'. Is this the total number of invoices issued, or the total number of cases that have been heard in county court?

• 2. How many court claims have been found in favour of yourselves, the Claimant, after a full court hearing? In the link above you have exempted yourself due to estimated costs and time. I dispute this assertion - it will be an easily obtainable number which your agent (presumably Trethowans) will have ready knowledge of.

• 3. How many court claims have been found in favour of yourselves, the Claimant, due to default judgments where the Defendant has not submitted a defence? Again, this will be an easily obtainable number which your agent (presumably Trethowans) will have ready knowledge of and there is no basis for not supplying this information.

• 4. How many court claims have been found in favour of the Defendant? Again, this will be an easily obtainable number which your agent (presumably Trethowans) will have ready knowledge of and there is no basis for not supplying this information.

Should you refuse the above under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, please provide a detailed Fees Notice detailing the work that is to be carried out over 2.5 working days.

Regards

esmerobbo

I have done a request to Liverpool county court. Lets see what they come back with!

In both cases the DJ seemed to simply accept a contract was formed and did not question the penalty issue.