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Excel Parking Lose court case...again
macca5000
Posts: 37 Forumite
Here's a little inspiration for all those current ignoring parking crooks:
Motorist wins 18-month ticket battle after judge agrees Stockport parking signs were 'too small'
September 15, 2011
A motorist has won an 18-month battle over a parking fine after a judge ruled that a car park’s pay-and-display signs were too small.
Martin Cutts was issued with a £60 fine – which went up to £100 when he did not pay within seven days – after failing to buy a ticket. He refused to pay the fine and argued that the signs at the Peel Centre car park were too small.
Parking firm Excel, which runs the car park and issued almost 12,000 tickets to motorists who failed to display a ticket over three years, took the case to Stockport County Court.
But a district judge ruled in favour of Mr Cutts – and legal expert Nick Freeman now believes this decision could open the floodgates for other motorists hit with fines.
Parvez Mirza, representing Excel, told the court that by parking in the car park, Mr Cutts was agreeing to the terms and conditions of the facility and the penalty that would arise from failure to comply.
But Mr Cutts argued the words ‘pay and display’ and the terms and conditions on the signs at the entrance to the car park were in tiny letters.
He said: “If someone understands from the entrance that the car park is free, and is in the mindset that the car park is free, they won't go hunting around for signs that indicate otherwise.”
Deputy District Judge Lateef dismissed the claim by Excel and ordered the company to pay Mr Cutts £53.50 costs for travel and loss of earnings.
She said that the key issue was whether Excel had taken reasonable steps to draw to Mr Cutts’ attention to the terms and conditions of using the car park.
She said: “The lettering about failure to comply is about four times larger than the lettering saying it is a pay and display car park, which tells me the real interest is in failure to comply.”
Data provided by Excel showed that 11,498 penalty notices had been issued in the three years leading up to March 2010, all for failure to display a ticket. Mr Cutts, from Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, said said: “I’ll never visit these shops again while Excel is running the car park”
Mr Freeman, known as Mr Loophole for helping people fight motoring offences, said: “The judge is completely right and this could open the floodgates to others who parked there.
“The sign indicating it’s a pay and display car park must be prominent and clearly displayed and on this occasion it would appear that the prominence was given to what happens if you don’t buy a ticket rather than the fact it’s pay and display.”
Excel couldn’t be contacted after the case.
Motorist wins 18-month ticket battle after judge agrees Stockport parking signs were 'too small'
September 15, 2011
A motorist has won an 18-month battle over a parking fine after a judge ruled that a car park’s pay-and-display signs were too small.
Martin Cutts was issued with a £60 fine – which went up to £100 when he did not pay within seven days – after failing to buy a ticket. He refused to pay the fine and argued that the signs at the Peel Centre car park were too small.
Parking firm Excel, which runs the car park and issued almost 12,000 tickets to motorists who failed to display a ticket over three years, took the case to Stockport County Court.
But a district judge ruled in favour of Mr Cutts – and legal expert Nick Freeman now believes this decision could open the floodgates for other motorists hit with fines.
Parvez Mirza, representing Excel, told the court that by parking in the car park, Mr Cutts was agreeing to the terms and conditions of the facility and the penalty that would arise from failure to comply.
But Mr Cutts argued the words ‘pay and display’ and the terms and conditions on the signs at the entrance to the car park were in tiny letters.
He said: “If someone understands from the entrance that the car park is free, and is in the mindset that the car park is free, they won't go hunting around for signs that indicate otherwise.”
Deputy District Judge Lateef dismissed the claim by Excel and ordered the company to pay Mr Cutts £53.50 costs for travel and loss of earnings.
She said that the key issue was whether Excel had taken reasonable steps to draw to Mr Cutts’ attention to the terms and conditions of using the car park.
She said: “The lettering about failure to comply is about four times larger than the lettering saying it is a pay and display car park, which tells me the real interest is in failure to comply.”
Data provided by Excel showed that 11,498 penalty notices had been issued in the three years leading up to March 2010, all for failure to display a ticket. Mr Cutts, from Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, said said: “I’ll never visit these shops again while Excel is running the car park”
Mr Freeman, known as Mr Loophole for helping people fight motoring offences, said: “The judge is completely right and this could open the floodgates to others who parked there.
“The sign indicating it’s a pay and display car park must be prominent and clearly displayed and on this occasion it would appear that the prominence was given to what happens if you don’t buy a ticket rather than the fact it’s pay and display.”
Excel couldn’t be contacted after the case.
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D'oh! Someone please delete this thread. Ha ha0
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Thought they'd gone mad having another go so soon,then saw the date...Went shoplifting at the Disneystore today.
Got a huge Buzz out of it.0
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