NCP Spanked in Court - Towing for Unpaid Tickets

jkdd77

bargepole wrote: »

The Statute of Marlborough was indeed used as part of the claimant's skeleton submission to the Court.

I don't know how the Judge ruled on this point; we'll have to wait until the full Judgment is published.

That should be interesting to read; I also consider clamping and/or (as here) towing over alleged past debts to be an aggressive commercial practice and therefore a criminal offence under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

trisontana

So why weren't NCP or their agents prosecuted by the police or Trading Standards?

ManxRed

"Its a civil matter, sir..." Spaketh Plod.

Sirdan

jkdd77 wrote: »

Chapter 2 of the Statute (since repealed) dealt specifically with distresses.

Legal websites such as this one: http://www.davros.org/legal/oddities.html
confirm that Chapter 1 (the one I linked to) cannot recover damages (i.e. including alleged debts) except by order of the court.

If it was legal to seize property over alleged debts, what would be to stop anyone falsely claiming that you owed them money, and then seizing your car and holding to ransom for payment of the non-existent "debt"? This is effectively what NCP did in this case.

To be pedantic, I don't believe that distress damage feasant could apply to the seizure of motor vehicles after 1 October, since at most it could amount to lawful 'excuse' rather than the required 'lawful authority' (which would need to come from statute), and in any case any fee demanded for release could only reflect actual losses rather than an arbitrary ransom. However, it could still theoretically apply to other trespassing chattels.

I agree that you can not levy distress on an item for alleged past debts however Arthur vs Anker describes DDF thus :-

The object of the remedy was to enable a party entitled to possession of land to take prompt action to stop or prevent damage to it or anything on it by seizing and impounding any trespassing chattel until the owner claimed it and tendered appropriate compensation.

and goes on to say :-

A mere technical trespass, mere unlawful presence on the land without more, was not enough. Actual damage would be shown if the party entitled to use the land were denied or obstructed in its use.

Thus if any of the leaseholders or their licensees were unable to use the car park by the trespassing car that would amount to actual damage. But there was no such evidence here.

The distrainor could retain the trespassing chattel as security for his claim to be compensated for the actual damage he had suffered as a result of the trespass.

Which coming from a judge seems to suggest that you can use DDF and require a payment for return of the goods provided that payment is for actual damages not a profit or other alleged debt.

Had NCP on behalf of the landowner towed this vehicle and only asked for a reasonable amount in damages caused by that one specific trespass perhaps the outcome would have been different ???
Discusss.....

Ezmondino

Brilliant.

jkdd77

Sirdan wrote: »

I agree that you can not levy distress on an item for alleged past debts however Arthur vs Anker describes DDF thus :-



and goes on to say :-


Which coming from a judge seems to suggest that you can use DDF and require a payment for return of the goods provided that payment is for actual damages not a profit or other alleged debt.

Had NCP on behalf of the landowner towed this vehicle and only asked for a reasonable amount in damages caused by that one specific trespass perhaps the outcome would have been different ???
Discusss.....

In this specific case, he wasn't even trespassing when his vehicle was towed away, since he had bought and clearly displayed a ticket that day, so DDF could not possibly apply anyway. In any case, no actual damage was caused by the parking, since there is no evidence that a legitimate user was unable to find a space as a result.

Sirdan

jkdd77 wrote: »

In this specific case, he wasn't even trespassing when his vehicle was towed away, since he had bought and clearly displayed a ticket that day, so DDF could not possibly apply anyway. In any case, no actual damage was caused by the parking, since there is no evidence that a legitimate user was unable to find a space as a result.

I am aware of that my comments were a general observation on DDF..
As has been discussed recently in the other place post POFA i.e 01/10/2012, the arguement seems redundant because it is hard to envisage that DDF would create "lawful authority" as required by Section 54 of The POFA.
If that were the case then it would allow common law rights to circumvent the intentions of parliament when drafting Section 54 ..it seems unlikely that a court would support that position.

realaledrinker

Just read all 346 posts! great result and a good morale boost stiffner for all of us going through the letter chains.

Keep the faith!

TrickyWicky

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I remember that thread, hoped it would turn out well but this was better than expected! A true SPANKING!!

:T

Yes I remember it too and forgot it was still going on through the legal gears

A truly wonderful result :T I am so glad that those thieving ****s at NCP have been hauled over the coals and forced to cough up some cash! Absolutely BRILLIANT news! It's about time someone took on those crooked ****s and won because for years they've thought they were untouchable and above the law. Maybe they'll start to think twice.

Gryphon005

This is an ideal opportunity to involve the newly elected Police & Crime Commissioner for Essex, Nick Alston. His web page is here, together with full contact details:
essex.pcc.police.uk
(please insert "www." before the address above as I'm not yet able to post links)

It will give him a chance to show that he is acting "For the People" and is not content with the common police fob-off, "It's a Civil Matter, Sir", when faced with a complaint containing clear evidence of criminal activity. This is a policy matter and needs to be raised at the highest level. The new PCC is the man to do this.

It's about time the police started acting more like a Service and less like an Authority.

It's not too late for Essex Police to investigate this matter, despite their past reluctance, so James, I hope you advise Nick Alston of your story and trust that the NCP spanking carries on in the Criminal Courts after your well-deserved victory in the County Court.