Vehicle Control Services County Court Claim Form Received

jennifergriffin

Hi All,

Looking for some help please.

In July this year my car was parked outside the garage of my house - not by me I might add (genuinely) and a ticket (£100 fine) was left on the windscreen by vehicle control services. I ignored this (not paying £100 for my car being parked outside my own garage, especially as it was my lazy tw*t of an ex and not me who had parked it there instead of IN the garage).

To paint the scene of the parking situation - around the back of my house is an industrial estate with bays for the workers to park (must have a permit) and then there are yellow criss crosses outside the garages which belong to the houses on my road. I thought the criss crosses were just to stop other people parking outside our garages, not ourselves! The VCS signs on the walls don't mention anything about these criss crosses, they just mention a fine if you park in the bays without a permit. Anyway...

A few weeks later I received a letter through my door from VCS...

I emailed them to say that:
1. I was not the driver at the time but am the registered keeper (they'd obviously found this out from the DVLA anyway, hence the letter through my door) and that I'd read up and knew I wasn't legally required to provide the drivers details so I wasn't going to do so and wasn't going to be paying any fine.
2. the ticket was incorrect anyway as my car is grey not black as stated on the ticket.
3. the ticket also had A0) "other, specify" circled as to what my contravention was, but nothing was specified so what had I apparently done wrong?

numerous emails/letters then went back and forth, I also found the CEO's email address/address and emailed/wrote to him - never got a response from him obviously!

The last letter I received in October had photographs of my car (as I requested) parked outside my own garage and some ridiculous reference to a case in 1982 (Elliot vs Loake) whereby the registered keeper although not the driver had been held responsible. It was laughable especially as the stupid woman who had written the letter was completely illiterate (their instead of there!! - seriously?!) so I ignored it.

Today I have received a country court claim form, demanding £205 (£100 fine, £35 court fee and £70 legal costs) I don't want to ignore this as I don't want CCJ against me but I am also not going to pay it. I will fight them all the way, however I also don't want to be bothered with going to court (in Sheffield!)

Any advice welcome!
Thank you!

ManxRed

You need to acknowledge the claim form, this gives you an extra 14 days to submit a defence.

Can you prove (even via witness statements from people you were with) that you were somewhere else at the time the vehicle was parked (and issued with the ticket)?

Is the claim from Gladstones? Does it mention the Protection of Freedoms Act and/or registered keeper liability anywhere in the particulars of claim? I ask, because Excel don't usually rely on this - if you still have their paperwork then check it to see if it mentions PoFA anywhere, I suspect it doesn't.

More expert help will be along shortly.

The_Slithy_Tove

From the description of the ticket, it seems like it's not POFA conformant anyway (e.g. does not clearly explain the reason for the charge). Probably many other reasons too. I hope you still have the original ticket and all the paperwork they have sent.

The key defence point will be that they are chasing the wrong person. You were not the driver. They cannot pursue you as keeper as they have not met the requirements of POFA.

jennifergriffin

Thank you.

I have just emailed in the acknowledgement of service and have ticked the " I intend to contest jurisdiction" so I now have 28 days instead of 14. But still no clue where to go from here.

I have all paperwork and the original ticket.

I have mentioned to VCS in previous correspondence that I was in London at the time the ticket was given and that if TFL are contacted they can no doubt provide CCTV showing me tapping in at Euston station with my contactless barclaycard about 5 minutes before the ticket was given! so no issues with proving I wasn't the driver.

you asked "is the claim from Gladstones? Does it mention the Protection of Freedoms Act and/or registered keeper liability anywhere in the particulars of claim? I ask, because Excel don't usually rely on this - if you still have their paperwork then check it to see if it mentions PoFA anywhere, I suspect it doesn't." - I can't see gladstones anywhere or PoFA, the only thing mentioned about registered keeper is "at all material times, the defendant was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle registered my REG"

Where should I go from here? I am going to take a picture of the T&C's on the wall of the industrial estate shortly.

ManxRed

Do you have a barclaycard statement showing your transaction in London? On the same date/time?

That would do it.

Only the driver is liable here, they supposedly formed the contract with VCS (sorry, sister company of Excel) when they parked. Unless VCS have complied with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which they (a) haven't and (b) aren't relying on anyway, then the Registered Keeper cannot possibly be liable for the charge in this instance.

Proving you weren't the driver at the time is key. Don't rely on getting the evidence from TfL, but if you can get a statement from them then great, or from barclaycard showing the transaction.

jennifergriffin

The annoying thing is the transaction for barclaycard on my bank statement isn't instant, they take it out a few days later, but if I call them perhaps they can break it down to the time and date for me?

I also have the receipt for my train ticket from Euston back to Tamworth (which left at 8.30pm (ticket was given at 8.32pm!) and got back at 9.30pm.

Herzlos

Receipt for the train ticket would do; it casts doubt on their claim that you were the driver, and it's really up for them to prove it.

Don't just hinge your case on not being the driver; attack every other basis for the invoice (the value, their permission to issue it, their signage being insufficient to form a contract).

Also keep a log of your time & costs defending it; so that when you win you can ask the judge to get your costs back (including £19/hour in research), particularly if you claim they acted unreasonably (there's a high probability they'll drop it last minute or just fail to showup).

ManxRed

That ought to be enough. Your statement, coupled with a train ticket receipt, and try and get the time of the transaction from Barclaycard.

Your defence would be that you weren't driving, and only the driver is liable.

Civil Court only requires proof on the 'balance of probabilities'. The onus is on them to prove you were driving. You have told them you weren't, and have train ticket receipt showing you were somewhere else. The Barclaycard transaction would be good as this will prove it was you (the ticket might possibly be someone else's although it's unlikely).

On the balance of probabilities the judge ought to side with you on this.

You need some expert help putting your witness statement and defence together. Someone ought to be along soon. If not, then try the Private Parking Ticket forum at https://www.pepipoo.com

jennifergriffin

Thanks for your help guys. I'll print all of this stuff out and contact Barclay's to get a time/date statement for my card payment proving I was in London.
I'll go and take a photograph of the signage and will scan in the original ticket to include in my defence.

ampersand

In keeping track of your costs/time spent[at Court-approved rate of £19 p.h.], remember to backdate to your earlier attempts and contacts with them.

I would have also protested fiercely about 'A few weeks later I received a letter through my door from VCS..'

These do not relate to this Court action, but DO show scumpany could, and should, have engaged brain[fat chance] on that same 'balance of probabilities' which should win for you now.

You will do this :-). Hope your mse name is not an identifier.

jennifergriffin

ampersand wrote: »

In keeping track of your costs/time spent[at Court-approved rate of £10 p.h.], remember to backdate to your earlier attempts and contacts with them.

I would have also protested fiercely about 'A few weeks later I received a letter through my door from VCS..'

These do not relate to this Court action, but DO show scumpany could, and should, have engaged brain[fat chance] on that same 'balance of probabilities' which should win for you now.

You will do this :-). Hope your mse name is not an identifier.

Thank you.

why would my name on here matter? I wasn't the driver as mentioned and asking for advice on here surely can't be used against me?

Not sure what you mean by the company should have engaged their brain part? sorry if I'm being stupid! haha