ParkingEye Letter Before County Court Claim - Derby

SMASH3R

Hello everyone.

I have received a series of kind letters from ParkingEye, the usual NTK stuff. It took a couple of months to get to me due to a slight delay in me remembering to update my V5 (this has subsequently been updated as I now live in the Birmingham area). ParkingEye stated they found this through a credit reference agency, and gave me an additional 14 days to pay the reduced £60 from the date of the second letter (which was attached to the first letter in the same envelope).

The incident which is being referred to is me going to a restaurant in Pride Park (Derby) for lunch. This was a team lunch, with other members of the team in attendance. No one noticed any signs about the ParkingEye rules.

The first letter, date of issue 6 days after the date of the incident states:

---

Time in car park: 1 hours and 1 minutes.

On the'X' June 2016 vehicle REG entered the RESTAURANT Pride Parkway car park at NOON and departed at ONE PM on 'X' June 2016.

The signage, which is clearly displayed at the entrance to and throughout the car park, states that this is private land, the car park is managed by ParkingEye Ltd, as a permit/authorised vehicle only car park and that those parking without the appropriate permit/authorisation will incur the Parking Charge displayed, along with other terms and conditions of the car park by which those who park in the car park agree to be bound.

By not gaining the appropriate permit/authorisation, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the signage, the Parking Charge is now payable to ParkingEye Ltd (as the Creditor).

You are notified under paragraph 9(2)(b) of schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that the driver of the motor vehicle is required to pay this parking charge in full. As we do not know the driver’s name or current postal address, if you were not the driver at the time, you should tell us the name and current postal address of the driver and pass this notice to them. You are warned that if, after 29 days from the date given (which is presumed to be the second working day after the Date Issued), the parking charge has not been paid in full and we do not know both the name and current address of the driver, we have the right to recover any unpaid part of the parking charge from you. This warning is given to you under Paragraph 9(2)(f) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and is subject to our complying with the applicable conditions under Schedule 4 of that Act.

Should you provide an incorrect address for service, we will pursue you for any Parking Charge amount that remains unpaid.

Should you identify someone, who denies they were the driver, we will pursue you for any Parking Charge amount that remains unpaid.

---

Around the very end of August, I received the first and second letters for the first time (delay due to the V5 that was previously not corrected for new address), stating the following:
===============================================================
Dear Sir/Madam,

ParkingEye has previously written to you at the address that you had registered with the DVLA at the time of the Parking Event (as detailed on the enclosed Parking Charge Notice). However it has come to our attention that you no longer live at this address but reside at the above address. This new address has been supplied to ParkingEye by a Credit Reference Agency. For further details of this please see the reverse of this letter.

Despite the fact that ParkingEye could not have reasonably known you were at a different address, we are willing to offer you the ability to pay the Parking Charge at the reduced amount. We will accept the reduced amount of £60.00 if payment is made within 14 days of the date of this letter (17th August 2016). After this the reduced amount will no longer be available to you. Further details, including how to appeal are contained within the accompanying (and original) Parking Charge Notice.

Should you choose to ignore this notice, please be aware that ParkingEye may pursue this matter through the County Court or that, alternatively, debt recovery may be undertaken, all of which could incur further costs which may be added to the amount owed. Should court proceedings be issued, further costs incurred by ParkingEye will be added. These will include, but are not limited to, the cost of issuing the court claim, credit reference agency costs and our solicitor’s fees. Please find details of how to make payment above and on the reverse of the enclosed Parking Charge Notice.
===============================================================


I have no idea why there was such a large gap between the 17th August, and me receiving the letter. Nevertheless, I immediately contacted the RESTAURANT by phone, advising them of this. The member of RESTAURANT staff said that there are "17 signs in the car park and someone would have told you at the wait to be seated desk on arrival", but that they get this all the time. She took my details, including date of booking (but not ParkingEye reference number) and immediately offered to contact ParkingEye to get this charge removed, but advised it might take 5 to 6 weeks to process through the ParkingEye system. I was also given a ParkingEye telephone number so that I could advise them that the RESTAURANT would be requesting a cancellation of the charge. I phone ParkingEye, and they have this call on record on 1st September.

It might be useful to state that whilst six people ate at the restaurant, most paid with cash (including me) and no one kept the receipt, but that we did make a booking for the lunchtime meal. I advised this to the RESTAURANT at the time of the call, and they said this was 'not a problem'.

I thought this would all come out in the wash (having never heard of ParkingEye before), but imagine my surprise when I got back from holiday yesterday to find a LBCCC on the doormat!!

Letter dated 20th September 2016. I opened the letter 26th September 2016. Letter states the usual LBCCC stuff from ParkingEye, as follows:
===============================================================
===============================================================
Dear Sir I Madam,
LETTER BEFORE COUNTY COURT CLAIM

n the 26 July 2016 we notified you that, as the registered keeper of this vehicle, you had become liable for this Parking Charge, which was issued following a breach of the terms and conditions at RESTAURANT Pride Parkway, on the 'X' June 2016. This notified you that the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) for Keeper Liability had been satisfied. Please note that this charge is levied for breach of contract.

Further to this, we advised you that the sum payable amounted to £100.00 and that you were required to make this payment or further action would be taken. ParkingEye did not receive an appeal or payment from you within the 28 days outlined on this correspondence. We have also since contacted you further at a new address, which was given to ParkingEye by a Credit Reference Agency, and we attached the original Parking Charge to this correspondence (xxxxx/xxxxx*). Again, we received no response.

We must now inform you that unless payment of £100.00 is made within the next 14 days, further action will be taken and court proceedings will be issued, which will incur further costs. These costs will include, but are not limited to £50.00 solicitor’s costs and £25.00 court claim issue fee. ParkingEye would further draw your attention to the recent Supreme Court decision detailed at paragraph 5 overleaf. The appeal concerned the value of ParkingEye’s Parking Charges and the Judgment, granted in ParkingEye’s favour, delivers a binding precedent in respect of the sum sought, as the Court found that the Parking Charge was set at a reasonable amount. Should you wish to contact ParkingEye (details above and below), you must do so within 14 days of the date of this Letter Before Claim.

*Please note, we have used this reference on all correspondence sent to you to date and you should have all the information you may require to understand and investigate the issues by referring to this documentation.

Further Information
1 . Please be aware that this Letter Before County Court Claim is fully compliant with the Practice Direction on Pre Action Conduct. We must draw to your attention to this Practice Direction (justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct) and to paragraphs I 3 to I 6 concerning the courts powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the Practice Direction.

In particular, please be aware of CPR 17.1. If legal action is taken, either payment of the full claim amount or a defence to the claim should be made. Once the defence and reply are submitted, the claim will be allocated to a County Court, and a witness statement and documents should be submitted. We would remind the defendant that if they wish to amend their defence, they should submit an N244 Form, and pay the relevant fee. Once permission
to amend the defence has been granted, this new defence should be submitted both to the claimant and the court. The claimant will then reply to this amended defence. We would request that any amendments to the defence are made in good time, so as to allow the claimant to respond fully prior to the filing and serving of witness statements
and documents. Further defence points should not be raised in the witness statement.

2. It should also be noted that we are unable to use the Parking On Private Land Appeals (POPLA) Service as Alternative Dispute Resolution at this stage. This is because POPLA will only accept an appeal after the motorist has made their appeal (‘representations’) to the operator who issued the Parking Charge Notice and that operator has rejected these and issued a POPLA appeal form. As you have not made representations to ParkingEye in the
timescale required (i.e. 28 days from the date of our initial correspondence), you are unable to appeal to POPLA. You have been made aware of these timescales in our correspondence, which has stated;

“All appeals and complaints must be put in writing and should be forwarded to one of the addresses below. All appeals must be received within 28 days from the date of our initial correspondence. Please include all information to assist with the appeal. This may include: a store receipt from the day in question; proof of purchases via a bank statement etc. If the appeal is unsuccessful, you will be advised in writing and you will also be provided with details of the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA), their contact details and a unique appeal reference. Please note: The POPLA service is only available for parking events dated from 1st October 2012 and POPLA will not accept an appeal, if you have not appealed to ParkingEye in the first instance.”

Should this letter be ignored, and legal action taken, further costs will be incurred. However, ParkingEye will remain open to Alternate Dispute Resolution, and suggests that this takes place directly between the two parties on a without prejudice basis. Please put this in writing to the address listed on the front of this letter and ensure such correspondence is clearly marked ‘without prejudice’.

3. The loss claimed in this Letter Before County Court Claim is in line with guidelines set out by the British Parking Association (BPA). ParkingEye have also ensured that their Parking Charge amount is not punitive and set on the basis of a strong commercial justification for charges of this nature. The charge is proportionate to our loss, and has been calculated using our company records and accounts, which are publicly available. The Parking Charge
amounts are calculated in conjunction with the landholder, and have been approved and prescribed by the SPA.

4. As court proceedings have not yet begun, and as no defence has yet been filed, it is impossible for ParkingEye to state exactly the documents that will be relied upon. The essential documents will be; all Parking Charge notices that have been sent, any defence submitted by you, any reply to defence submitted by us, any document proving ParkingEye’s authorisation to operate on site and any signage plan or images of signage from the site in question. These could also include, but are not limited to; the POFA 2012 and the SPA Code of Practice.

5. The Supreme Court handed down Judgment on 4th November 2015 in the matter of ParkingEye and Mr Barry Beavis. The majority decision reached by the Supreme Court panel dismisses Mr Beavis’ appeal on both grounds. The Supreme Court found that the Parking Charge issued by ParkingEye was neither ‘unfair’, nor ‘penal’. The Court also agreed with the analysis previously proffered by both HHJ Moloney and the Court of Appeal, finding that the sum sought of £85 was neither ‘extravagant, nor unconscionable’. This Judgment delivers much needed clarity to motorists, landowners and the Parking Industry and is binding upon all lower courts and any Independent Appeals Service. A full copy of the Judgment can be found here:
supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0280-judgment.pdf
===============================================================
===============================================================

More to follow in next post.

Coupon-mad

I have no idea why there was such a large gap between the 17th August, and me receiving the letter.

Nevertheless, I immediately contacted the RESTAURANT by phone, advising them of this. The member of RESTAURANT staff said that there are "17 signs in the car park and someone would have told you at the wait to be seated desk on arrival", but that they get this all the time. She took my details, including date of booking (but not ParkingEye reference number) and immediately offered to contact ParkingEye to get this charge removed, but advised it might take 5 to 6 weeks to process through the ParkingEye system.

I was also given a ParkingEye telephone number so that I could advise them that the RESTAURANT would be requesting a cancellation of the charge. I phone ParkingEye, and they have this call on record on 1st September.

It might be useful to state that whilst six people ate at the restaurant, most paid with cash (including me) and no one kept the receipt, but that we did make a booking for the lunchtime meal. I advised this to the RESTAURANT at the time of the call, and they said this was 'not a problem'.

A phone call from 4 weeks ago is not helpful for you (no records of it!) Stop phoning. You need a paper trail or email trail.

Email ParkingEye's Enforcement Dept immediately and say how horrified you are to receive a LBCCC so soon after their August letter finally arrived, and after you telephoned ParkingEye on 1st September to advise that the Restaurant were authorising this unfair PCN to be cancelled.

Reiterate that this was a genuine restaurant booking for six people, none of whom saw any signs nor had the (very unclear and unexpected) parking terms drawn to their attention in the Restaurant in any way at all. Mention the surname on the booking and the name of the person at the Restaurant who is cancelling this:

enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk

Finish by insisting that the PCN is cancelled and that any enforcement action (with regards to proceeding with a claim) is put on hold immediately. Remind them that the Overriding Objective in the pre-action Protocol is for disputes to be settled out of court and/or for disclosure and sharing of the facts so that all parties are on an even footing. Court should be a last resort and in this case it would be vexatious and unreasonable to proceed when the Restaurant Manager (name them again) has confirmed he is authorising cancellation.

Then get on to the Restaurant Manager again, ask HIM to email the above email address, or forward your ParkingEye 'sent' email to him and ask him to reply and copy ParkingEye in, confirming that the charge is to be cancelled as the group were genuine patrons.

Make sure if he does that urgently within minutes/hours (no relying on phone calls please) and that PE have indeed been copied in!

You cannot relax until you KNOW this is cancelled and that means confirmation from PE. Otherwise they sue the pants off people.

SMASH3R

I phoned the ParkingEye again today, and they advised that they have no record of the request of charge cancellation from the RESTAURANT, but they did have a record of my previous call. I stated that several of us had legitimate business with the RESTAURANT (i.e. lunch), and I wanted to know what information ParkingEye wanted to resolve this matter as efficiently as possible between us both, so that it didn't even need to bother going to court. Needless to say, the adviser was absolutely useless, and simply referred me to the appeals process.

I WILL NOT BE PHONING PARKINGEYE AGAIN> ONLY WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.

I subsequently phone the RESTAURANT again, and insisted I spoke to the duty manager this time. I explained the situation and provided my details again. I was told "this will not be going to court". I was later called back by the duty manager of the RESTAURANT who said this should be resolved. However, after reading of this forum, I don't have much faith in ParkingEye.

So, my first plan of attack is to send a letter of acknowledgement though the ParkingEye appeals link on their website, as follows.

(1) I will admit as being the registered keeper from the 'drop down' box, but could also I guess chose 'none of the above'.

(2) I will include something along the lines of the following (but to be much more personalised by me later) in the letter of acknowledgement (thanks to zzzLazyDaisy help threads):

============================================================
Dear ParkingEye Team

Re: ParkingEye reference xxxxx/xxxxx
ParkingEye Ltd v my name
Proposed Legal Proceedings

Thank you for your letter of DATE,

First, the alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Secondly, despite the wholly inaccurate statement that the letter is 'fully compliant with the Practice Direction', after reading the Practice Direction in full, it is in fact woefully defective and appears to be a deliberate attempt to mislead me, NAME.

Please therefore provide a Letter Before Claim which complies with the requirements of Annex A Para 2 of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct:

justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...action_conduct

Your letter claims that you can only provide POPLA dispute resolution if I have appealed to you within 28 days of receiving the PCN. I do not believe this to be either true, nor in the interests of either myself or ParkingEye. I personally believe that it is prudent to mitigate your losses or the losses of the landowner, and not to incur additional losses unnecessarily i.e. unnecessary cost should not be incurred by taking this matter to court when it could be resolved with a alternative resolution service. I also don't believe that this is a good use of the Court's time, so please reconsider allowing resolution through POPLA.
I confirm that following a full response from yourselves providing the information as requested, I shall then seek advice and submit a formal Response within 30 days of receipt, as required by the Practice Direction.

Please ensure that someone does actually read and respond to this letter, providing the specific information relating to the county court claim that your client intends to make against myself as the defendant to the proposed legal proceedings.

---

Extract from Practice Direction
Annex A

2. Claimant’s letter before claim

2.1
The claimant’s letter should give concise details about the matter. This should enable the defendant to understand and investigate the issues without needing to request further information. The letter should include –

(1) the claimant’s full name and address;
(2) the basis on which the claim is made (i.e. why the claimant says the defendant is liable);
(3) a clear summary of the facts on which the claim is based;
(4) what the claimant wants from the defendant;
(5) if financial loss is claimed, an explanation of how the amount has been calculated; and
(6) details of any funding arrangement (within the meaning of rule 43.2(1)(k) of the CPR) that has been entered into by the claimant.

2.2
The letter should also –
(1) list the essential documents on which the claimant intends to rely;
(2) set out the form of ADR (if any) that the claimant considers the most suitable and invite the defendant to agree to this;
(3) state the date by which the claimant considers it reasonable for a full response to be provided by the defendant; and
(4) identify and ask for copies of any relevant documents not in the claimant's possession and which the claimant wishes to see.
============================================================


Questions I have:
(i) The 'county court claim that your client wished to make against me'. Is it ParkingEye's client, or is it just ParkingEye?

(ii) Assuming that they don't disclose everything, I will for my next request of the same spell out my request for an unredacted copy of the contract between ParkingEye and the landowner. I presume I don't need to load that into the letter at this stage?

(iii) I am also concerned that I cannot find "Annex A Para 2 of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct" on the PD website, despite having a good look. I could find something about section 36, which looks similar. Can someone provide a direct link before I start quoting something that is no longer correct?

(iv) Do I actually have a valid defence when this gets to court, or do I need to do extra to 'protect' myself. Things that spring to mind are:
(a) Get independent written statements from my 5 colleagues, including a 'screenshot' of the meeting from our work calendars showing the attendees.
(b) Get a copy of a bank statement from one of the attendees showing their part charge at the RESTAURANT.
(c) Go in to the restaurant and ask for a copy of the receipt (will they give this?)
(d) Go in to the restaurant and ask for a copy of the table bookings.
(e) Go in to the restaurant and ask for a written statement that they do not wish to pursue this charge and that I have retrospective permission to use the carpark to eat lunch in the restaurant.

Crikey, this is stressful. I am getting a really tight and painful chest going through this tonight!

SMASH3R

Coupon-mad wrote: »

A phone call from 4 weeks ago is not helpful for you (no records of it!) Stop phoning. You need a paper trail or email trail.

Cheers Coupon-mad,
You jumped in a bit quick before I could get my second post in :rotfl:
I naively thought that phoning ParkingEye would be an appeal. I didn't realise is wasn't an Appeal.

I will follow up with your advice tomorrow.

What do you think about the letter of acknowledgement?

Coupon-mad

I think when you are phoning you are speaking to a clerk in the appeals section. And if you use the appeals page 'contact us' it gets held up in the same section. Not the people you want to be communicating with.

ParkingEye is an enormous employer (at the moment, until one day they are finally stopped from the truly nasty business model they follow) and so you do not want to be talking to the office tea-boy or girl in the wrong office. You need to email the enforcement team immediately.

You could include some form of 'acknowledgement' and blurb about the Practice Direction but in my experience, I've seen off LBCCCs from PE for people just by emailing and telling them why the charge should be cancelled (showing receipts etc).

No need for a formal acknowledgement really, just strike in a way that makes it clear that they must put the charge 'on hold' (use those words) and that to proceed now would be unreasonable and vexatious. Give them till the end of the week to confirm that either:

(A) the charge is cancelled, or

(B) the case is on hold for 21 days to allow the Restaurant to step in, as promised.

catfunt

I suggest you edit your original posts and remove any reference numbers you have included.

Do it now.

SMASH3R

catfunt wrote: »

I suggest you edit your original posts and remove any reference numbers you have included.

Do it now.

Done! Cheers :beer:

The_Deep

The may have shot themselves in the foot by mentioning Beavis

Beavis concerned an overstay in a free car park in a retail park which PE paid £1.000 a week to farm. That PE won their case there does not set a precedent here.

Complain to the BPA about their misappropriate use of the case, no doubt ion order to intimidate you. and read up about it in case they try to use it in court.

https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2015-0116.html

SMASH3R

I have sent in my acknowledgement of LBCCC and asked PE to provide a new one in compliance with Practice Direction. I wanted to do this to secure additional time should the matter with the RESTAURANT prove unsuccessful. I have also asked PE to put this claim on hold etc as per C-Ms helpful suggestions.

I have forwarded this on to the General Manager for the RESTAURANT, and they have forwarded on to parking@parkingeye.co.uk, advising that I had legitimate business and that they want the charge cancelled. I am copied in on this email as per my request.

Yesterday and today the RESTAURANT have been really helpful in supporting me with this claim (as I believe they absolutely should be in this case). I just hope that this translates to PE getting the message and stopping this unnecessary, heavy-handed action that is verging on harassment. I have been and still am in communication with PE trying to resolve this; why they need to immediately to take this to Court at this stage is beyond me*


*of course it is not beyond me. It is because they are trying to frighten me to paying a charge that they know full-well they have absolutely no grounds whatever to receive, and they are trying to scam me.

Half_way

You really need some sort of written confirmation, something along the lines of WE ( Restaurant name) as Principal do not agree to or consent to the unreasonable action being taken by our agents (Parking eye ) in pursuing this matter (re parking charge notice) to court and wasting the courts valuable time, therefore we (RESTUARANT name request that this unreasonable action is struck out by the court.
I confirm that the above is correct and a true statement of the truth
Signed ( for and on behalf of RESTUARANT______________
Date:________________________

SMASH3R

Half_way wrote: »

You really need some sort of written confirmation....

The wheels are in motion. I have bought myself a bit more time with the acknowledgement of LBCCC. If I get no response from PE in the next week following the GM email, I will again revist the restaurant in person, and speak with the GM and follow up this idea.