CPM ticket while parked at the allocated parking

nosferatu1001

Defence with a "C" please

You can add details which became evident after the claim form, yes. Just make it clear. Mainly because yoru defence is your argument, a WS is a set of facts - and the fact that there was no documentaiton for 2 of the supposed issues means you maedc an incorrect assumption due to the sparse particulars of claim on the claim form, a fault which is entirely down to the claimant

raselmahbub

I always get confused with this C and S thing when I am posting here .. thanks for pointing that out @nosferatu1001. And also thank you for the advise (should it be an S or a C)

@Johnersh, I have already sent that request to the Northampton court in my second defence including a separate letter pointing out UKCPM and Gladstone's vexatious behaviour. Also posted a letter to GS as well. Both letters are in post#94

raselmahbub

Received a letter today from the local court--

"IT IS ORDERED THAT
For the avoidance of doubt the evidence to be filed by the parties is due by 7 December 2017"

What is this? I just started preparing my statement and the date of the hearing is end of February 2018. What am I supposed to do now?

System

What am I supposed to do now?

File your WS and the important information by 7th as ordered. No 14 days before for you.

This will though allow you to go through their WS between now and Feb to find the holes or find who hired them and get the case stopped.

If your WS or their WS doesn't appear on time, the court may sanction the parties for failure such as striking out the claim OR the defence.

nosferatu1001

As above. Evidence is
WS
Anything else you call evidence - photos, letters, etc. These are UNIQUELY referenced from your WS using INITIALS/001 as a reference system

raselmahbub

OK folks.... below is the draft statement. Would appreciate a quick feedback as you know that the due date for this is 7th.


WITNESS STATEMENT OF DEFENDANT

1. I, XXX of XXXXX, am the Defendant in this matter and litigant in person. I request some leniency from the Court as I am representing myself and has no legal training or familiarity with the court/judicial process.

2. The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my personal knowledge, they are true to the best of my information and belief.

3. I moved into this property as a tenant on xxxx. Driving license and Tenancy agreement attached as proof of residence (exhibit—tenancy agreement+ driving license)

4. Schedule 1, part 15 of the Tenancy Agreement grants permission to park a private vehicle in the parking space allocated to the property. There is not agreement in the lease, that states that I have to display a parking permit or pay penalties to third party for non-display of any type of permit. (Exhibit – tenancy agreement page 00)

5. The vehicle was parked at the bay number 32 which is also the number of the flat I have rented. I was aware that I had the right to park in the allocated parking bay – with my lease making no reference to parking permits or third party operators.

6. Notwithstanding the fact that I do not require a permit, one was not even provided by the letting agent. It was also clearly mentioned in the rental advert that the property comes with an allocated parking space. (exhibit – rental advert)

7. The car park has a gated entrance which can only be opened by the authorised people and residents of the property with a key fob. I also have a key fob (given by the letting agent) which provides me unrestricted access to the allocated parking space. (Exhibit- picture of the key fob and gated entrance)

8. The first and only PCN I received was on 08-02-17 (PCN number:xxxx). As I never received a parking permit from the letting agent and was aware that I had the right to the allocated parking bay, as part of my tenancy agreement, I contacted the letting agent on 09-02-17 regarding the ticket, expecting for this to be the end of the matter. (exhibit- email to letting agent)

9. The letting agency contacted with the claimant and replied to me that I need to appeal the PCN as I am the registered keeper of the vehicle and this should end the matter. Even they drafted the appeal letter for me. (exhibit-email)

10. Following letting agency’s suggestion, I appealed the PCN (dated 08-02-2017) and was rejected. I then communicated with the letting agent and the only solution they could provide was to pay the claimant. (exhibit-appeal letter + rejection + email correspondence)

11. I received a formal demand letter from UKCPM on 29-03-17. This letter was in reference to the parking charge notice dated 08-02-17 (PCN number xxxxx) (exhibit-formal demand letter). I have not received any formal demand letter for any other PCN from UKCPM.

12. The parking charge date of the current claim is 27-01-17 for which I never received a PCN. As stated above, the first and only PCN I received was on 08-02-2017 all the correspondence from UKCPM was related to that PCN. I have not received a Claim for 08-02-2017 yet. As I never received a PCN or any correspondence from UKCPM for the current claim, I made an incorrect assumption that the current claim is for 08-02-2017 and the defence I have submitted is also based on the same assumption.


13. The claimant has issued another claim (xxxx) identical to the current claim referencing to a parking charge notice dated 03-02-17. Again, I never received a PCN for the date mentioned and was completely unaware that UKCPM is purporting to have issued more than one PCN because only one PCN (PCN number: xxxxx) was ever served/seen on the car and this was appealed. (Exhibit – PCN, appeal letter)

14. This second claim (xxxxx) is the first I realized that UKCPM is alleging there was more than one PCN. The only clue that there may have been more than one PCN is seen only after receiving the second claim, by scrutinising the minutiae of detail in the references/dates in the Debt Recovery Plus letters, which I understand are pure harassment and believe all related to the single PCN I have appealed.

15. As I am the lawful tenant of the property which comes with an allocated parking bay in a gated underground parking area and was given unrestricted access (key fob), I had not studied any of the Claimant’s signs as I felt I had no need to. The big readable letters clearly say ‘PARKING RESTRICTIONS’ and I assumed that those were to prevent non-resident’s parking in the car park. (Exhibit-Parking sign)

16. I have always parked my car at bay 32 which is also the flat number. The car was parked at bay 32 on the date stated in the current claim. The only photographic evidence provided by UKCPM (which is for a different date and PCN) also shows that the car was parked at bay 32. (exhibit-formal demand letter from ukcpm)

17. It is denied that the Claimant has standing to bring any claim in the absence of a contract that expressly permits the Claimant to do so, in addition to merely undertaking parking management. The Claimant has provided no proof of any such entitlement.

18. The Defendant avers that the residential site that is the subject of these proceedings is not a site where there is a commercial value to be protected. The Claimant has not suffered loss or pecuniary disadvantage. The penalty charge is, accordingly, unconscionable in this context, with ParkingEye distinguished.

19. The Particulars of Claim (“PoC”) of the Claim Form were sparse and lacking in detail. they were incoherent and disclose no actual cause of action. Therefore the PoC did not comply with CPR 16.4 and Practice Direction 16. (Exhibitv- practice direction)

20. The Claimant has issued vague and incoherent PoC such as the Defendant does not have enough information to efficiently defend this claim. I therefore request the Court to allow me to add further points to my defence once I have seen the Claimant’s court bundle containing their evidence and witness statement.

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement, XXXX are true.
Signed:
Dated:
Defendant

Also a quick question...How do I attach the exhibits? Can I use sicky notes/post-its as exhibit sticker?

raselmahbub

OK .. I have now received GS's statement.
What do I need to do now? According to newbies thread, next step is to turn up at the hearing which means I will just need to wait now.

I have added a brief version of their statement below and few questions. Would appreciate if any of the experts here help me out with these questions.

Exhibits they have included in their statement:

• the agreement between UKCPM and the property management company as their authority to manage the parking space.
• Signs as the Contract
• The site plan and
• the photographs of the incident.
• Judgment - Link Parking v Blaney

#1 to #3 contains basic stuff and the list of the exhibits as above.
#4 is about the procedure they followed to issue the Claim and that the form only allow them to insert brief details of the Claim.

#5 they said I was well aware of the charge as they issued Notices and LBC in accordance with the act and I have failed to respond.
How do I respond to this? why didn't I answer to any of those letters? I was just ignoring all the letters and was waiting if they actually go for a claim.. but surely I can not say this to the court

#6 - I have not provided any evidence to support my alleged right to park.
I have now provided the tenancy agrrement

#7- UKCPM's right to manage the land indicating the agreement between them and the property management company. In accordance with the agreement Permits were delivered in xxxx2014 and therefore the residents would have been aware of the parking regulations then.
Since I only moved into the property last year I have not received any of these

#8 - Reference to Link v Blanely (May2017). Specific reference to paragraph 22 .....whereby it was held that the landowner's rights were subject to regulations brought in from time to time and therefore "any tenancy agreement...must be subject to it as well" In light of this, any right the Defendant alleges may have been given to him to park would have always encumbered as the Landlord could not have given a right which is not theirs to give.
Reading the Judgment, my understanding is that there were terms in both the tenancy agreement and the head lease that the management company could introduce regulations time to time and they should comply with this.

My tenancy agreement does not state anything similar to the above. Additionally, it says:

• "Head Lease" or “Superior Lease” means the document which sets out the promises the Landlord has made to the Superior Landlord. The promises contained in this Head Lease will bind the Tenant if he has prior knowledge of those promises.
  
  
• To comply with the obligations of the Head Lease provided a copy of the obligations is attached to this Agreement at Schedule 6.

  ---

  And there is no Schedule 6 in my tenancy agreement

#9 - By accepting a permit I have bound myself to the parking scheme.
Well, I have never received a Permit, let alone accepting one

#10 - I never made any objections to the scheme so any rights I have are therefore abandoned.
Never been aware of the scheme neither received a permit, no point of objection

Charges is excessive/no loss suffered
#11 - The charge sought is industry standard and is set at a rate so as to suitably satisfy my Company’s legitimate interest. in the case of ParklngEye v Beavis 2015 it was held that an £85.00 charge was neither extravagant nor unconscionable. The Accredited Trade Associations of which parking operators must be a member In order to apply for DVLA data prescribe a maximum charge of £100. My Company's charges are within this level. The charge is not, therefore, excessive.
Don't know how to respond to this.

#12 - The recent decision of the Supreme Court also made it clear that the charges are not penal nor do they have to be reflective of the parking operator’s loss. Furthermore, they are they are entitled to be at a level that provides a deterrent effect.
Don't know how to respond

#13 - It is evident the Defendant parked on the Relevant Land without displaying a valid permit pursuant to the signs. Notification was sent to the Defendant which provided them with an opportunity to appeal the charge, however, no appeal was received. By parking in the manner he did the charge was correctly issued.
Never received a PCN/notification so no appeal. The two letters attached were sent to my previous address. As I just moved to a new address I was in the process of changing the dvla address as well. How did they obtain the address?

No authority to enforce charges
#14 - As the contract is between my Company and the Defendant, my Company does have the authority to enforce parking charges. However, both VCS v HM Revenue 8: Customs (2013) and Parking Eye v Beavis (CA 2015) made it clear that a contracting party need not show they have a right to do what they have promised in the performance of a contract, nor is (in the case of a parking operator) the agreement between Operator and Landowner of any relevance. In any event, and without concession, the Agreement exhibited to this Witness Statement evidences my Company’s authorisation to Operate / manage the Relevant Land on behalf of the Landowner.
Don't know how to respond

#15 Lord Justice Lewison commented in VCS v HM Revenue & Customs (2013) EWCA Civ 186

1. The Upper Tribunal’s reasoning on this part of the case was that since VCS did not have the right under its contract with the car park owner to grant a licence to park, it could not have contracted with the motorist to grant such a right. in my judgment there is a serious flaw in this reasoning.

2. The flaw in the reasoning is that it confuses the making of a contract with the power to perform it. There is no legal impediment to my contracting to sell you Buckingham Palace. if (inevitably) I fail to honour my contract then I can be sued for damages. On the stock market it is commonplace for traders to sell short; in other words to sell shares that they do not own in the hope of buying them later at a lower price. In order to perform the contract the trader will have to acquire the required number of shares after the contract of sale is made. Moreover, in some cases a contracting party may not only be able to contract to confer rights over property that he does not own, but may also be able to perform the contract without acquiring any such right. Thus in Bruton v London and Quadrant Housing Trust [2000] 1 AC 406 a housing trust with no interest in land was held to have validly granted a tenancy of the land to a residential occupier. The tenancy would not have been binding on the landowner, but bound the two contracting parties in precisely the same way as it would have done if the grantor had had an interest in the land.
Thus in my judgment the Upper Tribunal were wrong to reverse the decision of the FTT on the question whether VCS had the power to enter into a contract. Having the power to enter into a contract does not, of course, mean that VCS necessarily did enter into a contract with the motorist to permit parking”

Don't know how to respond

The Current Debt
#16 - In view of the Defendant not paying the charge within the 28 days allowed they are in breach of the contract. Breach of contract entities the innocent party to damages as of right in addition to the parking charge incurred.
a)Never received a PCN and b)where there was no contract to start with, there is no question of breaching it

#-17 - ln view of the Defendant not paying the charge the matter was passed to my Company’s legal representatives, Gladstones Solicitors Ltd. The debt has, as a result of this referral risen as my Company’s staff have spent time and material in facilitating the recovery of this debt. This time could have been better spent on other elements of my Company‘s business. My Company believes the costs associated with such time spent were incurred naturally as a direct result of the Defendant’s breach and as such asks that this element of the claim be awarded as a damage. The costs claimed are a pre-determined and nominal contribution to the actual losses. Alternatively, my Company does have a right to costs pursuant to the sign (Le. the contract).
Don't know how to respond

---

end of the statement----

The two letters from UKCPM they have attached

1. Parking Charge Notice
2. Formal Demand

Both of the letters were sent to my previous address. Where did they get my address from? Can they serve a PCN in a letter format? and interestingly the parking charge date and time in both letters, in the pictures and in the claim form are different. It appears that the incident date is two days earlier then the PCN issue date and the claim form refers to the PCN Issue date not the incident date. Can they serve a PCN two days later after the incident?

nosferatu1001

Essentially you are at the stage where you need to do what youve done - summarise all the flaws in their arguments, and create a SKELETON ARGUMENT which summarises your defence, and how shoddy their claim is. About a page of A4. Submit this about 3 days before - claimant and court, as ever

raselmahbub

Thanks nosferatu1001.
For the SKELETON ARGUMENT I need all of your help here with all the questions in my last post.

Ants842

Hi All
I've recently received a fine from CPM and sent appeal to them within the time period but sent it as a special/recorded delivery .Royal mail attempted to deliver this more than once and then eventually the appeal letter was returned to myself due to " not called for". This is all recorded and evidential and I sent a further letter with the original appeal to take in to account that this was attempted to deliver ( with the evidence- letter and royal mail ref number with the attempts to deliver)
However they have rejected it and still forwarded my fine to DRP due to not sending the appeal in time. I've called and spoken to CPM on different occasions and they are going around in circles saying that they understand the situation but cant do anything on their end to settle the matter even though ... Please advise