1 Big Car Park, 2 landowners, Valid parking ticket but Parking Charge Issued

Kezza15

FYI, I had a drive to the car park on Tuesday, the council have now out a sign up stating that beyond the sign it is Winwick Street Car Park. Also they have put a big pile of debris on the connecting stretch of road so you can't pass.

claxtome

I got a court notice through the post a week ago. Court date is set towards end of October. It mentions I have a month to supply info to the court (towards end of July) Been busy so not had time to read in detail. Need to take a good luck in the forum what I need to do before end of July.

Coupon-mad

OK, it's all set out in post #2 of the NEWBIES thread. Witness Statement & evidence stage.

claxtome

Hello everyone.
I now have to submit my witness statement imminently.
I wonder if someone could take a look at my basic draft and make any comments or suggestions.
I'd obviously appreciate any help.
Thanks

I will add the Exhibits to a Dropbox soon and provide a link later....

Questions:
Do I need to get a copy of the Beavis sign?
Do I need to include any other eveidence?

Bear in mind the court date is not until October but the witness statement needs to be sent on Friday. I will be creating a Skeleton Argument before October to help me on the day....



WITNESS STATEMENT

I am xxxxxxx xxxxx, defendant in this matter and deny liability for the entirety of the claim.

1. I am an unrepresented consumer who has never attended the county court before.

2. On the xxxx2016 I stopped to pay for a valid parking ticket for the day (Exhibit A), as the entrance showed a pay and display car park (Exhibit , before continuing to find a space to park. No further signs were seen which could indicate an area of land owned by any other person; the area managed by the Claimant.

3. Upon returning to the car at the end of the day I found a parking charge notice xxxx (Exhibit C) asking for payment of £100 for failing to pay and display a valid parking ticket. Handwritten on the notice was the words "Council tickets not valid on this part of the car park". It was only then I looked around to check signs. I noticed the entrance signs give the same name of the car park as "Xxxx" (Exhibits B, D and E)

4. The route taken on the day is shown in a DVD video, taken on a later day than in question, (Exhibit F) and on the map (Exhibit G). The DVD shows the ticket machine used with signs adhered to and I have enclosed a photograph (Exhibit H) as well.

5. The DVD also clearly shows no signs or markings to indicate to drivers that they are passing from one area of the car park to another, and that different rules of parking apply in each. I have enclosed photographs of the assumed land boundary with no clear signs (Exhibits I and J).

6. This lack of signage at a boundary goes against its CoP guidelines:
Entrance Signs should:
* a) !Make it clear that the motorist is entering onto private land
* b) !Refer the motorist to the signs within the car park which display the full terms 
and conditions.

7. The DVD shows a new fence that has been erected after xxx2016. A photograph taken from Google street view of the boundary (Exhibit K) shows how the land boundary prior to the fence being erected looked on the day in question. To back this up you can clearly see on photographs (Exhibits L, M, N and O) how much newer the fence is compared to the other fences in the car park.

8. Examples of the signage in the private parking area shows signs which are small and not easy to read particularly from a car. (Exhibits P, Q and R)

9. Part E, Schedule 1 of the Code of Practice of the Independent Parking Committee (of which ES is a member), clearly states that “Text should be of such a size and in a font that can be easily read by a motorist having regard to the likely position of the motorist in relation to the sign". The signage is not as per the code.

10. On the xxx2017 I received a demand for an unpaid parking charge for the full amount. (Exhibit S)

11. On the xxx I received a further demand with increased amount owing with no explanation for the increased amount and threatened further debt recovery. No figure for additional charges was agreed no could it have formed part of the ‘alleged’ contract because no such indemnity costs were quantified on the signs Terms cannot be bolted on later with figures plucked out of thin air, as if they were incorporated into the small print, when they were not. (Exhibit T)

12. On the xxx2017 I appealed explaining the circumstances on the day and why I felt I was not liable for the parking charge. (Exhibit U)

13. On the xxx I received a letter xxx rejecting an appeal as it was too late. (Exhibit V) There was no mention of a response to my points raised in my appeal.

14. On the xxx I received a Letter Before Claim (Exhibit W) Once again the demand specified an increased amount without any explanation.

15. On the xxx I sent to Gladstones my first response. This letter explained I had appealed and the reason for disputing the charge. I did include a copy of the ticket displayed on the day and a copy of the parking charge. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of this letter.

16. On the xxx I received a reply from Gladstones (Exhibit X) quoting "As evident from the photographs you didn't display a ticket in accordance with the terms". To date I have still not seen any of the photographs quoted.

17. On the xxx I sent to Gladstones my second response. (Exhibit Y)

18. On the xxx I received a Claim Form from CCBC xxx (Exhibit Z)

19. The particulars of claim do not meet the requirements of Practice Direction 16 7.5 as there is nothing which specifies how the terms were breached. Indeed the particulars of claim are not clear and concise as is required by CPR 16.4 1(a). There is no information regarding why the charge arose, what the original charge was, what the alleged contract was nor anything which could be considered a fair exchange of information. It just states “parking charges” which does not give any indication of on what basis the claim is brought.

20. The claimant failed to send a copy of their written contract as per Practice Direction 16 7.3(1) and Practice Direction 7C 1.4(3A). No indication is given as to the Claimants contractual authority to operate there as required by the Claimants Trade Association's Code of Practice B1.1 which says

1.1 If you operate parking management activities on land which is not owned by you, you must supply us with written authority from the land owner sufficient to establish you as the ‘Creditor’ within the meaning of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (where applicable) and in any event to establish you as a person who is able to recover parking charges. There is no prescribed form for such agreement and it need not necessarily be as part of a contract but it must include the express ability for an operator to recover parking charges on the landowner’s behalf or provide sufficient right to occupy the land in question so that charges can be recovered by the operator directly. This applies whether or not you intend to use the keeper liability provisions.

21. I would like to point out to the presiding judge that the claimant has not supplied any evidence at all that the alleged contravention ever occurred. No photographs taken of the contravention have ever been seen by me, despite a request for more detailed evidence. As Gladstones are a firm of solicitors whose Directors also run the IPC Trade Body and deal with private parking issues every single day of the week there can be no excuse for these omissions.

22. I also dispute that the Claimant has incurred £50 solicitors costs to pursue an allege £100 debt, the costs of which are in any case not recoverable. The claimant has described the charge of £50 as ‘legal fees’ not ‘contractual costs’ CPR 31.14 does not permit these to be recoverable in the Small Claims Court

23. The Claimant has at no time provided an explanation how the sum has been calculated, the conduct that gave rise to it or how the amount has climbed from £100 to £160.

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true

Signed:

Coupon-mad

Do I need to get a copy of the Beavis sign?

Yes, to compare and contrast. Easily found on the Parking Prankster's website or by Googling 'Beavis sign parking prankster'.


Typo corrected here:

22. I also dispute that the Claimant has incurred £50 solicitors costs to pursue an alleged £100 debt,

You could include Jolley v Carmel - hosted on the BMPA website:

https://bmpa.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000857125-Jolley-v-Carmel-Limited-2000-

In Jolley v Carmel Ltd [2000] 2 –EGLR -154, it was held that a party who makes reasonable endeavours and reasonable steps, to comply with contractual terms, should not be penalised for breach outside of their control and outside of any contractual term within their knowledge.

claxtome

Thank you Coupon-mad found the Beavis sign thanks.
If I include the "Jolley v Carmel Ltd", which sounds like a great idea, I assume I will quote the text you gave above in my Witness Statement but do I need to to include anything else in either my witness statement or later Skeleton?
I.e. A transcript or anything of the case?

A further question I had - how do I present the witness statement to court?
A printed out document with Exhibits attached with a paper clip maybe
Or
...

Sorry have found it difficult to find out this info from the newbie sticky... :-(

Coupon-mad

I.e. A transcript or anything of the case?

Yes - the transcript provided in the link by the BMPA.

A printed out document with Exhibits attached with a paper clip maybe

Far too flimsy. I don't even use paper clips in my job at a school, bearing in mind how easily documents become detached, or even worse, 'attached' to other unrelated bits of paper, with paper clips.

We say use a ring binder with a contents page and everything numbered. Ask someone to deliver it personally to the court, with the claim number, xxxxx(parking firm) v claxtome and 'defendant's Witness Statement and evidence - hearing on xx/xx/17' stuck or written indelibly on the front.

claxtome

Ring binder ok so need a whole punch.

I assume the photographs should be stuck onto white paper so the Exhibit number can be added onto paper or.... ?

Can I submit copies of original paperwork or do I have to use originals?

Do you use 'letters' or 'numbers' to identify the Exhibits or does it not matter?

Coupon-mad

Ring binder ok so need a whole punch.

Or (cheap stationery) punch pockets, aka 'slippery fish' to keep all documents clean and untorn:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_pocket

I assume the photographs should be stuck onto white paper so the Exhibit number can be added onto paper or.

Sounds good, and maybe a screenshot/photo of the metadata/date of the photo, or take the camera or phone with you that the pics were taken on to prove the date taken, if asked.

Can I submit copies of original paperwork or do I have to use originals?

Copies are fine, take the originals with you on the day in your own file of everything, including your printed out proof of emailing this WS and evidence to the other side (print out the 'sent item' email, or even better, copy it to your own email to prove recipients got the email). Just in case they throw the curved ball ''we didn't see claxtome's WS and evidence until today, Sir, so we think he didn't send it...''

Do you use 'letters' or 'numbers' to identify the Exhibits or does it not matter?

Whatever looks clearest for the Judge, there is no rule.

claxtome

Thanks for all the advice Coupon-mad very useful.

I need to print a few transcripts for both my defence and WS.

Any further comments about my WS below?

WITNESS STATEMENT

I am xxxxxxx xxxxx, defendant in this matter and deny liability for the entirety of the claim.

1. I am an unrepresented consumer who has never attended the county court before.

2. On the xxxx2016 I stopped to pay for a valid parking ticket for the day (Exhibit 1), as the entrance showed a pay and display car park (Exhibit 2), before continuing to find a space to park. No further signs were seen which could indicate an area of land owned by any other person; the area managed by the Claimant.

3. Upon returning to the car at the end of the day I found a parking charge notice xxxx (Exhibit 3) asking for payment of £100 for failing to pay and display a valid parking ticket. Handwritten on the notice was the words "Council tickets not valid on this part of the car park". It was only then I looked around to check signs. I noticed the entrance signs give the same name of the car park as "Xxxx". (Exhibits 2, 4 and 5)

4. The route taken on the day is shown in a DVD video, taken on a later day than in question, (Exhibit 6) and on the map (Exhibit 7). The DVD shows the ticket machine used with signs adhered to and I have enclosed a photograph (Exhibit 8) as well.

5. The DVD also clearly shows no signs or markings to indicate to drivers that they are passing from one area of the car park to another, and that different rules of parking apply in each. I have enclosed photographs of the assumed land boundary with no clear signs (Exhibits 9 and 10).

6. This lack of signage at a boundary goes against its CoP guidelines:
Entrance Signs should:
* a) !Make it clear that the motorist is entering onto private land
* b) !Refer the motorist to the signs within the car park which display the full terms 
and conditions.

7. The DVD shows a new fence that has been erected after xxx2016. A photograph taken from Google street view of the boundary (Exhibit 11) shows how the land boundary prior to the fence being erected looked on the day in question. To back this up you can clearly see on photographs (Exhibits 12, 13, 14 and 15) how much newer the fence is compared to the other fences in the car park.

8. Examples of the signage in the private parking area shows signs which are small and not easy to read particularly from a car. (Exhibits 16, 17 and 18). An example of the Parking Eye v Beavis and Wardley case which shows an easier to read sign. (Exhibit 19)

9. Part E, Schedule 1 of the Code of Practice of the Independent Parking Committee (of which ES is a member), clearly states that “Text should be of such a size and in a font that can be easily read by a motorist having regard to the likely position of the motorist in relation to the sign". The signage is not as per the code.

10. On the xxx2017 I received a demand for an unpaid parking charge for the full amount. (Exhibit 20)

11. On the xxx I received a further demand with increased amount owing with no explanation for the increased amount and threatened further debt recovery. No figure for additional charges was agreed no could it have formed part of the ‘alleged’ contract because no such indemnity costs were quantified on the signs Terms cannot be bolted on later with figures plucked out of thin air, as if they were incorporated into the small print, when they were not. (Exhibit 21)

12. On the xxx2017 I appealed explaining the circumstances on the day and why I felt I was not liable for the parking charge. (Exhibit 22)

13. On the xxx I received a letter xxx rejecting an appeal as it was too late. (Exhibit 23) There was no mention of a response to my points raised in my appeal.

14. On the xxx I received a Letter Before Claim Exhibit 24). Once again the demand specified an increased amount without any explanation.

15. On the xxx I sent to Gladstones my first response. This letter explained I had appealed and the reason for disputing the charge. I did include a copy of the ticket displayed on the day and a copy of the parking charge. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of this letter.

16. On the xxx I received a reply from Gladstones (Exhibit 25) quoting "As evident from the photographs you didn't display a ticket in accordance with the terms". To date I have still not seen any of the photographs quoted.

17. On the xxx I sent to Gladstones my second response. (Exhibit 26)

18. On the xxx I received a Claim Form from CCBC xxx (Exhibit 27)

19. The particulars of claim do not meet the requirements of Practice Direction 16 7.5 as there is nothing which specifies how the terms were breached. Indeed the particulars of claim are not clear and concise as is required by CPR 16.4 1(a). There is no information regarding why the charge arose, what the original charge was, what the alleged contract was nor anything which could be considered a fair exchange of information. It just states “parking charges” which does not give any indication of on what basis the claim is brought.

20. The claimant failed to send a copy of their written contract as per Practice Direction 16 7.3(1) and Practice Direction 7C 1.4(3A). No indication is given as to the Claimants contractual authority to operate there as required by the Claimants Trade Association's Code of Practice B1.1 which says

1.1 If you operate parking management activities on land which is not owned by you, you must supply us with written authority from the land owner sufficient to establish you as the ‘Creditor’ within the meaning of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (where applicable) and in any event to establish you as a person who is able to recover parking charges. There is no prescribed form for such agreement and it need not necessarily be as part of a contract but it must include the express ability for an operator to recover parking charges on the landowner’s behalf or provide sufficient right to occupy the land in question so that charges can be recovered by the operator directly. This applies whether or not you intend to use the keeper liability provisions.

21. I would like to point out to the presiding judge that the claimant has not supplied any evidence at all that the alleged contravention ever occurred. No photographs taken of the contravention have ever been seen by me, despite a request for more detailed evidence. As Gladstones are a firm of solicitors whose Directors also run the IPC Trade Body and deal with private parking issues every single day of the week there can be no excuse for these omissions.

22. I also dispute that the Claimant has incurred £50 solicitors costs to pursue an alleged £100 debt, the costs of which are in any case not recoverable. The claimant has described the charge of £50 as ‘legal fees’ not ‘contractual costs’ CPR 31.14 does not permit these to be recoverable in the Small Claims Court

23. The Claimant has at no time provided an explanation how the sum has been calculated, the conduct that gave rise to it or how the amount has climbed from £100 to £160.

24. On the day in question I had every intention to pay for parking and genuinely thought I had to the contracted terms. In Jolley v Carmel Ltd [2000] 2 –EGLR -154, it was held that a party who makes reasonable endeavours and reasonable steps, to comply with contractual terms, should not be penalised for breach outside of their control and outside of any contractual term within their knowledge.

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true

Signed: