Private PCN on residential estate

squire1234

Hello,

Globberstones sent out a claim for a third ticket, which I submitted a similar defence to as listed in this thread and included the bit about them trying to double/triple recover. I currently have 3 claims for almost identical PCNs going but not done WS yet for any of them.

For the third and most recent claim they have submitted their DQ and offered me mediation. I know the newbies thread says to ticket yes to this because it might score brownie points but mentions that the solicitors will usually say no. Do I go for the mediation? Thanks

Umkomaas

I know the newbies thread says to ticket yes to this because it might score brownie points but mentions that the solicitors will usually say no. Do I go for the mediation?

Really? Are you sure?

nosferatu1001

I mean it really, really doesnt say that....

Have you been adding a request on EVERY documetn you send to court to ASK the court to consolidate these claims? LIterally every documetn you send, put a covering letter on, in thehope somenoe with a brain sees it.

squire1234

Ah I stand corrected, I think I must have read it on another website!

I have only so far had to submit the defence and DQ and in both I have referenced the other PCNs and asked for them to be collaborated into one claim. I did not send in a cover letter. anything else I can do in the time I am waiting for the witness statement request to come through?

Le_Kirk

squire1234 wrote: »

I have only so far had to submit the defence and DQ and in both I have referenced the other PCNs and asked for them to be [STRIKE]collaborated [/STRIKE]consolidated into one claim. I did not send in a cover letter. anything else I can do in the time I am waiting for the witness statement request to come through?

Better word! Always pays to get things right now, then won't make the same mistake when writing to the courts.

squire1234

Hello all,

I received the Notice of Allocation on 6th October and was given until 4th November to submit my Witness Statements for both of the Claims. Unfortunately, I have been out of the country travelling for this whole duration and it has been very difficult to stay on top of this without internet. I will be using the same Witness Statement for both claims, which are to be heard on the same day next year and I presume this means that the Judge has consolidated them?

This is what I have so far:


IN THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No: xxxxx

BETWEEN:

xxxxx (Claimant)

-and-

xxxx (Defendant)

________________________________________
WITNESS STATEMENT
________________________________________


1. I, xxx, of xxx, xxxx, xxxx, xxxx, am the Defendant in this matter.

2. The facts stated in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my knowledge they are true to the best of my information and belief. I am unrepresented and have never attended the County Court before; please excuse my inexperience.

3. I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed or any amount at all and this is my Witness Statement in support of my defence as already filed.

4. Exhibited to this Witness Statement are the following documents, which I wish to rely upon;

i) Notices
ii) Tenancy Contract
iii) Lease Agreement
iv) Photographic and video evidence of deficiencies in signage
v) UKPC v Materson case
vi) Pace v Lengyel case

5. I admit that I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, however am unable to identify the driver at the time of the alleged contravention.
5.1. The claimant has provided no evidence of who was driving and cannot presume that the Registered Keeper was the driver.

6. The Claimant had no locus standi at the time of this parking event and at best, were the contractors of a principal, the landowner. They have failed to show a cause for action by way of sight of a copy of the contract they have with the landowner to assign the right to enter into contracts with the public and to make claims and take civil action against drivers in their own name.

7. The Claimant states that they issued a Parking Charge Notice on 14/04/2018, as the vehicle was “not parked in a designated area” in the xxxx residential car park.
7.1 A Notice to Keeper was sent on 13/04/2018 and received on 15/06/2018, 62 days after the alleged contravention. In this instance the Claimant failed to provide due notice, as described in my defence and, as such, liability cannot be transferred to me as the Keeper.

8. Regardless, at all material times I was a resident at the site of the contravention at the time and was bound by the terms of a tenancy contract and a superior lease agreement, which has been provided.
8.1. These superior contracts afford a tenant, and their visitors, access to communal areas and the right to park in a designated bay but do not make mention to any parking charges for non-compliance.
8.2. The area where the vehicle was parked when the Claimant issued the Parking Charge Notice was a communal area. These are often used within the estate for the purposes of loading and unloading and the Claimant cannot override the existing rights enjoyed by residents and their visitors.
8.3. I aver that I am held to the primacy of this superior contract and the Claimant has not provided any proof of authority from the landowner to suggest that they have the right to alter the terms of such a prior agreement and enter into contracts with drivers on the land.
8.4. Furthermore, I have been informed by my Landlady that the scheme operated by the Claimant was unilaterally introduced, without her agreement.
8.5. The notice makes no reference to any rights which the occupiers of premises on the estate may have had by virtue of their leases.

9. The alleged prohibition, as stated in the signage, is upon “parking”.
9.1. In Homeguard Services Limited v Jopson [2016], Judge Harris discusses extensively the distinction between loading/unloading and “parking”; he concludes that “the concept of parking, as opposed to stopping, is that of leaving a car for some duration of time beyond that needed for getting in or out of it, loading or unloading it, and perhaps coping with some vicissitude of short duration.”
9.2. Visitor spaces within the estate are very limited, as seen on the registry plan in the lease agreement, and usually occupied at all times of day. The lease agreement affords a designated residential parking space for the property, however, this is a two bed property and there were two tenants living at the flat, each with their own individual vehicles. Often, the property’s parking bay was occupied and on days when there were no visitor parking bays available, the closest parking was on a nearby street, which is a 15 minute walk. If one wished to load/unload, with groceries for instance, and parking within the estate was unavailable, then the reasonable option would be to stop in a communal area and unload before parking the car on an adjacent road.

10. The signs that the Claimant relies upon as the basis of a contract are deficient in their ability to form a contract
10.1. They are limited in their quantity, distribution, wording, and lighting from the site of the alleged contravention. Photographic evidence of this has been provided, which demonstrates that there is no visible signage from the vehicle’s parked location.
10.2. There is only an offer of contract to those vehicles that are “displaying a valid parking permit and parked in the correct allocated bay”. As such, this is forbidding and does not form the basis of a contract as elaborated in Deputy District Judge Ellington’s judgement in the UKPC v Materson case.
10.3. A video shows that a single sign placed at the entrance to the estate is not clearly visible when manoeuvring into the estate from the roundabout, outlined on the map provided.
10.3.1. This is a busy road network and a driver would not have the ability to safely see the sign when taking the exit or read the fine print in order to agree to a contract.
10.3.2. In the Pace v Lengyel case, District Judge Iyer explains the importance of entrance signs and the making of terms and conditions clear for drivers.
10.3.3. As a result, although the sign states that “parking in this area is permitted for vehicles displaying a valid parking permit and parked in the correct allocated bay”, the boundaries of the aforementioned “area” are not clearly defined.

11. Photographic evidence by the Claimant fails to clearly identify the location of the alleged contravention or any signage in the background.
11.1. The sign evidenced by the Claimant does not indicate a location within the estate nor its position in relationship to the Vehicle.

12. The Claimant has referred to ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] on several occasions in correspondence, however, the circumstances surrounding these alleged contraventions are factually dissimilar from this case.
12.1. The distinguishing features are outlined in my initial defence in that the agreement of a valid contract is denied and that the Claimant has no proprietary interest in the land as a residential site upon which there is no commercial value to be protected. The Claimant could not possibly have suffered any damage or loss by the vehicle being stopped at the location in question and I propose that these are unfair charges as a result.
12.2. Furthermore, a comparison between the Claimant’s signage and ParkingEye’s reveals stark differences. The sign in the Beavis case proposed the terms and the charge in large and clear font, which was found to be noticeable and transparent to the motorist. The Claimant’s signage, meanwhile, is inconspicuous and buried away in the midst of volumes of text of small font.
12.3. The only words that are highlighted in the event that a motorist is fortunate enough to see a sign are “WARNING” and, to a lesser extent, “PRIVATE LAND”, which does not allude to any parking restrictions but, at best, could suggest a tort of trespassing. The Claimant is not the landowner and cannot bring forward a claim for this and, furthermore, this is land to which I and my visitors have been granted access.

13. In the Particulars of Claim the Claimant failed to comply with Practice Direction in CPR 16.4 which requires them to provide the statement of details of any loss and/or damage suffered.

14. I invite the court to dismiss this claim in its entirety.


STATEMENT OF TRUTH
I confirm that the contents of this Witness Statement are true.

Coupon-mad

v) UKPC v Masterson case

Typo.

You also need the POFA and the Jopson case as your defence relies on them too.

Have you received the other side's WS and evidence yet?

Does the court direction give you longer to submit your evidence bundle or are you having to file & serve everything today?

You do realise from the NEWBIES thread and every other thread like this one, that you are not emailing your docs to the court and that MCOL is not involved now? Printing will take you a while in the morning!

squire1234

Have you received the other side's WS and evidence yet?

Yes it came through yesterday to my home address.

Does the court direction give you longer to submit your evidence bundle or are you having to file & serve everything today?

It states that "each party must deliver to the other party and to the court office copies of all documents on which that party intends to rely at the hearing no later than 4pm on 4th November 2019."

You do realise from the NEWBIES thread and every other thread like this one, that you are not emailing your docs to the court and that MCOL is not involved now? Printing will take you a while in the morning!

I've completely messed up then. As I am abroad I would have had to post this a while ago for it to arrive in time. I presume that it needs to arrive in their offices by 4pm today, which will not be possible even if I asked someone to send it from the UK.

Umkomaas

You'll have to use email then. I'm not sure how many pages are involved in your WS, but some courts have a limit on the number of pages they will print. Email should be ok for the claimant's solicitors (unless they have expressly stated that they won't accept service electronically).

squire1234

Thank you for your reply. My WS is only 4 pages long but with the tenancy agreement, lease agreement, case examples, and photographs, etc it comes to 104. Do I need to cut this down?