Gladstones claim form received

Ezisola

Le_Kirk wrote: »

No letter showing!

Sorry, have uploaded again:

Ezisola

I was thinking of replying with something like:

You will find attached proof of employment in May 2017.

You client has been aware of this employment for some time, having been detailed in my defence and through correspondance from XXX Ltd's lawyers.

As this is a baseless claim, and you have known that for some months, I will not accept anything other than a complete, unconditional withdrawal by your client;

Should your client continue, I am entirely confident that my defence of the claim will succeed and I make it clear that, since the claim is clearly baseless and this has been clear to you all along, I will be seeking a punitive costs order pursuant to Rule 27.14(2)(g).

Ezisola

Can any of the regulars advise whether I should repond (and if the above example is ok to send?). I've not come across this situation on any other threads.

thank you.

Ezisola1

I swapped to a new machine and couldn't remember my account password so setup a new one.

Here is what I was planning to reply with, along with my contract and a bank statement as I couldn't find a payslip. The court date is fast approaching so any help is very much appreciated.

RE: Letter

You will find attached proof of employment in May 2017 in the form of my work contract and a bank statement showing salary payment.

You client has been aware of this employment for some time, having been detailed in my defence and through correspondence from XXXX Ltd's lawyers.

As this is a baseless claim, and you have known that for some months, I will not accept anything other than a complete, unconditional withdrawal by your client;

Should your client continue or attempt to withdraw at a late stage, I am entirely confident that my defence of the claim will succeed and I make it clear that, since the claim is entirely baseless and this has been clear to you all along, I will be seeking a punitive costs order pursuant to Rule 27.14(2)(g).

Coupon-mad

Looks good to me.

Ezisola1

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Looks good to me.

Thank you CM, the letter or witness statement? (or both!)

Coupon-mad

The email to Phoebe.

Can you re-post your WS here in a new reply, as it's way back on another page, in the forum view I see.

Ezisola1

IN THE COUNTY COURT at READING

CLAIM No:

BETWEEN:

UK CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LTD (Claimant)

-and-

(Defendant)

________________________________________
WITNESS STATEMENT
________________________________________

I am XXX, also known by maiden name XXX, of address XXX, the Defendant in this matter. I will say as follows:

1. In 2017 I was employed by XXX company and attach a payslip for proof as Exhibit A.

2. XXX company has a licence to occupy 17 parking spaces within XXX business park, attached as Exhibit B.

3. My vehicle was issued with a parking permit to demonstrate it had permission to park at XXX business which is attached as Exhibit C

4. On 17th May 2017 my vehicle was parked at XXX business park in one of XXX company’s allocated bays.

5. After work on that day I went to my vehicle and noticed it had been issued with a parking charge despite having permission to park in the bay.

6. The parking charge stated that the vehicle did not display a valid permit however the parking permit was clearly displayed on the side dashboard and I took a photo of it in location attached as Exhibit D.

7. Despite having a valid permit displayed, I checked the small and sparse signage in the carpark and confirmed that there was no requirement to display my permit anyway. I took a photo of the signage attached as Exhibit E.

8. UKCPM claim that the signage is “prominent throughout the parking area” however UKCPM has offered no evidence to demonstrate this, nor that it has been audited or approved by the International Parking Community (IPC) trade association of which UKCPM are a member.

9. The signage included with UKCPM’s Witness Statement gives no indication as to where it was located, if at all, on site. The example signage provided by UKCPM is clearly different to the signage I found and photographed located closest to the parking location which has no requirement to display a permit.

10. Furthermore, the signage states that a fee is payable for “parking without permission”. It makes no charge for “failure to display a permit”. My vehicle did have permission to park and so no fee is owed.

11. The signage on site does not meet the mandatory requirements of the IPC code of practice and so cannot be used to form a contract.

12. Upon receipt of a letter from UK Carpark Management I responded requesting more information so that I could make an informed decision, attached as Exhibit F

13. UK Carpark Management replied with a copy & pasted template letter which didn’t address any of my points and made mention of points I had not even raised, attached as Exhibit G.

14. I received no further communication from UK Carkpark Management before issuing of court proceedings.

15. I contacted XXX company and obtained a copy of the Service Agreement between XXX Business Park and UK Carpark Management attached as Exhibit H. This Service Agreement specifically states that there can be “No Enforcement during opening hours”.

16. UKCPM therefore have no authority from the landowner to issue charges or pursue action against me as my vehicle was parked during office opening hours.

17. It is my position that no contract was entered into with UK Carpark Management, no breach of contract occurred, there has been no loss to UK Carpark Management and that the Claimant has no standing or cause of action to litigate in this matter.

18. I invite the court to dismiss this claim in this entirety, and it award my costs of attendance at a hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14.



I believe the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true

Coupon-mad

Wonderful, and I would be astonished if you lose. That's a good WS and evidence.

I would never have this, so remove it:

there has been no loss to UK Carpark Management

Next, once that's filed & served (to the court in person in a ring-binder file with contents page et al, and to the Claimant's solicitor by email) have a look at Costs Schedules on this forum.

Look at how to argue for costs on the indemnity basis under CPR 27.14, because your case seems clear that the parking firm have acted wholly unreasonably and vexatiously against a person who was always displaying a permit and was always authorised to park, and they know it. You were granted a right to park by your employer and this has all been a complete waste of your time, a meritless claim but worse, harassment and a derogation from grant (you had the right to park and they can't take that away or charge for it when you were displaying your permit all along).

Ezisola1

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Wonderful, and I would be astonished if you lose. That's a good WS and evidence.

I would never have this, so remove it:


Next, once that's filed & served (to the court in person in a ring-binder file with contents page et al, and to the Claimant's solicitor by email) have a look at Costs Schedules on this forum.

Look at how to argue for costs on the indemnity basis under CPR 27.14, because your case seems clear that the parking firm have acted wholly unreasonably and vexatiously against a person who was always displaying a permit and was always authorised to park, and they know it. You were granted a right to park by your employer and this has all been a complete waste of your time, a meritless claim but worse, harassment and a derogation from grant (you had the right to park and they can't take that away or charge for it when you were displaying your permit all along).

Thank you, I have removed that section.

I suspect that they will withdraw at a late stage given their employment letter. I've been speaking to my previous employer and they are so annoyed that UKCPM keep ticketing their employees that they've actually instructed their own solicitors to write a desist letter to Gladstones/UKCPM.

Should they now withdraw, can I still claim costs given the time I've had to commit to this so far?