Small Claims Court Letter - N.Ireland.

Fruitcake

I thought they had said they believe that to be you, despite what you have told them.

It will make things easier if you can prove you were elsewhere at the material time.

MercurialNo.10

They believe it to be me, if no one is willing to identify themselves as the driver and it's the driver that is liable, then surely they should be able to produce evidence of who was driving to help me identify the party?

Would love to be able to PM anyone some more relevant details, my employer has some access rights apparently and multiple staff members (including those I believe moved the car) have witnessed parking being freely available as normal behaviour (Permitted by the Enforcement Officer) over the course of years (can back this up with WS's).

Fruitcake

Most people here don't accept PMs otherwise we would be getting about a hundred a day if not more.

The scammers "should" prove their case against The Driver, and should identify them. However they only have to "prove" this to a court on a 50.01% probability.

A witness statement from you saying it wasn't you, makes it harder for them to do that, but over here that comes down to playing judge bingo. Some will say, he says she says, and without proof from the scammers they will find for the defendant.
Others will say, this company must have good reason to believe you were driving and since they are an honest upstanding pillar of the community acting for the best interests of the landowner, and you have not provided any proof that you weren't driving, they may find for the claimant.

Proving it could not have been you makes it impossible for them to make their case, hence my questions about you being able to prove it wasn't you, and therefore there is no case since only the driver can be held liable in NI.

It's a question of whether you can make this easy for yourself by proving it wasn't you, even though you don't (shouldn't) have to.


If you can prove beyond doubt you weren't driving, then the claim is unreasonable and you could claim costs as well as helping with a landmark case.


If you can't prove it, then of course your defence should concentrate on the fact that the claimant can't prove it was you, and you have made a statement of truth to a court that it wasn't you.

In my opinion, if you can prove your case then you should, not rely on the claimant failing to prove yours.

So, receipts, witness statements, sign in/login in at work, witness statements from people who saw you that day at that time, or timed and dated photos will all help you with this.

Remember, you are not dealing with reasonable people and they will try to make you look unreasonable for "refusing" to say who was driving, even though there is no requirement to do so.

Yes you can ask them for details/images of The Driver so you can help them to identify the person who moved your car, but all they have to do is say, can't cos of data protection, then you are stuck. In any case, I wouldn't want to drop one of my mates or family in the doo doo by naming them.

MercurialNo.10

Also noticed that some of the NtK's are 80+ Days...so if they are following BPA guidelines they are doing so selectively it would appear.

nosferatu1001

BPA allows them up to 6 months, as thats the limit for KADOE access.

MercurialNo.10

KADOE only seems to mention driver when mentioning Northern Ireland or am I misinterpreting?


B2. Purpose For Which Data Is Provided

B2.1. The DVLA shall provide each requested item of Data to the Customer
via the KADOE Service for the Reasonable Cause of enabling the
Customer to:
a) seek recovery of unpaid Parking Charges in accordance with the
Accredited Trade Association Code of Practice, and using the
procedure in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
(where the vehicle was parked on private land in England or Wales on
a particular date); and
b) otherwise seek recovery from a driver of unpaid Parking Charges in
accordance with the Accredited Trade Association Code of Practice
(where the vehicle was parked on private land in Scotland or Northern
Ireland by that driver on a particular date, or where the Customer has
chosen not to pursue, or is not in a position to pursue the vehicle
keeper by utilising conditions in Schedule 4 of the Protection of
Freedoms Act 2012).

Umkomaas

where the vehicle was parked on private land in Scotland or Northern Ireland by that driver on a particular date,

...... by asking/inviting the RK (the only link the DVLA has with the vehicle) to tell them (the PPC) who the driver was and what his/her address for service (of a Notice to Driver) is.

Was always the case in E/W too ....... until PoFA 2012 came along!

nosferatu1001

Yep, tjhey can only ask who the driver is in NI.

MercurialNo.10

Would anyone be kind enough to look at some wording privately? At this stage on the cusp of potential court, I want to be very careful with what I'm posting etc.

I have Witness Statements, a couple of the letters (not all of them as I thought they were junk), have the Greenslade excerpt and some images linked to the varying WS's.

Submission time is approaching, so any help would be appreciated.

MercurialNo.10

Can anyone have a glance?