Claim Form Received from County Court Business Centre- for private parking charge notice

dejam

ok will do thank you

dejam

Hi guys,

just one question - I am putting my personal contact details on the direction questionnaire which I plan to send a copy to Gladstones. won't that means they will now have access to my email and phone number?

thanks

nosferatu1001

Why are you including your email address and phone number?
They are not mandatory
Or, just blank them out (redact them) on the copy you send to Gladstones, lkeeping them on the original that goes to the court?

dejam

great! that's exactly what I have done.
thank you for your response.

dejam

Hey guys,
The date for the court hearing has been confirmed. It's on the 26th of March 2019. Just want to say a massive thank you for all the help so far, I really appreciate your help. Without this forum, I probably would have gotten frightened and paid it by now.
I am on the process of writing the witness statement which I will share with you shortly.
Just to recap on what happened so far:
• Parking Charge Notice issued on June 17 for £100 by UK CPM for ‘unauthorised parking’. The NTK was sent 17 days after the incident occurred
• The formal demand letter was received on July 17
• Two DRP letters received on Sept 17 for £160
• Another DRP letter on Oct 17
• DRP sent a letter using Gladstone letter heading received on Nov 17
• Letter before claim received on June 18
• I didn't receive a PAP letter
• County Court claim form received Set 18 for £249.67
• Acknowledgment of service done
• Defence submitted (see above)
• The direction of questionnaire completed with a request for an oral court hearing in oppose to gladstones’s paper hearing.
• Received Acknowledgment of defence from the court
• I sent a subject access request to UK CPM and they have replied with – a copy of the parking charge notice, formal demand letter, two pictures of the car and a screenshot of their system where it shows their activity i.e. PCN issued, a letter sent, referred to DRP etc.
• I also sent Gladstones a CPR 31.14 Request and they have replied back saying CPR isn’t applicable in small claims
• I have also asked them to erase my email address as I had put it in the direction questionnaire without realising. They have replied to say they have legitimate grounds to hold my email address.
• Letter received from the court to say the case has been transferred to my local court
• The general form of order received from the court
• Notice of allocation to the small claims track (hearing) letter received.

I have taken pictures of the car park as evidence where it has no signs at entry and no marking on the floor. Also, the signs are blocked by a barrier, so you can’t get very close to reading the small prints.

I will share the draft witness statement soon to get your feedback.

Thank you again for all your help

Coupon-mad

OK, stick around from now on and show us your evidence and WS draft.

dejam

Thanks @Coupon-mad, will do. I will be taking a day or two off next week so I can fully finalise the WS. I am hoping I will be able to share the draft by the weekend with you guys.
thank you

Le_Kirk

Don't miss the deadline and make sure you leave enough time after posting your draft for posters to read and critique. Forum is very busy!

dejam

Hi Guys,
Really sorry for sending this draft WS a bit late. I have been working on it all weekend. I honestly tried my best. I hope you guys don't think its too awful. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. thank you so much!

In the County Court at
Mayors and City of London Court

Claim No. XXXXXXXX

Between
UK Car Park Management Limited (UK CPM) (Claimant)

and
XXXXXXXXX (Defendant)


Witness statement of Mr XXXXXXX XXXXX, Address: XXXXXXXXXX, date of birth XXXXXXX

1. I am the defendant in this matter, I am unrepresented, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience. Any evidence to my statement will be referred to the attached documents as Exhibit MA1, Exhibit MA2 and so on.
2. In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise.
3. I assert that I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question in this case. I was not the driver when the charge occurred.
4. 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:
4.1. I deny keeper liability so no cause for action against me. The claimant has failed to show locus standi so I do not believe they have a right to bring an action against me.
4.2. No enforceable contract offered at the time by claimant so no cause for action can have arisen.
5. Whilst I was the Registered Keeper of the vehicle XXXXXX at the time of this parking incident, there is no evidence of the driver and as this event has been resurrected from over a years ago, it is not possible to expect a keeper to recall who might have been driving.
6. I deny being the driver at the time of the supposed event and therefore puts UK CPM to strict proof that any contract can exist between them and myself which they claim has been breached.
7. At the time of the charge in 2017, the car was used by a number of family and friends who I have no obligation to name to a private parking firm. It remains the burden of the Claimant to prove their case.
8. According to the notice to the keeper, the charges were for an ‘unauthorised parking’ on XX.06.2017 at XX:XX on 93-101 Greenfield Road, London. UK CPM issued a parking charge notice letter to me on XX.07.2017 as the registered keeper of the vehicle. No windscreen ticket in this case. Copy of the notice to the keeper is attached as Exhibit MA1.
9. The claimant then sent a follow on ‘formal demand’ letter issued on XX.08.2017. See Exhibit MA2
10. Following that, I received three ‘notice’ letters from a third-party organisation called ‘Debt Recovery Plus Limited’ for the sum of £160. The letters repeatedly state threatening the use of language such as ‘you owed’, ‘you haven’t paid’ and repeatedly threatened that court actions can be taken against me. See Exhibit MA3
11. I then received a letter from ‘Gladstones Solicitors’ on XX.11.2017 stating that they have been instructed by UK CPM in relation to this debt. This letter again uses threatening language and assumptions such as ‘It is our client's case that you are liable for these charges’. This letter repeatedly states that I need to contact the client (UK CPM) and their agent (Debt Recovery Plus Limited) however, it is obvious to notice that this letter isn’t from Gladstones Solicitors. It looks like the Debt Recovery Plus Limited using Gladstones letter headed paper and signature to threaten the keeper. The evidence is in the reference number on this letter, which is the same reference as the previous three letters from Debt Recover Plus Limited. See Exhibit MA4
12. Seven months later I received the ‘letter before claim’ from Gladstones Solicitors, this time with a different reference number on the letter than the previous one. See Exhibit MA5
13. I did not respond to the brightly-coloured alarmist Notices sent to me by the claimant and their agents because I believed they were spam (this sort of scam had been exposed on Watchdog). Also, as I was not the driver and these were not offence or fine from an Authority like a Council or Police. so there was no reason or obligation upon a registered keeper to ‘appeal’ to what appeared to be junk mail.
14. The Notice to Keeper was issued on the XX.07.2017, 17 days after the alleged parking charge date. This is a clear indication that the claimant has not obliged with the following:
Failure to comply with the International Parking Community (IPC) Code of Practice
15. As the claimant is a member of the IPC, they are required to subscribe to the AOS and adhere to this Code which defines the core standards necessary to ensure transparency and fairness. The terms and condition are clearly stated in Part A of the IPC Code of Practice. The claimant did not comply with the Part C point 5 of the code of practice where it says:
‘5.1 The Notice to the Keeper must;
(m) Be given to be received by the keeper within 14 days beginning the day after the specified period of parking.’
16. As the claimant is obliged by the compulsory Code of Practice of its own Accredited Trade Association, IPC, in order to pursue the keeper, the claimant must have compiled with POFA 12 Schedule 4.
I have attached a copy of the IPC Code of Practice as Exhibit MA6
Failure to comply with Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ("POFA 12") - Schedule 4
17. It is also denied that the claimant has complied with Schedule 4, POFA 12 schedule 4 9(5) as the Notice to Keeper was issued 17 days after the alleged parking charge date. The letter was received by the keeper on day 20 following the parking charge (3 days after it was issued). Schedule 4 paragraphs 9(5) specify the time limits for serving a Notice to Keeper. If this is not complied with then the registered keeper cannot be held to account for the alleged debt of the driver. This paragraph clearly instructs the claimant that where no notice to the driver has been served (e.g. ANPR is used), the notice to keeper must be served no later than 14 days after the vehicle was parked. I have attached a copy of the POFA 12 schedule 4 as Exhibit MA7
18. No evidence has been supplied by this claimant as to who parked the vehicle. Under the POFA 12 schedule 4, there is no presumption in law as to who parked a vehicle on private land nor does there exist any obligation for a keeper to name a driver. I choose to defend this claim as the registered keeper, as is my right.
19. The claimant has provided no evidence (in pre-action correspondence or otherwise) that the I was the driver. The claimant is therefore limited to pursuing the keeper in these proceedings under the provisions set out by statute in the POFA 12 schedule 4.
20. I submit that, as a registered keeper who was not driving and who only received non-POFA 12 schedule 4 Notices to Keeper which were never my concern nor liability, these are better described as ‘irrelevant notices’. The claimant chose to issue non-POFA PCNs and was aware this risked a DVLA ban for misleading keepers re: liability for non-POFA PCNs. Now, this claimant seeks to bring me to Court as if I am liable for non-POFA PCNs!
The claimant also failed to comply IPC Code of Practice ‘PART E Schedule 1 – Signage’
21. I was never shown the alleged signage contract photos (not even the original ‘PCNs’ showed the purported signs. As a registered keeper, I never saw the ‘contract’ they are trying to hold me liable for.
22. The claimant stated in the particulars of claim that ‘the driver of the vehicle incurred the parking charges for breaching the terms of the parking’.
23. I have visited the location of the alleged parking charge and have found that the signage did not comply with the requirements of the Code of Practice of the IPC.
24. It is denied that there was any ‘'relevant contract' relating to any single parking event. Notwithstanding the provisions of the POFA 12 schedule 4 and/or the existing easements, it is denied that the signs used by this claimant can have created a fair or transparent contract with a driver in any event.
25. Referring to the two pictures that were attached to the notice to the keeper, it is apparent that the vehicle was parked in an area where there are no marked bays and did not have any adjacent sign with the full terms of the car park in the pictures.
26. The signage was deficient in number, distribution, tiny wording and lighting to reasonably convey a contractual obligation. It is impossible to see the signs during the night as there is no light on that road or beside the signage. See Exhibit MA8
27. There was no signage at the entrance of the road that indicates to the driver that they are entering private land. See Exhibit MA9
28. Around twenty feet into the road, there is a sign on the left-hand side (facing sideways to the road), about 12 feet high which can barely be noticed or read even if one is standing underneath it let alone driving past it while focused on the road ahead. See Exhibit MA10
29. Following a close inspection of the road, three further signage were noticed along with other posters/advertisement on the wall, but they were impossible to get close to within 10 feet due to obstructions of cars, dust bins, bush, other obstacles, and a metal barrier. It is now apparent that it is not possible for a driver to notice these signs let along be able to read them. See Exhibit MA11
30. It is denied that the signs used by this claimant can have created a fair or transparent contract with a driver in any event. The signs were insufficient in terms of their distribution hence incapable of binding the driver, which distinguishes this case from the Beavis case:
31. The signs are believed to have no mention of any debt collection additional charge, which cannot form part of any alleged contract. See Exhibit MA12
32. The claimant has provided no evidence the vehicle is indeed parked and not waiting/giving way to pedestrians or vehicles. The claimant has also failed to provide if any of these signs were up on the day of the ‘parking charge notice’ occurred and what physical conditional they were at.
33. The claimant has not provided any evidence of a contract with the landholder that demonstrated that UK CPM had any authority to operate in the land per to the IPC Code of Practice Part B 1. - 1.1.
34. Conclusion – failure to comply with IPC Code of Practice and POFA 12 schedule 4 on inadequate signage and so no keeper liability.
35. My DVLA data was supplied for the single strict purpose of enquiring who was driving, not for storing the data and then suing me as if I can now be held liable, in the hope I will not defend/will have lost the paperwork/will have moved house, or even better, that I will be so scared that I will pay almost £250 including what was apparently an unproven £60 charge, allegedly incurred by another party (Debt Recover Plus LTD), if incurred at all.
36. I am no more liable now than I was then, but this unwarranted harassment and baseless litigation has caused me significant alarm and distress, such that I intend to report the claimant to the Information Commissioner for misuse of my data, obtained from the DVLA in 2017. I will also complain about the claimant to the DVLA and IPC for not complying with their Code of Practice.
37. It is apparent from court records reported in the public domain that this claimant has been obtaining payments from keepers under false pretences - using the court as a cheap form of debt collection from the wrong 'registered keeper' parties - and has obtained default CCJs in the hundreds, despite never complying with the POFA 2012 schedule 4 and even bringing pre-POFA cases to the Courts, as here.
38. The Court is invited to dismiss this Claim and to allow my wasted costs which will be submitted separately and in a timely manner, depending upon whether a hearing takes place. I firmly believe that to pursue me as a registered keeper when the claimant has no such right and to submit such incoherent particulars and lacking ‘evidence’ is wholly unreasonable and vexatious.
Statement of Truth
39. I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.

Signature
Date

dejam

I have a couple of questions, I would be grateful if you can clarify please:
1. Do I submit the witness statement through email with the evidence as attached?
2. Would I still need to write up a skeleton argument?
3. I am planning to submit it by next Sunday the 10th March. is that ok?
4. I am guessing once, I submit the WS, I put an original document bundle together with the evidence and take it to the court on the day. or, do I need to post the bundle before the haring day?
5. Do I need to take ID with me on the day of the hearing, like a passport? didn't say anything on the court letters.
6. How do I show evidence which is a video?
7. Let me know what is the best way to show you guys the evidence

sorry guys for so many questions, won't be able to do it without you.
thank you so much!