County Court Defence Advice - failure to park in a 'marked' bay

keep_calm_and_carry_on

Thanks The Deep - I've emailed my MP.

keep_calm_and_carry_on

Why was your case postponed? That must have been very annoying and stressful - you think it'll be over and it keeps dragging on.

Snakes_Belly

keep_calm_and_carry_on wrote: »

Why was your case postponed? That must have been very annoying and stressful - you think it'll be over and it keeps dragging on.

There was a two hour case in the afternoon which had already been rescheduled several times and there was not time for both. Apparently they expect some to settle beforehand. These parking cases don't settle though although they may try to make an offer. It was Stafford court.

keep_calm_and_carry_on

I won!!!! Will write up later. Thank you so much for your help everyone.

Snakes_Belly

. Great news, well done. I can't wait to hear what happened.

keep_calm_and_carry_on

I arrived at the court about 10 minutes before my allotted time and was introduced to Excel's rep - Mr MacFarlane. He was pleasant and explained how the case would run. I had submitted my skeleton argument and cost schedule on entry. The Rep told me he would ask to this to be disallowed as he hadn't had time to read it. I just said 'ok'.

We waited around for an hour or so, then got told our case had moved rooms and judge.

Eventually got called in - it was District Judge MacCuish. He was also pleasant and explained how things would work. He knew Mr MacFarlane.

The judge asked me if I had Excel's paperwork etc, then asked the Rep if he had my defence and skeleton. The rep asked for the skeleton to be disallowed. The judge said it was allowed as both he and the rep had received it at the same time and that it didn't really matter that I'd served it late, but I should have submitted it the day before.

It then became apparent that the rep and the judge didn't have my witness statement or supporting docs. That actually seemed to throw the rep a bit, I think he thought I was totally unprepared and had just chucked in my defence.

I had brought copies of the documents along in nice ringbinders, so offered a copy each to the judge and the rep. The judge was impressed by this and commented on how well prepared I was. I offered evidence of submitting the docs to excel but he said that wasn't necessary and he had no doubt that I had done all my paperwork in time.

He then started to make noises about adjourning the case, but said that it would not be fair on me as I had taken a day off work. I stressed this was costing me money. He asked the rep what he would like to do - rep said he would quickly read my WS and the case could proceed. The judge told us he had another case in about an hour, so we had to be quick.

Outside the room the rep started to ask me questions about my supporting evidence (the numbering was a bit off) and I think he was trying to rattle me, so I said we'd talk about it in the room.

I can't remember how the judge introduced the case, but basically he said he wanted to focus on the facts first, then move onto the legal arguments afterwards. He stressed that I was the only person who'd actually been to the car park, so was best placed to know what it was like. He also said my case was unusual as I'd actually paid for a parking ticket.

He had a go at Excel for not clearly saying why they were bringing the claim against me - he said that that excel hadn't said why there's a claim in the court docs and made the rep explain exactly why they were trying to have me. The rep struggled with this and you could see him having to think on his feet to work out what Excel were playing at. By this point I was feeling much more confident as it was becoming clear that Excel were taking the mick.

Mr Excel went through their evidence, nothing surprising - just said I should have read signs, should have parked in a single marked bay and that the signs are clear blah blah blah. He also decided to say that my car had blocked some other in (which wasn't in excel's docs) off the back of one of the photos. He also said I could have contacted excel to check that I'd definitely parked in a permitted location! He also kept saying I was the driver. As soon as I got my turn I pointed out that I did not know who was driving as it was ages ago etc etc.


I then had my go. I talked the judge through the layout of the car park using a print out of google maps and photos. I focused on the fact that the car was in a marked bay, didn't block anything, no signs saying not to park there, no markings to show not to park there and demonstrated there were other areas of the car park that were marked up. I also roundly thrashed down the claim that I'd blocked cars in and that the photo was misleading. I was about to start laying into their rubbish signs, but the judge basically asked me to stop and he would go through the facts.

He said the case was a determative (?) matter and that it was unnecessary to go into other matters. He said that he was aware that this cause problems if the case was appealed.

He then said this was about establishing common ground between parties - both sides agreed that a ticket had been purchased and that the car had been parked in the car park.

He said that my evidence proved that there were a number of means of how bays are delineated, and that where I'd parked had 'all the hallmarks of a bay', there were no restrictions, no signs and it did not cause an obstruction. He also said that the claimant's photo was misleading, but this was not intentional.

He summed up by saying my evidence was compelling, credible, reliable and truthful that my vehicle was parked in a marked bay. Therefore there was no contravention, no breach and no liability under POFA. He then said the case was dismissed.

He then moved on and asked me about my costs - he was really helpful on this and talked me through what I could claim. I asked for printing and stationery costs and the Excel Rep challenged me! He said that as nice as my folders were, they couldn't have cost me very much!!! Anyway, I ended up with £118 costs which is better than a poke in the eye.

THE END!

Thoughts and suggestions to others in my situation:

BE PREPARED - I was so glad I'd spent time making nice folders of my documents - this seriously impressed the judge and meant the case could be heard. He emphasised how well prepared I was.

Be assertive - I think the rep was expecting me to be quite submissive and scared. Unfortunately for him I'm quite a bolshy person, particularly when faced with nonsense that might cost me money.

Know your stuff - this is where I felt a bit out of my depth. I hadn't really planned how I'd present my case to the court so I just sort of had to go for it. If I had to do this again I'd work out which points I'd present first and the most compelling way to do it.

Don't be scared - I was worried I'd do something wrong in the court room and get told off. The judge did ask me to shut up at various points but was patient with me.

Slow down! My friend advised me to take as long as I liked and to speak as slowly as I liked. I tried to do this but kind of panicked. I did pause to make sure that the judge was looking at the right photos when I was talking about them, but I wish I'd gone a bit slower as it would have made it more compelling.

Once again, thank you to those who contribute to this forum. I would have been completely lost if I'd had to do this by myself.

:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

Coupon-mad

Yay! I loved reading that! VERY WELL DONE.

Another one bites the dust!

And you got 3 figures in costs as well. Nice job.

Please do come back regularly & post, do stick around, we like bolshy people and that's what brings us here to help the more scared victims!

:T

Snakes_Belly

You had prepared well and the judge was fair. You communicated the ambiguity of the car park well. The judge noticed Excel's photo shopped images. Great stuff.

Umkomaas

Nice result, well done. Great report.

He also kept saying I was the driver. As soon as I got my turn I pointed out that I did not know who was driving as it was ages ago etc etc.

He said that my evidence proved that there were a number of means of how bays are delineated, and that where I'd parked had 'all the hallmarks of a bay'

Did the Judge believe it was you who parked? Did he question you on whether you were the driver?

Be assertive - I think the rep was expecting me to be quite submissive and scared. Unfortunately for him I'm quite a bolshy person, particularly when faced with nonsense that might cost me money.

I really like that.

beamerguy

keep_calm_and_carry_on .... well done:beer:

A good court report

Excel needs to take stock of their stupidity. If they are to use their own in house so called legals, they should take professional advice who will probably tell them, their case is futile.

And I mean a professional and not the silly robo claim bunch we see on here.

A kindergarten claim at it's best