County Court Claim CEL Blue badge

jungalow

So the day has arrived when the Directions Questionnaire has landed on the doormat. I've completed it as per instructions on the NEWBIES thread and am about to send it off but just have a couple of questions:

1. Do I just sent a copy to Civil Enforcements general address? There is no specific address for them on any of the paperwork with regards to service address so I'm assuming I just send it to their bog standard company offices?
2. Shall I send both registered post or signed for? I've read mixed opinions about this, obviously it's good to have proof of postage but I don't want to play into their hands with regards to things arriving by set dates etc.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I need to post tomorrow or Friday if possible.

Umkomaas

1. Send to the address you have (Exchange Flags?)

2. Neither. Send via first class mail with a free Certificate of Posting from your PO counter. It is deemed by law to have been delivered two working days after posting.

KeithP

There's an address on your Claim Form where documents are to be served.

nosferatu1001

Inded
THere is NO mixed mesage on this

FIrst class, free proof of posting. NO OTHER METHOD OF POSTING

jungalow

Hi there,

So we have received the letter with the court date for our local court and I have until 4th April to file my witness statement and defence pack. I plan on getting this all together this weekend and going to take images of signs etc. However, I am unsure as to what to put in the witness statement. To be honest I'm just hoping that CEL doesn't pay the court fee and it gets thrown out all together as it is causing me a lot of stress.

On the day in questions I was the person driving the car (although this has not been stated anywhere) and my husband is the defendant (registered keeper), so we are going on the grounds that we couldn't possibly be held to remember what happened that day or which of us was driving. Is this what I write in the witness statement? In actuality i was driving but I parked on the site in a disabled bay, clearly displaying my blue badge, used the three stores onsite (and not for an excessive amount of time) and due to complications with my disability over ran the allocated time allowed on site.

I feel with the EA I have a decent defence but obviously this is not the track we have gone down as per the above.

So my question is when I write the witness statement what should I focus on? The fact that we didn't park there to go to any other sites, or misuse the site and that we simply frequented the three establishments there (not to excess) and this happened to be slightly longer than they specify on the signage?

Also I want to get together a list of expenses in advance in case things go in our favour. Should I have this prepared in advance to give to the judge or should it be collated following the judgement, if it is in our favour.

Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated,

Many thanks

(I understand that I am not the defendant and that my husband is. He will be going to court on the date set and will either be defending himself or I will as his Lay representative, we haven't decided yet. He is severely dyslexic and is worried that he will freeze or get intimidated on the day.)

Le_Kirk

The witness statement (WS) is your story (written in the first person) of what happened on the day that caused the PCN to be issued. You need to keep the story straight between your defence and your WS. There was a report on here last week of a defendant being the driver in the defence and the RK in the WS - he lost!

Coupon-mad

All of the above (WS, evidence & costs schedules) are linked the NEWBIES thread.

jungalow

I have read the NEWBIES thread and couldn't find anything that would help me regarding the witness statement in this case. I can see the evidence I need to gather in advance etc which I can easily do but I'm just confused as to what to write in the witness statement. In our defence we mention the lack of adequate signage and the fact that we cannot be held responsible to accurately relay the day in question 10 months down the line as to who was the driver as it is a site we regularly visit. If we haven't declared who the driver was what shall we say in the statement?

All the way through the process we have been advised not to say who the driver was (or correct them) so have just allowed correspondence to continue to my husband as the registered keeper of the car. Now in the witness statement do we have to say who it was? I'm just confused as to the advice at this stage.

Coupon-mad

Now in the witness statement do we have to say who it was?

He should be saying that the driver was his wife, who parked in a disabled bay displaying a Blue Badge and due to her mobility needs, and the fact she used all the stores that day, she needed more time to go about her daily life than an able bodied driver would. And he attaches your WS and evidence to support the defence.

I suggest you also provide a WS yourself (signed & dated like his, same style as you see in the examples in the NEWBIES thread, with the statement of truth at the end).

Identify yourself as the driver and talk about the fact that the only signs at those disabled bays talked about displaying a Blue Badge, and did not impose the same time limit as able bodied drivers, which EVEN IF it had been displayed, would be an inflexible and arbitrary time policy. Under the Equality Act 2010, this policy is illegal.

Attach a copy of your Blue Badge to the evidence file, and a copy of this:

https://www.wake-smith.co.uk/news/council-car-park-case-settled-a-victory-for-blue-badge-holders/

and attach some relevant pages from this, including the front page and introduction to show where those pages come from:

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/servicescode_0.pdf

Search that PDF (control & F) for the single word 'tours' and highlight that section, which you will see supports the point that people with mobility needs MUST be allowed a reasonable adjustment of time (not just removing a physical barrier by providing a few hatched lines for a disabled bay, that is NOT enough).

At the hearing, both go along.

Your OH has no choice as he is the Defendant so he MUST be there, and your account will be compelling too.

DO NOT call it a 'grace period' for disabled people. It's a REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT.

Also highlight from that EHRC statutory policy (it is LAW not guidance!) the part that explains that INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION cannot be justified by a Service Provider saying they ''didn't know'' about the consumer's disability (i.e. if you never appealed, so they didn't know...).

You need to highlight the part in the EHRC Statute that says that 'not knowing' about an individual's mobility need is no justification for INDIRECT discrimination which is an anticipatory duty - i.e. they are clearly expecting some disabled visitors (disabled bays prove this) so they needed to make adjustments of the time limit policy IN ADVANCE, making provision for those people in the population 'at large' who need more time, and they should have worked out a way to allow this for you on the day.

There is a danger the PPC will argue it's your OH's fault for not appealing and telling them about the Blue Badge earlier. That's why you need to understand the above! Don't expect every Judge to know the difference between indirect discrimination (against the population at large) and direct (where a person is known).

The fact is, you displayed your Blue Badge so that was ''there to be seen'', and to comply with the EA, there should be a policy for people using those bays to claim a longer time. This can be offered on signs, say by telling people to register their BB at the CS desk and allowing a grace period to allow a person to do this then return with their badge to display.

That's a perfectly reasonable adjustment to make for people like yourself and this Claimant failed their legal duty. Say that!

Also get pics of the signs at the disabled bays, as I reckon they will just have a wheelchair symbol and require a BB to be displayed which you did. Probably nothing in view about a time limit at those bays?

Prove it with photos.

Johnersh is a solicitor poster and he posted this on another thread:

The witness statement is what you said and did.

Keep it simple. Don't try and write like a lawyer, tell your story (but in numbered paragraphs).

jungalow

Thank you so much CouponMad! That has really outlined everything for me in such a simple way and I feel 100% confidence in delivering our defence in this way. Now to get it all in order and into the court and CEL by the 4th April and to wait and see if they pay the court fee and show up on the day!

Fingers crossed all goes smoothly! If I go along on the day too should I add my expenses to the list as well?