Surprise CCJ (ParkingEye)

Umkomaas

FinleyBob wrote: »

Hi all, a quick update.

I received a letter from my local county court earlier this week confirming that my hearing is on the 11th Feb! What official documents will I need to prepare in readiness for it?

All detailed for you in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2.

nosferatu1001

Wow, thats not much time

You should already have your application, WS, defence and draft order filed with the court and served on the claimant, so there isnt a lot you need to take with you
Taking your evidnece along would make sense - proof of address change etc.

FinleyBob

So today I have also received an email from ParkingEye stating that they will not be attending the hearing but are happy for the hearing to go ahead. They have also included their response in a 13 page(!) pdf attachment. There are a number of terms and phrases that they have used in their pdf that I don't fully understand. For example:

1. "ParkingEye seeks an order that there be no order made as to costs."
Which costs are they referring to at this stage?

2. "ParkingEye note that the Defendant has provided no submissions in relation to a proposed defence to the claim. ParkingEye submits that the requirement for a defence to be raised is a paramount consideration when a court is determining whether or not a regular judgment should be set aside and it is clear the Defendant does not address the same within their application.

Given the above, it is ParkingEye’s position that setting aside the judgment would be disproportionate and that the Defendant could potentially incur further costs in taking this matter to a final hearing with little chance of success. ParkingEye also submit that the application has not been made promptly as required by CPR 13.3(2)"
What defence should I have submitted? In my WS I explained that I was parked at the hotel for a corporate event where complimentary guest parking was provided - is this insufficient defence?

I can look to upload their response to here somehow if people would like to read it.

nosferatu1001

1) The cost for the application to set aside
Theyre trying to avoid having to pay for (I presume) using an out of date / otherwise incorrect address, something that was their fault.

2) Did you not include a draft defence?
IT is not strictly needed if you look to get a set aside automatically granted under CPR13.2, ie no claim form was properly served, but its a useful add on for "any other reason" which is CPR13.3
If yoU DID, then you can simply point out in court that PEs submission is templated nonsense that doesnt actually address THIS case.

Did you explain how quickly you made the response, and why any delay was proportionate?

Groan. Every thread says to include a defence....

FinleyBob

nosferatu1001 wrote: »

1) The cost for the application to set aside
Theyre trying to avoid having to pay for (I presume) using an out of date / otherwise incorrect address, something that was their fault.

2) Did you not include a draft defence?
IT is not strictly needed if you look to get a set aside automatically granted under CPR13.2, ie no claim form was properly served, but its a useful add on for "any other reason" which is CPR13.3
If yoU DID, then you can simply point out in court that PEs submission is templated nonsense that doesnt actually address THIS case.

Did you explain how quickly you made the response, and why any delay was proportionate?

Groan. Every thread says to include a defence....

With regards to a Draft Defence - I was unaware that one was needed alongside my N244, Draft Order and WS. I appreciate that the information is nested within other threads but between a full time job and the general panic of court action I must have missed this, apologies. Given that the court will have a WS and Draft Order:

- Should I bring any additional copies of those with me?
- Should I now write a Defence to take with me?

Upon re-reading the ParkingEye response I can also see that they have not received my WS (wherein a outlined my complimentary parking at the hotel), however I definitely provided a copy of it when submitting my N244 to CCBC by email.

- Will the fact that they were not issued the WS impact my chance of set aside?

FinleyBob

I've put together a summarised Draft Defence for tomorrow's hearing below. Having read other threads it sounds like the judge may not even be interested in reading this and will instead just want to check off a number of points to set aside the CCJ (which I feel I can do with my defence) - so the below may just act as a checklist for me to read from when trying to check off the judge's points.

My main argument is that the hotel failed to notify me that I needed to register my car upon arrival when I was in fact entitled to park there. Evidence 1 is an email exchange between myself and a member of HR at my company confirming:

• My attendance at the corporate event at the date and time of the parking penalty.
• Offering of complimentary parking to members of staff attending the event.
• Long-standing relationship between our company and the hotel for facilitating our corporate events (my thinking being that this should be a routine reminder for the hotel staff to inform people from our company).

My second argument would be that other parties were able to locate me during this time using Credit Reference Agency checks. I unfortunately may not be able to provide written evidence of this as I'm still waiting on Advantis Credit to email me a report outlining their tracing method (spoke to one of their advisors on the phone about it and they confirmed that they used Experian to find me). If I don't have any written evidence should I scrap all mentions of Advantis tracing me?

Finally, I feel that ParkingEye are being overly confident as they have not seen my WS wherein I outlined both of the above points. Is there any use sending them a copy of my WS now?

Draft Defence:

The parking event in question occurred as part of the Defendant’s attendance of a corporate event run by XXXX which was being hosted by their long-standing partner for corporate event facilitation - Holiday Inn, XXXX. Any XXXXX staff attending a Holiday Inn facilitated corporate event are entitled to complimentary parking at the venue (see Annex A).

The Defendant acknowledges that, due to the failings of the hotel staff to notify the Defendant of their obligations for parking there, they did not register their car with the hotel upon arrival. The failing of the hotel staff is particularly concerning given the frequency with which the hotel facilitates events for XXXX.

As the Defendant was entitled to complimentary parking at the time of the event the parking penalty is therefore invalid and the Defendant requests that the CCJ is set aside under CPR 13.3.

The Defendant recognises that their delay in updating their address with DVLA has contributed to the Default Judgement, however they also acknowledge that the Claimant continued to use outdated addresses rather than take reasonable steps. As per Freedom of Information Request (FOIR3988) from June 2014, the Claimant knew about the DVLA allowing the use of Credit Reference Agencies and Tracing Agencies, and the sensible reasons for using, specifying that similar circumstances to be applying equally to the car parking industry, but has been clearly ignored and not followed by the Claimant in an attempt to obtain a default judgement.

During this period where the Defendant had not yet updated their address with the DVLA Advantis Credit were able to locate the Defendant following a check with a credit reference agency for a separate matter. With this in mind, the Defendant questions whether the Claimant fulfilled their duty in ensuring all correspondence was being issued to the correct address.

It is on these grounds that the Defendant believes that the CCJ may alternatively be set aside under CPR 13.2.


Would greatly appreciate any final tips before I get this printed off (along with another copy of all original application documents - WS, Draft Order etc..).

Coupon-mad

With regards to a Draft Defence - I was unaware that one was needed alongside my N244, Draft Order and WS.

It wasn't.

You just need it with you on the day in case the Judge asks for a brief overview.

Upon re-reading the ParkingEye response I can also see that they have not received my WS (wherein a outlined my complimentary parking at the hotel), however I definitely provided a copy of it when submitting my N244 to CCBC by email.

Email a copy of your WS to enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk in the morning before the hearing, so they have it if they decide to pursue the claim.

My main argument is that the hotel failed to notify me that I needed to register my car upon arrival

No, that's your main defence argument, that there was a hidden system and some sort of keypad that was not prominent (indeed was withheld from you) and this is a 'concealed pitfall or trap' (USE THOSE WORDS - they come from the Beavis case!). This is a well-known scam that P/Eye rely upon to penalise people at Hotels, Cinemas etc., week in week out.

But none of this is what the Judge is mainly wanting to hear. This is what the Judge needs to be satisfied about at a set aside hearing, so take your proof of addresses and do not admit to any slowness/error or omission in updating the DVLA:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74864199#Comment_74864199

Go through that in the morning as your checklist of how to get this set aside.

Only if the Judge starts to suggest that the Beavis case scuppers your chances of defence (IT DOES NOT!) do you then talk about the fact this case is FULLY DISTINGUISHED from Beavis, due to the presence of exactly the sort of 'concealed pitfall or trap' that the Supreme Court Judges warned would render a parking charge an unconscionable penalty. And that there is a lack of 'legitimate interest' or commercial justification' in this case, because the Hotel want it cancelled as you were a genuine patron and they do not support the penalty and you can certainly defend/evidence this at a case hearing.

FinleyBob

Well guys, just got back from my hearing, and unfortunately my application was rejected.

I handed a binder containing my Draft Order, WS, Skeleton Argument and Evidence to the usher upon arrival, when I eventually got into the hearing room I sat down and the judge basically said I don't have a leg to stand on given that:

- I didn't update the DVLA when I moved address
- I acknowledged that I was at the location at the time of the parking event

Naturally I'm borderline devastated at the news but I guess that's life. Once I've received the official verdict from the court I will pay the CCJ and ask for a certificate of acceptance.

Thanks for all your help anyway, I doubt I even would have made it to the country court if it weren't for all of your guidance.