Parking "fine" - court letter

sellwin90

Oh yes - sorry misinterpretation. I am ignoring it and continuing to defend, was just giving you all an update!

sellwin90

For some reason, I crossed the yes for the mediation service on the questionnaire. I have no idea why I did this as I was following the advice given on here!

I have now received an email saying about mediation. It says if I don't meet this or that criteria or I don't reply then mediation will be cancelled and transferred to the courts....

Firstly, I guess I should still refuse mediation and secondly, shall I respond and say it was a mistake and that I didn't want mediation, or just not reply at all and let everything run it's course?

sellwin90

Hi all,

I have now received my notice of allocation to my local small claims court (1st Aug). The date provided is one that I can make but my partner can't as he has an operation the week before (which we didn't know would be happening when the directions questionnaire was sent off, so couldn't list this as a date we couldn't do). As mentioned previously, I'm not a confident person and really don't want to do this on my own, so I'm going to say that I can't attend. Will this have a big affect on possible outcomes?

I've re read the newbies thread, in regards to my defence, is it just the same as the defence that I filed previously? (I'll post again below). The newbies thread points to photos for evidence, the Beavis case (which is mentioned in my original defence), as well as points to other witness statements, which look similar to mine.

A bit of a nudge in the right direction please, as I'm unsure as to what else I need to do in addition to my first defence for the courts apart from attach photos (and possibly add into my defence see photo #1/evidence #1 etc)?

Thanks



CLAIM No: 1234567

BETWEEN:

BRITANNIA PARKING (Claimant)

-and-

XXX (Defendant)

________________________________________
DEFENCE
________________________________________

1. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.

2. The facts are that the vehicle, registration XXXX, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was parked on the material date in a marked bay allocated to Company BRITANNIA PARKING at Location, and had a valid ticket to be parked in that bay.

3. To the best of the defendant’s knowledge, the driver fully complied with the car park rules by entering the vehicle registration number and purchasing a ticket within a reasonable time frame and also exited within a reasonable time frame, as described by the British Parking Association’s (BPA) Code of Practice (CoP) clause #13.

4. The Particulars of Claim state that the Defendant was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle. These assertions indicate that the Claimant has failed to identify a Cause of Action, and is simply offering a menu of choices. As such, the Claim fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4, or with Civil Practice Direction 16, paras. 7.3 to 7.5. Further, the particulars of the claim do not meet the requirements of Practice Direction 16 7.5 as there is nothing which specifies how the terms were breached.

5. Due to the sparseness of the particulars, it is unclear as to what legal basis the claim is brought, whether for breach of contract, contractual liability, or trespass. The POC is inadequate as it does not provide any hint as to what rule the driver is alleged to have breached. It is denied that the Defendant, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, whether express, implied, or by conduct, however any driver of the vehicle did, as a ticket was purchased.

6. The SAR (Subject Access Request) provided by the Claimant, backs up point number 5. In the SAR provided, there are notes that have no context and therefore make no sense and the dates that are provided within the notes don’t seem to correspond with anything (i.e. the date of the alleged offence, or the date that the PCN was issued). The SAR also provides no mention of payment for the vehicle when the driver has made a payment to park. The photographs within the SAR are flawed. They are of poor quality and it is impossible to make out the make, model and colour of the car, let alone see the number plate in the photos provided. A photo of the registration number is provided as a separate image but there is no proof that this is on the car that is photographed entering/exiting the car park.

7. The terms on the Claimant's signage are also displayed in a font which is too small to be read from a passing vehicle, and is in such a position that anyone attempting to read the tiny font would be unable to do so easily. It is, therefore, denied that the Claimant's signage is capable of creating a legally binding contract.

8. The lighting surrounding multiple signs in the Claimant’s car park is insufficient. The lighting over the tariffs board is intermittent and flickers. In addition to this, the outer box which highlights the tariffs provides a shadow underneath making it even more difficult to read the particulars when the light is in it’s “on” stage of the flickering. This is not conforming to the British Parking Association Code of Practice, nor the rules that were issued after the outcome of the “ParkingEye V Barry Beavis” case.

9. a) The Claimant has failed the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and so the defendant is not liable under the POFA 2012.
b) The Defendant believes that the Claimant has not followed the correct procedures outlined in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 by identifying who the driver of the vehicle was and therefore the Defendant, as keeper, is not liable for the charge.
c) The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4, at Section 4(5) states that the maximum sum that may be recovered from the keeper is the charge stated on the Notice to Keeper, in this case £85. The claim includes an additional £60, for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery – verging on, in my opinion, an attempt to fraud the Defendant in to paying extra.

10. The Claimant is put to strict proof that it has sufficient proprietary interest in the land, or that it has the necessary authorisation from the landowner to issue parking charge notices, and to pursue payment by means of litigation.

11. In summary, it is the Defendant's position that the claim discloses no cause of action, is without merit, and has no real prospect of success. Accordingly, the Court is invited to strike out the claim of its own initiative, using its case management powers pursuant to CPR 3.4.

I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.

nosferatu1001

1) If you do not attend, and do not inform the court of this, the chances are you will lose and may get costs against you
2) You can tell the court you will not attend if you give at least 7 days written notice, and you serve this on the claimant as well.
3) IF you dont not attend even having told, you are at a serious disadvantage. A serious one.
4) Youre not writing another defence. Youre writing a WS. This is stated clearly and without ambiguity in the newbies thread. This WS is YOUR STORY of the events. s

Redx

Witness statement & Exhibits is next, tells you this on your court date form plus the date they must be in by

You could ask for a new date if you wish, due to medical circumstances

Otherwise it's as mentioned in the reply above

The defence has already been filed, so no, it is not repeated or filed again

sellwin90

Ok, so I'm a bit confused.

From the newbies thread and the links that I have gone to, most witness statements seem to be like the defence??

Do I need to relate my witness statement to my original defence, or just set it out as I wish?

Would it be something along the lines of:

After receiving the PCN, the company failed to identify the driver. My boyfriend and parents both use my car under their third party insurance.

On receipt of the SAR, the picture provided of the vehicle is not clear at all, and does not show the vehicle number plate on the picture at all (see attached documentation)

On inspection of the car park the lighting around the signs make them hard to see and read (see photos).

Etc.

This is something I've just typed up here and now. Or am I totally along the wrong lines here?

Redx

as above, its your story as you know the facts then , since then , and now

it expands on any defence points that were made, also includes any evidence you are putting forward such as pics , docs , letters , laws etc

it is NOT A redraft of the legal defence

this is the time to tell your story, as you are witness number one (there could be more witnesses , including landowner statements etc)

sellwin90

Ok, could you have a look at this and give feedback advice please ...

In the County Court at Location
Claim No. 123
Between
Britannia Parking Group Limited (Claimant)
and
xxx (Defendant)

---

Witness Statement

---

1. I am xxx, of address, the Defendant in this matter. I will say as follows:

2. I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in this case, vehicle registration number xxx. I live with my boyfriend who also has access to the use of my vehicle, as well as my parents, all on their own insurance.

3. On 29th November 2017, the vehicle was parked at Car Park, and had a parking ticket was purchased.

4. Upon receipt of the PCN, which stated that the vehicle and the driver had overstayed, a request for a SAR was made, as over the period of time that had elapsed from the original “offence” it could not be remembered who the driver was on the date. The SAR did not identify the driver. As well as not identifying the driver, the pictures provided were of poor quality and did not clearly identify the vehicle and the vehicle registration number in one picture, attached as exhibit A.

5. On further investigation of the car park, the signs in the car park are insufficiently lit, making it hard to read. Attached as exhibit B and C.

6. The terms and conditions at the main payment terminal was lit, although the lighting was temperamental, flickering on and off. As well as this, a box on the sign made a shadow over the terms and conditions, which are in a very small font, making it hard to read. Attached as exhibit D.

7. The amount being claimed by the claimant is £xx. This breakdown of these costs are the principal debt of £x, interest of £x, court fees of £xand solicitor fees of £x. I believe this to be not in line with the terms and conditions that the claimant set out originally and that they are unable to claim interest or their solicitor fees, trying to force myself, the defendant, into paying more than I should need to, if guilty.

8. I invite the Court to dismiss this claim in its entirety, and to award my costs of attendance at the hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14. ?????

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

Signature
Date


I was unsure of the best way to write point 7, if at all, and with point 8 I don't understand (copied and left in from a witness statement by bargepole that is linked in the newbies section)

Coupon-mad

As mentioned previously, I'm not a confident person and really don't want to do this on my own, so I'm going to say that I can't attend. Will this have a big affect on possible outcomes?

Yep, you will likely lose and get clobbered for full costs too.

DO NOT DO THIS. You can attend with a friend or other relative. Which court?

Point 8 is dead easy to understand if you just Google the CPR number.

Britannia Parking Group Limited

Read other Britannia threads, and look carefully at the letters the SAR showed you. Are any of the documents/PCN in a different company name?

Search the forum for Britannia company number and read the thread from this week where a person has prepped their WS already.

As for #7, replace with my words (in full) from Beamerguy's ABUSE OF PROCESS thread.

sellwin90

DO NOT DO THIS. You can attend with a friend or other relative. Which court?

The court is in Plymouth. I really don't feel comfortable going without my boyfriend, as he was going to speak for me too

Point 8 is dead easy to understand if you just Google the CPR number.

Ok, googled. I haven't put in for any costs that I remember (or is this at a later date?). If so, what costs should I be claiming for, or is it just saying that I shouldn't be liable for any costs.

Read other Britannia threads, and look carefully at the letters the SAR showed you. Are any of the documents/PCN in a different company name?

All correspondence that I have is from BW Legal or Britannia Parking Group Limited, no other company names etc.

Search the forum for Britannia company number and read the thread from this week where a person has prepped their WS already.

I've searched for this and scoured numerous threads after doing the search using the words suggested but couldn't find one that related to a WS. Would you be able to link me please?

As for #7, replace with my words (in full) from Beamerguy's ABUSE OF PROCESS thread.

I have read the thread (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal&highlight=beamerguy+abuse+of+process&page=3#topofpage this one I'm guessing?) Is it the post in #14 that I should be copying? As that's a defence and not a witness statement? Sorry if I'm wrong? Should I also be quoting the Southampton court claim too? And how will I know if they've added the £60 on ( I think they have but their "t&cs" say "recovery charges may apply" is this still illegal then despite this "clause")

Thank you again for your help and patience