Claim Form for parking at Doncaster Airport

Redx

take note of this thread which lost in court and try to ensure that yours is more robust and can counter the issues they lost on


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5895424/robin-hood-airport-doncaster

buziak

Good afternoon everyone.

Apologies that I took so long. Thank you for your comments. I went through them carefully

Here is the link: wttps://imgur.com/a/fEBbb7U

To access replace the "w" in "wttps" with "h" so that the link is "https:

Le_Kirk

Here is your link made live: -
https://imgur.com/a/fEBbb7U

Coupon-mad

Don't forget to redraft your WS and show us a new version, it needs to go in more strongly on these appeal case authorities if you are to trump the USELESS and HOPELESSLY STUPID 'VCS v Ward' appeal they are relying on where a clueless Judge actually thought that a four second stop meant that VCS could penalise the driver 'because of Beavis' and that the Consumer right Act 2015 somehow didn't apply! :

Coupon-mad wrote: »

And tell the Judge that both 'Jopson' and 'Ransomes' are persuasive appeal decisions which already existed and which fly in the face of the recent VCS v Ward flawed appeal decision, where a Judge was wrongly led by VCS about a brief stop, and was misled to wrongly consider Beavis which has no such application in these different fact cases (only in cases of similar facts - retail park overstays with the same clear signs). And the Defendant failed to adduce Jopson or Ransomes nor even appear at the appeal hearing to fight his side, so VCS v Ward should not carry the same persuasive weight compared to Jopson and Ransomes where the matters regarding 'stopping' as opposed to parking and agreeing a contract, were more thoroughly considered with all parties present.

Also I feel where you quote the byelaws you MUST put in bold, the exceptions/exemptions to the no-stopping rule, as they surely win the argument for you and you cannot risk the Judge not noticing 'except in an emergency' and 'without reasonable excuse' which are - I hope - what saves your case going down the VCS v Ward plughole!

The absolute crux of your case is proving (and standing by and being heard to talk about, with evidence) the vehicle failure.

Can you get a local garage to write a WS for you to say that your car (or that model, at least generically) is known to suffer from gear failure, yadda, yadda. It will help. Got a friend or relative who is a mechanic, or a local guy who will write and sign a WS like that for a beer or two (not as a bribe, as a thankyou!)?

buziak

Coupon-mad:: The mechanic that fixed my car closed his garage and returned to his homecountry. I may find a mechanic who could write that up for me but unfortunately, the issues I have experienced are not common in that model so I am not sure how that would fly in the court. The car was simply old, defective and it had to break down when there were cameras around.

I have re-written my WS and included some points that were raised in your comments.

Thank you all again for your help and support.

buziak

In the County Court at Sheffield
Claim No. XXX
Between

Vehicle Control Services Limited (Claimant)
and
XXX (Defendant)

---

Witness Statement

---

I am XXX, I will say as follows:

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.

In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise. Attached to this statement is a paginated bundle of documents marked PD to which I will refer.

1. On a date of alleged contravention, I drove to Doncaster airport when suddenly my car experienced problems with the clutch, shifting gears and I had to pull over immediately to avoid blocking an airport approach road.

2. I experienced sudden problems with the clutch and shifting gears and I had no other option other than stopping in the middle of the lane I was driving, but to steer my vehicle into the zone where it was safe for me to restart my car and drive off.

3. I was focused on shifting the gear and moving off the area I have entered. Therefore I did not have the chance to read the signs that were posted there and that were informing motorists that stopping is prohibited. Even, if I had known about this, this would not prevent me from stopping in the ‘prohibited zone’ as described by the Claimant.

4 Having not heard about this matter in months and upon not receiving parking charge notice from the Claimant, I had no opportunity to supply evidence of the faulty car part and therefore the Claimant have elected to pursue this matter via litigation.

5. It is my position that, the Claimant has no standing, or cause of action, to litigate in this matter. I based it on the case “PCM vs Bull” where defendants were issued parking tickets for parking on private roads with signage stating “no parking at any time”.

5.1 District Judge Glen in his final statement mentioned that: “the notice was prohibitive, and didn’t communicate any offer of parking and that landowners may have claim in trespass, but that was not under consideration”.

6. in my view, the Doncaster-Sheffield airport byelaws should be applicable and considered:

6.1 VCS operates under Doncaster-Sheffield airport byelaws Problems I have encountered driving that night, fit the criteria specified in DSA byelaws. Below are the ones that are specific, relevant and supportive of my case:


5. PROHIBITED ACTS ON PARTS OF THE AIRPORT TO WHICH THE ROAD
TRAFFIC ENACTMENTS DO NOT APPLY
The following acts are prohibited on any part of the Airport to which the Road
Traffic Enactments do not apply:

“5 (3) Obstruction:
except in an emergency, leave or park a Vehicle or cause it to wait for a period in excess of the permitted time in an area where the period of waiting is restricted by Notice”

and

“5(12) Parking of Vehicles
without reasonable excuse!park a Vehicle elsewhere than in a place provided for that purpose.

7. In his Defence Statement, the Claimant Is relying upon VCS v Ward case. That case can be fully distinguished and is far from persuasive when scrutinised:

7.1) At appeal, the Defendant did not appear at the court and the case ran against the interest of the victim consumer

7.2) Case VCS v Ward involved a business park, not airport bylews. The case VCS v Ward has no application to an Airport case like this one, where the byelaws lay the facts and rules out in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that an emergency such as breakdown, is a 'reasonable excuse' clearly anticipated by the Airport owners to be exempt conduct, and not a contravention at all.

7.3) In VCS v Ward case, the Defendant failed to adduce relevant cases such as Jopson and Ransomes that already existed. In these cases the matters regarding ‘stopping’ as opposed to parking and agreeing a contract, were more thoroughly considered. Both the cases are persuasive and could have helped the Defendant provide winning argument.


8. Reason for stopping should be considered. In case “Jopson vs. Homeguard Services Ltd” (9GF0A9E), the Defendant stopped for a few minutes to unload some furniture and a desk outside the entrance to the building containing her flat and was issued a parking ticket. In his verdict/statement Judge Harris QC, made the following statement regarding the definition of the word “parking”:

“20. […] However, the Shorter Oxford Dictionary has the following: “To leave a vehicle in a carpark or other reserved space” and “To leave in a suitable place until required”. The concept of parking as opposed to stopping, is that of leaving a car for some duration of time beyond that needed for getting in or out of it, loading or unloading it, and perhaps coping with some vicissitude of short duration, such as changing a wheel in the event of a puncture. Merely to stop a vehicle cannot be to park it’ otherwise traffic jams would consist of lines of parked cars. “

8.1Based on the above statement, I consider the issues I have encountered with my vehicle as minor vicissitude.

9.The terms of the warning sign are of particular importance in this case. The print is larger at the earlier part of notice and gets smaller as one works one’s way through it. But in big letters that are legible to any passing motorist, it says:

“Restricted Zone No Stopping at Any time”

9.1 Then in smaller print, legible but only if one positively stopped to read it carefully, one reads the following:

Mobile CCTV & Number Plate Recognition Enforcement cameras in operation. Vehicle keeper details may be requested from the DVLA
Strictly no parking, stopping or waiting on double yellow lines, red route zones or roadways at any time.
£100 Automatic Parking Charge Notice discounted to £60 if payment is received within 14 days of the Parking Charge Notice issue date.

9.2 Not only, the small print can not be fully read from the moving vehicle but offer of entering a contract is not displayed by the Claimant.

10. No offer of contract is being presented by the Claimant. In case “Ransomes vs Anderson”, the Defendant went to the industrial estate and after not being able to get into their designated parking area, he parked on the road, on a double yellow line, for which he was issued a parking ticket. In his judgement the district judge rejected the contract claim on the basis that the noticed was too vague and uncertain to generate contractual liability. The sign, in question, started with:

“Warning: Private property. Not Trespassing. No Parking. No Stopping. No Waiting. You have entered this private property. You are now subject to the terms and conditions of the land owner listed below”.

10. 1 District Judge accepted in principle that Mr. Anderson committed a trespass and that trespass must have caused some loss to the claimant, in terms of expenses incurred, but made no award of damages in relation to it and dismissed the claim.

10.2 It is my belief, that by entering the private property and not obeying to the rules displayed on the notice, I did not form any contract with the Claimant because no such contract was presented to me.

11. In “Ransomes vs Anderson” case, the District Judge said:

“the notice was insufficiently clear to constitute a valid contractual offer capable of acceptance by conduct. […] Although the doctrine of acceptance by conduct, on the basis of the terms on a notice in a parking place or similar zone, is an obviously right, valuable and useful one, it is an essential minimum that the contract be sufficiently simple and clear that the motorist is in no doubt before he performs the accepting conduct what he is letting himself in for”.

11.1 The district judge was plainly right to say that this notice, in contractual terms, was too vague and uncertain to have the requisite effect

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

buziak

Ladies and gents that are more knowledgeable than me...

Any suggestions to this re-written Witness Statement? I re-written it and posted here just like you suggested.

buziak

Quick update:

Tomorrow, I am going to send a Witness Statement as is. Thank you all for your comments, suggestions etc.

Hearing is on the 22nd of August.

buziak

The hearing is on Thursday.
I sent my WS and sent it to the court and to the Claimant. I have received a letter back from the Claimant.

If you have any suggestions before the hearing day you can comment below.

Redx

Have you done your costs schedule and proof of loss of earnings etc to take with you on the day ?

The WS stage is plus exhibits plus costs schedule