LBC-puchased ticket after grace period

KeithP

Pabbo wrote: »

The issue date was 8th April.

I'll assume it came from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton.
Please confirm.

With a Claim Issue Date of 8th April, you have until Monday 29th April to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox file linked from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Monday 13th May 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.

rachity

I have not found anywhere (in PoFA 2012, the relevant Codes of Practice, or anywhere else) where it states that the payment must be made withun the 10 or so mins grace period.
Could be mistaken, though.
(I'm assuming this is an ANPR case?)

Pabbo

Yes it came from CCBC Northampton.
I sent the AoS reply slip through the post as I am struggling to register on the MCOL service. It keeps stating it is unavailable. Am I doing something wrong? I will keep trying. Can I assume I have the 28 days or would I be better submitting my defence within the 14 days?

Pabbo

yes it is an ANPR case

The_Deep

I have not found anywhere (in PoFA 2012, the relevant Codes of Practice, or anywhere else) ]

They are not in POFA but on the ATA websites.

Did you use a search engine, I found them on google in a few seconds. Also, I suggest that you google "unfair terms and conditions in consumer contract", (not the old regulations but in The Consumer Rights Act).

Pabbo

I have to write a witness statement as I have a court date in early October. I am being pursued for this parking charge as keeper of the vehicle. Do I need to identify the driver in my witness statement?

In their witness statement the claimant includes copies of the signage at the entrance to the car park, but does not state when this was installed. We think the signage has changed since that date, but unfortunately we have no photographs from then. Should the claimant be required to provide the date this sign was erected?

The claim against me is that the driver failed to pay within the grace period as mentioned in the posts above. It was the first time the driver had parked on this car park as they were starting in a new job. They had sought advice about where to park and were informed they would need to pay the maximum charge for the day.
I will be grateful for any advice as to how to defend this in court.

Le_Kirk

There is no requirement in law to name the driver (for a parking issue) and you write the witness statement (WS) to support your defence. If you weren't the driver on the day, you have to say in your WS that you have spoken to the driver and here is the information........

Pabbo

Here is my attempt at a witness statement
IN THE PRESTON COMBINED COURT CENTRE
CLAIM NO:

XXXXXXX
(DEFENDANT)

and

HX CAR PARK MANAGEMENT LIMITED
(CLAIMANT)


Witness statement



I, xxxx of xxxxx, will say as follows.

I am the defendant in this matter and am being persued for this claim as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

1)I was not the driver on the day in question, but have ascertained the facts of the case from the driver.

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

3)The Claimant asserts that the driver entered into a contract with it, that they breached that contract and must pay a contractual charge, with further undefined and unexplained additional charges. It agrees that my vehicle was in the car park for 9 hours 18 minutes and that a parking ticket was purchased entitling my vehicle to be parked for 12 hours, but is claiming a penalty charge for 9 minutes over the grace period at the commencement of this period.

4)I am still in possession of this ticket and have included a copy with this statement (appendix 1). If the driver had noted at the time of purchasing the ticket that they were over the 10 minute “grace period” they would have no opportunity to offset this. This appears fundamentally wrong.

(This would appear to constitute unfair terms as defined in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999:
Unfair Terms
5.—(1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.
(2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.)
Is this correct/relevant? Please advise

5) The claimant’s witness statement includes generic copies of the current entrance signs to the car park. I would contend that these were not in situ in the date of the alleged parking offence and I would request proof of the date these were installed.
Even so, I have included recent photographs (appendix 2) of these signs taken from the driver’s perspective from a car entering the car park at a similar time to the entry time of my vehicle on the day in question.
As can be seen you would need high visual acuity and speed reading skills to take in the information included in this entry sign when accessing the car park at a busy time of day.

6)The driver was using the car park for the first time as they were starting at a new place of work.
(They had sought advice about where to park and were aware they would have to pay the maximum charge for the day) Should I include this? Is it aiding my defence?
They arrived early so waited in the car for a short time prior to buying a ticket. There were no signs easily visible from their parked car to alert them to the fact they needed to purchase a ticket within 10 minutes of entering the car park and as noted the entrance signs would be difficult to read from a vehicle entering the car park.


The Court is invited to dismiss the claim and to award my costs of attendance at the hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14.

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

I will be grateful for any help, advice or guidance.
Sorry I couldn't work out how to add photo!