CPM Court Claim Form

TheOpportunist

Edit: We won!

They had their side heard from the papers submitted whilst I acted as a litigation friend for my Mrs (the keeper).

The Judge ruled that the notice was sent and more importantly received outside of the relevant period
The notice itself didnt satisfy all of paragraph 9 sub parapgraph 2
The signage wasn't lit (important when enforcing parking at night) and the height and size of the text on the sign meant a contract couldnt be formed
Finally, there was no evidence that the vehicle was parked in the wrong bay

Happy Days!

My question is this: I have seen that others have been awarded damages, is this something I can apply for after the fact or is this something I should have raised at some point during the whole process - if so, when?

Thanks all for your help.

Evening all,

My wife and I arrived after dark at a private estate and managed to find an actual parking spot in the street. Grabbed the visitors permit from our friend, filled in the time and placed it in the windshield.

A month later CPM letter arrives saying we had an invalid permit and offer us to clear it up for £60 rising to £100, plus stating 'The overdue charge will increase to £149.00 in the first instance of further action'.

We ignore, they send a formal demand to which we respond denying liability, not acknowledging who the driver was, etc.

They say that our appeal has failed and amongst other things mention that 'parking in someone elses space can cause them a great deal of inconvenience ...' this is the first we hear about parking in someone else's bay.

Next comes DRP collecting parking charges of £160 and not the £149 (if that matters)

Then comes Gladstone solicitors letters and then the LBC.

We send a SAR which they respond to.

Finally, we get a county court claim form which we have registered with, acknowledged, and are now drafting our response.

The particulars of the claim are that:
- We parked in breach of the terms
- The driver agreed to pay within 28 days of issue yet failed to do so (the driver wasnt named, nor did anyone agree to pay)
- They claim £100 for the PCN and £60 contractual costs (despite saying otherwise in their correspondence)

---

In short our defense is this:

The signage was about 7/8ft in the air and the nearest source of light was about 4 foot behind and about 8/9ft to the left of it, in no way illuminating the signage. In large letters it read:

A VALID CPM PERMIT MUST BE CLEARLY DISPLAYED IN THE FRONT WINDSCREEN AT ALL TIMES (which it was)

YOU MUST PARK WHOLLY WITHIN A MARKED BAY. NO PARKING ON ROADWAYS / YELLOW LINES / PAVED / HATCHED OR LANDSCAPED AREAS (we were parked wholly within a bay)

Below the first point in tiny writing it mentions that 'vehicles displaying bay or area allocated permits must park in the corresponding bay or areas'. We did not see this at the time of parking.

As far as we could tell the bays did not have any marking of visitors or bay numbers.

Since the incident, we have learned that if you leave the entrance to our friend's building there is pavement which meets the roadway (all one level). On the roadway each bay is marked with white cobbles/bricks and in the center of the row of coloured bricks nearest the pavement there is a square tile the width of a brick with a 'V' on it for visitor.

If you cross the road to the line of bays opposite, they also have a tile on the side where the road meets the pavement, except instead of pavement there is a side wall of a building, so we were never able to see the tile as it was out of sight before pulling into the bay, there are no street lamps there and you are parked over it.

The photos CPM have provided show the permit in the window which shows us arriving 2 hours after sunset, the signage is not illuminated and has a bright light near it, there are photos of the vehicle but none showing us parked incorrectly.

The image they have provided of their signage is very pixellated and I have read from one a friend sent me post-ticket.

How should I handle the response, they havent stipulated that I was parked in the wrong bay, just that I breached the terms.

KeithP

TheOpportunist wrote: »

Finally, we get a county court claim form which we have registered with, acknowledged, and are now drafting our response.

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Did it come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

ShakeItOff

Have a read through some of the example defences in Post #2 of the NEWBIES thread. You will see that there are common themes in there that you will also want to build in to your defence.

When you have a draft defence for review, post it up for comment

TheOpportunist

Yes its exactly what you have said from the 25th of Feb

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 25th February, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 1st April 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over two weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but don't leave it to the very last minute.


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 "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put 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.

TheOpportunist

Hi all leaving things late as ever. I wish to act as a Lay Representative for my wife next month at court.

Is a letter to the court with the following sufficient?

I have ripped the heading from the defence which includes the case ref and claimant/defendant details)

12th November 2019

Under Paragraph 3 Subsection 2 of PRACTICE DIRECTION 27 - SMALL CLAIMS TRACK, titled Representation at a hearing I wish to inform the court that my husband BORRIS JOHNSON of 10 DOWNING STREET, LONDON, LN1 9PM shall act as my Lay Representative / Litigation Friend under The Lay Representatives (Right of Audience) Order 1999.

I understand that I am still required to attend the hearing on the 25th of December.

I submit this both electronically to: courtemailaddress@gmail.com and by post.

Regards

Thank you all for getting us this far.

Places I have been reading:

The Lay Representatives (Rights of Audience) Order 1999

What is a Litigation Friend?

PRACTICE DIRECTION 27 – SMALL CLAIMS TRACK - specifically 3.2

TheOpportunist

As a further update, I was wondering whether or not to include why my wife requires a Lay Representative. Quite frankly I don't think it is something that needs any justification, however if it allows for it to happen I'm all for it.

She is heavily pregnant and prone to bouts of sickness, shortness of breath, and all the rest that comes with being in your final trimester. More prominently, she isn't as clued up about the legal ins and outs of issuing pcns and the court process.

The_Deep

Let them take you to court. From what you have told us they have little to no chance of winning, judges are not fools, most are aware of the scam. [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Have you read this?

https://parkng-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.html

What does your friend's lease/AST say about arking? Does it mention permits? Does it mention paying a parking parasite silly money if you do nor display one. If it is silent on the matter them your lease/AST has primacy and, if the are daft enough to take this to court they may get a bloody nose, read this

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/324523-ukpc-liable-for-trespass-success/

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.[/FONT][/FONT]

Also that extra £60 they have tacked on may get the case thrown out.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

Umkomaas

TheOpportunist wrote: »

As a further update, I was wondering whether or not to include why my wife requires a Lay Representative. Quite frankly I don't think it is something that needs any justification, however if it allows for it to happen I'm all for it.

She is heavily pregnant and prone to bouts of sickness, shortness of breath, and all the rest that comes with being in your final trimester. More prominently, she isn't as clued up about the legal ins and outs of issuing pcns and the court process.

No need to seek permission in advance. Just inform the court Usher on arrival that (presumably) you will be acting as the lay rep and ask that the Judge is informed. Google the two types of representatives permitted. Lay Representative and McKenzie Friend so you know the operating scope of each.

Even with a lay rep, your wife must also attend court.

Le_Kirk

TheOpportunist wrote: »

Hi all leaving things late as ever. I wish to act as a Lay Representative for my wife next month at court.

Is a letter to the court with the following sufficient?

I understood you just (both) turned up at court and informed the usher that you were going to be the lay rep. Coupon-mad has done this recently (last time just this week) and may want to chip in. In the meantime, see THIS post.

nosferatu1001

You take a copy of the Lay Reps act with you, and you dont tell them in advance - no need.
You MUST be allowed audience. If the judge does not let you, then they lay themselves open to an easy appeal.