Excel Parking Services County Court Claim - Help With Defence Please

Magpie2121

Hi, I parked displaying what I believe to be a valid permit and was still issued a fine.

They said the permit was not valid for the bay in which my car was parked. I wasn't aware it had to be parked in a specific bay and the permit itself was completely blank.

The permit had fields such as "Permit Number" "Bay Number" and Vehicle Reg" but all fields were left blank when it was issued to me.

I was working as a short term contractor and the pass was issued by the receptionist there. I no longer work there.

All I was told was to display it in my windscreen. There was no mention of having to park in a certain bay etc.

This is all I know.

Excel Parking Services are now taking me to court after my appeal was rejected. Reason given:

"The signs make it clear that a valid permit must be
clearly displayed in the vehicle parked; on this occasion the above detailed vehicle was observed parked whilst it was
not displaying a valid permit for the bay in which it was parked therefore you became liable for the Charge advertised.

We note that you displayed a permit; however the permit displayed is not valid for that area of the car park you
parked your vehicle. The signs on site clearly state that this site is private land and that it is the responsibility of the
motorist who parks their vehicle to ensure that they display a valid permit; if you were unable to park correctly, you
should have called the Helpline or found alternative parking.

We have fully reviewed this case and we are satisfied that the Charge Notice was correctly issued. We are unable to
accept the mitigating circumstances raised in your representations, your appeal is therefore rejected"

Please can someone help with any advice or with forming a defence for this scenario as I'm struggling to find a suitable template. Any help will be immensely appreciated and I will be forever indebted.

Many thanks

Le_Kirk

Have you received a court claim from Northampton County Court Business Centre? If so, have you completed the AoS? Did you try to have the PCN overturned by the company for which you were working, after all, they issued the incorrect permit!

The_Deep

If this were to get to court I believe that they might struggle, it seems a trifling matter to me, and the Law does not concern itself with trifles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis

Make life more difficult for them, get your MP on side.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially Smart}, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week), hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem become so widespread that MPs agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has cleared Parliament and hopefully, this will become law shortly.

ShakeItOff

Have a look at the NEWBIES post 2, which has some example defences on there. You'll see in these that there is a similarity between defences (e.g. contractual issues, signage, landowner authority etc), which you will want to include in your defence, as well as your own points around valid permits.

You might find it helpful to search this forum for "another one bites the dust" which is the tagline given to all successfully defended claims using this forum. You might also want to search for some key words to your case (e.g. "valid permit" etc).

When you're ready, post your defence up (appropriately anonymised).

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Magpie2121

Many thanks for your prompt replies.

The issue date was 22/02/2019
I've done the AoS on 26/02/2019

I've already left the company that issued the permit and I believe it's now too late to engage with them regarding this fine.

What date do I have up until to submit my defence? And are there any other pointers anyone can provide in assisting with creating my defence please?

Many thanks

KeithP

Magpie2121 wrote: »

The issue date was 22/02/2019
I've done the AoS on 26/02/2019

What date do I have up until to submit my defence?

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd February, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Wednesday 27th March 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over a week away. Loads of time to produce a 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.

Magpie2121 wrote: »

And are there any other pointers anyone can provide in assisting with creating my defence please?

Yes, let post #2 of the NEWBIES thread be your guide with that too.

Magpie2121

Hi folks.

I've managed to put a defence together and would be very grateful if someone can give it a once over to ensure everything is in place. Many thanks for your help - it really is immensely appreciated.


IN THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No: xxxxxxxxxx

BETWEEN:

Excel Parking Services Ltd (Claimant)

-and-

xxxxxxxxxxxx (Defendant)

________________________________________
DEFENCE
________________________________________

The defendant wishes to make it clear that he works as a contractor and is only paid for the days he actually attends work. Should the defendant require to take a day off in order to attend court and win the case, a loss of earnings claim will be applied for against the claimant and copy of his current contract and day rate will be submitted in order to recover costs.

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 XXXX at XXXX Business Park, and had a valid permit to be parked in the car park.

3. The Particulars of Claim state that the Defendant !!!8220;was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle(s)!!!8221;. 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.

4. 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. However, it is denied that the Defendant, or any driver of the vehicle, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, whether express, implied, or by conduct.

5. Further and in the alternative, it is denied that the claimant's signage sets out the terms in a sufficiently clear manner which would be capable of binding any reasonable person reading them. They merely state that vehicles must be parked correctly within their allocated parking bay, giving no definition of the term 'correctly parked', nor indicating which bays are allocated to whom.
Furthermore, the defendant was provided with a parking permit which was clearly on display. However, no details were stipulated on the permit in terms of a bay number.

6. 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.

7. The Claimant is put to strict proof that it has sufficient prorpietary 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.

8. 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 £60. The claim includes an additional £60, for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery.

9. 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.

Name
Signature
Date

Le_Kirk

Looks like a standard Bargepole type defence and, as such, should be fine. Not sure about the opening paragraph; is the defence the right place for it? Might be better in the Witness Statement but whatever, you should prepare a cost schedule for later in the process. Maybe someone else will comment on your first paragraph.

Coupon-mad

I agree this is not a defence point:

The defendant wishes to make it clear that he works as a contractor and is only paid for the days he actually attends work. Should the defendant require to take a day off in order to attend court and win the case, a loss of earnings claim will be applied for against the claimant and copy of his current contract and day rate will be submitted in order to recover costs.

Why not send an email to the Claimant, telling them the above and stating you will be claiming at least £xxx

You need this in the defence near the start, as these are the facts (only don't use the first person):

The permit had fields such as "Permit Number" "Bay Number" and Vehicle Reg" but all fields were left blank when it was issued to me.

I was working as a short term contractor and the pass was issued by the receptionist there. I no longer work there. All I was told was to display it in my windscreen. There was no mention of having to park in a certain bay etc. I wasn't aware it had to be parked in a specific bay and the permit itself was completely blank.

Magpie2121

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I agree this is not a defence point:

Why not send an email to the Claimant, telling them the above and stating you will be claiming at least £xxx

You need this in the defence near the start, as these are the facts (only don't use the first person):

Thank you so much for your input and advice, it really is appreciated immensely.

In addition, the claimant has not yet responded to my request for a SAR, although it has been less than 30 days. Is something worth mentioning in my defence?

I have 1 day remaining in which to submit my defence. Is there anything else I should amend or add that you or anyone can think of at this stage?

Thank you once again.