Vehicle Control Services

NM123

Ok thank you 

I will get a WS together and post on here for your advice as I’m sure it will need amending

one other thing remember I had 2 any reason the discontinued one and proceeded on other ? Does the work in my favour as the defence for both cases were exactly the same? 

Coupon-mad

If they've discontinued one then they might well discontinue the other when they see your WS and evidence, if the facts are similar.  At this stage no-one has really looked at the case, but at WS stage they will, and many more as discontinued when they see you are not an average clueless victim.

NM123

Ok perfect I’ll add that to the witness statement 

I will post WS in a few day

thank you for all your help 

nosferatu1001

Including in your WS the *fact* they disconinued a claim for the same essential facts, leads you to believe they have no claim in this case as well. Cant hurt? 

NM123

Ok so I have attempted my first draft, I think ive got lost on way and may have added stuff that are irrelevant to my case
Please help, in the evidence they sent there is a log of VRN and this car had not purchased a ticket and pic of enrty of car but my main argument is its 5 year ago and I have no idea who was driving,  Although they discontinued the other they have failed to provide evidence as to why. 

NM123

I, the Defendant, XXX of XXX make this statement believing the contents to be true and knowing that it will be placed before the court as evidence.

 

1.         On XXX I received a claim form from County Court Business Centre in Northampton informing me of a small claims court application by the Claimant in respect of an unpaid parking fee allegedly incurred on XXX. Please see attached at Exhibit ‘XXX’.

2.         Coincidentally, a few days earlier, I had also received a notice by the same court of the same Claimant seeking relief in a matter which mirrored the same circumstances that alleged unpaid parking fee was to have taken place on XXXX

3.         XXX. The defendant, cannot, with any reasonable certainty, state who the driver of the vehicle, registration XXX was, on the date XXX Due to multiple persons having access to the vehicle, usually driven with ‘drive other vehicle’ insurance cover. 

 

4.         Upon receiving the first claim form dated XXXI immediately contact the Vehicle Control Services and was advised they did not want to discuss this case as it had gone to County Court, I explained that this was the first I had heard of it but they insisted I contact the Courts.  So I called the  County Court to get some clarity on this and was advised to register online and defend the case as I was not aware of any outstanding parking tickets which I did immediately

 

5.         I emailed Vehicle Control Services on the XXXX requesting for a SAR and was advised I would hear from them within 28 days.  Please see attached Exhibit XXX.

 

6.         On the 9th July I received a letter from the County Count advising me that my case was defended which I had filed online.

 

7.         I started to prepare my defence which posted and emailed on the XXX.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX

 

8.         On the XXX I received information from Vehicle Control Service regarding every time xxx parked at Albert Street.  Please note the dates which are all in 2015 which stated XXXhad parked there 6 times and have paid so it makes no sense that on the XXX a ticket was not purchased.  Please see Exhibit XXX.

 

9.         On the XXX I received a hearing letter from the County Court advising me my date would be on the 9th April and the XXX 2020.

 

10.      I called the County Court advising them there were two cases which are identical and if I could merge the both to one day due to work commitments and loss of earnings and if I could attend a court hearing as I have never been to court before, they advised me to put this request on writing so I did via email on the 19th November 2019.  The court replied on the 14th December 2019 saying that there was a cost incurred of £100 if I was to adjourn one which I decided not to do.

 

11.      On the 4th February I received a letter from Vehicle Control Services advising me 'Notice of Discontinuation for claim numberXXX and a copy been served to the courts.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX'.

 

12.      On the XXX I received another letter from Vehicle Control Services witness statement and evidence for claim XXX1.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX'.

 

13.      I emailed the litigation department on the XXX for clarity and advising them that one claim has been discontinued and are literally identical and there email suggested I would hear from them within 28 days(currently in 28 day period).  Please see Exhibit 'XXX.

 

14.      The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my own knowledge there are true to the best of my information and belief

 

15.       I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, or any amount at all and this is my Witness Statement in support of my defence as already filed.

 

16.       I assert that I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question in this case XXX. However I cannot, with any reasonable certainty, state who the driver of the vehicle, registration XXX was, on the date XXX. Due to multiple persons having access to the vehicle, usually driven with ‘drive other vehicle’ insurance cover. 

 

17.      I have no idea what the claim is about really and I am having to guess and cover all eventualities, which are either, I was not driving the car as other members have had access to the car. I have honest belief that any third parties using her car would have displayed a valid pay and display ticket, however as this charge is from over five years ago I have no idea who to ask about it, and there would be no possibility of anyone keeping the Pay & Display ticket.

 

18.      I believe if I was the driver then I definitely would have purchased a ticket as Exhibit XXX shows that on 6 occasions during 2015 a ticket has been paid for the vehicle in question which I believe to be me as I have and still do use this car park.

19.      I am finding it really difficult to understand why it has taken Vehicle Control Service nearly 5 year to issue a case to the county court, sure this would make more sense to do it immediately after the offence had taken place so I could recall who had the car or who was driving but to expect evidence from five years ago is ludicrous.

 

20.      The paragraph numbers mentioned below relate to the Witness Statement filed by the Claimant’s paralegal, XXX:

 

21.      Re #17 and 18:  The claimant make reference to the ANPR and entering the full registration followed by photographs supplied, signage and overhead car park as evidence is KS1 (#21-25) please note the date on their evidence dated  September 2015 which is after the date of this claim therefore does not prove that this was actually there on the June 2015 as this could have all been updated at a later date.

 

22.       Re #65: The claimant submits that the defendant is the responsible person in charge of the vehicle which has incurred the charges referred to in Mr XXX witness statement.

 

23.      This is denied and XXX was not there and has no knowledge of who was driving on any occasion. However, unlike Mr XX, I do have knowledge and attest that I was not the driver.

 

24.      Re#66: The claimant highlights that I have not supplied the name and address of the driver from 5 years ago knowing full well that it is impossible to remember such detail after such a long period of time which I object to this Witness Statement.

25.      Re #47: The claimant states that the defendant did not respond to any of the notices referred to in Mr XXX WS, nor were the parking charges settled or appealed.

 

26.       I did not respond to the brightly-coloured alarmist Notices sent to me by Excel because I did not receive any at my previous address.  I moved from there in 2017 and received a claims letter at my new address under my new name.  If I had  I received I would have enquired at the time to find out who was driving the vehicle.

 

27.      Re #65: The Claimant seeks to apportion blame to a keeper for not responding to their letters and for not naming the driver.

 

28.      This is not an obligation or a failure on my part as it was 5 years ago and the first I had heard about this unpaid ticket was in June 2019.

 

29.       Barrister and parking law expert Henry Greens lade was the ‘POPLA’ (‘Parking on Private Land Appeals’ independent service offered by the BPA) Lead Adjudicator from 2012 – 2015 and Excel was under that Trade Body at the time of the first mentioned in this claim. I adduce as evidence Mr Greenslade’s opinion in the POPLA Annual Report 2015 which confirms that there is no presumption in law that a keeper was the driver and that keepers do not have any legal obligation whatsoever, to name drivers to private parking companies.

 

30.      The Claimant mentions ‘relevant notices’. I submit that, as a registered keeper who was not driving and who only received non-POFA Notices to Keeper (NTKs) which were never my concern nor liability, these are better described as ‘irrelevant notices’.

 

31.      The claimant states that “if the registered keeper of a vehicle denies they were the driver they will need to produce sufficient evidence in support, failing which it is likely to be held that they were driving. The claimant would wish to rely on the precedent of Elliot vs Loake [1982]

 

32.       Elliott v Loake [1982] has no application whatsoever to this case. The Defendant, as the keeper, is under no obligation to disclose the identity of the driver, and the onus is on the Claimant to prove their case. It is not, as the Claimant suggests in their Witness Statement, a reverse burden of proof. The POFA Schedule 4 was enacted in 2012 to overcome the issue cited by the BPA, that parking companies were unable to pursue drivers who were not identified. This Claimant cannot dispense with the statute and instead cite an older, irrelevant criminal case of Elliott v Loake, which turned on compelling forensic evidence and made no assumption whatsoever, that a keeper was the driver.

 

33.      Re 108#: the defendant makes reference to an identical claim being discontinued but fails to give any evidence as to why.

 

34.       Conclusion – no evidence of contravention and the Particulars lack any basis for a claim that I was the driver.

 

35.      One claim has already been discontinued which was on the 15th May 2015 which is identical to this claim however the defendant has decided to pursue one and discontinue the other without giving any valid reason as to why

 

36.      I am an unrepresented consumer who has never attended the County Court before and was not even the driver so I have no knowledge of the events, dates, or signage terms. I strongly object to this Claimant at the eleventh hour, showing me a range of ‘PCNs’ in an attempt to change the Particulars and trying to excuse their legal representative’s failure to comply with CPR 16.4 as an ‘administrative error’.

 

37.      I also point out to the presiding Judge that the Claimant has not supplied any evidence at all that the alleged contraventions even occurred. ANPR camera photos merely show a vehicle arriving and leaving.

 

38.      In order to demonstrate that the driver(s) on these occasions failed to pay & display, the Claimant should have evidenced that, of course. Where are the photos of the dashboard showing no P&D ticket displayed?

39.      A similarly poorly pleaded and evidenced ‘private parking ticket’ claim was struck out by District Judge Cross of St Albans County Court on 20/09/16 without a hearing, due to a the law firm’s template particulars being held to be ‘incoherent’, failing to comply with CPR 16.4, and ''providing no facts that could give rise to any apparent claim in law''.

 

40.      The Court is invited to dismiss this Claim, and to allow my wasted costs which will be submitted separately and in a timely manner, depending upon whether a hearing takes place. I firmly believe that to pursue me as registered keeper when the Claimant admits they have no such right, and to submit such incoherent particulars and lacking ‘evidence’ is wholly unreasonable and vexatious.

I make this statement consisting of 5 pages and 7 Exhibits and declare to the best of my knowledge and belief that the contents of the statement are true and understand that it may be placed before the court.

 

 

 

Dated:

 

 

Signed:

XXX

NM123

Please note from the SAR they sent me that around the same time as this unpaid ticket the vehicle in question had parked 6 times and has paid on all 6 times

Castle

You've left a Reg Number in para 8.

1505grandad

"3.         XXX. The defendant, cannot, with any reasonable certainty, state who the driver of the vehicle, registration XXX was, on the date XXX Due to multiple persons having access to the vehicle, usually driven with ‘drive other vehicle’ insurance cover."

then you say:-

"23.      This is denied and XXX was not there and has no knowledge of who was driving on any occasion. However, unlike Mr XX, I do have knowledge and attest that I was not the driver."

Please go to the Newbies and look at the sample WS in the second post for the layout etc as you have paras in the main body which are usually at the beginning.

Also check that the contents as you are filing a document at Court under a statement of truth. 

NM123

I,  XXX of XXX am the defendant of this case make this statement believing the contents to be true and knowing that it will be placed before the court as evidence.

1.         On XXX I received a claim form from County Court Business Centre in Northampton informing me of a small claims court application by the Claimant in respect of an unpaid parking fee allegedly incurred on XXX. Please see attached at Exhibit ‘XXX’.

2.         Coincidentally, a few days earlier, I had also received a notice by the same court of the same Claimant seeking relief in a matter which mirrored the same circumstances that alleged unpaid parking fee was to have taken place on XXXX

3.         XXX. The defendant, cannot, with any reasonable certainty, state who the driver of the vehicle, registration XXX was, on the date XXX Due to multiple persons having access to the vehicle, usually driven with ‘drive other vehicle’ insurance cover. 

4.         This is denied and XXX was not there and has no knowledge of who was driving on any occasion. However, unlike Mr XX, I do have knowledge and attest that I was not the driver.

5.         Upon receiving the first claim form dated XXXI immediately contact the Vehicle Control Services and was advised they did not want to discuss this case as it had gone to County Court, I explained that this was the first I had heard of it but they insisted I contact the Courts.  So I called the  County Court to get some clarity on this and was advised to register online and defend the case as I was not aware of any outstanding parking tickets which I did immediately

6.         I emailed Vehicle Control Services on the XXXX requesting for a SAR and was advised I would hear from them within 28 days.  Please see attached Exhibit XXX.

 

7.         On the 9th July I received a letter from the County Count advising me that my case was defended which I had filed online.

 

8.         I started to prepare my defence which posted and emailed on the XXX.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX

 

9.         On the XXX I received information from Vehicle Control Service regarding every time xxx parked at Albert Street.  Please note the dates which are all in 2015 which stated XXXhad parked there 6 times and have paid so it makes no sense that on the XXX a ticket was not purchased.  Please see Exhibit XXX.

 

10.      On the XXX I received a hearing letter from the County Court advising me my date would be on the 9th April and the XXX 2020.

 

11.      I called the County Court advising them there were two cases which are identical and if I could merge the both to one day due to work commitments and loss of earnings and if I could attend a court hearing as I have never been to court before, they advised me to put this request on writing so I did via email on the 19th November 2019.  The court replied on the 14th December 2019 saying that there was a cost incurred of £100 if I was to adjourn one which I decided not to do.

 

12.      On the 4th February I received a letter from Vehicle Control Services advising me 'Notice of Discontinuation for claim numberXXX and a copy been served to the courts.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX'.

 

13.      On the XXX I received another letter from Vehicle Control Services witness statement and evidence for claim XXX1.  Please see Exhibit 'XXX'.

 

14.      I emailed the litigation department on the XXX for clarity and advising them that one claim has been discontinued and are literally identical and there email suggested I would hear from them within 28 days(currently in 28 day period).  Please see Exhibit 'XXX.

 

15.      The facts in this statement come from my personal knowledge. Where they are not within my own knowledge there are true to the best of my information and belief

 

16.       I am not liable to the Claimant for the sum claimed, or any amount at all and this is my Witness Statement in support of my defence as already filed.

 

17.       I assert that I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question in this case XXX. However I cannot, with any reasonable certainty, state who the driver of the vehicle, registration XXX was, on the date XXX. Due to multiple persons having access to the vehicle, usually driven with ‘drive other vehicle’ insurance cover. 

 

18.      I have no idea what the claim is about really and I am having to guess and cover all eventualities, which are either, I was not driving the car as other members have had access to the car. I have honest belief that any third parties using her car would have displayed a valid pay and display ticket, however as this charge is from over five years ago I have no idea who to ask about it, and there would be no possibility of anyone keeping the Pay & Display ticket.

 

19.      I believe if I was the driver then I definitely would have purchased a ticket as Exhibit XXX shows that on 6 occasions during 2015 a ticket has been paid for the vehicle in question which I believe to be me as I have and still do use this car park.

20.      The facts are that the vehicle, registration XXX, of which I am the registered keeper, was parked in Albert Street car park could have been used on the material date by a third party driver (family member or friend allowed to driver this car) and that the I was neither driving nor present.

21.      If perhaps 'failure to pay' is the allegation, this is denied. I fully believe that, on the balance of probabilities, it was not likely to have been me driving because I have no recollection of this event and never avoids paying tariffs for parking and is a law abiding citizen. In the absence of full and clear particulars to support this vague robo-claim, I am having to guess what might have happened to lead to a wrong and unevidenced allegation of failing to pay for the stay.

22.      If perhaps 'wrong VRN on the system' is the allegation, this too is denied. This Claimant and their sister parking firm Excel are both known to use old Metric or Parkeon Pay & Display Ticket (PDT) machines with faded keypads set out in a way that is not only not user-friendly but actually sets drivers up to fail and incur a penalty. Cases have been reported where sites run by VCS or Excel have PDT machines that issue void tickets even though the driver has input the right VRN. The Defendant is confident that whoever was driving would have input the right VRN and even if the system has recorded a wrong VRN, the payment and time would have been clear and obvious to the Claimant as to which car it related to, and any fault is more than likely to have been caused by the Claimant's faded keypad system and faulty PDT machines failing to record correctly, the VRN that was input in good faith.

23.      The allegation appears to be based on images by their ANPR camera at the entrance and exit to the site. This is merely an image of the vehicle in transit, entering and leaving the car park in question and is not evidence of the driver 'not purchasing the appropriate parking time'.

24.      The Particulars of Claim state that I was the registered keeper and/or the driver of the vehicle(s). 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. 

25.      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 I or any driver of the vehicle, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, whether express, implied, or by conduct.

 

26.      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. 

27.      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.

 

28.      In any case, I have honest belief that the signage at the car park was in the name of Excel Parking Ltd (‘Excel’), not VCS. VCS therefore has no rights to bring a claim. Previous cases of this nature which have been discontinued by VCS are:
VCS v Zozulya A8QZ6666
VCS v Ms M. 3QZ53955
VCS v Ms O C8DP9D8C.

29.      The Claimant is alleging that the driver formed a contract with them by reading the terms and conditions on the sign and accepting them by remaining on site (as opposed to rejecting them and leaving). This is called acceptance by performance. However, I /third party could only form a contract with Excel Parking LTD, not the claimant, by virtue of the signs being in the name of Excel. This is further confirmed by the by Excel Parking logo on the Pay and display ticket. The Claimant is clearly a stranger to any contract and has no legal capacity to issue a claim

30.       Should the court be minded to consider that:
i) a binding contract may exist between VCS and the driver, and that
ii) liability was transferred to the Defendant/third party under the provision of the Schedule 4 of the protection of Freedom Act 2012 ‘(the POFA’), then it is denied that a breach of the signed T&Cs occurred.