Registered keeper 'at the material time'

Parkingticket101

Since 2012 parking companies have taken thousands of motorists to court for unpaid parking charges. Due to the volumes and low amounts claimed, the parking companies need a cost-effective way of conducting proceedings. Typically parking companies or their solicitors (such as Gladstones or BW Legal) send a local representative. Companies such as LPC Law and Elms Legal provide networks of local legal advocates that turn up to represent parking companies in the county court. Often legal advocacy firms use self-employed persons who are not qualified solicitors or barristers.

District Judge Robert Hill, a member of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee, wrote a piece in the Law Gazette on Rights of Audience. He explained a case in York Court in 2010 that questioned the right of audience of a legal advocate. In this case he found that the legal advocate was not qualified as a solicitor or barrister, so had no automatic right of audience. He also found that the advocate was self employed. The problem he found with a self-employed advocate is that “there is no employer or disciplinary body to which he can be reported if he were to behave in an inappropriate way”. Courts do have discretionary power to grant right of audience to otherwise unqualified persons on a case by case basis. However, this is does not allow for the strict right of audience rules to be ignored on a general basis.

As such, if right of audience for the legal advocate is questioned at the beginning of a hearing, the judge may decide that they cannot address the court. If there is nobody else present with right of audience to represent the parking company, then the judge may strike out the claim on this basis without even looking at the details of the case itself! This tactic has worked numerous times in

MonkeyRum

If you have received a claim form please post the issue date.

Edit, the protection of freedoms act might be on your side.

“keeper” means the person by whom the vehicle is kept at the time the vehicle was parked, which in the case of a registered vehicle is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the registered keeper;

Parkingticket101

Received it on 8 July

MonkeyRum

If it is a claim form then there should be an issue date printed on it. I believe it the top right corner. This will be a date earlier than the date you received it. Time frames for court submissions are based on the issue date.

Parkingticket101

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MonkeyRum

Aside from the sale of the vehicle do you have any other proof that you are no longer "keeping" the vehicle?

Confirmation of cancelled insurance, breakdown cover, etc?

Perhaps also proof of the "keeping" of a new vehicle.

It might be worth gathering as much as you can because in this instance, without being legally qualified, it looks like the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that you were not the keeper.

Edit: part of me thinks that a judge would not look favorably on the records not being kept up to date. If it can be beaten without revealing that fact maybe that would be a better route?

Parkingticket101

Thank you, are there any threads you can point me towards? Besides the protection of freedoms act you mentioned, I don't know what else I can put in my defense.

Parkingticket101

It was only a temporary insurance to get the car out of the car lot. The only evidence I have is the letter from the DVLA showing I am no longer the registered keeper of the car from the date of disposal.

MonkeyRum

Do you know the name of the parking company, the type of contravention (E.g. No permit displayed), and the location?

You can use the forum search to find related cases. The advanced search will allow you to search for individual posts. There are some links to defences in the newbies sticky thread too.

If you can get to the location it would be worth getting some photos of the signs.

Parkingticket101

"Sunday, 26 March 2017
BW Legal discontinue Albert Street claim
VCS v Ms C C8DP37CH. Claim discontinued

VCS have instructed BW Legal to discontinue yet another claim for car parking at Albert Street, Birmingham.

The problem VCS have is that the signage at Albert Street historically was in the name of Excel Parking services."

The parking ticket sent to me was in 2016 so does that means Vehicle Control Services cannot pursue this claim as it was in the name of Excel Parking Services?

MonkeyRum

Is your claim also for Albert Street in Birmingham?

Have a read of this thread, particularly the post by bargepole, about VCS bringing old claims that should be brought by Excel.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6022431/vcs-old-claims-2015