Country Court Summon from Britannia Parking (via BW Legal)

John2431

Hi


I have claim dated the 25th June 2019 of which I have done the AOS and have started my defence.


It relates to parking in a pub car park that has APNR cameras and the site has one payment machine where you enter the registration and an amount of the parking charge is refunded.


On the night in question the vehicle entered the car park which is poorly lit, was parked for just over an hour and left just before midnight.


Due to the poor lighting the driver was unaware that there was a need to pay or enter the vehicles details.


The owner first became aware when a NTK was issued. An appeal was made but outside of the allowed period so no POPLA code was issued.


The PCN was dated 2nd March 2019 so the Court papers have come out quite quickly.


We are compossing a defence based upon recent examples.

Redx

make sute the SAR is emailed to the DPO at BRIT , with a copy of the N1 form attached

ensure the AOS has been done on line too by logging in and checking

post your proposed defence draft below

please note:- there is no S in DEFENCE

KeithP

John2431 wrote: »

I have claim dated the 25th June 2019 of which I have done the AOS...

With a Claim Issue Date of 25th June, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 29th July 2019 to file your Defence.

That's nearly three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a good Defence, but please don't leave it to the 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 "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.

John2431

Thank you both for your responses. I have received confirmation that the AOS is acknowledged.

Please see my defence draft below:


N THE COUNTY COURT

CLAIM No: xxxxxxxxxx

BETWEEN:

BRITANNIA PARKING GROUP LTD (Claimant)

-and-

xxxxxxxxxxxx (Defendant)

________________________________________
DEFENCE
________________________________________

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 in the evening well after sundown in total darkness. The car park lighting does not reflect the locations of any signs, which makes them difficult to identify and see. No terms could be seen and therefore the driver was unaware that any payment was due, and no contract was entered. Due to these circumstances the driver was not given a fair opportunity to discover the onerous terms by which they would later be bound.
3. On a subsequent visit during daylight it is seen there is one payment machine which was actually surrounded by metal trolleys as was the payment sign. This would make seeing the machine and the main terms and condition sign difficult to see during the day and almost impossible at night.
4. The Particulars of Claim state that the Defendant 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.

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. 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.

6. The Claimant is put to strict proof that it has sufficient proprietary 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.

7. 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 £100. The claim includes an additional £60 plus a £50 legal cost 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



Any further advice appreciated.

beamerguy

7. 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 £100. The claim includes an additional £60 plus a £50 legal cost for which no calculation or explanation is given, and which appears to be an attempt at double recovery.

£50 IS allowed if it looks likes this

£100 parking ticket
£25 court fee
£50 legal cost

It's the fake £60 by BWLegal

ON this thread read post#14 by coupon-mad, include this as shown
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081

Coupon-mad

I disagree that the £50 legal cost is automatically nodded through. Both are fake.

John2431

Hi All,


The saga continues. I have sent a SAR to both BW Legal and BP. BW responded telling me they will post the SAR because the email address does not match the name in the N1 form.

Email sent:


[FONT=&quot]For the attention of the Data Processing Office[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Reference PCN : XXXXXXX[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As the registered keeper of the vehicle I am making a SAR for the following info:[/FONT]

• ALL photos taken
• Letters/emails sent and received, including any appeal correspondence
• PDT machine record from that day, of payments made
• All data held, all evidence and a full copy of the PCN, NTK
• List of all PCNs considered outstanding against myself and/or this VRN (I expect any claim to be for all PCN’s, not several)

I have attached a copy of the front page of the N1 form of proof of my identity.

---

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,
We have received your Subject Access Request, under ICO guidelines we have one calendar month to respond.
Please be aware we will send a copy of all personal data we hold only. If you have made a request for any additional information which does not qualify as personal data, please see below.
YOU’RE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Landowner agreement - You are not entitled to business sensitive information, it will only be supplied at court, as evidence and not before.
• Contract with the driver - The contract is on the signage in the car park. A copy of the signage will be provided as evidence at court.
• Machine reports - You are not entitled to transactions which do not relate to you, you will be provided with your transaction only. We are under no obligation to provide you with anything further.
• Picture packs - A copy of the signage will be provided as evidence at court.

Your SAR request is free, however please be aware we are able to charge for additional copies and any requests for information which does not qualify as personal data. ICO guidelines advise we are able to charge a reasonable administration fee, which is £10.
Please send a cheque payable to Britannia Parking to the following address: Data Protection Officer, County Gates House, 7th Floor, 300 Poole Road, Poole, BH12 1AZ.
Include a list of the additional information you require and the PCN number/s. Once the cheque has cleared we will action your request. We will only send additional information which is not business sensitive.
Please refer to the ICO website for further information:
If you do not wish to pay £10, we are under no obligation to provide you with the information, your only options is to wait until this matter progresses to court, when it will be adduced as evidence.
Once you are in receipt of your SAR, all additional correspondence regarding the request for additional information will not be responded to, unless payment of £10 is received.

---

May I get some thoughts on this, it does seem a bit shady. Charging £10 does not seem right looking at this superficially. It seemingly would negate the chances of you having a stronger defence if you do not pay?


Thanks!

KeithP

John2431 wrote: »

May I get some thoughts on this, it does seem a bit shady. Charging £10 does not seem right looking at this superficially. It seemingly would negate the chances of you having a stronger defence if you do not pay?

But they did say...

Your SAR request is free...

£10 is their fee for items they are not obliged to provide in response to a SAR.