Advice needed - County Court claim, UK Parking Control Ltd

Coupon-mad

Cases have been won at Edmonton. It has no bad rep here.

You have put in the transcript of Jopson v Homeguard as an exhibit, yes?

What evidence exhibit supports your primacy of contract?

Also recommended is mocking up a page that has the P/Eye v Beavis case yellow sign (Google images have it) next to 'your' far smaller font sign.

beamerguy

venousdata wrote: »

Bumping Incase previous comment wasn’t seen.

Also, has anyone experienced EDMONTON county court, London? Google reviews paint a very grim picture.

Edmonton like any court will get people who did not get the answer they were looking for. The judges should be no different to other courts. Maybe it's the clientele they get and if they are strict then it could well go in your favour when it comes to parking scams
By now the majority of courts know about the parking scammers who courts are kicking out with a click of a finger

venousdata

hi all,


yes, i have the jopson v homeguard as an exhibit


i intend to use my tenancy agreement to support primacy of contract, but do not have any case law to reference, any suggestions?


i will use the beavis sign and my sign side by side - good idea!


also,



i have a few cases that ive referred to but have been unable to find the transcripts anywhere.
<div>some of these referred cases are: [FONT=&quot]1.1.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]PCM UK v Mr B (B4GF26K6)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1.2.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] PCM UK v Mr W (B4GF27K3)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1.3.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] PCM v Ms L (B4GF26K2)[/FONT]

Redx

Chances are that there are no transcripts

The defendants would have had to pay for them , plus made them public

venousdata

so for the ones where there are no transcripts, will the case reference number be enough for the judge to look it up at the time?

Umkomaas

venousdata wrote: »

so for the ones where there are no transcripts, will the case reference number be enough for the judge to look it up at the time?

He/she might look them up, but unless the judgment is from a higher court, the Judge is not compelled to follow any previous routine county court judgment.

Coupon-mad

venousdata wrote: »

so for the ones where there are no transcripts, will the case reference number be enough for the judge to look it up at the time?

No, drop those ones.

venousdata

hi all,

so i've finished my WS, exhibits, appendices etc. and included all evidence relevant to my case.

i'm going to print it out nearer to the time and split it in to four sections:

• contents
• witness statement,
• exhibits
• appendices
• extra witness statement from partner/extras (BPA COP etc.)
  

any feedback on my redacted final draft main witness statement would be appreciated!! see below:

1. I am XXXXXX, of XXXXXXX, the Defendant in this matter (formerly of XXXXXXX).

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

3. I deny every allegation set out in the Particulars of Claim.

4. I was a tenant of the location where the Parking Charge Notices in question were issued (I have since moved location), and as such I had a right to park in this location at all times. As proof of this, I have been provided with explicit authorisation to park in this location by my landlord and am providing a copy of my tenancy agreement as evidence.

5. The signage at the location contains minuscule text, and not only is completely illegible from within a vehicle (where most drivers would be viewing it from), but is only legible at great strain, even when standing directly in front of it.

I have photos of the signage in question as part of my evidence pack, showing the sign from both within a vehicle and standing right in front of it. See exhibit XXX.

6. I was also in possession of an electronic key fob which is required to provide access to the residential car park where the PCNs were issued. Possession of this fob is prima facie evidence that I had permission to park in this location, as a vehicle cannot access the car park without it.

7. At the time of my taking up residence in this apartment complex, there was no mention made of there being any onerous parking conditions in operation. My tenancy agreement with my landlord is proof of this. (Exhibit XXX).

 

On the occasions when the PCNs were issued, the vehicle has been parked by either myself or another family member, and a parking permit was not displayed due to there not being a requirement to display one, and simply the fact that there is no parking permit in existence for the location, not because I did not have permission to park.

 

The vehicle was parked in this location on a daily basis, but as can be seen from the dates of the PCNs being claimed for (issued over an extended period), only on rare occasions has the vehicle temporarily stopped outside my designated space to unload the shopping or other items that would be difficult to fit between vehicles and carry all the way to the flat. On all occasions the vehicle was moved to my designated space after unloading the shopping (in under 5 minutes). It is also important to mention that on all occasions, the doors on my vehicle were open, and had been closed in order to stage the photographs that can be seen in the issued PCNs.

 

8. The claimant is arguing that I entered into a formal contract by stopping my vehicle to load/unload my luggage. By doing so I would be liable to pay a parking charge. I do not agree with this.

 

Firstly, signs were not clearly visible, not displayed prominently, and sparse. I was unaware of any restrictions being in place, therefore not aware of any offers of contract.

 

The BPA Code of Practice gives clear instructions as to the placing, visibility and clarity of any signs that are used to form contracts.

It says in section 18.3: ‘You must place signs containing the specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving their vehicle.’ in addition to explaining that ‘signs must be conspicuous and legible, and written in intelligible language, so that they are easy to see, read and understand.’.

 

As shown in the photographs submitted as evidence, the signs are not visible from within a vehicle, barely legible standing right in front of them, and not even visible in the photograph of my car in each notice. These photos of my vehicle could have been taken at any location in the world. Notice that for each photo of my car, there is no sign in sight and a separate photo of a sign is attached to each charge, but never in the same photo of my car. This is because the signage is sparse and unintelligible. See exhibit XXX.

 

Secondly, I was not parked - I had only stopped to load/unload shopping or luggage, which at times was heavy and awkward to carry. There are no designated loading bays at the block of apartments, and no other method of transporting items to and from the apartment. It would be impossible to live in the apartment block if you are fined for simply loading or unloading personal possessions. Penalising residents for such actions are unfair business practices, contrary to the doctrine of good faith and case law, Jopson v Home Guard which highlights this very issue. See exhibit XXX.

 

Thirdly the signage is of a forbidding nature and therefore fails to form a contract. In the cases of B4GF26K6 PCM (UK) v Mr B, B4GF27K3 PCM (UK) v Mr W and B4GF26K2 PCM (UK) v Ms L it was demonstrated that forbidding signage at residential parking spaces did not create a contract. The signs erected on site are incapable of forming the basis of a contract and indeed make it clear that that is not the case. Further it is trite law that a term that is forbidding cannot also constitute an offer. It is therefore denied that any contract was formed or was capable of being formed.

 

9. The claimant is claiming £160 for each charge, where the maximum allowed, according to the PoFA, at Section 4(5) is the charge stated on the Notice to Keeper (£XXX), in this case for XXX PCNs, a maximum of £XXX depending on the Claimant’s full compliance with the PoFA and establishing a ‘relevant obligation’ and/or ‘relevant contract’.

Exhibit XXX contains the Protection of Freedoms Act Schedule 4 (PoFA), Consumer Rights Act chapter 15 part 2, detailed information and previous examples of cases being struck out for abuse of process in relation to the false added charges being an attempt at double recovery. This section also contains a supplementary witness statement that further explains how the claimant’s attempt at recovering an additional £60 per charge is an abuse of process.

 

10. I have been provided with permission to park by my landlord, who in turn is entitled to rely upon his primacy of contract within his lease, in order to grant his tenants an unfettered right to park. My contract is with my landlord only; I have no contract with the Claimant, and as such they do not have standing to claim against me for failure to pay their penalties. There is a large body of case law, which establishes this. In Link Parking Ltd vs J. Parkinson [2016] C7GF50J7, the Judge, referring to a similar case in Pace Recovery v Mr N [2016] C6GF14F0 ruled that:

“…the Judge in that case found that the parking company could not amend the terms of the tenancy agreement to bind a tenant, but rather that it would have to be the other party to the contract.”

11. There are no terms within my Tenancy Agreement requiring me to display or possess a parking permit. I have not agreed to any variation of the tenancy which would make me subject to such penalties.

12. I understand that the scheme operated by XXXXXXXXXX in the residential car park in question was put into place in order to prevent parking by unauthorised persons against the interests of the residents. Therefore, there can be no legitimate interest in penalising residents for parking in this location under the excuse of a scheme where the parking firm is contracted for the benefit of those same residents. Instead of protecting the interests of legitimate lease and tenancy holders, the Claimant operates a predatory operation, often attempting to penalise those very persons whose interests the Claimant is purportedly there to uphold. In addition to this, XXXXXX have failed to provide evidence of a contract existing between the landowner and XXXXXX. Both landowners of the XXXXXXX area have denied having any contract in place with XXXXX. See exhibit XXXX.

13. Whilst I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned, there is no evidence of the driver at the dates these PCNs were issued.

14. More than one family member, who I have no obligation to name to a private parking firm, has access to this vehicle. It remains the burden of the Claimant to prove their case.

15. Whilst I was the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned, there is no evidence of the driver and as the events in question were a long time ago, as such it is impossible to expect a keeper to recall who may have been driving.

16. I received various threatening and intimidating letters from XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX, & XXXXX XXXX, demanding various amounts of money and threatening legal action against me. I have found this whole process extremely stressful and vexatious and consider the Claimant overly aggressive in pursuit of monies to which they are not entitled. This has led to me contacting my local MP, who despite being unsuccessful in cancelling these claimed charges, condemned their practices and explained that laws are currently been drawn up in order to regulate these immoral practices. The local MP in question was XXXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXX.

17. The Defendant is at a serious disadvantage in this case. The case involves a well-funded Claimant who is a serial litigant with unlimited access to the services of qualified legal professionals, and who will be legally represented in this case, against an unrepresented Litigant in Person with no legal knowledge or experience of court process.

18. The Court is invited to dismiss the claim and to award my costs of dealing with this claim and attendance at the hearing, such as are allowable pursuant to CPR 27.14.

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

Signature of Defendant:
Name: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

1505grandad

All paras should be numbered.

Para 4  -  "and am providing a copy of my tenancy agreement as evidence."  -  should the exhibit ref. be quoted as it is the first time TA mentioned.

"13. Whilst I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned, there is no evidence of the driver at the dates these PCNs were issued."

I would suggest that the evidence is supplied by the following and other references in the WS:-

 "Secondly, I was not parked - I had only stopped to load/unload shopping or luggage,..."

Le_Kirk

Your paragraph 17 should say "I" not "the defendant".