Advice re blue badge owner

[Deleted User]

Fruitcake said:

You must attend or you will lose. If you have difficulty attending a face to face hearing then you should urgently contact the court. They are required to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons with protected characteristics in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, so you should ask for a 'phone or video hearing instead.
You can get someone to act as a lay representative, but you must still attend the hearing however it is held.

Hi Fruitcake, thanks for replying.

I will email the court shortly and ask for a phone or video hearing instead. Thanks.

[Deleted User]

A quick question while I start drafting my WS please.

I took a picture of a car park found vey close to the one owned by the company who are harassing me currently. It shows disabled drivers get 3 hours for free.

Would this have any relevance to my case, I didn't include this picture in my defence. 

Thanks.

KeithP

HotelUniform74 said:

A quick question while I start drafting my WS please.

I took a picture of a car park found vey close to the one owned by the company who are harassing me currently. It shows disabled drivers get 3 hours for free.

Would this have any relevance to my case, I didn't include this picture in my defence. 

Thanks.

The only signs with any relevance to your case are those in and around the car park in question.

No pictures are ever included with a Defence.

[Deleted User]

Sorry, me again. I haven't included the below in my defence as it was published later. Can I refer to it in my WS, especially in regard to the below I've pasted from it? Thanks.

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-parking-code-of-practice/private-parking-code-of-practice

4. Accessible parking:

adaptations are not purely physical - people with other disabilities might reasonably need longer consideration period and grace periods, more time to access payment machinery, and other ways to pay where payment is required. Recognition of these obligations is important in the consideration of appeals.

4.1 The parking operator must ensure that at least one sign containing the terms and conditions for parking can be viewed without the driver needing to leave the vehicle, in order for drivers with a disability to be able to make an informed decision on whether to park at the premises.

Jenni_D

That legislation is not retrospective so it doesn't directly apply to your case. However there's nothing to stop you including such details to make the judge aware of the will of Parliament. In fact the most-recent WS example by @ricky_balboa includes wording that references the ministerial foreword to the Parking Bill and explains why debt collection charges/double recovery should be discounted, as they are simply a means of extorting money from the motorist.

Coupon-mad

Yep, base your WS on the one by ricky.

Add your own facts and append a pic of  your Blue Badge and any medical information you want to rely on, as extra evidence of your need for more time. Show us your draft WS wording - but nothing that identifies you, of course..

You can in this WS, refer to the new statutory Code of Practice as 'best practice' (even though it's new law, not retrospective) but of course you can certainly rely on the Equality Act 2010, which is not new law!  You are legally entitled to 'reasonable adjustments' by service providers in car parks and this right isn't restricted to merely physical features, like wider bays.  It includes a right to be allowed additional free parking time if needed, to more than the usual time offered for able-bodied people.  

When you email the local court, copy in the solicitors for the Claimant, BW Legal.

Certainly ask for a remote hearing instead, and do that email this week (attaching evidence of your medical issue and describing the pain and detriment that a physical hearing would cause you).

[Deleted User]

Coupon-mad said:

Yep, base your WS on the one by ricky.

Add your own facts and append a pic of  your Blue Badge and any medical information you want to rely on, as extra evidence of your need for more time. Show us your draft WS wording - but nothing that identifies you, of course..

You can in this WS, refer to the new statutory Code of Practice as 'best practice' (even though it's new law, not retrospective) but of course you can certainly rely on the Equality Act 2010, which is not new law!  You are legally entitled to 'reasonable adjustments' by service providers in car parks and this right isn't restricted to merely physical features, like wider bays.  It includes a right to be allowed additional free parking time if needed, to more than the usual time offered for able-bodied people.  

When you email the local court, copy in the solicitors for the Claimant, BW Legal.

Certainly ask for a remote hearing instead, and do that email this week (attaching evidence of your medical issue and describing the pain and detriment that a physical hearing would cause you).

Thanks @Coupon-mad


I'd already emailed front of house at the court, so have forwarded the email to the claimant and BW Legal just now.

I'll see if I can find Ricky's thread. I've also been using the witness statement here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6149245/90-seconds-part-two#latest

Coupon-mad

That's a counterclaim case but very good in terms of reference to the Equality Act.

The username we posted in blue earlier, is a link to Ricky's profile.  Which means you can find his discussion on his profile, in about two seconds flat.

[Deleted User]

Coupon-mad said:

That's a counterclaim case but very good in terms of reference to the Equality Act.

The username we posted in blue earlier, is a link to Ricky's profile.  Which means you can find his discussion on his profile, in about two seconds flat.

Hello, yes my claim is a counterclaim too.

I found the thread you're referring to. Thanks for the help

[Deleted User]

I'm going to submit my draft WS here in a moment. Do I need to lay out a specific section in relation to my counterclaim and their harassment? Or is the below good enough? Thanks.