PCN while in GF's allocated parking bay - permit slipped off dashboard

Umkomaas

COSTS OF LOSING IN COURT

this is typically broken down as :-
£100 - original parking charge
£25 - court filing fee
£50 - solicitor costs for preparing case papers (maximum, capped)
£25 - hearing fee, if it gets that far
Maybe £7 or £8 interest, depends how long it's been since the original charge.

So not much more than £200 - IF YOU LOSE!

Anything else they try to add will be spurious and must be challenged with the Judge.

Please read beamerguy's thread which covers 2019 Isle of Wight cases where DJ Grand threw out the claims on the basis of an 'Abuse of Process'. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

The other side may also apply for further costs for unreasonable behaviour, but that is a high bar, and only applies if you have failed to comply with court orders, such as not meeting deadline dates.  Read all the documentation you get from the court very carefully and comply with all its requirements. I don't think I've ever seen a PPC win unreasonable behaviour costs. The way you've conducted yourself so far is a million miles away from the PPC claiming such costs against you. 

IF YOU WIN - none of the above will be payable by you. But you could claim:

£95 capped maximum for loss of earnings/annual leave for half a day (take pay slips for proof)
Travel costs - public transport or mileage x 45p per mile
Parking costs.

If the PPC has been wholly unreasonable in dealing with the court, then costs awarded against them could be considerably more, but, again, the bar is set very high. We would advise nearer the time if we think this is worth you pursuing.

zimbo_ouen

Thanks Coupon-Mad. I mean it's more than double the current charge and I just don't know if the stress is worth it now I'm losing sleep and having lots of anxiety. If I win all I get is that scratched off and a lot of stress, anxiety and lost sleep and giving my girlfriend grief with badgering her all the time about her management company and lease stuff. It's starting to weight up now and unless it was a given that I'd absolutely win based on all the information I've already given, I'm starting to get itchy feet.

Coupon-mad

 I'm losing sleep and having lots of anxiety.

Not trying to minimise how you feel, but so does every poster here.  This is why we help people, because you need us to give you confidence as well as information and help as soon as you post - see how quick we are here?

No-one does this lightly when they've never had a court claim before. It's more about the principle of not supporting a scam and I don't know how old you are, but it's no coincidence that most if not all, of our regular posters are over 40 and have seen enough of life to know when you don't cave in to bullies!

Absolute win?  Well we see wins in some 99% of cases where the posters report back after their hearing (or before, when the PPC discontinues without a hearing, which is also common).  It's not guaranteed but your case has the same issues we see all the time and Judges are human and usually very nice to litigants in person who are quaking in their boots.

zimbo_ouen

I'm nearly 40 and I am very angry about this all but just worried mainly because I'm not the leaseholder, don't know how much leverage/power it will be give me in the court and I don't want to stress the gf out if she has to get involved because she is the leaseholder.

If I can do this all without troubling her and not being the leaseholder perhaps I should stay in the game but it still feels so daunting

Uptown_Boy

zimbo_ouen said:

See below about an extra £60 charge?

There's all sorts of "wrong" about that sign. 🙄

• The amount of the PCN (£100) is in small font, so not prominent (Lord Denning's "Red Hand" rule)
• The additional charge is unrecoverable (the business model already includes costs of recovery ... Supreme Court ruling in Parking Eye v Beavis)
• The sign is forbidding ... you cannot contract to do that which is forbidden. If you're not permitted to park there without a valid permit, then you cannot contract to park there for an arbitrary sum
• Etc.

Coupon-mad

You don't need to bother or involve your gf at all, this is your case.  You will need a copy of her lease because your rights flow, as a visitor, from her rights.

zimbo_ouen

Thank you all for your support and encouragement in wanting me to follow through on this. If the costs would probably be no higher than £200 maybe I'll still look into this. Will chat to the gf tonight.
I do have a cope of the lease in PDF format as that's how it was originally sent to her by her solicitor when she purchased it.

zimbo_ouen

Uptown_Boy said:

zimbo_ouen said:

See below about an extra £60 charge?

There's all sorts of "wrong" about that sign. 🙄

• The amount of the PCN (£100) is in small font, so not prominent (Lord Denning's "Red Hand" rule)
• The additional charge is unrecoverable (the business model already includes costs of recovery ... Supreme Court ruling in Parking Eye v Beavis)
• The sign is forbidding ... you cannot contract to do that which is forbidden. If you're not permitted to park there without a valid permit, then you cannot contract to park there for an arbitrary sum
• Etc.

Thanks @Uptown_Boy
What do you mean by the fact the sign is forbidding? and that you cannot contract to do which is forbidden? I don't see any mention of the word "forbid" in there so just want to understand this context.
Thank you

beamerguy

zimbo_ouen said:

I'm nearly 40 and I am very angry about this all but just worried mainly because I'm not the leaseholder, don't know how much leverage/power it will be give me in the court and I don't want to stress the gf out if she has to get involved because she is the leaseholder.

If I can do this all without troubling her and not being the leaseholder perhaps I should stay in the game but it still feels so daunting

Keep being angry and don't give in.  If Gladstones solicitors get involved then you will be dealing with the joke of the century ..... Gladstones already know that once it reaches this forum, they have a big problem.  We are now seeing that when it gets to court ... they don't turn up ?

Worth reading what is said on Trustpilot about Gladstones

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.gladstonessolicitors.co.uk

The courts already know about the behaviour of this legal

So if a 91 year old lady had the first covid jab today, at 40 you can certainly go forth and beat the scam

D_P_Dance

Keep steadfast.  As a friend of the leaseholder you have a legal right to park where you did with her permission.  Would she go to court with you?  In the grand scheme of things this is a piddling parking charge by a well known scammer.