We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
Premier Parking Logistics Court Claim Defence (Case Closed - Lost with reduced fees)


Comments
-
Let us guess - Shaw's Passage? Have you read al the other Walton Wilkins threads and seen the photos of that place with the unlit, broken signs?
Your defence looks good except #3 is too long (but the wording is good). So simply add more paragraph numbers!PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD2 -
ArticAvenger said:I have a Court Claim from Premier Parking Logistics, it was dated 20th Nov 2020, I submitted my Acknowledgement of Service (AoS) on 29th Nov 2020, so i believe i have until 23rd December to submit my defence.You are right with your Defence filing deadline but there might be something useful here...
With a Claim Issue Date of 20th November, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2020 to file your Defence.That's two weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.3 -
Thanks, I will amend secon 3 to split it out a bit and I've set a reminder to file thie defence. This wasn't at Shaw's Passage but looking at that place its just as bad.They really put no effort into maintaining their 'car parks' to be fit for purpose do they.2
-
Did you know about good old Walton? Been around the block a bit for parking practices, that man:
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2017/07/no-honour-amongstoperators.html
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-woman-won-car-back-4859
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-car-clamping-boss-to-carry-91288
''the judge found their fee of £390 was not extortionate for clamping and towing as British Parking Association guidelines suggest £410''.
WOW. THAT'S THE BPA FOR YOU (IF TRUE). NO WONDER THEY RECKON £100 NOW ISN'T EXTORTIONATE.
THE PARKING INDUSTRY IS JUST NOT ON THE SAME PLANET AS RIGHT-THINKING CONSUMERS...
...BUT CLEARLY HIS LEVEL OF PARKING CHARGES IS THE SAME AS THE BPA'S VIEW - SO THEY ARE ON THE SAME PAGE AS A CLAMPER - BECAUSE WHEN CLAMPING WAS BANNED HE DECIDED TO ISSUE TICKETS FOR UP TO £150:
https://www.itv.com/news/central/2012-09-27/birmingham-clamper-says-new-laws-will-make-his-job-easier''He says the new legislation means he can instead issue motorists with legally enforceable parking tickets worth £150 a time. He also says ticketing is much less hassle as it costs him less than clamping.''
He seems to like to mislead people about how much money he made from clamping, before it was made illegal:
Rich beyond his wildest dreams?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387286/Clamping-boss-Walton-Wilkins-claims-10m-impounding-cars.html
But maybe not:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7636110.stm
"If I was out to make money, I'm in the wrong business as my company actually made a loss last year, and I don't know where the council gets its figures from.''
Likes his sports memorabilia, though:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19168876
PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD2 -
When you do edit your #3 and add the extra numbers and paragraphs, change the word "fine" as it is not such, at best it is a "speculative invoice" or a PCN.2
-
UPDATE - COURT DATE - WITNESS STATEMENT REVIEW REQUEST
Hi All, thanks for your help so far. I have a court date and have prepared the first version of my witness statement accordingly. Could i ask for any constructive advice on it. Looking to get it finalised and sent off before the end of the week. Thanks.
My Witness Statement -> Apologies won't let me include links so here is the main text:1. I am XXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXX, and I am the defendant against whom this claim is made. The facts below are true to the best of my belief and my account has been prepared based upon my own knowledge.
2. In my statement I shall refer to exhibits within the evidence supplied with this statement referring to page and reference numbers where appropriate. My defence is repeated and I will say as follows:
3. Firstly my main point will be reference to the fact that the arrangement of this area that the claimant claims to manage as a car park is unclear and misleading. The area is a small side road between two retail units, and leads up to a residential apartment complex. There are a couple of defined parking areas along this side road, a couple to the left as you enter and a couple further up to the right. Then there is a main car park within the residential apartment complex. The confusion comes in the fact, backed up by the claimant’s evidence, that they only have a contract to manage a portion of these area’s or parking.
4. The clearest point in this defence is the fact that the claimant themselves does not even appear to be able to determine the area covered by their contact as shown in their own evidence (see picture from Exhibit XXXX) that shows a second car, a small white Toyota, parked in an adjacent space to the defendants vehicle, which has also received a PCN ticket from the claimants parking company at the exact same time as the defendant. This car is, according to the claimant’s evidence of the parking area that they manage, definitely outside of their jurisdiction. This determination has only been possible thanks to the evidence of the site layout and contracted area controlled, provided by the claimant, there is no chance the driver of the other vehicle or the defendant could of ascertained this on site at the time.
5. The claimant has also obviously staged this area as a trap to capture unsuspecting motorists, and they have not set it up in a way that is of any benefit to the landowner that contacted them. See picture from Exhibit XXXX, which shows the claimants PCN signage placed above the small white Toyota (mentioned in the previous paragraph) clearly placed in an illegal position as this is not on land owned by the land owner. In fact this signage is not even marked on the claimants provided site map. Therefore it must have been placed there with the intention of entrapping additional motorists that were legally parked on separate land to that managed by the claimant. This means the claimant is in breach of clause 1 of their contact with the land owner which states “The Company agrees to supply and erect car park signs in clear and visible manner within the Location subject to the Client prior approval in accordance with the ATA code of practice for Parking Enforcement”
6. Additionally, when entering the site the clearest signage is for the next door retain until (RETAIL UNIT NAME), and this is where the driver of the vehicle was going to on the day in question. The parking area to the left as you enter the site also has the name of this retail location in white surface paint on the floor in multiple locations. So when you enter the site these are what your attention is drawn to, and any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion that the parking area to the left was for the use of people visiting the retail unit opposite.
7. It is completely unclear, and only now partially understandable via evidence supplied by the claimant, that only 2/3 of this area is supposed to be for the retail use and the final 1/3 is supposedly under the control of the claimants parking restrictions. There is no markings or clear signage denoting any differentiation of any part of this side parking area. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the more prominent markings denoting this as parking for the retail store are the correct and is what any motorist using this area would consider to be the case.
8. The claimant states their signs are prominently placed and clearly visible. However the opposite is true. Their signs are scattered about along the road leading up to the apartment complex. The clearest text on the sign states Private Land. This is something you would expect to see on a road leading up to some Private Land. So therefore the first assumption is that these signs are there just to denote the existence of that private land and therefore you may glance at them but then pay them no further attention. Even if you did stop to read these signs they are placed high up on lampposts and contain a lot of small text that would be difficult if not impossible to read at a reasonable distance. Indeed none of the photographs provided by the claimant give any clear sight of any legible text on these signs and the photographs are not taken from an unreasonable distance back from the signs.
5. The claimant has raised the fact that I did not attempt to appeal the parking charge via their appeals process. This was due to the fact that I was well aware from other motorist’s experiences that this would be futile as the IAS appeal service is not independent (During debate of the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill 2019, member Kevin Foster stated “The reality is that the current system of regulation is absolutely hopeless. It is like putting Dracula in charge down at the blood bank. There are two different sets of regulations and companies can choose which they use, so there is an incentive to dismiss as many appeals as possible.”). I did not want to take this disputed claim to the court stage but however in the absence of any truly independent appeals process it was the only way to receive any fairness in the matter.
Abuse of process – the quantum
6. In addition to the disputed Parking Charge Notice claim amount of £100, the Claimant has added a sum of £60. The added £60 constitutes double recovery and the court is invited to find the quantum claimed is false and an abuse of process as was found by District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) in Excel vs Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, a similar case in which £60 had been added to a parking charge, heard in July 2020 (the transcript of which is included in Exhibit XXXX). The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'. Leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.
7. After hearing this ‘test case’, which followed numerous Judges repeatedly disallowing the £60 sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims, Judge Jackson at the Bradford County Court went into significant detail before concluding that parking operators (such as the Claimant in this case) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Others, like Judge Hickinbottom of the same court area, have since echoed Judge Jackson’s words and struck out dozens of cases. Judge Hickinbottom recently stated ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.
The Beavis case is against this claim
10. This situation can be fully distinguished from ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis [2015] UKSC67, where the Supreme Court found that whilst the £85 was not (and was not pleaded as) a sum in the nature of damages or loss, ParkingEye had a 'legitimate interest' in enforcing the charge where motorists overstay, in order to deter motorists from occupying spaces beyond the time paid for and thus ensure further income for the landowner, by allowing other motorists to occupy the space. The Court concluded that the £85.00 charge was not out of proportion to the legitimate interest (in that case, based upon the facts and clear signs) and therefore the clause was not a penalty clause.
11. However, there is no such legitimate interest, if the landowner is not disadvantaged by the motorists’ stay, as in this case. In fact in this case the landowner has been disadvantaged by the claimant. The claimant has done nothing to make the parking arrangements clear or attempted to delimit the parking areas covered by the landowner. As such they have done nothing to discourage unwanted parking of vehicles on the landowners property, and therefore the setup is designed primarily as a trap to encourage the exact opposite. As such, I take the point that the parking charge in my case is a penalty, and unenforceable. The confusing arrangement of the parking area is precisely the sort of 'concealed pitfall or trap' that the Supreme Court considered in deciding what constitutes an unconscionable parking charge.
12. Even taken as an extreme close-up, the sign that the Claimant has presented as evidence has vague/hidden terms and a mix of small font, so as for it not to allow the opportunity for anyone to become acquainted with its terms. As such, as specifically outlined in Example 10 of Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the signage constitutes an unfair customer notice, and, pursuant to s62 of the same act, any terms would be considered incapable of binding any person reading them under common contract law. Consequently, it is my position that, even if I had seen signage of the sort presented by the Claimant – which I didn’t as it was not present – no contract to pay an onerous penalty would have been seen, known or agreed.
My fixed witness costs – ref PD 27, 7.3(1) and CPR 27.14
18. Upon confirmation that attendance at any hearing would result in a loss of leave, I will ask for my fixed witness costs of £95 as specified by CPR Practice Direction 27, 7.3(1), and due under CPR 27.14(2)(e).
CPR 44.11 – further costs
19. As a litigant-in-person I have had to spend considerable time researching the law online, attempting to correctly interpret the legal terminology, preparing my defence and preparing my witness statement. On top of this, due to the threatening and harassing language of the Claimant’s automated letter chain (behaviour akin to that acknowledged by Lord Hunt of Wirral – “Highly undesirable practices in the private parking industry range from threatening letters sent to motorists, poor signage in car parks and aggressive debt collection practices”.) I have had to endure the emotional strain of dealing with this harassment, stress of preparing for this case and the worry of the future financial costs and threat of impact to my unblemished credit records.
20. Therefore, I am appending with this bundle a fully detailed costs assessment (Exhibit XXXX) which covers my proportionate but unavoidable further costs and I invite the court to consider making an award to include these, pursuant to the court's powers in relation to misconduct (CPR 44.11).
21. Secondly, given the specificity of the conclusions of Judges Jackson and Hickinbottom, and their direct relevance to this Claim, the Claimant’s business model and that of the Claimant’s legal representation, pursuit of the inflated sum including double recovery in full knowledge of such conclusions is clearly vexatious.
Statement of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
0 -
In point 3 you do not need to say "Firstly my main point" and in point 4, you do not need to say "the clearest point" Just go straight in with "The arrangement of this area ......." and "The claimant themselves does do not .........."
Not sure how your point 4 helps you but if you are leaving it in change this: -defendant could of ascertainedto: -
defendant could of have ascertainedCheck for any similar grammatical errors.
3 -
If/when you have the scammer's WS, please post it here for the regulars to look over. Make sure that you show us all of it including exhibits and the all important contract. Only redact YOUR personal data.
If the scammers have redacted anything, please tell us.
The best way to show it to us it is to upload it to Dropbox or similar then post the link.I married my cousin. I had to...I don't have a sister.All my screwdrivers are cordless."You're Safety Is My Primary Concern Dear" - Laks3 -
Thanks for the suggestions I'll tidy things up a bit. Do you not think point 4 is useful in general? I'd say it makes it very clear they aren't sticking to the legal boundary of the land they are allowed to manage, and also the fact that boundary is not clear to any motorists, if it isn't even clear to the company managing it!0
-
No-one has suggested that your paragraph 4 isn't useful.
Your paragraph numbering goes a little awry...
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 and 21.2
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 349.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453K Spending & Discounts
- 242.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 619.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.4K Life & Family
- 255.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards