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nosferatu1001

Thats how long it took before Corona....

Not_A_Hope

As I started to prepare the witness statement I reviewed the defence I planned to submit next week and felt there was an large gap between leaving the car park and the New Template defence which begins 'The Particulars of Defence'. Could you please consider the benefit or otherwise of adding para 4 below and suggest any amendments. It explains the alleged contravention, allows the court to see that the Defendant did completely ignore the claim and that the Claimant failed to behave in a proper manner to resolve this.

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle in question but liability is denied. 

3.      The Defendant entered Damside St park in Lancaster, parked and promptly attended a ticketing machine, with his passenger who was a witness to the event. Not having used the car park before, the prominent signs at the entrance suggested it was a normal pay and display. The Defendant did not see any signs suggesting ANPR cameras were in use, any details of Terms or Conditions nor a requirement to input his car registration number. In good faith, the Defendant paid £1 for a ticket lasting for an hour. He then noticed the keyboard and wondered what it was for as the pay machine had not prompted him to enter anything and had issued the ticket. He took the ticket that was issued and displayed this clearly on the dashboard of his car returning 30 minutes later to leave the car park.

 

4.         In response to the PCN that was issued the Defendant completed an online form providing evidence that he had purchased a ticket. The Claimant rejected the appeal stating that the Defendant had entered two digits of the vehicle registration number which was in breach of all the signs on the car park. As neither of these claims were true the Defendant considered appealing to IAS but had missed the stated 21 day deadline for free appeal as their rejection letter was only found a few weeks later amongst spam in his email inbox. The Defendant would be charged a non-refundable fee of £15 to appeal and he could find no evidence of the independent nature of this body or their processes. In fact online research suggested that IAS and Gladstones solicitors were all set up by the same people and have the same directors which strongly suggested a conflict of interest. As their process flowchart stated any decision was binding the Defendant decided not to progress an IAS appeal but rely on the fairness of the judicial system if necessary. Final demand and letters from solicitors were received culminating in a Letter Before Claim which refers to the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt claims contained in the Civil Procedures Rules. This failed to provide the detailed information referred to in the Practice Direction nor set out  an independent 3rd party form of Alternative Dispute Resolution.

 

Many Thanks

Coupon-mad

I'd remove this as unnecessary commentary but the rest is fine:

The Defendant would be charged a non-refundable fee of £15 to appeal and he could find no evidence of the independent nature of this body or their processes.

Not_A_Hope

I have now received a Directions Questionnaire which I have completed as described by Bargepole ready to return via email to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk  and I will post a copy to Gladstones before the deadline of the 14th April.

Just a quick question before I send the DQ and start to prepare my witness statement. Is it worth asking my passenger who was with me throughout for a witness statement and to include them as an additional witness on the DQ? Does their witness statement follow the same format and simply append to the court bundle as an exhibit? Are people that provide additional witness statements expected to attend the hearing in court. The witness doesn't have a problem with either but it is useful to know and be prepared.

Thanks

Umkomaas

Just a quick question before I send the DQ and start to prepare my witness statement. Is it worth asking my passenger who was with me throughout for a witness statement

What are they going to add to your case?

Not_A_Hope

They can corroborate the lack of visible signage with term and conditions at the PDT and that a ticket was issued although I did not use the keyboard to enter a VRN. Their claim is I did not comply with the terms and conditions 'as per all the signs on the car park' and that I entered the first two digits of my registration.

Coupon-mad

It is more likely that the machine failed, surely.

Not_A_Hope

The machine certainly failed to request a VRN and failed to prompt a confirmation if it thought only two digits had been entered before issuing a ticket. There are very few two digit number plates in the UK!

Umkomaas

Not_A_Hope said:

They can corroborate the lack of visible signage with term and conditions at the PDT and that a ticket was issued although I did not use the keyboard to enter a VRN. Their claim is I did not comply with the terms and conditions 'as per all the signs on the car park' and that I entered the first two digits of my registration.

Don't you have your own photographs of the signage - content and distribution around the site?  Do you perhaps live a long way from the car park?  Dated photos can be very powerful. 

Not_A_Hope

Yes I have photos taken after the event although I live some distance away. The major signs at the entrance made it look like a normal council type pay and display car park. There were some poor terms and conditions signs but the nearest faded signs were on a wall some distance behind users of the PDT and behind parked cars. Neither of us saw them or a requirement to enter a VRN. The signs have since been updated and I have photos of them as well.