Parking Charge Notice now been referred to County Court

Patrickius

@D_P_Dance and @Redx   Thank you and will do

Patrickius

With regards to writing about the grace period not being sufficient I have written the following:

It is denied that there was a Breach of Contract.  I was a valid authorised visitor and complied with the terms of the contract.  I read the sign, went to get a visitor permit and came back to display it as soon as I could.  The residential car park has numerous high-rise blocks of apartments surrounding it.  The claimant is using predatory tactics, which are in effect setting a visitor up to fail.

The Contract which the claimant refers to, with a 10 minute grace period does not allow visitors enough time to obtain a permit and display it.  The grace period is a minimum allowance and the CRA 2015 would advise that a longer period in favour of the consumer should prevail.

 

The Claimant’s statement says that 10 minutes was offered.  However, within the IPC CoP 15.1 it says “Drivers should be allowed a sufficient amount of time to park and read any signs so they can make an informed decision as to whether or not to remain on site”.

 Would there be any point in flagging this in my WS or is it being petty given that the Claimant’s WS already states the actual grace period that was offered.  I had written the following but am not sure whether to leave it in my WS

 The claimant’s witness statement (para 20) states that “The trade association which my company is a member of permits a grace period of 10 minutes.  The defendant was provided with this period and it is clear that upon expiry the vehicle was still not parked in a manner that complied with the parking regulations”.  However, according to the Independent Parking Committee (IPC) Code of Practice to which the claimant must adhere to (see exhibit POD-01).  15.1 states “Drivers should be allowed a sufficient amount of time to park and read any signs so they can make an informed decision as to whether or not to remain on site”.

There is no mention of a fixed period of 10 minutes.  If 10 minutes is not a sufficient amount of time to obtain a permit from a block of high-rise flats and display it, which it wasn’t in my case.  Then it is a minimum allowance and the CRA 2015 would advise that a longer period in favour of the consumer should prevail.

Redx

I agree with your observations above , so make that distinction as clear as possible , that there is no 10 minutes , so sufficient time is what it took you to execute that duty , meaning 15 or 20 minutes !!

I would also make it clear that no breach of contract actually occurred , because you fully complied with the terms and conditions imposed by the sign , as soon as you were able

Patrickius

Redx said:

I agree with your observations above , so make that distinction as clear as possible , that there is no 10 minutes , so sufficient time is what it took you to execute that duty , meaning 15 or 20 minutes !!

I would also make it clear that no breach of contract actually occurred , because you fully complied with the terms and conditions imposed by the sign , as soon as you were able

Thank you and I will do

Patrickius

I have sent my complete WS by email to both the Court and the Claimant.

Just thinking about the hearing day now.

I have not engaged with the Claimant at any stage, once the PCN was issued.  Partly due to ignorance and because I thought the Claimant would just give up in the end.

I have read a lot of threads where judges get very annoyed at PCN cases going to court as they have more pressing and important cases to be dealing with. 

I think my defence is is not the best as have very few arguments that support my case.

If the Judge does ask on the day why didn't you appeal the PCN and or dispute the claim when I was able to do so.  What would be a sensible response so as not to irk the judge?  Don't think 'I couldn't be bothered Sir!' would sit very well with the judge.

Redx

You thought you had done nothing wrong and it was a scam , you only took it seriously when the court claim pack from the CCBC in Northampton arrived

Patrickius

Redx said:

You thought you had done nothing wrong and it was a scam , you only took it seriously when the court claim pack from the CCBC in Northampton arrived

Thanks @Redx

Coupon-mad

You were aware that the so called appeals services are run bi one or other of the Trade Bodies (i.e. the industry itself) and the IPC's version, using a misnomer called the 'Independent Appeals Service' is on a gutter-scraping spiral, having allowed a woeful 6%, then 5%, then 4% of appeals for consumers in the last 3 years of 'Annual Reports' (with the rest being cases dropped by PPCs which should have been dropped at first appeal but they know they can get away with it, because only 1% of people appeal further).

Patrickius

Coupon-mad said:

You were aware that the so called appeals services are run bi one or other of the Trade Bodies (i.e. the industry itself) and the IPC's version, using a misnomer called the 'Independent Appeals Service' is on a gutter-scraping spiral, having allowed a woeful 6%, then 5%, then 4% of appeals for consumers in the last 3 years of 'Annual Reports' (with the rest being cases dropped by PPCs which should have been dropped at first appeal but they know they can get away with it, because only 1% of people appeal further).

Yes I had read that.  Would there be any point in pointing this out to the judge?  He/she may just say this is irrelevant and that as I didn't try to appeal and resolve the matter before hand, that I am wasting the court's time. 

Coupon-mad

No Judge has ever said that in any reported case.  None place any reliance on the Trade Body appeals processes but you might get criticised for not engaging, which is why you must explain why you didn't.