JD Gym Parking Fine Claim £1000+ Amount

Redx

As an admitted driver who is defending as the driver , POFA ( the optional law ) does not apply !!

It protects non driving Keepers , not drivers

Coupon-mad

Yes, so there is no need to read up about it as you are defending as driver.

ASRman

Hi guys, 

The latest update on this case is as follows: 

1. The claimant parking company had ticked the box to agree to mediation. However at the mediation hearing the claimant showed no interest in settling the case and I had offered to settle at an amount which even I thought was unreasonable. The judge was less than impressed and this essentially wasted everyone's time. 

2. I decided to make a Part 36 Settlement offer to the claimant who came back and swiftly rejected the offer. The offer was sensible and again more then what I believe I should pay. 

3. The trial is now set for Friday 14 January 2022 at a face to face hearing. The main points of my argument are as follows: 

a. I was a gym member authorised to park in accordance with the signage and my gym contract and I did not outstay the 2.5 max amount. To evidence this I have supplied a signed letter from director at JD confirming my time stamps and gym membership. 

b. On the dates of the parking fines there was a technical issue with the gym iPad requiring members to submit registration to JD gym staff on pieces of paper so JD could manually validate registrations from the back office. To support this I have obtained 1X witness statement from a JD gym member re-iterating the same and also a written correspondence from a second JD gym member echoing the same issue he had experienced. I have also listed a previous news article which outlines issues from another JD Gym in Huddersfield where similar technical issues were reported with gym iPad validation machines resulting in members accruing parking fines. 

c. I have mentioned the claimant has added unlawful amounts in the sum of £74.00 for each penalty resulting in a total claim of £1,200 rather than £750. I have also quoted the excel v wilkinson case. 

d. I have mentioned breach of Consumer Contract Act as using the iPad to validate a parking can be argued to be a distant contract. As no receipt was provided this does not appear to comply with the Act. Temporary blips in internet connectivity can easily catch members out and I believe the generic list of kiosk inputs produced by the claimant fails to sufficiently prove the iPad was working correctly at all times. It merely shows the registrations that had been received and validated and not those that failed to go through due to connectivity issues. Neither party has appointed expert evidence and therefore the claimant has failed to meet the bar to evidence their assertion. 

e. I have briefly mentioned the poor signage posted by the claimant and included photographic evidence to support this. The signage does not appear to comply with the IPA accreditation requirements. 

The above has been included within my witness statement. 

I would be grateful if anyone else could review this and add to the above with anything else that may be useful to my claim?

Thanks in advance

Redx

I hope that your witness statement plus exhibits plus summary costs assessment have been filed with the court and claimant ?

ASRman

Redx said:

I hope that your witness statement plus exhibits plus summary costs assessment have been filed with the court and claimant ?

Hi Redx, 
Yes Witness statements plus all exhibits have been filed with both the court and claimant. I did not however lodge a summary costs assessment... 
Thanks.

Umkomaas

ASRman said:

Redx said:

I hope that your witness statement plus exhibits plus summary costs assessment have been filed with the court and claimant ?

Hi Redx, 
Yes Witness statements plus all exhibits have been filed with both the court and claimant. I did not however lodge a summary costs assessment... 
Thanks.

Do it today. Send to the court at which the hearing is planned. Make sure you place your claim number reference (and any other reference numbers you have) in the subject line of your email. 

Jenni_D

Copy it also to the Claimant?

ASRman

I will lodge the summary costs assessment shortly. Really appreciate the information as I would otherwise have missed this! 

Coupon-mad

Did you get their WS and evidence in time?  What did your WS and evidence say, given you have not been back posting for months and didn't get our input?

We are worried that you tried Mediation which we tell people never to agree to and nor are you meant to send offers.  So you really went off piste.

ASRman

Coupon-mad said:

Did you get their WS and evidence in time?  What did your WS and evidence say, given you have not been back posting for months and didn't get our input?

We are worried that you tried Mediation which we tell people never to agree to and nor are you meant to send offers.  So you really went off piste.

Afternoon

Yes they were received in time. My WS essentially contained a bulked out version of the points above with documentary evidence supported with referenced exhibits and so on. I was not aware mediation was a bad idea, the judge was less than impressed with their conduct however as they had ticked the box for mediation but had no interest in settlement on the day. Therefore wasted court time. I probably should have posted up here before going off on one! 

Regards to offers made I do see your point as essentially I am not admitting any liability whatsoever but at the same time I assumed it may be seen as me trying to settle outside of court and should the claimant not achieve a better settlement at trial I was of the understanding they can be penalised for this in costs?

Thanks again for providing the information around the CRA previously I think that probably forms one of the strongest aspects of my WS at this point...