Total Parking Solutions County Court Claim - Questions

D_P_Dance

They may have added an unlawful £29.54 to their claim, read this and complain to your MP.

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

Katjiepiering

Thank you for all your feedback. I have had a go at my number 2 and 3. Please go gentle on me, I am really trying here:

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question but not the driver. The driver was his wife, Mrs E E. Mrs E visited The Range, a retailer based at 66 Purley Way, Croydon, CR03JP, with her two children at the time of the alleged contractual breach. Mrs E, a law-abiding resident of the UK, has never before been issued with a Parking Charge Notice nor does she have any legal expertise. Mrs E was simply taking her two young children to an affordable shop and attached café three days before the second National Lockdown started. Like so many other families, the pandemic has taken its toll on them financially and emotionally and this would have been the last time they could travel without restrictions to the shop in question. They proceeded to buy a few essentials and Christmas gifts and took these back to the car. It is reasonable to say that this may have taken longer than usual to allow for Social Distancing restrictions to be adhered to. The children then complained that they were hungry and Mrs E took them to the café (within The Range) to get lunch. One of the children had to use the bathroom which held them up and prohibited them from leaving the car park on time.  

Mrs E was merely looking after her children’s emotional and physical wellbeing and a delay was outside her control and could not have been reasonably foreseen, which the Defendant notes as frustration of contract.

 

3.  In contrast, the Claimant blatantly disregards the court and attempts to exploit motorists by scaring them and threatening legal action.

In fact the defendant was quite surprised by the Claimant’s pursual of this case as they have no legitimate interest in enforcing it. The carpark provides free parking to encourage customers to shop at the retailers. At the time of the alleged breach, the carpark was not full. Therefore, by exceeding the maximum time of the parking allowance of 2 hours, Mrs E did not prohibit any other customers from parking and she was not abusing the parking privilege by for instance leaving the grounds to visit another retailer. She was spending time at a car park associated retailer. Due to the Pandemic retailers were struggling and in some instances parking charges and restrictions were removed or reduced. Rather than follow suite, the Claimant chose to exploit shoppers rather than show compassion.

Furthermore, the Claimant is put to strict proof of their authority to post the signs communicating the terms of the alleged contract. Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements)(England) Regulations 2007 (as amended), Regulation 30 makes it a criminal offence to display advertisements without the relevant consent. If there was a contract between the Claimant and the keeper/driver, it was illegal at its formation because it was incapable of being created without an illegal act (the erection of the un-consented signs which the Claimant relies on as having made a contractual offer).

Where a contract is illegal when formed, neither party will acquire rights under it, regardless of whether or not there was an intention to break the law; the contract will be void and treated as if it had never been entered into. As such, the asserted contract cannot be enforced.

Coupon-mad

Don’t name Mrs E. just call her the Defendant’s wife (or partner)  to keep her surname vague to stop the coming after her (unlikely but just saying I wouldn’t name her).

Katjiepiering

@Coupon-mad, thank you for the above feedback, I'll amend it as suggested. However, on the day of the court case, I (the wife) will have to join my husband in court as I am the one preparing for the case and he wouldn't know what to say. Should I not identify myself as the driver in this case?

Coupon-mad

No.

You would be speaking as his lay representative and not as a witness so you’d need to rehearse not to start giving evidence as the driver, which is not what your role would be.

Unless the Judge asks you outright!  But even then you can say that you are here as the Defendants lay representative and steer it back to exposing the holes in the Claimant’s evidence.

Katjiepiering

Got it, thank you!

Any other feedback on the content?

Redx

You cannot be a witness and also a lay representative , it's one or the other , so choose your role

You can assist the defendant all the way up to the hearing , but a witness cannot speak for a defendant , so not on their behalf. A lay representative has no irons in the fire , third party only

Courts have strict rules , so you must check what they are and abide by them , no making it up as you go along

Katjiepiering

I assume I can decide later on whether I will be the witness or the lay representative? 

Redx

Katjiepiering said:

I assume I can decide later on whether I will be the witness or the lay representative? 

If the Driver isn't outed at this stage , then yes , decide at the WS stage , leave the details of the driver unspoken for now , as coupon mad said