OneParkingSolution claim with DCB Legal | Leasehold assigned parking space

BreadedScampi

I'm the leasehold owner of a space that received 5 parking tickets last year after permit requests were somehow ignored. I'm looking to see if there's any major points I can improve on in my initial defence draft before refining it.

- Management Agency have confirmed there's a valid contract with OPS
- Made a SAR to OPS and am waiting on that
- I never made an appeal or made contact with OPS. All contact has been through the MA.
- Letter from the previous MA introducing parking enforcement
- Leasehold agreement
- Timeline:

• 31/08/2021 - Claim issued
• 03/09/2021 - AoS filed

Extracts from my leasehold agreement:

The right for the Lessee to park a single domestic private motor vehicle in the Parking Space numbered [number] and shown edged red on Plan 2 subject to any Estate regulations and subject to the right of the Lessor or the Estate Management Company to vary the layout and/or position of the Parking Space as may be reasonably appropriate

The Estate Management Company may make such regulations as may from time to time be necessary to ensure that no nuisance arises from the use of the Car Park

Current draft defence:

X. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all. Save where otherwise admitted, each and every allegation in the Particulars of Claim is denied

X. The Particulars of Claim lack specificity and The Defendant is prejudiced and is unable to prepare a full and complete Defence. The Defendant reserves the right to seek from the Court permission to serve an Amended Defence should the Claimant add to or expand his Particulars at a later stage of these proceedings and/or to limit the Claimant only to the un-evidenced allegations in the Particulars

The facts as known to the Defendant:

X. The Defendant confirms they are the registered keeper of the vehicle [vehicle registration], and owner of the parking space related to the parking charge in question

X. There was never a contract in place between the Defendant and the Claimant during the dates covered by the parking charges (PCNs)
a) There are no visible or legible Terms signs as mentioned in the claim particulars
b) The Terms on the signs inside the car park are not laid out conspicuously
c) The text detailing the Terms including the charges is too small to be legible or noticeable from within the car park
d) Some or all Parking Notice signs are missing on the entrances of the car park

X. Permits were not sent by the Claimant after requested multiple times
a) A request for a permit was made by the Defendant on the 24th July 2020 with [management agency] the management agency (MA) responsible for the estate including the car park, as is the standard procedure when a new vehicle is to be parked in the car park
b) The Defendant received no further correspondence by email or post from the MA or Claimant regarding the permit until an email was sent on 4th January 2021, advising the Defendant's new permit had been issued.
c) According to an email received by the Defendant from the MA on 14th January 2021, the MA never received any permit from the Claimant until 4th January 2021

X. No Letter Before Claim for the amount claimed has been made for the 5 PCNs
a) The claim particulars differ from the Letter Before Claim I received, which only details 1 PCN
b) The principal amount claimed in the claim particulars differs from that in the Letter Before Claim

X. The PCNs are unfair, extortionate, and predatory in nature
a) After the request for permit was granted by the Claimant 5 months late, the Claimant chose to pursue me for the PCNs issued during the permit request period without consideration for why I might not have been able to display a permit
b) The sum of the initial amount claimed has been arbitrarily made up, and does not represent the charges detailed in any parking Terms sign
c) The Defendant has been enjoying the use of their parking space since August 2018 when they started parking a motorcycle there ([motorcycle registration]). As with the car ([vehicle registration]), the motorcycle  was registered with the MA but a permit was never issued. The Defendant continued to use the parking space without any harassment or PCNs being issued from the Claimant, up until the car [vehicle registration] had been parked there. The exact Terms are therefore spurious and unclear to the Defendant

I believe that the facts stated in this defence 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.

Le_Kirk

Have a read of the defence template (one of the five announcements on the first page of the forum), also read the NEWBIE sticky.  Note that defences are written in the third person, no evidence goes with the defence but later with the witness statement and your defence reads a bit like a witness statement.  Your statement of truth is out of date, if you read the defence template, you will see the latest one.

Half_way

Point 1, the contract is not valid as the management company has no right to offer it in the first place.
Get on to the management company and tell them to call off the dogs with immediate effect and they can stick the permit up their rear ends as you will no longer be displaying it as a courtesy

bargepole

a) The claim particulars state that the driver agreed to pay for the PCNs, but there is no evidence of this. As the registered keeper, I have no recollection of who might have been driving the vehicle on the dates mentioned.

a) My leaseholder agreement grants me the right to park in the parking space in question. 

These two statements are contradictory, and completely wrong.

In a residential case such as this, you are wasting your time trying to deny being the driver. Your main point of defence, which should be front and centre, is that you have a pre-existing and unfettered right to park granted by the terms of your Lease.

I'm assuming that the Lease does not stipulate any requirement to display a permit, or to pay penalties to a third party, such as the Claimant, for non-display of same.

As such, provided you parked in accordance with the Lease terms, that establishes primacy of contract over any purported terms conveyed by the Claimant's signage which, in the absence of any properly executed Deed of Variation, have no legal effect.

D_P_Dance

Read these and complain to your MP,

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.html

https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/residential-letting-questions/1053920-private-parking-companies

Redx

Take heed of the above advice , especially the post by Bargepole

And read this long thread by @sadwithoutmynelson about similar issues with own space tickets and how the management company has caved in to threats of a court claim etc

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6081668/court-form-received-help-requested/p1

KeithP

BreadedScampi said:

Received a court claim recently (won't give the exact date) and have filled AoS.

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?
Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?
Your MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answers.

BreadedScampi

KeithP said:

BreadedScampi said:

Received a court claim recently (won't give the exact date) and have filled AoS.

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

31/08/2021

Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?

03/09/2021

BreadedScampi

I've found a letter from 2018 which mentions the introduction of parking enforcement. This was sent to me from the previous management agency.

As you may be aware we are reintroducing Parking Enforcement in the residents car park at

[location]. The reason for this is there are a large number of residents who are unable to

park in their allocated spaces due to someone else parking there. This is not a new service or

process this is reintroducing something that was already in place.

The enforcement is going to actually commence on [date in 2018]. Prior to commencing we

do need to issue parking permits and there will be 2 permits per space free of charge.

The permits will be linked to the space number and not the car or flat and so permits can be

switched between cars if required. Each permit will have the bay number only on them, so if

you wish to have multiple permits you are free to do so, they will all have the same space

number. Additional permits can be purchased from the parking company and details will be

included when the original permits are issued.

With regard to the above matter, we are writing to advise you of a new parking system that is being

brought into force in the residents’ underground car park from [date]. 

Enclosed with this are 2 permits for the space we have allocated to [address], which is space

number [number]. Only the property Owner can request additional permits should you require them and to

do this you need to contact info@oneparking.co.uk or 01903 692966 and quote [address]. The cost of replacement or additional permits is £25.00. This is not managed by [estate] but One Parking directly.

You should place your permit in the windscreen of your car. This does not need to be fixed to the

window, but it does need to be clearly visible from the front windscreen. It is your responsibility to

ensure that the permit can be seen by the enforcement operative.

You are free to park whichever car you wish in the allocated space as the permits do not have a

registration or name linked on them only the space number.

For your information, under the terms of the lease governing your property, your car will be considered

to be parked in an unauthorised manner and thus be liable for a parking fine if:,

a. It does not display a permit with the same number as the bay it is in, or

b. The permit is not clearly visible in the front windscreen, or

c. It is not parked within a clearly delineated bay, i.e. in the access roadways, or

d. It is parked in a bay that you are not authorised to park in, or

e. There is more than one vehicle parked in a bay, including a motorcycle or moped.

The company chosen to carry out the enforcement role is, One Parking Solutions. They have been

carefully selected to ensure that the system is properly, effectively and appropriately managed. They

are Approved Operators with the British Parking Association (BPA) and are associated with the

independent appeals service, Parking On Private Land Appeals (POPLA).

There is a current arrangement for motorcycles that these will not be ticketed unless they are in a bay

that also has a car in it. In the coming weeks we will be locating some specific areas for motorbikes and

we will notify everyone in advance of starting to enforce this parking. Motorbikes will not be required

to display permits in the new scheme and only be parked in one of the assigned areas.

Jenni_D

Does your lease mention parking permits etc.?

The interesting point to me in the above letter is "This is not a new service or process this is reintroducing something that was already in place". Surely if the scheme was already there (but lapsed) then it would be mentioned in your lease. If it's not, can they prove to you that the lease has been validly varied by the conducting of a vote per the Landlords and Tenants Act, with the relevant votes For and Against?  

KeithP

BreadedScampi said:

KeithP said:

BreadedScampi said:

Received a court claim recently (won't give the exact date) and have filled AoS.

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

31/08/2021

Upon what date did you file an Acknowledgment of Service?

03/09/2021

With a Claim Issue Date of 31st August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service on 3rd September, you have until 4pm on Friday 1st October 2021 to file your Defence.

That's four 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.