Two court case this month - Countrywide Parking/BW Legal

Amis95

Hi All,

With your help, I won one of my case on this forum couple of years ago. This was one of my threads - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6017649/county-court-claim-private-pcn-from-uk-cpm/p11

Since then, I have been helping friends and family and have won 4 cases (100% record so far) using your advice on this forum and from what I learned from you guys. 

I have been approached by a friend who has two county court cases this month:

Case 1 - 
A motorbike and received a physical ticket. Apparently, he appealed which led the company to send him the notice to the keeper. Now they are pursuing him as the Keeper. So since they didn't follow the process to go to DVLA and obtain the data, we denied that we ever owed the vehicle or was ever the driver. The court date is on Monday 13. Also to our astonishment, the witness statement they sent to us has evidence of a different case, different person, car park, car etc. None of the evidence is related to the defedant. So, I am confident this one is dead.

We have followed all the court orders. 

Case 2 - 
Court Date - 27/09/2021 (we followed all orders to date)
Contravention date - 27/07/2019
Notice to keeper date - 20/09/2019
physical on screen ticket
Reason for the issue - no permit displayed
No WS from them as of yet

for both cases, Claimant - Countrywide Parking and BW Legal
Location is also the same

I am not sure what points I can dig out for the second case to write in the WS hence posting on here to seek your advice.

Thank you in advance

Amis

Coupon-mad

Cause of action estoppel springs to mind. They were duty bound under court rules to advance their entire case as one claim, not a ‘drip, drip’ form of harassment.

Amis95

Hi guys, 

The first case got slapped out of the court today. My friend also got his losses ordered to be paid. As I predicted, they relied on an appeal made which they couldn't prove the fact that anyone could have appealed in my friend's name. So the fact that they didn't follow with DVLA to obtain keeper details, the case was dismissed. They couldn't use keeper on this case because they issued the keeper within 28 days of the PCN as it was a windscreen notice to the driver. POFA allows 28 days for drivers so they only can issue an NTK between 28 and 56 days as you all know. They did scramble to send a last-minute WS with the correct exhibit on Friday but we said that doesn't give us enough time to prepare and it's an ambush with new evidence. 

I need some help on the second case. The date of the contravention is on 27/07/2019 and the issue of NTK was 20/09/2019 which 55 days if I start to count from 28/07 or 56 days if counted from 27/07. As this was a on screen ticket, can we argue that the date issued could not have meant that he received the NTK within 56 days.

The other argument we have is that they evident 3 lot of pictures. 1; pictures of car park without date stamp, 2; pictures of car and signes from the time of the contravention, 3; a picture of sign stamp dated almost year later in June 2020. I argued that. pictures 1 cannot be used as it could be from any date. Pictures 2 do not provide any pictures of the sign that is readable. and Picture 3 is not from the date of contravention. So, they cannot prove that the pictures 3 sign was the same one used on the day. I have also provided other pictures of our own take on two different days where the signs are either sprayed or missing completely. This demonstrates hopefully that the signs are changing constantly. 

Anything else, please let me know and I can add a skeleton argument. 

Thanks 

Castle

Amis95 said:

Hi guys, 

I need some help on the second case. The date of the contravention is on 27/07/2019 and the issue of NTK was 20/09/2019 which 55 days if I start to count from 28/07 or 56 days if counted from 27/07. As this was a on screen ticket, can we argue that the date issued could not have meant that he received the NTK within 56 days.

With a date issued of 20/09/2019, (which was a Friday), it's deemed to have been received on Tuesday 24th; which is day 59 after the parking event, so 3 days too late for POFA.

Coupon-mad

Seconded.

Glad to hear about today’s court victory - ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

Amis95

Thanks both really appreciate it. I read POFA but coudn't see anything that says give 2 days time to receive post. Can you please help me with an answer if the judge questions this point? Thank you again. 

KeithP

POFA Sch4 para 8(6) says:

(6) A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England and Wales.

Amis95

Hi Keith, this is amazing!!!! thank you. I am not sure how I didnt put this in the WS as I hit home hard about the signage pictures. I am now going to do a skeleton argument to raise this issue. thank you guys

D_P_Dance

Have you complained to your MP?

Amis95

Hi Guys,
We are surprised to have received a N260 statement of costs for £725 from the solicitors for their work. I have never come across anything like it and I am under the impression that the amount put in particulars of the claim was the max they will get. I am not worried about losing the case but can someone explain to me what this is? I can share the documents if you like. 
Many thanks 

KeithP

The sum described on the N260 will only be payable by you if:
1) you lose the case, and
2) you act unreasonably while defending yourself, and
3) the Judge agrees with the Claimant's summary assessment.

Unreasonableness is a quite a high bar.

You have nothing to fear here.

If anything, filing a N260 might in itself be considered by some as an act of unreasonableness in a Small Claims case.