JLA No Stopping ticket from 2019

salavaria

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question but was not the driver on the night the alleged contravention took place.  

3.  On the 17th June 2019 the Defendant was in the car when his family was collected from John Lennon Airport. It was late (approx 11.25pm), and dark when the Defendant arrived arrived. Neither the driver nor the Defendant had ever driven to this airport before. The speed limit signs were observed, but the appropriate car park was being sought (the intention being to head for the drop off/pick up car park, which offers free parking for 30 minutes). The Defendant does not recall seeing any No Stopping signs. In any case, it was the intention to use the car park. As the car turned right into the road that would lead us to the car park, the Defendant received a phone call from his wife, who had spotted the arrival of the car. The Defendant saw his family walking towards the car park. The Defendant’s youngest son, who was 11 (eleven) at the time of the alleged contravention, was struggling with luggage. The phone call was hampered by a bad connection, and it cut off prematurely. The Defendant was worried there was a problem. Rather than drive on to the car park, we did what any father would do in a similar situation, and turned the car around (making sure it was safe to do so – there was no traffic). We pulled in at the side of the road at a turning where there was a locked gate. The car came to a halt there, but was not on any double lines. We believed it was safe to temporarily pause our journey (at no point was the engine turned off) while the Defendant’s family entered the vehicle. There might have been one other vehicle that passed by in the scant minute the car was off the main road.

On the 21st June 2019 the Defendant received a Parking Charge Notice from Vehicle Control Services Ltd. The amount of charge was £100, with the option of paying a reduced charge of £60. The Defendant appealed this charge on the 28th June, 2019. The appeal was dismissed in a letter from VCS, dated 1st August, 2019. The Defendant appealed again on the 11 August, 2019, but this was once more dismissed (3rd September 2019).

 

On 2 October, 2019 the Defendant received a Demand for Payment from VCS for the sum of £160 (an extra £60 added for ‘debt collection costs’), the matter having apparently been passed to their Debt Management Team. They assured the Defendant that any option to pay a reduced amount had elapsed.

The next letter the Defendant received was not until 10 June, 2021, from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (DCBL). They claimed the parking charge was issued ‘because the vehicle was parked in contravention of the terms and conditions outlined on the signage as agreed to by the driver when the vehicle entered and parked on private land’. But at no point was the car parked. At no point did the Defendant see any terms and conditions, nor did the Defendant agree to any contract.

A final notice of debt recovery was issued by DCBL on 30 July, 2021. They then contacted the Defendant on 31 August, 2021 with Notice of Intended Legal Action. A Letter Before Claim was sent on 13 September, 2021, reiterating that the Defendant was being charged £160 plus and estaimated £25 court fees, plus interest. The letter contained threatening language regarding negative impact of the Defendant’s credit rating and future employment prospects being affected.

On the 18th October, 2021 the Defendant received a Notification of Instruction from ELMS Legal. The Defendant received a claim form issued on the 24 November, 2021, in which VCS claimed £160 plus court fees of £35, plus legal representative costs of £50 for a total of £245.

salavaria

KeithP said:

salavaria said:

Okay. I've written the defence. Is it okay to post it here for feedback?

It does say in the opening post of the template Defence thread...

Start a new discussion about your own case if you haven't already and show us your draft defence based on this one.

Yes, post those paragraphs of your Defence that are different to the template Defence.

Yes, it does. But I thought it was the courteous thing to ask...

Redx

Too much info , it reads like a witness statement , which it is , stick to legal challenges to the particulars of claim and PCN with some very brief background information , plus that POFA does not apply so as keeper and defendant you have no legal liability

2) should have liability is denied at the end , you have completely omitted it

Save the above story for your witness statement in several months time ,cwhich is where he jackanory story can be as !ong as you like

Coupon-mad

If you were in the car, why didn't your earlier draft say that?  This is confusing; stop trying to hide the true facts.  No-one is telling you not to speak the truth.  Quite the opposite!

As I said earlier, if you were the driver, SAY SO in #2.  Most Defendants here should.

If you were not, deny being the driver (as you have now) in #2.  But state 'the Defendant was in the passenger seat' (only if that is true).

Just checking.  We are simply telling you to provide a short and truthful  account of basic facts.

Your account so far, sounds a bit contrived and sounds in some places as if you were driving, e.g.  here (you have 'arrived' twice) but it still sounds like you were the driver so if you were, say so:

when the Defendant arrived arrived.

and here, you were the driver going by this sentence:

Rather than drive on to the car park, we did what any father would do in a similar situation, and turned the car around (making sure it was safe to do so – there was no traffic).

Le_Kirk

Bear in mid what I wrote here 28 December at 4:02PM if it is true; there might be a dilemma caused if/when the judged asked in court "were you driving?"  Also keep in mind what @Coupon-mad and @Redx have written and write a short, punchy defence rewriting paragraph 2 if you need to admit to being keeper and driver and replacing paragraph 3 using just legal/technical argument.  The idea is to open the door with the defence and walk through it in the witness statement with the full story/ narrative.

salavaria

I have now received a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track. I have a questionnaire to fill in which asks whether I want to go to mediation. Is that a good thing to agree to?

Le_Kirk

salavaria said:

I have now received a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track. I have a questionnaire to fill in which asks whether I want to go to mediation. Is that a good thing to agree to?

If you were using the standard defence template or you read the link given by @KeithP here 1 December 2021 at 4:46PM you should have a 12 step list you were following, go back to that list and look at what it states about the DQ - N180 form and how to complete it and specifically what it states about mediation - just say NO.

Redx

salavaria said:

I have now received a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track. I have a questionnaire to fill in which asks whether I want to go to mediation. Is that a good thing to agree to?

This is also covered in a post by Bargepole ( or System ) linked in the second post of the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum in announcements , as well as in the first post of the defence template thread by coupon mad , again in announcements at the top of the forum , those 12 numbered steps by coupon mad

So as above , are you following those 2 valuable resources for written advice ? Yes or no ?

salavaria

Redx said:

salavaria said:

I have now received a Notice of Proposed Allocation to the Small Claims Track. I have a questionnaire to fill in which asks whether I want to go to mediation. Is that a good thing to agree to?

This is also covered in a post by Bargepole ( or System ) linked in the second post of the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum in announcements , as well as in the first post of the defence template thread by coupon mad , again in announcements at the top of the forum , those 12 numbered steps by coupon mad

So as above , are you following those 2 valuable resources for written advice ? Yes or no ?

Yes... found it. Thank you. I've filled in the questionnaire as advised. How do I serve copies on other parties? They've only send me one. When I return this to the court, will they file a copy with the claimant? Or should I get my form photocopied/scanned and send it to VCS directly?

Coupon-mad

You email them both...as the 12 steps in the Template Defence thread says (I think).