Primacy of Contract

davemcc

I have received a Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre relating to a Parking Charge Notice. The Claim Form has been instigated by one of the usual culprits.

Before I get into the detail of this post, I have noticed strict comments relating to identity, etc.

Part of my ultimate defence will be the introduction into evidence of my Lease and the content identifying the Apartment number, demised premises etc..

Is this something that you would need to see or can I blank out the 'incriminating' dertails?

KeithP

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

Who is the Claimant?

What is the allegation against you?

D_P_Dance

Have you read these

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

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

Have you complained to your MP?

davemcc

Thanks to you both for responding so quickly.

 - claim is dated 4th October

 - yes - I think I've read just about everything, including those two threads.

The query is simply as set out in my initial thread - is it better to redact the lease documents if I show them on this forum?

davemcc

No, I haven't complained to my MP.

D_P_Dance

As most leases/ASTs run to multiple pages I would certainly not send the PPC most of it.  

davemcc

OK - thanks - I really meant should I reproduce the lease on the forum.

I will start my defence statement / witness statement this evening and hopefully get it back to you tomorrow for review.

I do not think there is anything particularly unusual about the case, other than on each of the 9 PCNs the location is incorrect.

The location states the building name but gives the postcode as somewhere else.

KeithP

davemcc said:

 - claim is dated 4th October

With a Claim Issue Date of 4th October, you have until Monday 25th October to file an Acknowledgment of Service but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an AoS, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an AoS in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 8th November 2021 to file your Defence.

That's almost 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 again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service instructions.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Who is the Claimant?

What is the allegation against you?

davemcc

The Claimant is Car Park Management Services (CPMS) Ltd.

Allegation - parked without a permit.

I was parked in my own demised car park space but without showing a permit.

The Managing Agent has acknowledged (in an e-mail) thet there is no record of a permit being issued to me (but they do have records of me requesting the permit by e-mail and telephone).

There are 9 PCN's in total over the space of 12 months - the Managing Agent has "arranged to have some of these waived" although I am being pursued for the one which has got to the Claim stage.

bargepole

The key point here is what the Lease says about use of the parking space. If the parking space is demised as part of the Lease, there is no argument, it is YOUR space, and the parking operator cannot require you to display a permit, or to pay a charge for not displaying one.

If the parking space is not part of the demise, but the Lease contains a covenant permitting you to use it, subject to certain terms, eg taxed and roadworthy vehicle, no commercial vans etc., then that has primacy of contract over any purported contractual terms on CPMS's signage.

For a claim like this, you should admit being the driver, forget about any POFA arguments as they are irrelevant. Your rights under the Lease should be front and centre of your Defence, and when you get to the WS stage, you will need to include the full Lease document as an exhibit, as well as citing case law precedents which you will find on many threads here.

D_P_Dance

This may amuse you, 

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

Have you considered a counter cliaim for harassment and/or inyerference with your leashold righrs.