VCS Parking ticket, now elevated to Elms Legal

Le_Kirk

Way too much for a defence.  You only need to open the door by using short punchy technical/legal argument and then you can tell the whole story later in the process in your witness statement with evidence to back it up and support what your defence states.

RainyDaySaver1

Thank you Le_Kirk.

So do i refer to what i have done in my defense? Or do I just refer to the title of the framework's/government documents

Also do you think they are relevant to raise?

Le_Kirk

I suggest, if you still have time, that you read a few defences on the forum (there are loads) and then start again with the defence template adjusting paragraphs 2 & 3 to suit your case.  You are defending what the claimant put in the particulars of claim, for example, if they claim you did not buy a ticket/display a permit, you state that you did and proof will be supplied at witness statement stage.  If it was an overstay, you aver that it wasn't and put the claimant to strict proof.  If it was a VRM issue, you aver that the keypad on the PDT must have been faulty and then you can tell the complete/correct story in the witness statement.  All written in the third person.  Not sure what you mean by framework/Government documents.

D_P_Dance

Have you complained to your MP?

RainyDaySaver1

@Le_Kirk by frameworks i meant the 'Parking code enforcement framework' that I had referred to.

@D_P_Dance not yet no. That is on my list for today/tomorrow

I have taken my defence from coupon-mad's post and have only edited sections 2 and 3. I have updated them to say:

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the hirer of the vehicle in question on the day of the PCN (19/04/21), but liability is denied. 

3.  The Defendant has proof of purchasing a ticket for parking for the duration of the day, which will be provided in the witness statement. The Defendant had been involved in a Road Traffic Collision in the days prior to the event, in which his vehicle had been rendered unroadworthy resulting in the Defendant being issued with a hire car. On the day of the event the Defendant purchased a parking ticket for the day but the application automatically selected his usual vehicle registration and not the hire car registration. 

Not sure if 'hirer' is the correct term to use in point 2?

Once again all help is appreciated as I am a complete lay-person in respects to law and courts and these forums are a real life saver!

KeithP

As this is a hired vehicle, I would be including a few words along the lines of...
As the Claimant has failed to comply with paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, there is absolutely no way that any liability that the driver may have incurred can be transferred to the Defendant.

And don't write anywhere that it was the defendant that purchased a ticket.
It was the driver that purchased a ticket.

Coupon-mad

You just need to add that you informed the Claimant of this around (date) in order to resolve the dispute, given that this was a common 'VRM keying error' caused by their app default and the Defendant expected any professional AOS member parking firm to cancel, as is best practice in this industry.  State that there is no valid cause of action; the minor error was  administrative and was caused by their app partner's system which fails to warn about any parking charge and just carries forward the previous VRM used.  This is not a matter to waste the court's time over when the Claimant has long since been able to attribute the payment to the right vehicle.  This is why the Government has stepped in to prevent such issues from reaching court in future.

RainyDaySaver1

@KeithP What has the claimant failed to comply with in regards to paragraph 13 and 14? I have just had a read of them but found them rather confusing. VCS don't appear to have sent me a 'notice to hirer' although I have received a Notice To Keeper (NTK), is this the same thing? 

I also assume by saying the driver not the defendant purchased the ticket, would I be telling the judge I was not driving? In my appeal to VCS I mentioned purchasing the ticket but did not admit I was the driver.

@Coupon-mad Thank you I will certainly add that. Do i refer to  the government’s ‘Parking code enforcement framework'? or just state it was an error with the app regarding an incorrect reg and that I made contact with VCS to rectify and leave it at that?

RainyDaySaver1

Also @Coupon-mad from what I can find on google I believe Vehicle Control Services are a member of the IPC and not AOS. Does this matter or would I just swap professional AOS member to professional IPC member?

Coupon-mad

They are in the AOS of the IPC.

Include stuff about the new Code of Practice proposed enforcement framework.