Vauxhall Street Plymouth, Car Park

Not_A_Hope

The PPC don’t actually turn up at court. They hide and pay someone else to face the judge with their drivel. Still it’s good when the judge gives them a spanking

Vlad_The_Inhaler

Good day fellow forumites,

Just to keep you up to speed with the latest from the PITA, I am in receipt of "Great news - 25% discount offer"... I will of course not be taking up this kind offer, as I want my day at the hearing.

Keep well folks.

Yours Aye!

Vlad_The_Inhaler

Not_A_Hope

Offering a discount is a good omen. They are not that confident in their case and may discontinue shortly.

Jenni_D

And that's almost certainly the precursor to the "Our client has withdrawn the claim" letter.  

Vlad_The_Inhaler

Not_A_Hope said:

Offering a discount is a good omen. They are not that confident in their case and may discontinue shortly.

Jenni_D said:

And that's almost certainly the precursor to the "Our client has withdrawn the claim" letter.  

Thank you both for your comments.

If they do withdraw may I ask the court for costs or would I have to pursue them for costs or make a claim against them for the not inconsiderable time I've spent on this? They mention in the "offer" that the if I have a counterclaim I will need to withdraw this if I accept the their offer..so it would appear from their letter that a counterclaim is possible.

My case being they had verification of payment for parking back in January, which matches all the evidence they withheld until their WS submission a few weeks back....and still they are asking for money.

Yours Aye!

Vlad

Not_A_Hope

If they take it to court but don’t turn up you will probably win by default and can ask the judge for your costs. However £95 is the maximum amount allowed for loss of time attending the hearing but this is at the judges discretion. If you are retired this may not be awarded. If the judge feels the claimant has been grossly unreasonable they may award some of your other costs but this is a high bar and not many judges do this.

You could in theory raise your own claim for costs against the PPC. Look up the small claims process. It would initially cost £35 to raise a claim for under £300 but it is very unlikely to be successful. Depends on how much you want to be a thorn in their side and what it will cost you in time and effort. There will be more to pay if it goes all the way to a hearing.

A better payback would be to keep coming back to the forum in future months and comment on the upcoming government consultation which may finally scupper these parking industry rogues.

Vlad_The_Inhaler

Not_A_Hope said:

If they take it to court but don’t turn up you will probably win by default and can ask the judge for your costs. However £95 is the maximum amount allowed for loss of time attending the hearing but this is at the judges discretion. If you are retired this may not be awarded. If the judge feels the claimant has been grossly unreasonable they may award some of your other costs but this is a high bar and not many judges do this.

You could in theory raise your own claim for costs against the PPC. Look up the small claims process. It would initially cost £35 to raise a claim for under £300 but it is very unlikely to be successful. Depends on how much you want to be a thorn in their side and what it will cost you in time and effort. There will be more to pay if it goes all the way to a hearing.

A better payback would be to keep coming back to the forum in future months and comment on the upcoming government consultation which may finally scupper these parking industry rogues.

Not_A_Hope. Thank you again for your sage advice.

For the sums you mention it would not be worth my time. However the PITA company chasing me have, I feel, been vexatious in their pursuit of me, when they knew full well I had paid for our time in the carpark and have continued to hound me with threats of huge sums of money having to be paid if I lost.

My costs claim for my time outstrips their claim by a large margin, to be honest it has cost me a lot more, both in time I could have spent far more profitably and with the stress it has caused. They have put me through the wringer at a time when my workload is immense. Them coughing up £95 is to be honest, laughable.

Apologies if the above comes across as me being belligerent, but it is purely aimed at the carpark owners and their legal thugs. I cannot emphasise more how everyone on here has been superb with their advice and guidance. It is both humbling and uplifting to see so many willing to give their time freely to help their fellow victims of this legislated robbery. It gives one hope in these extraordinary times. I will gladly contribute what little knowledge I have to any enquiry in the coming months.

Yours aye!

Vlad