Motorway Services / Hotel parking ticket

Immovable_Object

Good morning 
I was wondering if someone might be able to offer some help and advice regarding a recently received Claim Form. It was issued on the 10th Jan but due to having recently moved it took a while to reach me. Having perused the boards and tried to garner as much useful advice as I could I've followed the steps outlined and submitted my AOR online on the 19th Jan. I have also recently requested an SAR from the parking company. However I'm only managing to get round to sorting my defence this week (I know I've left it a tad late but I'm currently rather unwell and receiving hospital treatment and my mind is a tad frazzled!). I need a little help as I can't seem to find anything relating specifically to my circumstances. I'm sorry if I'm being useless at finding stuff. I've also looked at the 2020 defence template but I wasn't sure what if any of the points subsequent to no.3 were relevant to my situation and therefore whether I should just include all of them anyway. 

Outline of case:
Claimant: CP Plus / DCB Legal
The PCN is from 2017 and they claim I was parked on private land in breach of the terms on the claimants signs. They say I agreed to pay within 28 days but did not (I didn't agree). They say the contract entitles them to damages. I have ignored and binned all communication regards the PCN and debt recovery letters over the years as I believed I was legitimately parked as I was staying at a motorway service station hotel that offered free parking. I still have the booking confirmation and invoice from the hotel stay to prove I was a guest. I have emailed the hotel direct asking them to intervene but not heard back from them. The claimant is asking for:
£170 for the PCN inc damages
8% interest
Legal reps costs: £50
Court fee: £35
Total: £323.32

Hope someone can help and sincerest apologies if I'm being a bit dim!

Cheers

D_P_Dance

 The claimant is asking for:£170 for the PCN inc damages

They have added what appears to be an extra unlawful amount of £70 for debt collection.

This amounts to double recovery and Judges all over the country are dismissing these spurious additions. Indeed some judges have dismissed entire claims because of this. Read this and complain to Trading Standards and your MP,

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

However, VCS appealed this so it may not apply in all cases, read this

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntksx9g7177ahyg/VCS v Percy v1 Amendments (2).pdf?dl=0Also read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279348/witness-statements-2-transcripts-re-parking-firms-false-costs-recorder-cohen-qc-judgment-2021/p1

Also this,

"Abuse of process – the quantum

13. In addition to the disputed Parking Charge Notice claim amount of £100, the Claimant has added a sum of £60 that is disingenuously described variously as 'debt collection costs', ‘additional charges levied to cover the cost of recovery’, ‘additional administration costs’, ‘debt recovery costs’, ‘initial legal costs’ and ‘recovery costs’. The added £60 constitutes double recovery and the court is invited to find the quantum claimed is false and an abuse of process as was found by District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) in Excel vs Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, a similar case in which £60 had been added to a parking charge, heard in July 2020 (the transcript of which is exhibit XX-04). The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'. Leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued."

Also consider complaining to The SRA about the solicitor, if one is involved They are fully aware of the unlawful nature of most of thse additions yet persist in adding them..

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/

Fruitcake

You don't have much time, so use the template defence, all of it, amend only paragraphs 2 and 3, and post just those here if you have time, or submit it anyway if you don't

You say this, but you are incorrect.
"They say I agreed to pay within 28 days but did not (I didn't agree)."

Forget it. You don't have time for us to explain non-points. Just trust us.

Your para 3 should explain the type of car park, and that the defendant had permission to park as they were a hotel guest.

Complain to the landowner/services CEO (which one was it?) as well as the hotel manager and CEO. It's never too late to get a landowner cancellation.

Also complain to your MP.

The advice to ignore a PCN has not been given here since the law changed nearly ten years ago.

KeithP

Immovable_Object said:

Good morning 
I was wondering if someone might be able to offer some help and advice regarding a recently received Claim Form. It was issued on the 10th Jan...

I've followed the steps outlined and submitted my AOR online on the 19th Jan.

Hello and welcome.
I'll assume AOR = AOS = Acknowledgment of Service.

With a Claim Issue Date of 10th January, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 14th February 2022 to file your Defence.

That's a whole week 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 at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline 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'.

Immovable_Object

Afternoon All

Thanks for your responses I really appreciate your help. Apologies for the AOS typo. Noted on email submission of the defence.

DP Dance: As I don't have the original PCN I don't know what the original fine amount was so no idea by how much they've inflated the amount.

Fruitcake: I have just had a response from the CEO of the landowner and they are looking into it from their end so fingers crossed something comes of that.

In the meantime I will knock up a paragraph or two and post for feedback in due course.

Thanks all. I really appreciate your help.

D_P_Dance

Have you considered writing bad reviews on TripAdvisor, Trivago, hotels.com, booking.com et al?

Immovable_Object

Afternoon All

I've now had responses from both the hotel manager and road chef management who are seeking to cancel the original PCN direct with CP / Groupnexus. In the meantime I imagine I should still feel my defence. These are my first two paragraphs:

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question but liability is denied. It is also admitted that the defendant was the driver.

3.  The defendant was a guest at the Days Inn Hotel Norton Canes Cannock at the Roadchef Norton Canes Cannock services on the M6 Toll road. As a guest of the hotel the defendant was entitled to free parking. For reasons unknown to the defendant the claimant believes that the defendant was parked in breach of the terms of the carpark. However the defendant has both the hotel booking confirmation and invoice to verify his stay and therefore his right to park his vehicle at no additional charge. In addition the defendant has confirmation from both the hotel manager and the CEO of Roadchef that he was entitled to free parking at the time of the implied contravention. 

Will this suffice or does it need some work? All criticism gratefully received.

Thanks again.

Coupon-mad

Looks good.  #2 should read as one sentence 'keeper and driver'.

#3 should add that they are instructing this Claimant to cancel the charge and clearly there is no legitimate interest in continuing with the claim.

And you really need to avidly read the thread by bargepole about this Monday's new statutory Code of Practice and read the Code and Explanatory document published by the DLUHC.  Then use the shiny new point #6 that bargepole posted a couple of days ago about the Government banning added £70 fake 'debt recovery/damages' costs.

Immovable_Object

Hi Apologies for radio silence. Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. Ticket was rescinded and no further action is to be taken. I really appreciate all your help.

Umkomaas

Immovable_Object said:

Hi Apologies for radio silence. Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. Ticket was rescinded and no further action is to be taken. I really appreciate all your help.

That is good news. 

However, has the court confirmed that the Claimant has discontinued?

Immovable_Object

Nothing from the court just a letter from the parking company saying the charge has been cancelled in full and that no further action will be taken.