Excel Parking and Debt Recovery - help

Snakes_Belly

The defence is written in the third person " the defendant". It is what happened but more from a legal perspective. You will be putting the emphasis on the fact that the defendant had attempted to complete the consideration element of the contract but the machine was faulty and this did not become apparent immediately. You can mention that this is not an isolated incident but go into more detail with examples in the WS.

You should also ask for the VRN numbers from the day of the transgression in your defence. 

The witness statement is in the first person or the driver if defending as keeper. You will describe what happened on the day and back this up with evidence.

Defence - more legal based.
WS more of a back up to the defence with evidence. 

I am not legally trained and do not critique defences. The defence is the most important of the two documents as it's the legal aspects of the case. Judges understand contract law. The defendant has used their best endeavours to complete the contract. They were not aware that the meter was faulty as the time as no tickets are issued.

I understand why this is difficult as there are no tickets and the VRN numbers are not registering properly. The fact that this is happening to so many others is a big part of your defence but you will be able to back this up in your WS with evidence.

This has happened on other car parks where the meters are run on solar power.

WS is easier to write than the defence.



 

Snakes_Belly

You may also be able to tell from the VRN list if any other motorists have been affected on that day. If they refuse and the PPC does proceed to court state that they have withheld information vital to your hearing.

Some of these meters are solar powered and work on a 3g or 4g network so depending on signal or battery strength depends how good or bad they work. 

This might be intermittent and why it's affecting payments and VRN's. 

We really need to see a VRN list from a transgression.

It stinks that they have not issued tickets and knowing that there is an issue have done nothing about it. 

Adam_

Le_Kirk said:

Have you submitted your defence yet?  What is the date for doing so?  The witness statement written in the first person is submitted after you have submitted your defence and it has been sent to the claimant and they have declared they are proceeding and you have completed a DQ and the case has been allocated to a local court, what stage are you at now?

currently haven't submitted the defence, i have until the 4th July to submit, just been waiting for a response from my MP to use that too.

Adam_

@Le_Kirk

I'm not sure if this is better or worse as a defence....

1. The parking charges referred to in this claim did not arise from any agreement of terms. The charge and the claim was an unexpected shock. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.  It is denied that any conduct by the driver was a breach of any prominent term and it is denied that this Claimant (understood to have a bare licence as managers) has standing to sue or form contracts in their own name. Liability is denied, whether or not the Claimant is claiming 'keeper liability', which is unclear from the Particulars.

 

The facts as known to the Defendant:

2. It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper AND driver of the vehicle in question.

3. The defendant parked at Three Spires Car Park, Backester Lane, Lichfield on the 25/10/21 with the intention of spending money in the shopping centre.

The defendant denies not paying for a parking ticket at Three Spires Car Park on Backcester Lane, Lichfield on 25/10/21.

It became apparent that the machine was faulty on the 25/10/21 as the machine did not accept the payment but the defendant was not initially aware.

It is also apparent that the keypad failed to record the full VRN during the payment process.

It is obvious that this is not an isolated incident due to an ongoing petition regarding issues at this car park.

I don't have much legal knowledge or understand/know legal terminology so I'm finding this part pretty tricky to understand and write

Snakes_Belly

I think that you could mention in your defence that numerous others have received PCN's for similar transgressions. Several MP's have become involved. Include their letters in your WS. 

There are several different transgressions appearing on PCN's. 

The main ones seem to be.

No payment yet the person has paid or thinks that they have paid

VRM does not match up with ANPR.

PCN's issued for parking outside the charging time 7.30 am to 18.30 pm

In Workington there has been similar incidents and a judge dismissed a number of cases on the basis of faulty machines. He said that  
 
"Some of these meters are solar powered and work on a 3g or 4g network so depending on signal or battery strength depends how good or bad they work." 


  

Adam_

Snakes_Belly said:

I think that you could mention in your defence that numerous others have received PCN's for similar transgressions. Several MP's have become involved. Include their letters in your WS. 

There are several different transgressions appearing on PCN's. 

The main ones seem to be.

No payment yet the person has paid or thinks that they have paid

VRM does not match up with ANPR.

PCN's issued for parking outside the charging time 7.30 am to 18.30 pm

In Workington there has been similar incidents and a judge dismissed a number of cases on the basis of faulty machines. He said that  
 
"Some of these meters are solar powered and work on a 3g or 4g network so depending on signal or battery strength depends how good or bad they work." 


  

Thank you! So are you saying to include pretty much what you've typed there and include that quote in the defence or the WS?

Snakes_Belly

I would mention that numerous other motorists have received PCN for similar transgressions to the defendant. State the two transgressions, State that several MP's have become involved but don't go into detail.

I am not sure whether these machines in Lichfield are solar powered I will try and find out. Hold fire on that bit for the time being. I am not a techie     

Adam_

Snakes_Belly said:

I would mention that numerous other motorists have received PCN for similar transgressions to the defendant. State the two transgressions, State that several MP's have become involved but don't go into detail.

I am not sure whether these machines in Lichfield are solar powered I will try and find out. Hold fire on that bit for the time being. I am not a techie     

Honestly thank you so much for helping with this and your time, its really appreciated!

This is what i've got so far and will obvious remove the solar panel bit if thats incorrect...

The facts as known to the Defendant:

2. It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper AND driver of the vehicle in question.

3. The defendant parked at Three Spires Car Park, Backester Lane, Lichfield on the 25/10/21 with the intention of spending money in the shopping centre.

The defendant denies not paying for a parking ticket at Three Spires Car Park on Backcester Lane, Lichfield on 25/10/21.

It became apparent that the machine was faulty on the 25/10/21 as the machine did not accept the payment but the defendant was not initially aware.

It is also apparent that the keypad failed to record the full VRN during the payment process, the defendant was not initially aware.

It is obvious that this is not an isolated incident due to an ongoing petition regarding issues at this car park with numerous other motorists receiving Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) for similar transgressions to the defendant.

Several Members of Parliament (MPs) have now become involved in this issue.

There are several different transgressions appearing on PCN's. 

The main ones seem to be.

No payment yet the person has paid or thinks that they have paid.

VRM does not match up with ANPR.

PCN's issued for parking outside the charging time 7.30 am to 18.30 pm

In Workington there have been similar incidents and a judge dismissed a number of cases on the basis of faulty machines. He said that

 "Some of these meters are solar powered and work on a 3g or 4g network so depending on signal or battery strength depends how good or bad they work."

Snakes_Belly

The facts as known to the Defendant:

2. It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper AND driver of the vehicle in question.

3. The Defendant parked at Three Spires Car Park, Backester Lane, Lichfield on the 25/10/21 with the intention of visiting the shopping centre.

The defendant denies not paying for parking at Three Spires Car Park on Backcester Lane, Lichfield on 25/10/21.

The Defendant paid the parking tariff for parking but was unaware that the payment had not been accepted by the machine as no tickets are issued in this car park.  

The Defendant input the correct VRN into the keypad however this has failed to register correctly. The Defendant puts the Claimant under strict proof to provide a list of all the VRN's recorded by that machine on that day.   

This is not an isolated incident. Many other motorists have received PCN's as a result of  very similar transgressions at this car park. Several MP's have now become involved and the contract with Excel Parking Services Limited has been terminated.  

The Defendant has made best endeavours to comply with contractual terms and believed that they had complied.  

It is believed that these meters are solar powered and work on a 3g or 4g network. Depending on signal or battery strength depends how good or bad they work. It is likely that this is the cause of the machine failure which has caused many motorists in Lichfield to receive a PCN and in some cases several PCN's. The Defendant puts the Claimant on strict proof to provide evidence of the strength of the signal at the time and day of the transgression.

I take it that this is just part of your defence. I want to check out about the solar power and network first but obviously there is something wrong.    

 

Coupon-mad

All paragraphs must be numbered.