UK Parking Control Countu Court Claim

Coupon-mad

And you won't be attaching photos to a defence (evidence stage comes later) but if it helps to give us context then by all means post pics to show us.

IReallyDontNeedThis

2.1       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question.

2.2        The driver and family members entered the car parking for the purposes of attending a movie being shown at the Odeon Cinema theatre.  Prior to attending this movie, the driver had Googled parking at the Odeon and had discovered that parking in XXXXX is free for a period of 3 hours.  The driver entered the parking area, the sign at the entrance to XXXXX place is obscured by foliage as can be seen in the attached photographs. 

2.3       Knowing that parking was free for a period of 3 hours and having returned to the car immediately after the movie finished, the driver was shocked to discover a PCN had been attached to the car and was sure this was simply an error on the part of the Parking company.  The driver entered an appeal on the Parking company’s website, showing the movie ticket and that the driver had not stayed past the 3 hour free period.   The driver received a response saying that the parking company did not accept the appeal but that was the last piece of correspondence the driver received until receiving a County Court Claim form. 

2.4         The signage is unclear at the entrance to the parking as it is obscured by foliage.  The signage is also not clearly visible from the interior of the car, as shown by attached photos.  There were 5 people in the driver’s car and not one of them noticed the signs stating that a ticket must be displayed.  The signage also states that the parking terms apply “for use by customer when shopping on  site” .  Neither the driver nor any car occupants were shopping so believed that the signage only referred to those using the retail shops not to those attending the Odeon Cinema.  The signage is very unclear as it does not seem to pertain to movie goers at the Odeon cinema. Furthermore the signage states in one place that the terms of parking apply at all times and then in different font and in a different place, the signage states that the tariffs only apply between 09:00 and 17:00. 

2.5       The driver contends that there is no possibility that the driver overstayed the 3 hour term as they parked within 2 hours of 17:00 after which no tariffs are applicable according to the very unclear signage. 

2.6       The only route offered on the PCN was a supposed 'appeal' to UK Parking Control themselves, which  the driver engaged with despite knowing that no offence nor mischief had occurred and honestly believing that the PCN issued was a genuine error on the part of UKPC.  The driver was not aware that private parking charges and the appeals systems were unlikely to be fairly weighted in favour of consumers and honestly believed that this would be easily resolved by simply showing that the driver was a legitimate user of an onsite business.

2.8       This fact was later confirmed in all readings of the Private Parking Code of Practice Bill, from February 2018 to date, where MPs universally condemned the entire industry as operating 'an outrageous scam' typically relying upon hidden, punitive terms that purposely rely on drivers not seeing an unexpected obligation. The British Parking Association ('BPA') Trade Body were specifically named and shamed more than once in Parliament and the Bill was introduced purely because the industry is out of control, self regulation has failed, and in many cases any 'appeal' is futile, as the driver discovered.

2.7       Upon receiving the claim, the Defendant researched this all too common issue and was advised to complain to the landowner. Unsurprisingly, this was conspicuous by its absence as an option offered by UK Parking Control in their signs and in their online appeals process, prior to commencing proceedings.

2.8       The Defendant has also discovered that it’s common practice for UK Parking Control wardens to issue unwarranted PCNs to cinema goers at the Odeon in XXXXX.  As this article in the XXXX Times from 2014 shows:  “The film runs for almost three hours – the limit of the free parking allowed outside the XXXXX cinema in XXXXX – and when Paul Streeting and other fans came out last Monday they found £60 parking tickets on their cars.”  (link to URL in the local paper) 

Coupon-mad

Save 90% of that for WS and evidence stage.

IReallyDontNeedThis

Coupon-mad said:

Save 90% of that for WS and evidence stage.

Is WS - witness statement?

Which para numbers should I remove please?  

Is this better?

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

2.2        The driver and family members entered the car parking for the purposes of attending a movie being shown at the Odeon Cinema theatre.  Prior to attending this movie, the driver had Googled parking at the Odeon and had discovered that parking in XXXXX is free for a period of 3 hours.  The driver entered the parking area, the sign at the entrance to XXXXX place is obscured by foliage. 

2.3 The driver entered an appeal on the Parking company’s website, showing the movie ticket and that the driver had not stayed past the 3 hour free period.   The driver received a response saying that the parking company did not accept the appeal but that was the last piece of correspondence the driver received until receiving a County Court Claim form

2.4 The signage is unclear at the entrance to the parking as it is obscured by foliage.  The signage terms are very unclear as they do not seem to pertain to movie goers at the Odeon cinema and there are differing terms stated in different size fonts and in differing locations. 

2.5 The only route offered on the PCN was a supposed 'appeal' to UK Parking Control themselves, which  the driver engaged with despite knowing that no offence nor mischief had occurred and honestly believing that the PCN issued was a genuine error on the part of UKPC.  The driver was not aware that private parking charges and the appeals systems were unlikely to be fairly weighted in favour of consumers and honestly believed that this would be easily resolved by simply showing that the driver was a legitimate user of an onsite business.

Coupon-mad

That's fine but change the numbering to normal numbers.

IReallyDontNeedThis

Is this all I need for the written defence?  Obviously all the other bits that I don't change will be there too but this is all I need for the paragraphs that I amend?

Is it relevant that as no NOTK was served, to the defendant's knowledge, that they have not adhered to POFA and have not proved Keeper liability/  Or is that not relevant to this case? 

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

2        The driver and family members entered the car parking for the purposes of attending a movie being shown at the Odeon Cinema theatre.  Prior to attending this movie, the driver had Googled parking at the Odeon and had discovered that parking in XXXXX is free for a period of 3 hours.  The driver entered the parking area, the sign at the entrance to XXXXX place is obscured by foliage. 

3   The driver entered an appeal on the Parking company’s website, showing the movie ticket and that the driver had not stayed past the 3 hour free period.   The driver received a response saying that the parking company did not accept the appeal but that was the last piece of correspondence the driver received until receiving a County Court Claim form

4   The signage is unclear at the entrance to the parking as it is obscured by foliage.  The signage terms are very unclear as they do not seem to pertain to movie goers at the Odeon cinema and there are differing terms stated in different size fonts and in differing locations. 

5   The only route offered on the PCN was a supposed 'appeal' to UK Parking Control themselves, which  the driver engaged with despite knowing that no offence nor mischief had occurred and honestly believing that the PCN issued was a genuine error on the part of UKPC.  The driver was not aware that private parking charges and the appeals systems were unlikely to be fairly weighted in favour of consumers and honestly believed that this would be easily resolved by simply showing that the driver was a legitimate user of an onsite business.

Coupon-mad

Is it relevant that as no NOTK was served, to the defendant's knowledge, that they have not adhered to POFA and have not proved Keeper liability/  Or is that not relevant to this case? 

It is relevant to you - if you are not saying at this early stage, who was driving (or certainly if you were not driving) - AND if there really was no NTK.

But I am surprised you say this, because the first letter (headed Parking Charge Notice) was the NTK.  Surely that arrived?  It doesn't have to be headed NTK to be one.

1505grandad

"It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question."

"3   The driver entered an appeal on the Parking company’s website, showing the movie ticket and that the driver had not stayed past the 3 hour free period.   The driver received a response saying that the parking company did not accept the appeal but that was the last piece of correspondence the driver received until receiving a County Court Claim form"

You (Defendant) have admitted being the RK and they know who the driver is  -  therefore POFA not applicable.

Just checking  -  How does the claimant know who the RK is?  and  -  was the appeal by the driver in response to a NtD  (Notice to Driver) on the windscreen?

IReallyDontNeedThis

Coupon-mad said:

Is it relevant that as no NOTK was served, to the defendant's knowledge, that they have not adhered to POFA and have not proved Keeper liability/  Or is that not relevant to this case? 

It is relevant to you - if you are not saying at this early stage, who was driving (or certainly if you were not driving) - AND if there really was no NTK.

But I am surprised you say this, because the first letter (headed Parking Charge Notice) was the NTK.  Surely that arrived?  It doesn't have to be headed NTK to be one.

I was definitely not driving but I am also not the registered keeper.   The PCN was stuck to the windscreen of the car.  That's the only correspondence there was, to my knowledge.  The driver appealed the PCN via the Parking company's website as it states on the PCN and the appeal was rejected via email to the driver.  The driver was not informed of any other methods of appeal and no POPLA codes were provided in the email, again to my knowledge - I haven't seen the appeal nor the reply from UKPC.    

I am not clear as to what has been admitted prior to my involvement but to my knowledge, there has been no proof that the registered keeper was the driver and as no correspondence has been received by the registered keeper prior to the claim form, to the keeper's knowledge as I mentioned he is chronically ill and has memory issues.  It's not at all clear to me that the registered keeper's liability has been established by UKPC.

Or am I totally misunderstanding the situation?

IReallyDontNeedThis

1505grandad said:

"It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper of the vehicle in question."

"3   The driver entered an appeal on the Parking company’s website, showing the movie ticket and that the driver had not stayed past the 3 hour free period.   The driver received a response saying that the parking company did not accept the appeal but that was the last piece of correspondence the driver received until receiving a County Court Claim form"

You (Defendant) have admitted being the RK and they know who the driver is  -  therefore POFA not applicable.

Just checking  -  How does the claimant know who the RK is?  and  -  was the appeal by the driver in response to a NtD  (Notice to Driver) on the windscreen?

Just for clarity, I am not the defendant nor am I the driver nor am I the registered keeper.  I am helping the registered keeper as he is chronically ill and is struggling to cope with the stress of this situation.  

The registered keeper is the defendant.  I have no knowledge as to what UKPC know with regards to who the driver is.

The appeal was via a Notice to the Driver on the windscreen.  Sorry, I thought that was called a PCN but now I realise that perhaps it's not.  If so, then the registered keeper has not received a PCN, to my knowledge.  

Having read both of these comments and thinking about it, it's probably a good idea for me to find out what the driver has told UKPC in the appeal.