Help and advice needed regards permit parking charge when I had a permit ...

Bemused4Sure

Hi,

I have read newbie section and various other posts thanks.    Way back in 2017 I rented a room from a local property company and paid for a years parking permit.  The monthly permits didn't arrive through the post so I got onto them and they emailed me a letter confirming I had a permit and any issues to contact them until replacements turned up.  I had one day when I was off work with food poisoning and didn't get out of bed for 24hrs.  Next day I found the car park invoice on my car - I worked from 8 until 5pm normally so didn't even think about whether my letter was on show as I normally left it in my car.   I never had any issues before or after that day.  I had emails off property company when I moved to another of their rooms a few months later that my permit was still valid ..  The parking company are saying it was issued because my permit wasn't on show .... now the bill is over £300 and on it's way to small claims court.

I read a lot on here at the time and ignored their reminders and didn't get the original letter in time to appeal even because my parents are elderly and post went missing.  I completed the letter from Northampton central county court - my defense being that I had a permit and the parking firm could have had a list of exempt permit holders hence avoiding people paying for one and then being charged again.

I have had a lot going on so went for the honest logical option - now the legal company have said they are going to proceed to court - do I have option to add to my defense does anyone know please as I avoided the list of things I could have mentioned like - bad signage, excessive amount based on i'd actually paid for a permit etc.  This was because it might have made it look like excuses rather the truth I guess.

I wrote to the housing company back in 2017 and they said it was on hold pending an appeal but no one from housing or parking companies wrote to me again. There was no way to counter anything as I read on here parking companies are a waste of time talking to ...

I am flabbergasted that 5 years nearly later I will be in court for having a permit ... any thoughts please , greatly welcomed.

Bemused4Sure

DCB Legal    UK Parking Control Ltd  

The housing company have washed their hands of it saying UK Parking offered a reduction and now it is destined for court.

Coupon-mad

If you have a hearing date, then from reading your court directions you already know your deadline to file & serve the evidence and witness statement bundle. It's either stated on the hearing letter in the numbered points on the back, or in the earlier Notice of Allocation.

YOU MUST file & serve a WS and evidence bundle.

YOU CAN add concerns about signage because that falls within the fairness of terms & consumer notices which is a duty on the courts to consider, whether a party mentions it or not. S71 of the CRA 2015 refers to that duty on the courts.

You can also attach the added £70 per PCN.

Recent example of a good WS bundle is by @aphex007 so go and adapt that, then show us your draft and what you intend to attach as your exhibits.

Fruitcake

Do you still have a copy of the rental agreement, or can you obtain a copy? This will have primacy of contract over anything the PPC say.

Even if you don't have a copy, the claimant should have checked your existing rights with the landowner and managing agent before issuing charges. You should therefore aver that you had existing rights to quiet enjoyment and existing rights to park and put them to strict proof that the contrary is true, adding this to your points that you had a permit which you displayed only as a curtesy, and the claimant should have automatically exempted you from ticketing.
To ignore your existing rights to park would be contrary to the requirements of the CRA 2015 with regards to fairness.

Bemused4Sure

Thanks Coupon - I have already submitted my witness statement as true as could be.  I have the directions questionnaire now and have to lodge it with the central County Court Centre by 10th Oct.  Interesting DCB Legal sent me their copy without asking me first and their N180 form seems to be the old sort and they haven't sent me the bit whether they agree to mediation or not.  Is that because they don't have that bit or they don't want to mediate .....  If I complete mine to say I want mediation does that affect anything per se ?

Bemused4Sure

Fruitcake said:

Do you still have a copy of the rental agreement, or can you obtain a copy? This will have primacy of contract over anything the PPC say.

Even if you don't have a copy, the claimant should have checked your existing rights with the landowner and managing agent before issuing charges. You should therefore aver that you had existing rights to quiet enjoyment and existing rights to park and put them to strict proof that the contrary is true, adding this to your points that you had a permit which you displayed only as a curtesy, and the claimant should have automatically exempted you from ticketing.
To ignore your existing rights to park would be contrary to the requirements of the CRA 2015 with regards to fairness.

Thanks Fruitcake - very intersting read.  I don't have a copy of the rental agreement.   I emailed the housing company and they said they have little information on my records now.   They basically said they spoke to UK Parking Control who said it was out of their hands as appeal chance and lower payment has past .... they said in hands of DCB Legal now ---- yet claimant on CC papers is UK Parking Control.

There would only have been a limited number of cars in the car park behind our building .... surely a list of exempt cars would have been a gimme.  I had parked there a month or more so it's not like I had a new car.

Can I add to my defense I sent to the court which got passed onto DCB.  I thought honesty was way to go but clearly I will have to have things you mentioned above and more to fight this.

I would get it if I had parked there with no permit.

Do I just send the N180 back and just go to the court with further defense as not mentioned anything on here like poor signage etc or the fact it wasn't even a pay to park, car park .... so what financial loss has UK Parking Control actually incurred.

KeithP

Bemused4Sure said:

Thanks Coupon - I have already submitted my witness statement as true as could be.

Are you sure about that?
I ask because it is usual to get a Directions Questionnaire after having filed a Defence.

But now having re-read the earlier posts on this thread I really cannot understand what is going on and will leave it to others.

Bemused4Sure

Also sorry can I send an email with my copy N180 form served on them - explaining further defense points or is it best to wait for court now ?

Bemused4Sure

I checked it was an online MCOL form I completed - presumably came through the post and thought it was a must I completed it. Was that correct  please?

Grizebeck

I suggest you read the newbies thread. All in there for you

Umkomaas

I thought I'd draw your attention to this fairly recent thread which you might have missed. You must keep going through all the necessary court procedure phases, but the hope is that your case will follow the same pattern of all those detailed in the thread. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1