PCN at small claims hearing 6/6/2023

WD40fan

Coupon-mad said:

There's no such section.

Why not just go to the NEWBIES thread and click 'control & f' on a PC or laptop & nip straight to the keywords hearing tips?

It was referred to in the Newbies thread-

"THE HEARING
It's a meeting - think of it as the ultimate face to face 'appeal'. Get there half an hour early to get through security & sign in with the Usher. DO NOT agree to talk in a side room with the Claimant's rep, they are trying to get you scared and settle the claim outside the Judge's room...nope.

Go in confidently and wish the Judge a Good Morning/Afternoon. Call the Judge 'Sir' or 'Madam'.

Search the forum for 'ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST' and read about hearings."

At least that explains why I couldn't find it!!

Still not finding anything relevant with the key words search. I'll call it a night. Thanks for your input.

Coupon-mad

What, when you search the forum for:

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

..and change the search to NEWEST (instead of crappy old default 'best match' = old results) you don't see the two thousand results I just got?

Fruitcake

Do not stress. Go into the court with your head held high knowing you have done the best job you can. Win or lose, you could have done no more, and you have cost the PPC money.
You will have done your bit to fight this multi-billion pound unregulated industry.

As for the hearing, do not speak to the opposition beforehand except a polite acknowledgment of their presence.
Do not accept any documents.
The claimant will go first so make notes as they speak. You can refer to anything in their claim, their witness statement, their evidence/exhibits, and anything the rep' said before your turn. Pick holes in anything and everything. Highlight contradictions, errors, and any of your points that they have failed to address.

Whatever happens, good luck, and please let us know how you get on.

WD40fan

Well then!      CASE DISMISSED IN LESS THAN 17 MINUTES

Case heard with Deputy District Judge Brander at 10am

Solicitor was late to join due to the link being incorrect (mine was too, but I still had to wait a sweaty 5 minutes). No witness for the Claimant present.

The Judge asked the solicitor to set out the basis of the case. To my ears he actually backed up my evidence.
The Judge had clearly read the bundle thoroughly and asked pertinent questions around the boundary of the car wash area. He could not answer and suggested that I assist (!) She said that she did not want to put me in the position of proving their case. He spent the whole time flicking through the Claimants bundle (which was badly laid out and not numbered efficiently)

She then stated that she accepts my evidence, referred to one of the photos in my bundle showing two large adjacent advertising signs. One for the car park and one for the car wash that offers free parking. She said that here was "overlap" and it was unclear where the contract lay.

The Judge again stated that she accepted my evidence and that the Claimant has not proven to the contrary. She noted that in their witness statements they had not done anything to show details of the contract or agreements between themselves and the car wash company. Therefore case dismissed.


Thank you everyone here for you support and guiding me through the vast amount of information provided in this forum.

I am trying to think how to celebrate. Probably a bit too cold for a starkers run around the garden waving the Claimants bundle in the air?!

Snakes_Belly

Well done.   The template WS did the trick whatever they tried to make out.  That was a tactic to undermine you. It did not work. 

Boat_to_Bolivia

Brilliant Well Done you deserved that after all your hard work   

I'm delighted for you.

Umkomaas

Nice one, super result. 🥂. 

Thank you for your feedback - invaluable for regulars, helps keep us motivated, and up to speed on Judges' thinking in the context of private parking claims. Great stuff. 👏

EDIT TO ADD

Have you seen this .... is it part of a scam?  TCP Mint Car Wash franchise for a landowner to allow on their car park, also managed by TCP?  Fishy!  Possibility of a Trading Standards look-at ..... if you can fire up their interest away from dodgy DVDs and fake Nikes?

https://www.totalcarparks.co.uk/mint-car-wash

Rocky88

Well Done! Amazing result.

I have my hearing in a months time with Total Car Parks, so will be going down the same route as you. 

Umkomaas

Rocky88 said:

Well Done! Amazing result.

I have my hearing in a months time with Total Car Parks, so will be going down the same route as you. 

I've scanned your thread @Rocky88 and see you were snared by this car wash stunt. Consider trying to involve your MP and local Trading Standards. 

WD40fan

U

EDIT TO ADD

Have you seen this .... is it part of a scam?  TCP Mint Car Wash franchise for a landowner to allow on their car park, also managed by TCP?  Fishy!  Possibility of a Trading Standards look-at ..... if you can fire up their interest away from dodgy DVDs and fake Nikes?

https://www.totalcarparks.co.uk/mint-car-wash

I hadn't seen this specifically, but had discovered that a director (didn't look like an off the shelf type director) is the same for Mint and to TCP. I mentioned it in my witness statement.