Excel parking faulty machines

robberydaylight

I am currently fighting a Claim from Excel Parking for non-payment in a car park. I did pay the required amount for the time I stayed but the machine was broken and would not give me a ticket or let me enter my reg number, there was also no phone signal from the car park. An SAR request showed that the machine had not dispensed any tickets for a couple of hours prior to me entering the car park whereas the machine next to it had dispensed numerous tickets. Excel also did not follow the IPC code of conduct and did not allow me to appeal. Thanks to the excellent advice on this forum and the Parking Prankster site, I have been able to submit a defence and the N180 and have received the usual response from Excel saying they will now represent themselves rather than ELMS legal doing it. I am waiting to hear back from my local county court in Manchester but am expecting it to go ahead and so am preparing the witness statement and evidence and costs. I wanted to cite the following two cases relating to faulty ticket machines: Excel Parking v Mrs S. C8DP11F9, Oldham, Excel Parking v Ms C C8DP36F0, Stockport. I cannot find transcripts of these anywhere and wondered if anyone had a copy of them or any details I could have please? Or is there a way I can make reference to them without a transcript. I would be very grateful for any advice.

Snakes_Belly

If they are County Court hearings it's unlikely that there will be a transcript. Also decisions made at County Court hearing (unless appeals) are not persuasive. 

Which car park? If the car park is a hot spot (there are a number of hot spots operated by Excel and VCS) there is likely to be media interest. 

Is it the Peel Centre?

Snakes_Belly

Below is taken from a forum members defence. There is mention of  Excel v Ms C [C8DP36F0] and brief details. I thought that the forum members comment regarding being a serial issuer of generic claims is very pertinent. You should find plenty of evidence to substantiate this on the forum and in the media. There are a number of hotspots.

"The Claimant is known to be a serial issuer of generic claims similar to this one, with no due diligence, no scrutiny of details nor even checking for a true cause of action. As examples, the Defendant invites the Court to consider, amongst many others, the following:"

1. Excel v Ms C [C8DP36F0] - the Defendant purchased and displayed a ticket, but a fault on the ticket machine caused the ticket to be incorrectly printed. The case was dismissed and costs were awarded to the Defendant;

robberydaylight

Thanks very much for the advice, very useful. No it wasn't the Peel Centre, it was in Halifax. I'm reluctant to post too many details at this stage but will post a full detailed account after the court date. There were numerous people I observed putting money in the ticket machine on the day though at a time when it was definitely broken.

robberydaylight

Apologies if this is a daft question but when I prepare my witness statement and evidence bundle, do I need to include entire documents as pieces of evidence - such as all 68 pages of the IPC code of conduct - or can I just include individual pages or paragraphs as required. Any advice much appreciated.

Coupon-mad

Odd pages of the IPC CoP plus a hyperlink, is fine.

robberydaylight

OK, so I've finally got Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims track (Hearing) with the date just 5 weeks away and deadline for submitting the documents 3 weeks away. One thing that surprised me though is that there is a section saying that the court believes my case is suitable for mediation and we are encouraged to do this etc. I do not think I can do this anyway as to accept the offer of this service, we need to contact them within 7 days and as I've just got back from holiday I think this time has already expired. I am concerned that this appears to be a weakness to my case though or is this a fairly standard thing? I would be reluctant to go to any mediation anyway because if I did, this surely means that I am accepting some sort of liability or guilt which I do not - it is a straightforward case of Excel using faulty equipment and systems to exploit money from drivers. Again any views or advice on this much appreciated.

Le_Kirk

Mediation is not suitable for small claims cases about parking!  It is more useful when discussing insurance claims when blame/fault is clear and one is just discussing amounts of money.  Until a judge's decision rules one way or the other, there is nothing to mediate about! 

robberydaylight

I've just about finished my Witness Statement due next week, it's close to as good as it's going to get I feel.

In short, I paid for parking in coins (no data or phone signal) but the machine wouldn't give me a ticket. I have evidence from photos and a subject access request which shows that the machine was faulty. I've included a comparison of the Beavis sign and the Excel sign which I couldn't really read particularly with the queue of people trying to get tickets. I've included a video link of me entering the PCN number and car reg into Excel's online appeals portal which returned the message 'cannot find this ticket'. Excel then asked for more information when I complained but stated that it could only be provided through the on-line portal which I'd already explained did not work.

One thing I'm not sure about though whether I should ask for costs. Although this has taken many hours recently, I am retired so not sure if I can claim any costs as I have not needed to take time of work?

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Coupon-mad

No costs unless you are travelling to court.

Your evidence sounds great.

You should be basing your WS on the one linked as a recent example in the NEWBIES thread - by baz something - and including 3 of his exhibits which are standard to all cases (dead easy to suss which three).

robberydaylight

Thanks a lot much appreciated