PCN LBC - Need help

Coupon-mad

Yes.  That's the shortest WS we've ever seen! Please read the NEWBIES thread section on WS stage, and especially the a-f list of suggested exhibits.

Le_Kirk

BumpyC said:

oh okay, so i don't need to include anything that is already covered by the defence letter?
If that's the case then this is what i have for my witness statement:

Your witness statement is there to back up and support, with evidence, what you wrote in your defence.  As @Coupon-mad writes, use the exemplars in the NEWBIE sticky as examples of style and format.

BumpyC

Okay i've included the relevant sections where i think appropriate to back up the facts/events, and the notes on the exhibits will be deleted - they are just for you all so you know the context.
Is this okay or do i need to add more?

Witness Statement of Defendant

 

 

1. I am XXXX of XXXX, and I am the defendant against whom this claim is made. The facts below are true to the best of my belief and my account has been prepared based upon my own knowledge.

 

2. In my statement, I shall refer to exhibits (XXX) within the evidence supplied with this statement, referring to page and reference numbers where appropriate. My defence is repeated, and I will say as follows:

 

Facts and Sequence of events

3. It is admitted that on the material dates, I was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle in question. It is known that this vehicle entered and left the car park at the stated times.

 

4. It is also known that whilst attending this car park, the car in question broke down, and was subsequently unable to move. The clutch was stuck down, and the defendant so spent a couple of minutes trying to unstick it before calling RAC to come out and look at it (See exhibit xx-01 (proof of breakdown)).

 

5. The parking sign on entry to the car park was not clearly readable as a driver, being that it is wordy and unclear, plus it is on the left side of the entrance as entering, and so it wasn’t immediately obvious that there was a timeframe for purchase of a car park ticket. In the case of Parking Eye V Beavis, it is set out that the brief, conspicuously yellow and black warning signs set a high bar in terms of how to display the contractual agreement for parking on private land, and in this case, the Claimant has failed to reach such standards (see exhibit xx-02 (pictures of parking eye sign vs excel sign)).

 

6. After calling breakdown and logging the incident, a parking ticket was purchased, and the full price of the stay was paid (See exhibit xx-03 (picture of parking ticket)).

 

7. As soon as the RAC had been, the car left the car park immediately.

 

8. Further information has recently come to light in the DLUHC’s draft IA, and it exposes that the template ‘debt chaser’ stage costs less than £9, and this shows that HHJ Jackson was right all along in Excel V Wilkinson (see exhibit xx-04 (paragraph taken from IA draft of cost)).

 

9. This claim is unmerited in the opinion of the Defendant, and the Claimant is urged to discontinue now to avoid incurring costs and wasting the courts time and that of the Defendant.

 

Statement of truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Defendant’s signature:

Coupon-mad

I think you should exhibit Excel v Wilkinson as well, and Jopson v HomeGuard and quote HHJ Harris about coping with a "minor vicissitude" which isn't parking.

Did you appeal early, or later dispute this PCN at any point, pre-action?

Ever told Excel that this was a breakdown situation which held you up on arrival? If so, DEFINITELY add that and prove it (your appeal & their template reply) as another exhibit & say that Excel should have cancelled and avoided court which is a waste of everyone's time, given that it is common ground that the full period of stay was paid for on site.

Say that a contractual term with no flexibility for circumstances is an unfair term.

And add another quote from the DLUHC: there's a good point in that 2024-incoming new statutory code (...and it's over 2 years since Excel learned of it) that says PCNs should be cancelled if the vehicle is broken down (I think).  Words to that effect anyway (issues outside of the driver's control.

1505grandad

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-parking-code-of-practice/private-parking-code-of-practice

F.1 Exempt circumstances

c) a breakdown assistance or recovery vehicle in use for recovery of a vehicle on the premises that has broken down and cannot safely be driven out without repair;
e) a vehicle that has been driven onto controlled land due to an emergency which could not be avoided due to the exceptional nature of an incident outside of the control of the driver, e.g. illness or vehicle breakdown;

BumpyC

I appealed at the first stage of the PCN, but I didn't have proof of the breakdown at the time because i stupidly hadn't requested it on the day, i had to request it after the fact and it took RAC 4 weeks to send it to me.
Also they say they replied to my appeal, but i never received it, and it wasn't until i emailed them to ask what was going on that they said they'd responded but they never told me what the response was.
It wasn't until i emailed Excel asking for all the information they held on me that i finally got to read their response, and their response was this:
'non pofa. Driver appeal: appellant has attached an appeal letter stating the reasons why they were unable to leave the car park. They state that the car park was being used as a turnaround point. They also state that they broke down but do not have evidence to supp ort that they broke down. They state they may have this in the future but are unsure. They also state they did purchase a ticket which our r ecords show but purchase the ticket 20 minutes after entry. Decision: ROR to driver. Grace period. Helpline. Unable to leave.'
Because i never received the ROR, i had no idea about this and couldn't respond to it.

Not sure if this makes a difference?

I will work on adding the extra bits you've recommended into my WS for now, thank you!

nopcns

What's a "ROR"?

Coupon-mad

Rejection of Representations I guess.

BumpyC

When you say 'exhibit excel v wilkinson' do you mean the whole case? I have snipped and copied this paragraph as an exhibit 


I was thinking to exhibit Jopson V homeguard in the same way after reading through it?

Coupon-mad

Nope.  The whole transcripts.