Looking for a law firm to sue, not defend

defender001

I live in a "fleecehold" where my freehold property is surrounded by private land. We have over 2,000 residential units, projected to grow over 5,000, with minimal commerce around (most of which have their own parking spaces). Nevertheless, our estate manager decided to control parking and have been issuing aggressive £100 PCNs ("discounted" to £60, then £170 when it reaches a debt collector, then nearly £300 when it goes to court). This is totally disproportional as parking is free for the first hour provided vehicles are registered with their (sometimes malfunctioning) app and otherwise the cost for a daily resident permit is less than £3 a day. I also have it in writing where they acknowledge this is charge is punitive and not to compensate damage. They say "the aim of parking enforcement is to encourage better parking behaviour"… I believe Beavis is not applicable to our scenario. And their practices do not conform with case law or the BPA FWIW; I heard a neighbour mistyped their reg by one letter and got their appeals turned down (they didn't know they could appeal to POPLA, all just fear losing the "discount" and pay up).

Their annual revenue on PCNs is projected to exceed £100,000 this year, which they claim is acceptable because they inject the money back into the estate. Not that it matters, but this only started recently; previously all parking enforcement including signage, grounds maintenance, and the enforcement firm itself was entirely funded by residents through the rentcharge! Our TP1 gives us right of way and has only a brief mention of parking requiring a permit without further details. I also think we have primacy of deed here.

I believe I'm the first who got to the point to defend myself in court (still waiting for a hearing date). Most residents are just paying because they don't want to be in trouble and can't be bothered going through a defence. The majority of people I talk to operate under the assumption the estate manager is acting lawfully…

At this point I have exhausted my attempts to talk them into a better system. I want to take them to court. Most law firms I have reached out to say this isn't big enough for a class action.

Can you recommend anyone who could help me to navigate the courts? I am preparing a campaign to gather residents (and others) who got PCNs in the past to join the fight. But I need representation.

Thanks

Coupon-mad

You could ask @h2g2 how they found theirs. Similar situation.

Or Google Jopson v Homeguard. For her winning appeal to overturn a stupid first judgment in her residential case v an out of control PPC who targeted her, Ms Jopson used a law firm in Oxford, I think, and won, with costs awarded.

You need a housing law specialist IMHO.

There is also a legal firm called Lawstop that gives some pro bono (free) initial advice specifically for tenants or leaseholders with landowner, landlord or managing agent housing disputes in my area (Brighton) and they also have offices in London if any good?

h2g2

I'm not going to recommend mine. I don't think they have a particularly strong grasp leasehold / property issues, to be honest.

defender001

@Coupon-mad thanks for the pointers. It looks like the firm which represented Mr Jopson is no longer in business for … well, I can't really tell but it doesn't look good! https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/463099/

I will look up some housing law firms and see where that gets me. And give Lawstop a call. Will also keep this thread updated as this makes progress if people are interested.

@h2g2 may still be worth a chat with them? Please DM or post the details.

Car1980

The cheapest way would be to pay a ticket under protest, accompanied by a pack of your legal argument and then sue them and the management company jointly. It would be £60 for the ticket + £35 claim + £27 hearing fee.

With no time restraints you have the luxury of getting all your arguments together first (a solictor will only work off what you give them anyway). But see what pro bono help you can get as well as suggested.

If it went to a hearing you could bring another resident or leaseholder with you so you wouldn't have to be alone.

Edit: I believe I'm the first who got to the point to defend myself in court (still waiting for a hearing date).

Sorry, missed this. Are you saying they have claimed against you?

Umkomaas

I believe I'm the first who got to the point to defend myself in court (still waiting for a hearing date). 

Can you tell us which parking firm is suing you, and which legal company is representing them, please. The vast majority of these ‘court claims’, when defended, never get anywhere near a courtroom and judge!

h2g2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82004193#Comment_82004193

https://contestorlegal.co.uk/

Half_way

ukpc vs davey might be worth a look at as well.

You also need to establish what rights you have regarding use of parking spaces etc regardless of any registration in an app, permits etc.

defender001

@Car1980 @Umkomaas Parking firm is Elite through DCBLegal.

Summary: The "incident" was back in July 2024 when we temporarily moved the car out of our drive (where we have right to park) onto a (private) street parking space in front of our house. The estate (mis)manager was switching apps that week due to repeated technical problems with the terrible app we had at the time. (The app was later switched again as the new was equally bad.) Back then I didn't know about this forum, I didn't understand pofa, bpa, or popla. Much like every other person here, I also mistakenly believed the estate mismanager acted on my best interest. Turned out their PCN did not contain evidence I was "parked" there for more than the moment they took the photos, the signs were poor and have since been replaced (now large yellow on black/blue), and other issues. I didn't appeal to popla as I did not understand its role at the time (this could have ended there). They kept pressing and claimed in court. I issued a defence, we didn't agree anything on mediation, judge asked the claimant to respond to the defence, they did, and we're still waiting for what's next (most likely a hearing date AFAICT). At some point, due to court delays in acknowledging my defence, a judgement was issued against me by default and I had a massive credit rating drop until I managed to get it reverted.

These have been absolutely terrible two years. A lot of stress. Panic'ing I'd miss some snail mail by the court and another deadline. Not knowing what's next. I can't recommend going through this to anyone, but I can absolutely recommend paying under protest, suing back, and putting the pressure of defence on them. Especially if I manage to win my case and demonstrate (either through lack of BPA compliance, primacy of deed, or simply due to double charge and lack of damage as we already fund this through our rentcharges) that the estate manager knows without a doubt that their regime is illegal and continuing to chase us like this would borderline fraud.

Which takes us back to the thread: I need a solicitor firm to tell me the best course of action. I'll be calling all the recommendations in this thread this week. Keep the suggestions coming!

ChirpyChicken

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82004238#Comment_82004238

Agreed on your sentiments posted earlier.....