VCS/BW Legal - writing defence

Thank you... I'll do this in the morning and then try and get on with my WS

MadHatter752 wrote: »

Should i request confirmation of byelaws of the site in question under the freedom of info act?

can anyone answer this for me please? I am thinking if the answer is yes I will need to do it asap.

I feel very out of my depth with everything, I have read through all the links suggested and still feel the same... should i contact BMPA?

thanks

Coupon-mad wrote: »

The forum is busy and a post from 25th would have been missed and sit on page 10 by now! Not your fault, not our fault, blame the success of this busy forum! We help every one we see and we will, now you have replied again.

We had no idea your question was on page 10 or further back, until you bumped it!

Thanks CM... I understand I am not the only one seeking help, the board is so so busy I can see that... just was getting a little stressed and worried about it all. I have so many questions posted above that haven't been answered and every link and thread I have read has seemed to conjure up more questions rather than answer any. Rather than people having to trail through all the posts again maybe it would be best if I summarise my questions in another post.

hoohoo wrote: »

Its a funny question to ask, which is probably why no-one answered. It will help marginally your case, so you could go ahead and do the research. One reason for the byelaws being important is to show no keeper liability exists, but you have this anyway as VCS dont use POFA.

The other is a more technical argument that the byelaws take precedence, so if you are not confident arguing this perhaps concentrate on other points.

I am not sure how to argue anything to be honest... never mind that byelaws take precedence!! :eek:

OK so to bring everything up to date, here is my amended draft WS:-

I am the Defendant in this matter, I am unrepresented, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the Claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience.
In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise.

1. Whilst I was the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned, there is no evidence of the driver and as this event occurred two and a half years ago, it is impossible to expect a keeper to recall who might have been driving.

2. The Claimant has not provided me with any evidence of who was driving, however I have continued to receive unwarranted harassment and baseless litigation has resulted in significant alarm and distress to myself.

3. At the time in 2014, the insurance covered more than one family member, who I have no obligation to name to a private parking firm. It remains the burden of the Claimant to prove their case. i have a copy of my insurance schedule from this time which names the drivers… I do not mind enclosing this as proof… is it worth it or not?

4. With the driver being unidentified, I cannot be held liable as keeper for this event. I attach Henry Greenslade's wording from the POPLA Annual Report 2015 'Understanding Keeper Liability' which apply in this case – Exhibit 1 do I attach the whole report or just the paragraph I refer to?

5. There was no requirement upon me as keeper to respond to these harassing letters and what appeared to be junk mail. In any event, this was not a matter where a registered keeper could be in any way legally liable because this is not 'relevant land' (under the only lawful route for keeper liability on private land, namely the POFA 2012, Schedule 4). No adverse inference can be drawn from my lawful decision to ignore the colourful letter, impersonating a parking ticket yet with no basis or liability capable of passing to a registered keeper under any applicable rule of law or statute.

6. I attach Schedule 4 of POFA 2012 - Exhibit **


7. The Claimant has not provided any documentation and relevant contracts with the land owners that allow the claimant to issue claims upon the landowner’s behalf. I challenge VCS Ltd to provide proof of their authorisation from the landowner and not just self-generated approval.

8. The signage at the car park does not form a contract. The entrance signage is an ‘offer to treat’ as no sign at the entrance of the carpark where the event took place which details the contract you would be entering into by proceeding into the car park as evidenced by Exhibit 2.

9. The signage inside the car park is prohibitive. The parking charge is hidden within the small print, it is not a clear and prominent charge and was never 'bound to' have been seen, as in the ‘Beavis’ case. These signs contain illegible small print that could not be seen from a moving vehicle as evidenced by Exhibits *, * & *, one of which is a video from the drivers perspective in a moving car entering this car park. anyone using my car would have used it early in the morning… the pcn was issued at 11am so should the evidence show lighting as at 11am?


10. I further attached Exhibit * which details a legible sign which was including in the case Parking Eye Limited vs Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, a case which BW Legal themselves brought to my attention distinguishing the contrast between the Parking Eye Limited sign and the VCS Ltd signs in operation in the carpark in question.

11. Furthermore the signs are classified in planning law as an advertisement, by virtue of Regulation 30 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended) it is a criminal offence to display this kind of advertisement in contravention of the Regulations. I put the Claimant to prove planning permission was obtained for these signs.



12. Court Transcripts of relevant cases – *** to find ** Can I use PCM vs Bull – does it apply here from Parking Prankster?

13. I intend to report VCS Ltd to the Information Commissioner for misuse of my data, obtained from the DVLA in 2014. My DVLA data was supplied for the single strict purpose of enquiring who was driving, not for storing and then suing me as if I can now be held liable, in the hope I will not defend/will have lost the paperwork/will have moved house, or even better, that I will be so scared that I will pay over £254, including the legal insult of two years' interest, for what was apparently an unproven £60 charge.

Do I report now or wait?



14. I request the court to strike out the claim due to the fact that the land in question is covered by Railway Byelaws concerning (among other rules) the parking of vehicles. That being the case, any parking penalty was a matter only for the Railways/TOC to lay before Magistrates Court within 6 months of the event.

15. It is apparent from court records reported in the public domain that this Claimant has been obtaining payments from keepers under false pretences - using the court as a cheap form of debt collection from the wrong 'registered keeper' parties - and has obtained default CCJs in the hundreds, despite never complying with the POFA 2012 and even bringing pre-POFA cases to the Courts.

16. VCS Ltd as a third party attempting to morph a Byelaws matter into 'breach of contract' have no prospects of success in bringing a statute-barred Railway car park (Byelaws land, under statutory control) claim to small claims court, two years afterwards.

17. Transport for West Midlands (previously CENTRO) are on record as stating that they were aware that car parks which fall under Railway Byelaws could not be enforced by a private parking firm like VCS Ltd, and could only be a matter for CENTRO within 6 months, via Mag's court only.

Should I be adding the evidence of this? As a side point I have just filled in a FOI request but I doubt it will be answered in two weeks in time for it to go with this.




When do I mention Elliot v Loake… they mentioned it in one of their letters… I didn’t mention it in my defence…

Also… does my defence form part of my argument still… i.e does my defence get passed to this court to have on hand for the day?

As mentioned in a previous post, I must have thrown away any early correspondence, is this going to damage my case?

now that I am getting help back on here so I not contact BMPA? The Pepipoo example of Martha12 which CM advised me to look at in an earlier used BMPA but I dont want to duplicate anyone's work or advice when you are clearly helping so many people

sorry there are so many questions.... I understand if it takes some time for them all to be answered.

Also if there is any further amendments to WS that I should make please let me know.

Thank you so much.