Parking ticket has progressed to court, Court date set and all witness statements and evidence needs to be sen |
Parking ticket has progressed to court, Court date set and all witness statements and evidence needs to be sen |
Fri, 24 Jan 2020 - 19:54
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#1
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 24 Jan 2020 Member No.: 107,572 |
Hi all,
Some time ago I was working some distance from home at a location where there was parking with cameras present. As I was working there on equipment belonging to a well known company we had persmission from the site owners's security team to park there as long as we wanted. I was there with other colleagues who had their own company vehicles. We just had to register our vehicles. In total there were 3 vehicles (2 company ones and my personal one - I had a self-employed status with my company so I had to reovide all work equipment including vehicle). A few months later I recieved letters from a bunch of bandits called UK Car Parking Management Ltd, so as i was there legally I just ignored them until the matter has escalted to court. My colleagues received no such fines and I'm not sure what happened but I suspect the security team may have got a character wrong in my registration. I have since then returned there but the security team can't help me as they keep no records, they told me the parking bandits should have records. They also said they had so many complaints about this company.... When the courts got involved obviously I had to respond and basically I have admitted that I was there but that I was legally and had a reason to be there (namely work for my employers at the time) and that I was there with two of my colleagues whose registration numbers I have and they can confirm from their records. Anyway I now have to provide a defence for court (and yes I have agreed to arbitration and so have gladstones solicitors on behalf of their clients), so please can you help me write a decent defence? My main points are this place is hours away from my home and I was only there for work (and the nature of the work can be proven), also my colleagues were also there and I can prove that with their vehicle registration numbers.... CAn I get them on any other point, I've been told I can ask to see if they will provide legal proof from the landlord that they are actually authourised to fine vehicles. Also the amount now due is extortionate - around 300 pounds!! Please advise. Many thanks. Justice48 |
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Fri, 24 Jan 2020 - 19:54
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Fri, 24 Jan 2020 - 20:56
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 41,510 Joined: 25 Aug 2011 From: Planet Earth Member No.: 49,223 |
Ignoring them wasn't the best move, moreso as you were given permission to park there. How are they to know? They'll wax lyrical about how they had no other choice and how much you've costed them.
That said, they'd probably reject an appeal anyway - which is why you need to deal with these tickets with the principal. In terms of defence you can focus on the ridiculous amount they've escalated it by - do you have a breakdown? (Do they mention 'initial legal costs''?) Your key plank of the defence would be promissory estoppel - that is you had permission that trumped the signs. If you can any proof that you were given this would be excellent. When the courts got involved obviously I had to respond and basically I have admitted that I was there but that I was legally and had a reason to be there (namely work for my employers at the time) and that I was there with two of my colleagues whose registration numbers I have and they can confirm from their records. Respond to whom and how? What date was the claim issued? When is your defence deadline? so please can you help me write a decent defence? ...as you are talking about mediation I suspect you are way down the line and your 'defence' has been locked in. It will cost £255 to apply to change it. -------------------- RK=Registered Keeper, OP=Original Poster (You!), CoFP=Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, NtK=Notice to Keeper, NtD=Notice to Driver
PoFA=Protection of Freedoms Act, SAC=Safety Awareness Course, NIP=Notice of Intended Prosecution, ADR=Alternative Dispute Resolution PPC=Private Parking Company, LBCCC=Letter Before County Court Claim, PII=Personally Identifiable Information, SAR=Subject Access Request Private Parking - remember, they just want your money and will say almost anything to get it. |
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Fri, 24 Jan 2020 - 21:05
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 56,200 Joined: 9 Sep 2003 From: Warwickshire Member No.: 317 |
To get a court date you have to have already submitted your defence. So we need to know what defence you submitted. -exactly.
-------------------- There is no such thing as a law abiding motorist, just those who have been scammed and those yet to be scammed!
S172's Rookies 1-0 Kent Council PCN's Rookies 1-0 Warwick Rookies 1-0 Birmingham PPC PCN's Rookies 10-0 PPC's |
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Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 19:48
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#4
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 24 Jan 2020 Member No.: 107,572 |
Hi, I can prove that I worked for a company that works on telecommunication equipment based at the premises - the car park no longer exists and has been built upon. As a matter of routine we could access the site and just let the security know we're there which is what we did but for some reason only my car out of the 3 that attended that day was fined - so I can only assume some kind of mistake was made - I have a feeling that a letter or number was noted but I can't prove that... I have the registration of the cars that attended that day alongside mine and if the other side allow they can show that they were actually there on the same day and that we left at roughly the same time to go to another site.. Intially these bandits wanted 100 pounds then finally it went up to about 250quid in total - 172 (up from 100) and legal representatives 50 quid plus 25 court fee!! The last letter I recieved was a Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing) which has set a date but also asked for , by an earlier date, all documents and written statetments that I intedn to rely on at the hearing. There is also a bit about mediation about how someone will contact me within 3 weeks (9 days gone and no contact hatsoever yet)....... |
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Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 20:23
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 41,510 Joined: 25 Aug 2011 From: Planet Earth Member No.: 49,223 |
172 (up from 100) and legal representatives 50 quid plus 25 court fee!! The £50 and £25 are fixed costs for court claims. (Along with statutory interest) The other escalation is the dubious extra £60 - I presume you challenged this in your defence? So we need to know what defence you submitted. -exactly.
This post has been edited by Jlc: Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 20:23 -------------------- RK=Registered Keeper, OP=Original Poster (You!), CoFP=Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty, NtK=Notice to Keeper, NtD=Notice to Driver
PoFA=Protection of Freedoms Act, SAC=Safety Awareness Course, NIP=Notice of Intended Prosecution, ADR=Alternative Dispute Resolution PPC=Private Parking Company, LBCCC=Letter Before County Court Claim, PII=Personally Identifiable Information, SAR=Subject Access Request Private Parking - remember, they just want your money and will say almost anything to get it. |
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Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 20:46
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#6
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 24 Jan 2020 Member No.: 107,572 |
No to be honest I didn't mention that .....
I realise I haven't played it well at all but its the first time I've dealt with anything like this, so... My defence was more or less what I wrote above. Is there any point in requesting them to provide proof they have authority from the landlord to do this? i.e. bring a copy of their contract with the landlord? |
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Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 22:21
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#7
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Member Group: Members Posts: 2,053 Joined: 20 May 2013 Member No.: 62,052 |
What you must realise is that at this point you have submitted your one and only defence - you don't (realistically) get to amend it or expand upon it. What the court wants from you next is your witness statement plus linked evidence. Your WS is just a first-person narrative of what you saw or did, and also acts as a way to introduce your evidence, e.g. "the next day I went and took some photos of the signs - see JUSTICE48_001". On the day (or a few days before in the form or a written Skeleton Argument) you argue how your WS, evidence and case law backs your version of the truth (i.e. what you stated in your defence). To a certain extent your WS statement can be used to squeeze in stuff you forgot to include in your defence, but in general your WS shouldn't include arguments or case law.
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Sat, 25 Jan 2020 - 22:35
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#8
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 4 Joined: 24 Jan 2020 Member No.: 107,572 |
OK thanks. Not sure what case law I can use in my defence? Any suggestions gratefully accepted...
Also I intend to get witness statements from my work colleagues who can confirm that they too were there on that day and they did not recieve tickets, that's got to be worth something, yes? |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: Friday, 29th March 2024 - 12:39 |