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    • Household budgets have come under pressure as prices soared in the wake of the pandemic.View the full article
    • Please see my witness statement below.  Please let me know what modifications I need to apply.  I haven't included anything related to "administrative charge while paying by credit or debit card" as I wasn't sure if I should include since sign says "it may apply"   Background  1.1 Defendant received the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) on the 06th of November 2020 following the vehicle being parked at Arla Old Dairy, South Ruislip on the 05th of December 2019.    Contract  2.1 No Locus Standi, I do not believe a contract exists with the landowner that gives MET Parking Services a right to bring claims in their own name. Definition of “Relevant contract” From PoFA (Protection of Freedoms Act) 2 [1] means a contract Including a contract arising only when the vehicle was parked on the relevant land between the driver and a person who is-  (a) the owner or occupier of the land; or  (b) Authorised, under or by virtue of arrangements made by the owner or occupier of the land, to enter into a contract with the driver requiring the payment of parking charges in respect of the parking of the vehicle on the land. According to https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/44  For a contract to be valid, it requires a director from each company to sign and then two independent witnesses must confirm those signatures.  The fact that no contract has been produced with the witness signatures present means the contract has not been validly executed. Therefore, there can be no contract established between MET Parking Services and the motorist. Even if “Parking in Electric Bay” could form a contract (which it cannot), it is immaterial. There is no valid contract.    Illegal Conduct – No Contract Formed  3.1 At the time of writing, the Claimant has failed to provide the following, in response to the CPR request from myself.  3.2        The legal contract between the Claimant and the landowner (which in this case is Standard Life Investments UK) to provide evidence that there is an agreement in place with landowner with the necessary authority to issue parking charge notices and to pursue payment by means of litigation.  3.3 Proof of planning permission granted for signage etc under the Town and country Planning Act 1990. Lack of planning permission is a criminal offence under this Act and no contract can be formed where criminality is involved.  3.4        I also do not believe the claimant possesses these documents.    Unfair PCN  4.1         As stipulated in Exhibit 1 (Pages 7-13) sent by DCB Legal following the defendant’s CPR request the signage displayed in their evidence clearly shows £60.00 parking charge notice and will be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of issue. The defendant puts it to the claimant a request for strict proof when the signage changed to show £100.00 parking charge as the evidence provided by DCB Legal stipulated £60.00 parking charge was indeed the parking charge at the time defendant parked and included in Exhibit 1   4.3        The Claimant did not respect PAPLOC   4.4        It is also unfair to delay litigation for so long and claim nearly four years' interest.    No Keeper Liability  5.1        The defendant was not the driver at the time and date mentioned in the PCN and the claimant has not established keeper liability under schedule 4 of the PoFA 2012. In this matter, the defendant puts it to the claimant to produce strict proof as to who was driving at the time.  5.2 The claimant in their Notice To Keeper also failed to comply with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 section 9[2][f] while mentioning “the right to recover from the keeper so much of that parking charge as remains unpaid” where they did not include statement “(if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met)”.    5.3        The claimant did not mention parking period instead only mentioned time 20:25 which is not sufficient to qualify as a parking period.   Protection of Freedoms Act 2012  The notice must -  (a) specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates;      No Breach of Contract  6.1      No breach of contract occurred because the PCN and contract provided as part of the defendant’s CPR request shows different post code, PCN shows HA4 0EY while contract shows HA4 0FY.  6.2        The wording “Electric Bay Abuse” is not listed on their signs nor there is any mention on the contract of any electric charging points at all let alone who can park there or use them.    Double Recovery  7.1        As well as the original £100 parking charge and £50 allowed court/legal costs, the Claimant seeks recovery of an additional £70.  7.2        PoFA Schedule 4, paragraph 4(5) states that “the maximum sum which may be recovered from the keeper is the amount specified in the notice to keeper”. Which in this case is £100.  7.3        The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 is also quite clear that the maximum amount recoverable is £100.  Government ministers and government web pages explaining the Act refer to extra charges as "a rip off".  7.4        Unless the Claimant can clearly demonstrate how these alleged additional costs have been incurred this would appear to be an attempt at double recovery.  7.5        Previous parking charge cases have found that the parking charge itself is at a level to include the costs of recovery i.e. Parking Eye Ltd vs Beavis (2015) UKSC 67 which is the authority for recovery of the parking charge itself and no more, since the sum £85 was held to already incorporate the costs of an automated private parking business model and the Supreme Court Judges held that a parking firm not in possession cannot plead any part of their case in damages. It is indisputable that an alleged “parking charge” penalty is a sum which the Supreme Court found is already inflated to more than comfortably cover all costs. The case provides a finding of fact by way of precedent, that the £85 (or up to a Trade Body ceiling of £100 depending on the parking firm) covers the costs of all the letters. Since 2019, many County Courts have considered claims in excess of £100 to be an abuse of process leading to them being struck out ab initio. An example, in the Caernarfon Court in VCS v Davies, case No. FTQZ4W28 on 4th September 2019, District Judge Jones-Evans stated “Upon it being recorded that District Judge Jones- Evans has over a very significant period of time warned advocates (...) in many cases of this nature before this court that their claim for £60 is unenforceable in law and is an abuse of process and is nothing more than a poor attempt to go behind the decision of the Supreme Court V Beavis which inter alia decided that a figure of £160 as a global sum claimed in this case would be a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss and therefore unenforceable in law and if the practise continued, he would treat all cases as a claim for £160 and therefore a penalty and unenforceable in law it is hereby declared (...) the claim is struck out and declared to be wholly without merit and an abuse of process.”  7.6        In Claim numbers F0DP806M and F0DP201T, Britannia vs Crosby the courts went further in a landmark judgement in November 2019 which followed several parking charge claims being struck out in the area overseen by His Honour Judge Iain Hamilton-Douglas Hughes GC, the Designated Civil Judge for Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight & Wiltshire. District Judge Taylor echoed earlier General Judgement or Orders of District Judge Grand, stating “It is ordered that the claim is struck out as an abuse of process. The claim contains a substantial charge additional to the parking charge which it is alleged the Defendant contracted to pay. This additional charge is not recoverable under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 nor with reference to the judgement in Parking Eye v Beavis. It is an abuse of process from the Claimant to issue a knowingly inflated claim for a addi8onal sum which it is not entitled to recover. This order has been made by the court of its own initiative without a hearing pursuant to CPR Rule 3.3(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998.  7.7        The addition of costs not previously specified on signage are also in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2, specifically paras 6, 10 and 14.  7.8        It is the Defendant’s position that the Claimant in this case has knowingly submitted inflated costs and thus the entire claim should be similarly struck out in accordance with Civil Procedure Rule 3.3(4).  7.9        The Defendant is of the view that the Claimant knew, or should have known, that to claim in excess of £100 for a parking charge on private lands is disallowed under the CPRs, the Beavis case, the PoFA AND THE CRA 2015, and that relief from sanctions should be refused.    In Conclusion  8.1        I believe the Claimant has got use to intimidation tactics and has got greedy. I believe the truth of the manor is the Claimant has used bullying tactics successfully for too long and is therefore assured that innocent drivers will fall into the trap of paying rather than going through the hours it takes to defend themselves. In the process, wasting the time of the Court, the time of the Defendant and everyone else who has advised the Defendant, out of sheer decency to help have a fair hearing and see justice delivered.  8.2        I am still in disbelief that I am being heard in this court, defending myself nearly 4 years after receiving a charge through my door. I have had to spend weeks’ worth of my life studying the letter of the law in order to defend myself from this ridiculous attempt at a swindle.  8.3        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. 
    • 'I thought why don’t we give it a try?' said student Swapnil Shrivastav, after inspiration struck during water rations.View the full article
    • honestly he/she just makes these ppc look so stupid everytime   fairplay lfi
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Work Related Stress


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Hi

 

I have been off work for around 2 months with work related stress. This I believe is down to problems with my line manager.

 

I have done everything my employer has asked, attended Occupational health, who confirmed that the sickness was work related, and had meetings with HR and again with my Department Manager.

 

The next step is a series of meetings with my direct line manager which I am happy to go along with, but I have asked for a series of questions to be answered which they continue to avoid.

 

What I would like to know is am I within my right to have these questions answered before things go any further? I feel that they are avoiding the problem by not answering these questions.

 

Any help and advise would be most appreciated.

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Hi Bandtrainer,

 

Do the questions relate to your current status?

 

Can you not ask these questions at the next meeting?

 

Is anyone taking minutes at the meetings you have already had?

 

Are you being correctly represented at these meetings---you have the right to a friend/co-worker or anyone of your choice at such a meeting if it is of a disciplinary nature.

 

Beau

Please note: I am not a lawyer and as such any advice I give is purely from a laymans point of view;-)

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Hi

 

I have been off work for around 2 months with work related stress. This I believe is down to problems with my line manager.

 

I have done everything my employer has asked, attended Occupational health, who confirmed that the sickness was work related, and had meetings with HR and again with my Department Manager.

 

The next step is a series of meetings with my direct line manager which I am happy to go along with, but I have asked for a series of questions to be answered which they continue to avoid.

 

What I would like to know is am I within my right to have these questions answered before things go any further? I feel that they are avoiding the problem by not answering these questions.

 

Any help and advise would be most appreciated.

 

ok, so far everything seems to be being done "by the book", so to speak, however i would second beaubrummies suggestion that you ask your questions in the meeting.

 

when you go to this meeting, provided you are well enough to go, make sure you take a witness, this is VERY important, and they cannot deny you this right, if they do, then you can refuse to attend the meeting.

Said witness may be a work collegue or a union rep.

 

In the meeting, make sure you ask your questions and make sure you get answers to them, do not allow your manager to skirt the issues you raise.

Make sure that accurate notes are taken of what is discussed and READ them before signing them, and insist you are given a copy of said notes before you leave (again, they cannot refuse this).

 

In the run up to your meeting, i would write a letter of grievance stating that you are off work due to work related stress, which has been verified by the company doctor, and that this stress is being caused by your manager, make sure you list down what your manager is doing to cause these problems.

 

Tell them that this letter constitutes th elogging of a formal grievance against the person in question and you expect it to be rectified through the companies grievance proceedures as quickly as possible (make sure this statement is entered into the notes as well) .

 

 

no doubt your manager will be attempting to cover their back, which is why said questions have been avoided thus far, you need to make sure that you take control of the meeting and do not allow said manager to bluster on and turn everything around so the blame falls squarely on you.

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Hi

 

Many thanks for the replies.

 

I've already had 1 meeting and and was sent the minutes of the meeting which I have asked for a number of points to be amended as they were incorrect. I am still awaiting for the amended minutes, which do not appear to be very forthcoming.

 

At the meeting I had asked the questions and I was asked to email them over and they would get back to me, they now appear to be avoiding answering the questions asked.

 

Although everything seems to be done correctly as far as I can see it only seems to be when it suits them, when I pose a difficult question they seem to be very good at avoiding giving the answer.

 

What I am wondering is would it be worth seeking some form of legal advice or should I let things carry on as they are, in the hope that this will be sorted.

 

Many Thanks

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Hi

 

Many thanks for the replies.

 

I've already had 1 meeting and and was sent the minutes of the meeting which I have asked for a number of points to be amended as they were incorrect. I am still awaiting for the amended minutes, which do not appear to be very forthcoming.

 

At the meeting I had asked the questions and I was asked to email them over and they would get back to me, they now appear to be avoiding answering the questions asked.

 

no, and ill wager you wont get them answered anyways, as it seems obvious that they are not willing to give answers in written form, because they know they are in the wrong.

Bring this matter up at your next meeting, and demand that this be addressed NOW, if not sooner.

 

Although everything seems to be done correctly as far as I can see it only seems to be when it suits them, when I pose a difficult question they seem to be very good at avoiding giving the answer.

 

like i said, dont let them avoid it, ask you question, and continue asking it until you recieve an answer. Dont let them move on to something else or waffle on in a round about way, if the start trying to talk over you, tell them to shut up and give you a straight answer, tell them they are skirting the issue.

Take control of the meeting, THEY are the ones in the wrong and they are obliged to provide you with answers, inform them if they dont you will be filing for discrimination at an employment tribunal.

 

What I am wondering is would it be worth seeking some form of legal advice or should I let things carry on as they are, in the hope that this will be sorted.

 

it will be worth talking to ACAS, if you havent already done so, before you seek legal advice.

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godpikachu

 

many thanks for your quick reply.

 

I think it may be a good idea to contact ACAS at least to make sure I don't do anything that may cause further problems for myself.

 

I just wish they could see that the way they are skirting around the issues is actually causing me more stress and I feel that I'm actually fighting a losing battle and do wonder is it worth it.

 

Many Thanks

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Is there another post concerning this because the question and replies here seem to assume that we all know what these questions are that you want answered (and that the company have something to hide and are in the wrong by not answering them).

 

Unless I've missed something in another post, wouldnt it be better to find out exactly what these questions are before jumping to the conclusion that a) they must be answered, and b) that the company are hiding something by not answering?

 

Just going by what's written in your posts here I can't see why there's talk about discrimination either? Discrimination against who? About what? There's been no mention of religion, pregnancy, race, disability (you'd need a lot longer off work than 2 months to have stress classified as a disability).

 

But....I've obviously missed something either in this post or another.

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Hi p cas

 

I don't think at any point I have mentioned discrimination.

 

Whilst I can understand were you are coming from, I am very apprehensive about posting my questions on here just in case anything gets back to my employer as I certainly don't want to make things any worse than they already are.

 

However I will say that the dispute comes down to how I and another member of staff have both been treated differently and that my employer seems very reluctant to answer any of my questions relating to this.

 

Many Thanks

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It was me that mentioned discrimination, probably not the best choice of word in hindsight.

Basically, from the sounds of it you have been bullied and/or harassed to the point which your work related stress has made you ill. Obviously the company doctor you have seen has corroborated you are suffering from this and their report will have been delivered to managment by now, hence why if you are asking questions about said manager they are reluctant to answer it from fear of implicating themselves on a charge of harassment.

 

If you like, you can send me the questions you want answering by PM, and i will tell you wether or not they are relevant to your situation.

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