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    • He was one of four former top executives from Sam Bankman-Fried's firms to plead guilty to charges.View the full article
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    • further polished WS using above suggestions and also included couple of more modifications highlighted in orange are those ok to include?   Background   1.1  The Defendant received the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) on the 06th of January 2020 following the vehicle being parked at Arla Old Dairy, South Ruislip on the 05th of December 2019.   Unfair PCN   2.1  On 19th December 2023 the Defendant sent the Claimant's solicitors a CPR request.  As shown in Exhibit 1 (pages 7-13) sent by the solicitors the signage displayed in their evidence clearly shows a £60.00 parking charge notice (which will be reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of issue).  2.2  Yet the PCN sent by the Claimant is for a £100.00 parking charge notice (reduced to £60 if paid within 30 days of issue).   2.3        The Claimant relies on signage to create a contract.  It is unlawful for the Claimant to write that the charge is £60 on their signs and then send demands for £100.    2.4        The unlawful £100 charge is also the basis for the Claimant's Particulars of Claim.  No Locus Standi  3.1  I do not believe a contract with the landowner, that is provided following the defendant’s CPR request, gives MET Parking Services a right to bring claims in their own name. Definition of “Relevant contract” from the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4,  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.   3.2  The Defendant requested to see such a contract in the CPR request.  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   4.1 At the time of writing, the Claimant has failed to provide the following, in response to the CPR request from myself.   4.2        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.   4.3 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.   4.4        I also do not believe the claimant possesses these documents.   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, times on the photographs are separate from the PCN and in any case are that arrival and departure times not the parking period since their times include driving to and from the parking space as a minimum and can include extra time to allow pedestrians and other vehicles to pass in front.    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;  22. In the persuasive judgement K4GF167G - Premier Park Ltd v Mr Mathur - Horsham County Court – 5 January 2024 it was on this very point that the judge dismissed this claim.  5.4  A the PCN does not comply with the Act the Defendant as keeper is not liable.  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. According to PCN defendant parked on HA4 0EY which does not appear to be subject to the postcode covered by the contract.  6.2         The entrance sign does not mention anything about there being other terms inside the car park so does not offer a contract which makes it only an offer to treat,  Interest  7.1  It is unreasonable for the Claimant to delay litigation for  Double Recovery   7.2  The claim is littered with made-up charges.  7.3  As noted above, the Claimant's signs state a £60 charge yet their PCN is for £100.  7.4  As well as the £100 parking charge, the Claimant seeks recovery of an additional £70.  This is simply a poor attempt to circumvent the legal costs cap at small claims.  7.5 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 practice 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 Nos. F0DP806M and F0DP201T, District Judge Taylor echoed earlier General Judgment 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 recoverabl15e under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 nor with reference to the judgment in Parking Eye v Beavis. It is an abuse of process from the Claimant to issue a knowingly inflated claim for an additional 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 In the persuasive case of G4QZ465V - Excel Parking Services Ltd v Wilkinson – Bradford County Court -2 July 2020 (Exhibit 4) the judge had decided that Excel had won. However, due to Excel adding on the £60 the Judge dismissed the case.  7.8        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.   7.9        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).   In Conclusion   8.1        I invite the court to dismiss the claim.  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.   
    • Well the difference is that in all our other cases It was Kev who was trying to entrap the motorist so sticking two fingers up to him and daring him to try court was from a position of strength. In your case, sorry, you made a mistake so you're not in the position of strength.  I've looked on Google Maps and the signs are few & far between as per Kev's MO, but there is an entrance sign saying "Pay & Display" (and you've admitted in writing that you knew you had to pay) and the signs by the payment machines do say "Sea View Car Park" (and you've admitted in writing you paid the wrong car park ... and maybe outed yourself as the driver). Something I missed in my previous post is that the LoC is only for one ticket, not two. Sorry, but it's impossible to definitively advise what to so. Personally I'd probably gamble on Kev being a serial bottler of court and reply with a snotty letter ridiculing the signage (given you mentioned the signage in your appeal) - but it is a gamble.  
    • No! What has happened is that your pix were up-to-date: 5 hours' maximum stay and £100 PCN. The lazy solicitors have sent ancient pictures: 4 hours' maximum stay and £60 PCN. Don't let on!  Let them be hoisted by their own lazy petard in the court hearing (if they don't bottle before).
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      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

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No Electric/Gas Bills for 2 years...until now!


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Hi all,

 

I moved into my house almost 2 years ago and sent the new customer with meter reading forms off but never heard anything. I contacted e.on 3 months later to tell them I still hadn't received a welcome pack or a bill and never got anything back from them.

 

Yesterday, I received a HUGE electric bill that I'd been waiting for to cover all the time since I moved in. I know that the billing code states that they cannot charge for more that 1 year if they are at fault so I looked for the proof that I contacted them but couldn't find it!!

 

I registered for an online account based on the info in the bill and saw that they have actually been taking meter readings since I moved in but just not billing me so I took screenshots of it all and plan to write to them.

 

Is there a template somewhere on this site that I can follow? I tried to look for one but didn't find anything.

 

And also, do you think I have a case using these screenshots as proof that they were taking meter readings (as they are tied to my user account).

 

I'm just waiting for the gas one to fall through the letter box now!!

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I was in the same boat as you. Despite phone calls and letters I did not receive an electric bill for 9 years. The meter was read every 3 months. When I did receive a bill it was for the last 12 months and they were asking for £800. I rang and they agreed to spread the cost over the next 12 months.

 

There is not a template for this. I am surprised that they are asking for two years worth. Just write stating that they have failed to send you a bill and therefore the code of billing states that they can only charge for the last 12 months. Either ask them for a revised bill using correct meter readings or make an offer you think reasonable for a years electric usage and say you will pay this over the next 12 months

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nottslad

 

Was it a new build property? If so proof will be needed that you contacted eon to request the account set up.

 

As you know I have been very interested in this for a long time. Can you tell me the legal basis for asserting that it is up to the occupier to contact a utility otherwise the Billing Code does not apply ?. Of course as you work /have worked for a utility you can tell us what their policy is but that is not very consistemt with the code. In practice the utilities almost invariably say that the code does not apply so maybe you are stating what they would have customers (and their staff!) believe rather than the true position. The utility knows that they are supplyimg the meter so why have they not billed the occupier?

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I don't know the law behind it, I just know the requirements of the regulators. There is a clause in the billing code that if a customer has deliberately avoided receiving a bill i.e. by not providing information then the code does not apply.

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I don't think there is a law behind the billing code as such, just an agreement between ofgem & the suppliers. I disagree with a couple of you comments pelham. Suppliers do not invariably say the code does not apply. After all, the code in practice, is applied by the people who do the bills. By & large, they have no vested interest in refusing or allowing the code. There are many cases where they cannot apply the code because an account just doesn't qualify when they actually feel it should & others where it is applied through gritted teeth when the person doing the bill knows the supplier has been "had".

Sometimes, especially ombudsman cases, suppliers are asked to amend an account in the "spirit" of the billing code, even though it doesn't actually apply.

The rules are actually quite clear. Sometimes they work in favour of people who don't deserve it & sometimes against those who do.

I also disagree with your comments about occupiers contacting the supplier. I believe there is an onus on people who move onto a property letting the supplier know. We all have to pay for the gas & electricity we use, we know that & I don't think inertia is an excuse. Of coure, sometimes there will be mistakes, but you seem to see something sinister behind them all & that just isn't the case.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Daveshug

 

It would be unusual for a large bill not to be sent. I have no evidence that the utilities apply the billing code in the first bill they send. If the customer invokes the billing code 'almost invariably' the first reply is to deny that the code applies - prove to us that you ramg us etc. They do not apply the spirit of the code.

 

The problem with deemed contracts is that many people do not know about them and do not realise that when they move to a new property it is wise to ring the supplier (just to give a start reading) if indeed they know who the supplier is. Deemed contracts do not make it obligatory to contact the utility who can lawfully bill 'the occupier'.

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Is it not common sense then, that if you are using a service provided by a company that you contact them?

 

When you move to a property, you contact the council to register for electoral services and council tax, you don't wait for them to contact you! And whilst there are flaws in the system, a deemed contract needs to exist, the supply to a property will not be disconnected when someone moves out and then reconnected when someone else moves in and signs a contract, it wouldn't be logistically possible or cost effective in the least, and what about for any supply used by agents/landlords etc - who would bill them?

 

And of course if you had to have a written contract with a supplier, if there was a supply existing then what would there be to stop someone using the supply and not signing a contract therefore making any collections activity unenforceable and thus providing free gas and electricity - whose cost would this be at?!

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Special K,

 

Just a quick question the answer to which may change some of the advice given to you here........

 

You say you have applied for an online account based on the information in the bill sent to you and that it shows they have been reading your meter every 3 months but not sending you a bill.

 

When you look at the online account when does it show as the start date for you being the account holder - is it when you opened the online account or does it go back the 2 years to when you moved in and sent off the new occupant form with the meter readings?

 

If the online account shows you as being the account holder for the last 2 years - from when you moved in and sent them the form - surely that is enough proof needed that the billing code would apply and not a case of you trying to avoid admitting liability for the property?

 

Also, have there been any bills during the 2 years addressed to either the previous occupant or addressed to 'the occupier' (or similar).

 

I have to admit that I won't be able to give any advice but the answers to these 2 questions may assist those who are answering as it appears at the moment that advice isn't necessarily being offered based on the information you have provided.

 

Feebee_71

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