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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.

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Sorry this is quite a long post.

 

A few weeks ago i was in Superdrug with my 2 year old daughter in her buggy. I placed one packet of non branded sanitary towels (worth less than £1) on the hood of the buggy with full intention to pay. I became distracted looking at other items in store and dealing with my daughter's pestering for crisps and totally forgot the item was there. I left the store and was swiftly brought back by security.

 

To my horror not only had I left the shop having forgotten about the item, but the packet of sanitary towels was unconcealed on top of my buggy for the whole high street to see; extremely embarrassing on all fronts.

 

I was then shocked when 3 police officers turned up to question me. Having seen the situation one officer asked the security guard if it was a joke and the security guard even apologised to the officers for calling them out. On more than one occasion I offered all parties the opportunity to search my bags, i had about £80 of receipted goods on me from other shops, plus cash and debit cards in my purse, but this offer was ignored. Needless to say the police left without any action, however Superdrug have branded me guilty without investigation and banned me from all their shops. I’m sure you have all already guessed this part too, but my details were also passed to the RLP.

 

The SD manager kept away from the “action”, i had to ask to see him. As i asked he happened to be passing through, so i told him what happened. He just shrugged and walked off. A credit to Superdrug i’m sure you’ll agree.

 

I contact SD, who told me they would investigate the issue with their security company. I also wrote to their security company to complain. The upshot of several letters back and forth to both companies is that neither want to get involved, and they have now referred me to the RLP. I have received a £87 fine from RLP, to which i have replied to them strongly denying the allegations and requesting they remove my details from their system.

 

During correspondence with Superdrug they advised me the stories of their manager and security guard do not tally up (i.e. one of them is telling lies) yet they don’t see a need to get to the bottom of that and continue with their allegations. I have requested a meeting or call with all involved but this has been ignored. SD also maintain that the store manager is not prepared to revoke the store ban either, no doubt because this highlights the mistakes he made in this case.

 

Superdrug do not want to engage in discussions about this, and blindly refer me to the RLP. This is obviously a downward spiral. I’m not worried about the threats of being taken to court – i’d welcome the opportunity to discuss this in front of an impartial judge, but i’m not happy about making an appearance of their “dishonesty” database. I’m a professional contractor, so change job frequently. Having my details on this database could ruin my career and source of income. I’m toying with the idea of initiating court proceedings against Superdrug for making these false allegations available to anyone who cares to pay the RLP subsidiary for it, is this not libel?

 

Has anyone got any advice or recommendations of where i go from here? As i said before i am fully prepared to take this as far as i have to, not only for me but to stop them doing this to other people.

 

 

Thanks for reading my story of woe and thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to give

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RLP can't fine anyone - only a court can do that. RLP's business model is speculative invoicing; they send you a bill which they hope you will be scared into paying.

 

You have two options:

 

1. Ignore them. They may send a few more letters, but they are extremely unlikely to take the court action they threaten.

 

2. Send them a simple, short letter explaining that you have not been convicted of any crime, and therefore will neither pay them any money or enter into any correspondence with them. Then ignore them.

 

The database to which RLP refer is something of a damp squib. They say that employers refer to it, but we've never heard of one that has. Paying RLP does not affect whether or not they put your details on the database.

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Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. I have no intention of paying them anything and have already told them so (no reply yet), my only slight concern is if the address i live at gets black listed from the bailiffs.

 

This entire incident is ruining my life, i can't sleep properly, it's affecting my work and i don't like going out with my friends because it's always in my mind and i can't relax. I haven't told anyone about this except for my partner. I haven't even done anything wrong but they've made me feel ashamed!

 

Does anyone know if there is any way i can sue Superdrug for instigating this libel against me. Depending on the cost and practicalities it would be worth it to make these stores think twice in future.

 

I was interviewed by the police whilst in tears in front of my toddler because the store manger hasn't got the common sense to see a mistake. What shop lifter walks out with an unconcealed packet of economy sanitary towels, surely a first! I don't want to have to sit back and be threatened for months until it eventually fizzles out.

 

I have also written to the CAB today so they can add this to their campaign and am planning to contact my MP.

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To be brutally honest I'm not sure that trying to sue Superdrug will do any more than prolong what you're going through. Slander (libel is printed or otherwise published) is notoriously difficult to bring an action on; most barristers want a minimum £100k up front, such are the risks.

 

I suggest that in a fairly short time you will see this incident in a different perspective. You made a mistake, and then Superdrug made a bigger one. You were exonerated, however, and the reality is that everyone else involved has almost certainly forgotten about it. I don't doubt that it made you feel dreadful, but it'll pass.

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Thanks all, your point is taken.

 

It just riles me that they are allowed to say whatever they want without providing proof. Real criminals actually get a hearing. I still have a couple of avenues to investigate to clean up this mess, if they come to anything useful i'll re-post to hopefully help anyone else who falls foul of this.

 

Thanks for your time

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Please note, i lost my login so have created a new acc to update my original post.

 

Sorry i should have sent an update earlier, but to be honest it's been nice not thinking about this for a while, it hasn't been one of my highlights.

 

I engaged in communications with Superdrug customer services and the security co - Stealth Security, but seemed to be going around in circles with each referring me to the other or RLP. The store manager and security guard had discrepancies in their stories which made it even more difficult to resolve this. I then emailed the Superdrug CEO, to his credit he requested a further investigation and i was put in contact with their legal department. The case was then dropped and customer services sent me a £50 gift voucher. I also gave details of this case to the CAB, who have were very supportive. Richard Dunstan recommended asking for all the info they held relating to my case which i did. I eventually received a large folder of emails, plus the forms which were sent to the RLP. I found some discrepancies on the RLP form sent by Stealth Security, it said i'd admitted guilt and i'd concealed items within my pushchair. Both are untrue. The biggest shock i got was were the guard and manager had both said the police had told them someone of my name and the same situation has been caught earlier that week and they wanted to see me to confirm if it was me or not. For the record, it most certainly was not me, and the coincidence is pretty high that i question if this comment is true (especially as other lies had been written about me). The strange thing is they made a big deal about this comment in their correspondence to each other (there was a note there not to tell me this information), yet no-one bothered to confirm the police response when they did see me. I emailed Stealth Security to try and have this clarified in writing but the manager there is no longer replying to my emails. Hmmm

 

Anyway, i hope this information is useful to anyone else out there in a similar position.

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Might be worth a last letter to RLP to tell them that superdrug have appologised for their actions and withdrawn their allegations and that you expect all data that RLP hold about you to be removed from their systems and a certificate of destruction sent to you ...It might not achieve much, but it might make them squirm a little

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  • 4 months later...
Might be worth a last letter to RLP to tell them that superdrug have appologised for their actions and withdrawn their allegations and that you expect all data that RLP hold about you to be removed from their systems and a certificate of destruction sent to you ...It might not achieve much, but it might make them squirm a little

 

Ignore them; they cannot enforce the fine as you have not been convicted of any crime. Why not go to a no win, no fee solicitor and have them write to them and demand that they clear your name, remove you from all of these database things and apologise with compensation? They may not listen to you, but solicitors know of ways of speaking to these people to sort things out. Your local law society should be able to advise of a good local solicitor in the area of law that you need. And there is no such thing as a black list; bailiffs make false claims in this matter and they do not have any powers if you do not owe the money. Do not let them in and ignore them as well. These people try all sorts of tricks, but most of them are illegal. I am sure that you will get it sorted, but it is really worrying and you must be very anxious. Make sure you get a lot of damages for this: these idiots have damaged your reputation and hurt your professional name and slandered you needlessly. They have also caused you a lot of time and inconvenience and they deserve everything that your solicitor can think to throw at them. For the humiliation alone; they deserve to be taken down an peg or two. Good luck.

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Ignore them; they cannot enforce the fine as you have not been convicted of any crime.

 

-

 

They're not enforcing a fine, nor do they threaten to.

 

What a retail loss preventer does is offer the option of settling out of court, an option that the vast majority of individuals accused of shoplifting are glad enough to accept because a xxxxxxxxx is not the sort of person with the courage to stand up before a judge to defend himself and expect to win.

 

If you rather expect the Court to see it from your point of view, the thing to do is raise the stakes, from the start. Tell them to put up or shut up, to lay their information before a Magistrate in order to try the case if they get so far as that.

 

Once you have done as much as that, the advice to take no notice of what you hope is an empty threat would be that much more appropriate. Otherwise, if they did eventually proceed to act, you would not have helped yourself by talking no notice.

 

That is not the sort of conduct to win the sympathy of a judge.

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