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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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Avoiding a train fare - court advice


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During my Easter break (whilst at home from university) I boarded a train from Redcar to Middlesbrough, and with my railcard this journey was £2.30. Unknown to me at the time, my bank cards do not work offline, and so would not work in the train conductors card machine. I then filled out the appropriate paperwork with the intention of paying the fare by phone.

 

I rang the northern rail payment service to pay the fare the next day and was informed by the lady on the phone that they had not received the bill yet, and that she would write it in the records that I had attempted to pay the fare.

 

The next day I returned to university in London for my Summer exams, and consequently forgot all about the fare, and also received none of the reminder letters as they went to my home address in Redcar.

On returning home from university I realised the time that I had to pay the fare had passed, and had a letter stating I needed to pay an £80 fine, or that I could appeal this fine.

 

I appealed by post, and a few weeks later (when I was away for the week) northern rail rang my home number and a lady over the phone told my mum that I would receive a court date, when asked about the appeal the woman replied that they hadn't received an appeal, only to then say that she had fount it, but that the matter had gone too far now and they would take me to court.

 

So my hearing is on the 8th November, and according to the letter I can either plead guilty and pay the £100 court cost or plead not guilty to fare evasion and attend a hearing and then a trial.

 

So far my intention is to plead not guilty, as obviously I have attempted to pay the fare and to appeal the fine, and so pleading guilty to fare evasion seems unjust to me. But do you think I have a chance of winning the case? And if I attempt to would this end up costing me even more?

Many thanks, Charis.

Edited by CharisMarie
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During my Easter break (whilst at home from university) I boarded a train from Redcar to Middlesbrough, and with my railcard this journey was £2.30. Unknown to me at the time, my bank cards do not work offline, and so would not work in the train conductors card machine. I then filled out the appropriate paperwork with the intention of paying the fare by phone.

 

I rang the northern rail payment service to pay the fare the next day and was informed by the lady on the phone that they had not received the bill yet, and that she would write it in the records that I had attempted to pay the fare.

 

The next day I returned to university in London for my Summer exams, and consequently forgot all about the fare, and also received none of the reminder letters as they went to my home address in Redcar.

On returning home from university I realised the time that I had to pay the fare had passed, and had a letter stating I needed to pay an £80 fine, or that I could appeal this fine.

 

I appealed by post, and a few weeks later (when I was away for the week) northern rail rang my home number and a lady over the phone told my mum that I would receive a court date, when asked about the appeal the woman replied that they hadn't received an appeal, only to then say that she had fount it, but that the matter had gone too far now and they would take me to court.

 

So my hearing is on the 8th November, and according to the letter I can either plead guilty and pay the £100 court cost or plead not guilty to fare evasion and attend a hearing and then a trial.

 

So far my intention is to plead not guilty, as obviously I have attempted to pay the fare and to appeal the fine, and so pleading guilty to fare evasion seems unjust to me. But do you think I have a chance of winning the case? And if I attempt to would this end up costing me even more?

Many thanks, Charis.

 

You need to plead guilty unfortunately or things are going to get worse. You have committed an offence.

 

1) You failed to pay at the ticket office at Redcar; (this is an offence by itself, Railway Byelaw 18)

2) The card you tried to use was declined (it is not the TOCs concern/fault that your bank does not allow offline transactions);

3) You failed to pay the £80 penalty, which would have avoided court, even when your appeal was correctly rejected. Even still, it is completely optional whether they allow you settle out of court - as you have found out, it is a serious matter.

 

So the way I see it, you boarded a train without a valid means of payment, after failing to pay at the station, then "forgot" about the matter until it was too late.

 

I know this sounds critical and harsh, but it is how the court and TOC will see it.

 

You will probably not be prosecuted for INTENTIONALLY AVOIDING A FARE, you will be prosecuted for failing to buy a ticket prior to boarding.

 

 

(1) In any area not designated as a compulsory ticket area, no person shall enter

any train for the purpose of travelling on the railway unless he has with him a

valid ticket entitling him to travel.

 

 

Now APPROXIMATELY (!!) -

 

If you plead GUILTY, the result will be :

Court costs £100

Fine of around £200-£350

Victim surcharge of £20-£35

Compensation to Northern rail, which will be the Anytime Single rail fare

 

If you plead NOT GUILTY, but are found GUILTY by the court, the result will be:

Court Costs £100

Fine of around £300-£500

Victim surcharge of £30-50

Compensation to Northern rail, which will be the Anytime Single rail fare

Edited by firstclassx
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Hello there.

 

I know it's possible to negotiate right up to and including the day of the hearing. Have you rung them recently?

 

The guys know more than I do, but I think it might be worth a phone call to try to explain what's gone wrong since you rang and tried to pay the fare. What did you say in your appeal by letter please?

 

My best, HB

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

 

 

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Thankyou for your reply.

Just to clarify, Redcar east is not a manned station/has no ticket office/has no ticket machine which you can use railcards on, there is always a ticket conductor on these trains to Middlesbrough. I didn't think it was the law to purchase a ticket before boarding on these trains?

I was also not informed about the appeal, I was not updated except to say that I was being sent a court date because they seemed to have 'found' my appeal too late?

As I did not receive any of the letter from northern rail until too late, can I somehow prove this and will it work in my favour?

Thanks again, Charis.

Edited by CharisMarie
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Hello again.

 

I'm afraid railway rules say it's the passenger's responsibility to find a member of staff to pay if they get onto a train without a ticket, rather than waiting to be asked. I think if you go down that route it could cause you more problems.

 

HB

Illegitimi non carborundum

 

 

 

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The problem remains that you boarded a train without any (valid) means to pay the fare that was legally due.

 

It is essentially boarding a train without any money.

 

It is up to you to determine what debit/credit card facilities your bank issues, and the limitations these have, it is not up to the railway company to manage your financial situation.

 

The bank declined your card - because they don't trust/allow you to make transactions without it being instantly verified that you actually have the money in your account.

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Honeybee is right, you can try and reach a settlement before and up to the court date. I would suggest trying to contact the rail companies prosecution team ASAP. Phone and apologise and offer to pay their costs (could cost you £200+), if that doesn't work have a word with the prosecuted in court and offer to settle (have enough cash & cheque book with you)

 

It's going to cost you a bit so accept that but better to settle than the potential for a criminal record.

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Thankyou for your reply.

Just to clarify, Redcar east is not a manned station/has no ticket office/has no ticket machine which you can use railcards on, there is always a ticket conductor on these trains to Middlesbrough. I didn't think it was the law to purchase a ticket before boarding on these trains?

I was also not informed about the appeal, I was not updated except to say that I was being sent a court date because they seemed to have 'found' my appeal too late?

As I did not receive any of the letter from northern rail until too late, can I somehow prove this and will it work in my favour?

Thanks again, Charis.

 

 

Whilst it is correct to say that you boarded without a valid ticket and without the acceptable means to pay the fare due, the charge of offending contrary to Byelaw 18.1 (2005) has not been summonsed and would be irrelevant if what you have told us is correct, there is a fair chance that you may be able to convince Northern to settle this in my opinion.

 

It appears from your original post that you have been charged with 'intending to avoid a fare' contrary to Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act (1889) and given that you had failed to respond to the letter in good time, you might be pressed in Court to confirm that you had no communication channel between home & uni whilst away. The prosecutor will be able to show that you knew you had not paid and did not hold a valid ticket, failed to pay when asked on train and failed to take the opportunity to pay when given a further opportunity by post.

 

You might try to contact the prosecutor's office and ask if they will accept payment of the full fare plus all of the costs that they have incurred in bringing this matter to Court in order to resolve the case without Court action so as to 'protect your good name'. Your request should cite the fact that you have no previous offences (if that is true) and that a conviction at this stage of your life will have a disproportionate effect on your career. You will need to apologise to the company & staff concerned, express sincere remorse and give a written undertaking never to travel without a valid ticket again.

 

If successful you will need to pay any sum that they advise immediately.

 

The company is not obliged to agree, but given what you have told us and provided that there were no aggravating factors (such as arguing with rail staff or using abusive language at the time, or any other factors that you haven't mentioned ) you lose nothing by trying.

 

The Rail Company can say no, so be prepared for rejection and the likelihood of a financial penalty along the lines of that described by firstclassx, but if you are successful in trying there will be no fine and no record of conviction.

 

You might also like to write to the Court to advise that you have asked the Rail Company to consider your written request and make sure that you send both letters by recorded delivery. You must do it straight away.

 

If you persist with a 'not guilty' plea the case will be adjourned to a later date for trial and if you are found guilty at trial you will lose credit for an early acceptance of your guilt. The suggestion I have given is the best option you have of minimising risk and subsequent cost at this very late stage.

Edited by Old-CodJA
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