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    • 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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    • First, the Entrance sign does not mention anything about there being other terms inside the car park so does not offer a contract. so it only  is an offer to treat.  Second, the sign does say % hours free without mentioning that it is also the maximum time one can stay. it would be logical to presume that there would be a fee for staying longer-but not £100. Looking at the PCN-as usual it does not comply with the protection of freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 4. First it does not specify the parking period since their figure includes driving from the entrance to the parking space, then later driving from the driving space to the exit. Second it does not inform the keeper that the driver is expected to pay the charge Section 9 [2]] (b)inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full; What that means is that you as keeper are no longer liable to pay the charge-only the driver is. As anyone with a valid insurance can drive your car they will have difficulty proving who was driving especially as you haven't appealed. In addition the Courts should your case get that far, do not accept that the driver and the keeper ae the same person. So just relax and ignore all their threats even from their unregulated debt collectors and sixth rate solicitors.  Just do not ignore a Letter of Claim if you get one of those-come back to us so that you can send a snotty letter.
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DEA Ltd / CEL / sending out blank Claimforms to frighten People


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Hello once more!

 

I took the advice from here and ignored all letters / made no contact after receiving an "invoice" from CEL

after a short overstay in a car park back in 2009, over five years ago.

 

I've now received from Civil Enforcement Ltd (CEL) a Notice of Assignment of Debt letter saying the "debt"

has been moved to Debt Enforcement and Action Limited.

 

I've had a look around on here and it appears that the advice given now is different to what was given back then

so I'm wondering it it's still a case of keep ignoring or that I have to do something.

 

Any advice is gratefully received. Thank you.

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I would think they would have one hell of a time trying to get that through a court. My advice would be to either ignore or write back saying you have absolutely no idea what they refer to. My bet would be that any possible action may be soon statute barred, and they are trying to get you to acknowledge in some way.

Please note: I give advice, in good faith, based on my reading and experience. Please satisfy yourself, that any advice given is accurate in content before acting upon it.

A to Z index

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/site-questions-suggestions/53182-cant-find-what-youre.html

 

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If I was from HMRC investigating the tax affairs of CEL I would be worried but you shouldnt.

 

IT is just a meaningless piece of paper as far as you are concerned and is designed to transfer the "assets" of one duff organisation to another.

 

As the supposed asset is a non-existent debt, CEL can claim it against tax (this is where it all becomes unfair to the taxpayer)

and the newco has no intention of trying to collect because they know it is duff and will write it off against their tax bill sometime soon.

 

Ignore is still the advice I would give.

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Thank you so much for your quick responses! The invoice (& the usual series of letters from CEL then Newlyn) goes back to 2009. I thought I'd heard the last of it and was quite surprised to received what I did.

 

I'll do as you say and as I've done in the past with this one and ignore this.

 

If anything else turns up, I'll post it up on here.

 

Cheers! :)

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This occurred in 2009?

 

This was before the legislation changed in 2012( as you say the Protection of Freedoms act 2012). However this is an act that came into force after the parking 'event' and is non-retrospective... therefore completely irrelevant

 

The prevailing advice before then due to the legislation in force at that time was to ignorelink3.gif and therefore in this case ..ignorelink3.gif

 

If they try to take it further come back to here, but the chances are they are just Auto-sending on old cases. There seems to be a spate of them recently

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Hello. It occurred in 2009. I'm glad to see the words "irrelevant" and "ignore" a few times :)

 

I also did think that they've sold off a list of invoice non-payers to some company in order to raise a few bob. Or, like they've done before, assign things to another "company" (someone sat at another desk waiting to pounce on any form of contact).

 

Thank you once again for all you help and will update this should anything else turn up through the letterbox :)

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  • 1 month later...

Hello once again! Received yet more correspondance: an envelope through the door (with a low-quality letterhead) from "Debt Enforcement & Action Limited" headlined "Final Reminder Before Court Action". It looks like it's begging for a reduced amount to be paid by calling a telephone number or doing it on-line at ce-service.co.uk. And if no payment's made, they are going to "...show this letter to the court.".

 

In fact, they've attached a Claim Form for a county court with no claim number on it, a circle that says "SEAL" in it, CEL as claimants and their "invoicee(s)" as Defendants! The amount claimed on this one is double what they were begging for earlier in the letter. As well as this, they've sent a sheet with Particulars of claim with a Statement of Truth to be signed by the invoicee(s).

 

To me this still looks very amateurish and just attempting to look official etc with the court threat etc.

 

Same as usual with this one (i.e. ignore)?

 

Thank you! :)

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If, and I say if the Particulars of Claim was issued from the County Court Business Centre, Northampton then it should contained a web address and password that will enable you to log on and look at the claim online. These forms have a printed seal in the space where on court prepared documents have the circle marked "Seal". If the form shows not court details, has no claim number and no seal then it is not valid - as you appear to have concluded. The use of "blank" court documents is by no means unheard of as a means of piling on the pressure. If a court is however named then as a backstop I would consider checking with them to make sure this isn't a set of documents that hasn't slipped through the net.

 

As for DEAL the company is not exactly unassociated with CEL being very much a sister company. As has been suggested already this is likely to be a tax dodge rather than anything else although there may well be a few who would pay up.

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If, and I say if the Particulars of Claim was issued from the County Court Business Centre, Northampton then it should contained a web address and password that will enable you to log on and look at the claim online. These forms have a printed seal in the space where on court prepared documents have the circle marked "Seal". If the form shows not court details, has no claim number and no seal then it is not valid - as you appear to have concluded. The use of "blank" court documents is by no means unheard of as a means of piling on the pressure. If a court is however named then as a backstop I would consider checking with them to make sure this isn't a set of documents that hasn't slipped through the net.

 

As for DEAL the company is not exactly unassociated with CEL being very much a sister company. As has been suggested already this is likely to be a tax dodge rather than anything else although there may well be a few who would pay up.

 

There are no log-in or password details at all on the paperwork. In fact, there's no claim number or issue date on the claim form which they say they intend to lodge at the named county court. What is odd also is the amount claimed on the Particulars of Claim is less than the amount claimed on the claim form.

 

The invoiced incident was supposed to have happened over five years ago. I do think it's yet another attempt at worrying someone into payment.

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From doing a bit of research at Companies House it appears DEAL has only one director. He is an American citizen, but with a home address in the Ukraine, and the company's registered address is an accommodation address in London. So you can see what sort of cowboy company they are.

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Hello once again! Received yet more correspondance: an envelope through the door (with a low-quality letterhead) from "Debt Enforcement & Action Limited" headlined "Final Reminder Before Court Action". It looks like it's begging for a reduced amount to be paid by calling a telephone number or doing it on-line at ce-service.co.uk. And if no payment's made, they are going to "...show this letter to the court.".

 

In fact, they've attached a Claim Form for a county court with no claim number on it, a circle that says "SEAL" in it, CEL as claimants and their "invoicee(s)" as Defendants! The amount claimed on this one is double what they were begging for earlier in the letter. As well as this, they've sent a sheet with Particulars of claim with a Statement of Truth to be signed by the invoicee(s).

 

To me this still looks very amateurish and just attempting to look official etc with the court threat etc.

 

Same as usual with this one (i.e. ignore)?

 

Thank you! :)

 

 

Using such a form in regard to debt collection should be reported to the FCA which taken on the Guidance previously given by the now defunct OFT " Using misleading practices" etc.

Any Letters I Draft are N0T approved by CAG and no personal liability is accepted.

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Yup, albsolutely a no-no to send out blank county court claim forms with the intent to coerce you into paying up. If you have the time you can send this back to the Northampton bulk centre with a complaint about this, copied to the Financial Conduct Authority. If you have a trawl around on google you will find that this is an offence and not just an abuse of process so the idiots might just get a knock on the door.

If you cant be bothered you can just ignore them completely, they have no basis of claim and they are only doing it in a rather forlorn hope of getting something for nothing.

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Thank you for your re-assurances here.

 

About reporting them: could this be done by scanning the documents & e-mail (to the bulk centre & FCA) or would I have to post the "original fake" ones?

 

I would like to stick the boot in if there's a chance! ;) But it's still nice to know "ignore" is a way to go (in my case).

 

I understand if I received a revised claim form with a claim number, log-in details etc and an county court stamp, it can be checked on-line for validity. It's about a week until DEAL say they will lodge it.

 

Thank you!

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Thank you for your re-assurances here.

 

About reporting them: could this be done by scanning the documents & e-mail (to the bulk centre & FCA) or would I have to post the "original fake" ones?

 

I would like to stick the boot in if there's a chance! ;) But it's still nice to know "ignore" is a way to go (in my case).

 

I understand if I received a revised claim form with a claim number, log-in details etc and an county court stamp, it can be checked on-line for validity. It's about a week until DEAL say they will lodge it.

 

Thank you!

Keep all original documents.

 

 

It would be best to send the copies by signed for post in all cases.

 

 

To the FCA and the court manager NCCBCC

Any Letters I Draft are N0T approved by CAG and no personal liability is accepted.

Please Consider making a donation to keep this site running!

Nemo Mortalium Omnibus Horis Sapit: Animo et Fide:

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Stone the crows, the idiots have just sent the same demand to me. I wouldnt normally waste a stamp on these people but I have invited them to follow up their threats. Also reported to the courts service at Northampton since the MoJ dont answer their phone. Reported to Actionfraud as well as an offence under the Administration of Justice act S40 (d) and as false representation under the Theft Act (for all the good it will do) the FCA say they dont have any authority on people who set out to break the law, just those who want to be regulated and then get it wrong.

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Ooh I've just started a thread about receiving exactly the same Final Reminder Before Court Action with enclosed "draft" court documents. Very interested to know that sending out these blank court documents is an offense as will be reporting them for this as suggested above. :)

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  • 2 months later...

For anyone interested in (or affected by) Debt Enforcement and Action Ltd,

they were formed almost a year go and according to rumour (careful choice of words all through this post!),

by Gary Wain, CEO of Civil enforcement Ltd and also of Creative Parking Ltd. Very creative.

 

They were kicked out of Co-operative Food's Whitby store#s car park last September after a local furore,

and since appear to be resurrecting old "debts".

 

 

We believe locally that CEL have now lost all of Co-op's sites and are concentrating on pursuing Co-op customers.

"Many have had Notice of Assignment of Debt" letters sent indicating Co-op's share of that "debt" is 13.5%.

I am led to believe that Co-op have never claimed this money.

 

I have helped some people defend these claims with quite a bit of success.

Part of this is because CEL assigned a sun to DEAL who have not tried to enforce it,

just sent nasty letters for a bit then stopped, and

 

 

suddenly CEL have issued proceedings in their own name for the debt they no longer own.

THAT'S CREATIVE! And they haven't even correctly filled-in the form identifying the status of the signatory,

the name of the firm of solicitors or if the facts are believed to be true or known to be true.

I must write to Northampton County Court about that!

 

A debt which has lain dormant for 6 years is statute-barred but if there has been contact of any sort between creditor and debtor

the period restarts on the date of receipt of the communication and can last another six years.

 

 

Therefore, is it a good idea to"ignore, ignore" No!

 

 

Any claim for money is surely valid as what it is, be spurious, genuine or speculative

 

 

and if you don't defend it these guys are just as likely to pop up at your will-reading and claim it then if not before.

 

In effect, If you had a PCN from CEL for upsetting them EVER in a Co-op car park - make notes and be ready to defend yourself.

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just to be clear

statute barring CANNOT be reset with/by a creditor sending silly threat letters

unless its a valid claimform. and that merely 'stops' the clock

 

 

the 'debtor' can only reset the time if they sign a letter specifically admitting the debt and signing the letter

 

 

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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