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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.  
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Taking action against local council-any help appreciated!


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Hi, im currently into my fourth month of a dispute between myself and leicestershire county council regarding an accident which damaged my car.

 

Basically to cut a long story short, i hit a plastic bollard which had been pushed into the road by a lorry exiting a building site opposite. It was dark and the bollard was free of reflectors which are apparently a legal requirement ( i have photographic evidence of the bollards free of reflectors ). the accident broke my front bumper, i went down all the official routes of getting the repair work quoted-having a council representative inspect the vehicle etc. But as i suspected the council have denied liability, i have written two further letters contesting this but I'm just getting standard replies and not being taken seriously.

 

The only way to resolve this situation seems to be with legal action, my insurance company say i'm unlikely to win as the courts and the councils are in each others pockets so to speak.

 

I feel stuck, i want to stick to my guns and not pay out of my own pocket because i dont think its my fault. But on the other hand i dont want to take it to court if i'm wasting my time.

 

If anyone has any advice for me it would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Regards

Ross

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Been in a similar situation myself, although against a private company, not the council.

 

My insurance company hired solicitors after I complained that they had not pursued my claim, but were advised (as I was) not to pursue the claim as they/I would probably lose. I'm fully comp so the car was fixed but I paid £200 excess and £350 for a hired estate car (the Daewoo Matiz they offered at no further cost to me was not big enough to carry all my equipment in and the insurance company verbally gave me the go ahead to hire what I needed because I would get it back); it cost me a further £360.

 

I'm not going to hijack another thread :) but I was just wondering; don't we have the right to expect the insurance company to at least fight the claim rather than just "give up", regardless of the probability of them losing? Isn't that what we are paying for?

 

I didn't concede, they did. They should reimburse me, and all of us in a similar situation.

I only mouth my opinion, please look elsewhere for sensible advice! :)

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my insurance company say i'm unlikely to win as the courts and the councils are in each others pockets so to speak.

 

And how would the insurance company know that? Are we in conspiracy theory country now?

Whereas I could believe it in small villages where the mayor and the local JP (if not one and the same) used to eat at each other's table and do one another favours, I doubt very much that this is still the case, or certainly not in such an open way.

 

What I do believe is that your insurance company don't want to get involved into such a small claim. Are you fully comp? Or do I get the feeling you're TPFT?

 

Either way, it's nonsense. If your insurance company refuses to get involved, sue the coucil (small claims, not expensive), and complain to the Insurance Ombudsman about your insurance. It seems to me they're failing in their fiduciary obligation towards you by not defending YOUR interests when YOU're the client.

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Is it possible to take the council to a county court?

 

I didn't think it was, as it's a 'government agency' or some such rubbish.

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I really should know the answer to this but I'm not absolutely certain.

 

However, I'm pretty sure Crown Immunity doesn't apply in general to local councils. If it did, people wouldn't be constantly suing over paving stone trips. Whether it would apply in this case is something I don't know.

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Local Councils definitely do not have immunity from legal proceedings.

 

Your insurers' comments that the Courts and the Council are in league with each other is silly, its not worth commenting on further. The insurers don't want to do anything because it will cost them about three times as much as the value of the claim - it would be cheaper to just give you the £450.00.

 

However, the same applies to the Council. Even if you lost the case, it would have cost them more to defend it than the value of the claim. So you could try.

I'm not sure on the facts you've given where the evidence of liability is though. It was a council lorry? and a council bollard ? and you or a reliable witness saw the bollard being knocked into the road? This being a negligent act by the local authority who should have known the bollard was there and wouldn't be seen by motorists? Its a tricky one.

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hi and thanks for all the helpful support.

 

Today i spoke to my insurance company and made it clear that i was looking to persue the case even if my chances were poor. They were actually more helpful this time and said that i could persue legal action and not have to make a claim even if i was found to be at fault.

 

I am going to write a further letter to the council explaining my intentions to take legal action-this is my last attempt to get them to pay up before it goes through the legal team at my insurance company.

 

I will keep you updated on what happens with the case but thanks to anyone who has posted on it, only just started using the site but already finding it extremely useful.

 

Regards, Ross

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I really should know the answer to this but I'm not absolutely certain.

 

However, I'm pretty sure Crown Immunity doesn't apply in general to local councils. If it did, people wouldn't be constantly suing over paving stone trips. Whether it would apply in this case is something I don't know.

 

Quite right. Except in my case, it was a hole left by a removed wooden post, filled with leaves from the previous autumn (this was in May, and I had my then 5 weeks old baby in my arms) in which I tripped and broke my ankle. And baby bumped his head against kerb. Still makes me shudder when I think of it.

Before the days of no claim, no fee, still went for it. Hole was filled within 1 week of lodging my complaint. Got just over 4k for ankle, which was nowhere near the hassle it caused me, but there you go. Councils are definitely not immune from County Court claims.

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I agree that they're not immune and the points about personal injury claims are valid but in a way thats part of whats annoying me.

 

A more dishonest person might have claimed injury from the accident (granted there are many valid injury claims but there are also many dubious ones) but i have never tried to do this.

 

i consider myself to be an honest decent person who is just looking to repair the damage to my car which i feel was caused by someone else's negligence nothing more nothing less.

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Today i spoke to my insurance company and made it clear that i was looking to persue the case even if my chances were poor. They were actually more helpful this time and said that i could persue legal action and not have to make a claim even if i was found to be at fault.

 

I am going to write a further letter to the council explaining my intentions to take legal action-this is my last attempt to get them to pay up before it goes through the legal team at my insurance company.

 

Why don't your insurers, or thier legal dept; write the letter?

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I have in the past sued the council for a personal injury claim ( a genuine one lol ) and won .So yes you can sue the council they don't have imunity.

When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. :D

Advice & opinions of Janet-M are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any

doubts.

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Why don't your insurers, or thier legal dept; write the letter?

 

One reason may be that you have to pay them extra because of a reduction in any NCD.

PUTTING IT IN WRITING & KEEPING COPIES IS A MUST FOR SUCCESS

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my insurance company have assured me that even if they are unsuccesful i will not be obligated to make a claim against my insurance and will not lose any no claims bonus. i think this is the best result i could have hoped for-lets just hope i have some success.

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Reading a book I have on litigation in general -

 

Public authorities definitely have to act within the law, and can be taken to the high court for judicial review, which is where they have 'acted improperly in exercising their powers'. This specific case can only be taken to the high court.

 

I don't think your case would be an application for judicial review though so I see no reason why you can't take them to small claims. Plus you wouldn't have much to lose anyway by doing this.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Is it possible to take the council to a county court?

 

I didn't think it was, as it's a 'government agency' or some such rubbish.

 

Oh indeed it is. :D

If it wasn't then the firm I work for would be totally stuffed.

 

People sue local authorities, education authorities, health authoirities and police authorities for any number of reasons ranging from medical negligence to bullying to tripping over a wonky pavement.

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]Proceedings issued....and acknowledged. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]Counting down to the 21st....[/SIZE][/FONT] [URL="http://thebighub.co.uk"]http://thebighub.co.uk[/URL]

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I really should know the answer to this but I'm not absolutely certain.

 

However, I'm pretty sure Crown Immunity doesn't apply in general to local councils. If it did, people wouldn't be constantly suing over paving stone trips. Whether it would apply in this case is something I don't know.

 

Hi You can sue your council but the court will have expected you to exhaust every avenue.

 

Crown Immunity does not apply to such authorties & the government has waived its rights to allow for civil action in many other areas. You still can't sue the Queen

 

If your a past or present service person you can even sue the armed forces for negligence

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  • 12 years later...

This topic was closed on 09 March 2019.

If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there.

If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened.

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