PCM ANPR PCN Claimform - Overstay - Anchorwood Retail Park, Barnstaple, Devon ***Claim Dismissed + Costs***

[Lazy farmer]

A vehicle that I own but is insured for many drivers has picked up a PCN for overstaying a 2 hours free carpark (by an additional 2 hours)

 

Attached is a pdf of the notice.

 

The offence date is 28/02/22, posting date of notice 14/03/22, date notice is given 16/03/22 - does this put it beyond the 14 days i've read about?

 

Rather oddly the charge is £100 reduced to £100 if paid in 14 days, so no discount at all. I've just come back from a skiing trip so missed the 14 days anyway but would have expected a discount.

 

I have not contacted the company at all & not appealed.

 

It also says that if payment is not received within 28 days they have the right to recover the amount from the registered keeper - is that correct?

 

Please can someone advise if the notice is compliant & if i need to pay.

 

CAG have kindly helped me on a similar notice for stopping in Bristol Airport which I am still fighting - it doesn't rain it pours!

 

 

 

Anchorwood car park scan.pdf

[Lazy farmer]

For PCN's received through the post [ANPR camera capture]

(must be received within 14 days from the Incident)

 

Please answer the following questions.

 

1 Date of the infringement 28.02.2022

 

2 Date on the NTK [this must have been received within 14 days from the 'offence' date] Date of posting 14.03.22, date notice is given 16.03.22
 

[scan up BOTH SIDES as ONE PDF- follow the upload guide]

Uploaded in first post

 

3 Date received date received unknown as away on holiday  until 20.03.22

 

4 Does the NTK mention schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012? [Y/N?] Y
 

5 Is there any photographic evidence of the event? Yes, entry & exit photos
 

6 Have you appealed? [Y/N?] post up your appeal] n

 

Have you had a response? [Y/N?] post it up N/a

 

7 Who is the parking company? Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd

 

8. Where exactly [carpark name and town] Anchorwood Retail Park, Barnstaple, Devon 
 

For either option, does it say which appeals body they operate under.

IAS
 

T

[Lazy farmer]

Is there an obligation to offer a discount? I must admit it looked odd to me. 

[Lazy farmer]

Just received a Keeper Liability Notice saying that 28 days have now elapsed since their Notice To Keeper letter

 

they are now able to exercise their right under schedule 4 of Pofa to recover the charge from me. 

i categorically was not the driver & their notice was not received within 14 days of the alleged offence.

 

Should I wait until a letter before claim or save some paper & tell them this now?

 

[Lazy farmer]

Received a letter before claim yesterday from Gladstones Solicitors.

Says pay or fill in their online dispute form.

is this the moment to state:

I am the registered keeper but categorically was not the driver.

I do not know who was driving, the vehicle is used by many.

The charge notice was not received within 14 days so is not compliant with POFA and therefore the claimant has no right to transfer the charge to me.

?

[Lazy farmer]

Evening.

I have today received a court claim form. 
You guys have been so busy helping me against VCS at Bristol airport that I forgot to respond to Gladstones letter before Claim.

Have I put myself at a disadvantage?

The defence for this one is that I was not driving & the charge notice didn’t arrive within 14 days so fails on POFA.

[Lazy farmer]

Which Court have you received the claim from Northampton 

 

Name of the Claimant ? Parking Control Management

 

Date of issue – 09.sep.2022

 

Particulars of Claim

 

What is the claim for – 

1.The driver of the vehicle with registration ******** (the vehicle) parked in breach of the terms of parking stipulated on the signage (the ‘Contract’) at Anchorwood Retail Park - EX31, on 28/02/2022 thus incurring the parking charge (the PCN).

 

2.The PCN was not paid within 28 days of issue.

 

3.The Claimant claims the unpaid PCN from the Defendant as the driver/keeper of the vehicle. Despite demands being made, the Defendant has failed to settle their outstanding liability.

 

THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS £100 for the PCN,

£70 contractual costs pursuant to the Contract and PCN terms and conditions,

together with statutory interest of £6.01 pursuant to s69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% per annum, continuing at £0.04 per day

 

What is the total value of the claim? £261.01
 

Have you received prior notice of a claim being issued pursuant to paragraph 3 of the PAPDC (Pre Action Protocol) ? Had a letter before claim
 

Have you changed your address since the time at which the debt referred to in the claim was allegedly incurred? No
 

Did you inform the claimant of your change of address? N/a
 

[Lazy farmer]

Yes, good point - I can follow the procedure from before.

just wanted to check I hadn’t shot myself in the foot not replying to the letter before claim - but all appears to be okay.

 

unbelievably in the same post today was a third CN (my bloody kids!)

And again date of event 24/08, date issued 06/09 but only arrived today 12/09- surely out of time again?

[Lazy farmer]

FTMDave - just posted new thread, thanks

[Lazy farmer]

So just reviewed all the thread from my first CN from VCS. 

I've re-logged into the MCOL with this claim ready to start a defence.

Should i modify my defence to merely state that i was the keeper but not the driver & that the CN was out of date for POFA transferring of liability?

Or should I put in the same defence as before which was:

 

 

The Defendant contends that the particulars of claim are vague and generic in nature which fails to comply with CPR 16.4.  The Defendant accordingly sets out its case below and relies on CPR r 16.5 (3) in relation to any particular allegation to which a specific response has not been made.

 

1.  The Defendant is the recorded keeper of [motor vehicle].

 

2.  It is denied that the Defendant entered into a contract with the Claimant.

 

3.  As held by the Upper Tax Tribunal in Vehicle Control Services Limited v HMRC [2012] UKUT 129 (TCC), any contract requires offer and acceptance.  The Claimant was simply contracted by the landowner to provide car-park management services and is not capable of entering into a contract with the Defendant on its own account, as the car park is owned by and the terms of entry set by the landowner.  Accordingly, it is denied that the Claimant has authority to bring this claim. 

 

4.  In any case it is denied that the Defendant broke the terms of a contract with the Claimant.

 

5.  The Claimant is attempting double recovery by adding an additional sum not included in the original offer. 

 

6.  The Particulars of Claim is denied in its entirety.  It is denied that the Claimant is entitled to the relief claimed or any relief at all.

 

The amount they are claiming is £176.01 + £35 court fee + £50 Legal representation, original Charge Notice was £100 - 

 

[Lazy farmer]

Okay, i've filed the defence as before.

[Lazy farmer]

I’m away for the next week & with  3 active cases on the go I didn’t want to forget it. 

I’ll hang out the WS until the last minute.

 

[Lazy farmer]

Right, home again now

I will get a CPR request off today

Just had an email from Gladstones offering Mediation - I assume no.

Would it be an opportunity to point out that the NTK was out of time & that I was not the driver?

[Lazy farmer]

Sorry Dx,  just to clarify - killing them by email is saying no to mediation or pointing out that their NTK was out of time?

[Lazy farmer]

Right, i've sent off my CPR request.

 

Apologies for being a bit thick, having filed my defence on line (early), what's the order of events going forward?

[Lazy farmer]

Hello, i'm back!

Finally received a court date for this one & I am required to get my witness statement in by 4pm on the 22nd December.

 

To recap - a vehicle that I am the registered keeper of (but categorically not the driver) picked up an invoice for overstaying at a retail park car park.

 

The 'offence' took place on the 28th Feb '22, the NTK was posted on the 14th March & date notice given as 16th March (these dates were printed on the NTK)

 

I sent off a CPR request to Gladstones their solicitors but received nothing, not even an acknowledgment.

 

My main defence would seem to be that the Notice was out of time & therefore POFA does not apply & they cant transfer the charge from driver to keeper:

 

(4)The notice must be given by—

(a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period; or

(b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the relevant period.

 

(5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 14 days beginning with the day after that on which the specified period of parking ended.

 

(6)A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England and Wales.

 

Should i keep it simple & just go with this and ask for the claim to be dismissed? 

[Lazy farmer]

I have had no response to my CPR request sent months ago so I have re-emailed Gladstones last week & still no reply. Unable to ascertain the contract between the landowner & PCM.

I can find no application for planning permission for signs so presume they are illegal.

This morning I was in the vicinity so popped over to photo the signage & guess what? My CN for overstaying in a 2 hour free car park is wrong as it is 3 hours! Does this invalidate the CN as the 'offence' of staying beyond 2 hours is incorrect? Pic of sign attached

anchorwood bank signage.pdf

[Lazy farmer]

Thanks everyone. I'm at work currently but could have sworn there was mention of 2 hours somewhere, i will check later.

 

Day off tomorrow so will get a first draft WS using FTMDave's sections & post it up for comment on Thursday.

 

I get the point about email, i just didn't want them to deny receiving the cpr request so I have at least got a email receipt to say they have had my request. I will prepare the WS on the assumption that I wont get a reply.

[Lazy farmer]

Coincidentally just received (by email!) the following,  i've redacted my details from their witness statement. They have included their contract which was only one of the items i requested in my cpr request

 

We act for the claimant in the above matter.

 

Please find attached, by way of service, the Claimant's Witness Statement.   

 

In accordance with CPR 27.9 our Client hereby gives notice that it will not be attending the hearing.

 

We confirm the court has been informed and that we have asked the Court to decide the claim in our Client's absence based on the evidence submitted.

 

We confirm the statement has been filed at the Court

Gladstones witness statement.pdf

[Lazy farmer]

Thanks for all this help.

There was copies of the PCN & the follow up letters attached but I didn’t have time or enough Tippex to redact all my details. I’m not very techy!

 

Would I be better to put the ‘no keeper liability’ section immediately after the introduction as the failure to send me the PCN in time for POFA to apply was the reason for ignoring all their further demands, and also my strongest argument.

 

In my previous court appearance it was clear to me that the judge had only scan read my WS and didn’t read all of it

[Lazy farmer]

Here's a very rough first draft of my witness statement, I will get the numbering & text aligned for the final draft.

 

My Locus Standi section particularly needs some substance.

 

Do i need to counter 36 & 37 of their ws  where they are saying i have filed my defence & not denied being the driver etc?

 

WS1 Parking Control Management.pdf

Edited December 14, 2022 by FTMDave
DOC file removed

[Lazy farmer]

Thanks all, hoping to get a 2nd draft done tomorrow night

[Lazy farmer]

I've tweeked my WS a bit, what do you guys think?

 

WS1 Parking Control Management.pdf

Edited December 18, 2022 by FTMDave
Personal details showing

[Lazy farmer]

Thanks. I've done a final draft adding in all my details & exhibits which has to be sent by 4pm on 22nd Dec to the courts & the Claimants.

Do I have to send the Claimants copy to PCM or Gladstones? PCM are listed as the claimants

[Lazy farmer]

So my Witness Statements went off at the last possible moment.

 

Yesterday I had an email from Gladys ref my 2 cpr requests:

 

In relation to your email dated 24th September 2022, whilst the email was allocated to the file upon receipt, it appears it was overlooked for which we apologise.

 

Notwithstanding the above, the documents requested have now been provided to you as exhibits within the witness statement filed on behalf of our client, a further copy of which is provided in compliance with your request.  The only document not provided is the planning permission for the signage; this is on the basis that the signs fall within the category of Class 2A and the Claimant submits consent has already been granted pursuant to its compliance with Part 1, Schedule 3 of the Regulations.  Further, the Claimant is required to display signs pursuant to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and submits advertising consent would not be necessary on the basis of its compliance with regulatory obligations.  As a result, the requested planning permission does not exist.

 

So no planning permission sought or granted, anyone know if this Class 2A  excuse is correct?

 

Apologies for not converting to pdf - i just don't know how to.