VCS spycar PCN PAPLOC Now Claimform - Bristol Airport - TWO parking charges in two minutes

[southwestram]

Hi All,

Today, I received court papers for Northampton County Court Business Centre

To date, I have received only one set. Usually, I receive one article in the post for each of the two PCNs. That may change tomorrow of course, but so far, only one.

VCS are claiming, through ELMS, £170 plus £35 court fee, plus £50 Legal Rep's costs, totalling £255

My questions are:

1) Does it have to be heard in Northampton, or can the case be heard closer to home - I'm close to Bristol, and the incident was at Bristol Airport
2) Do I have to attend (or would it be advantageous to attend)
3) What should my next step be?

I'm really not in a position to pay one of these made-up amounts, never mind should another drop through the letterbox. I could really do with some concrete advice.

UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS: I now have witness statements from the taxi controller, and from the passenger who blocked my access into the drop-off car park. I also have copies of the NTK

Would welcome your advice

[FTMDave]

1.  You're the defendant - you get to choose the court (however, that is for later on, at Directions Questionnaire stage).

 

2.  You don't have to attend - but if you don't you won't be able to challenge Simon's lies and you will almost certainly lose.  So attend.

 

3.  Acknowledge service which "buys" you more time before you submit your defence, and send VCS a CPR request which they won't reply to and so you thus undermine their case.  Fellow Site Team member dx100uk generally deals with all this and I'm sure will be on very soon.

[southwestram]

OK. I probably won't do anything with this until Friday, to give a chance for the second set of papers to arrive (if they're coming at all).

A CPR request is the Civil Procedures Request?

As the main access road through Bristol airport has no barrier between the Public Highway (the A38) and the private property of the airport, I think I read somewhere that it comes under the Highways Act (or whatever it's called), and that therefore, it's subject to the same rules and regulations as is the A38 itself? (I'm talking primarily about the use of a mobile phone whilst driving)

[FTMDave]

Sorry for posting in dribs & drabs but I'm at work.

 

Did you reply to the Letters Before Claim?

 

Simon's PCN number should be somewhere on the claim form.  Which invoice are they suing you for?  I strongly suspect the first one.

[dx100uk]

No rush on anything.

Out herding sheep till dusk 

 

More later.

 

VCS claimform

In our enhanced Google search box, get reading and many threads as you can in the meantime 

 

He'd put them in the same claim if he was going for both to court 

This is a tester to see if you wet yourself and do something silly ..don't!!

 

Follow our advice, you'll be fine 

Don't do anything ever without checking here 1st

 

Fill out the court sticky please

 

Dx

[southwestram]

Thanks Dave

I replied to one of their letters - probably their final demand, explaining that I wouldn't be paying their invoice - in accordance wih one of the templates. I didn't reply to their LBC as I would only have repeated what I had already stated, but I did ask them for a SAR under GDPR, which they sent.

You're correct in your assumption that they have sent only the papers for the first event. Perhaps they will send the second. Perhaps they realise that driving my car directly into someone running down the car park ramp is actually a pretty extreme way of avoiding stopping the vehicle. But I suspect they will try to push that one through to show that I am a serial offender!

Thanks Dx for your reply.

I'll wait until tomorrows post, just to see if anything does arrive, and then fill out the sticky as requested.

 

[FTMDave]

We normally recommend replying to a LBC, but in any case I think Simon had already decided to sue you for the first one which is easier for him and it doesn't involve attempted murder.

[southwestram]

It didn't need me to wait until Friday. The second letter arrived this morning. Apparently, not wishing to commit murder is no adequate reason not to stop on a road.

Can I confirm that the Road Traffic Act applies to the feeder road in Bristol Airport, being as it is accessible by drivers entering from the A38 without passing through a physical barrier?

[dx100uk]

What 2nd letter.

 

Dx

[southwestram]

There were two allegations of having stopped on the airport feeder road.

There was supposition yesterday when only the court letter for the first event arrived, that they had dropped the second prosecution as it involved me having stopped to avoid knocking down someone running down the ramp I was trying to access.

However, the court letter for that one arrived today, a day after the first.

[FTMDave]

So you have a second, different county court claim form?

 

BTW, it's not a prosecution, a prosecution is criminal, this is civil.  i don't write this to be pernickety, just there are different courts and different procedures..

[FTMDave]

2 hours ago, southwestram said:

Can I confirm that the Road Traffic Act applies to the feeder road in Bristol Airport, being as it is accessible by drivers entering from the A38 without passing through a physical barrier?

Unless anyone has info to the contrary, I would say that the Road Traffic Act applies to all the roads there, as indeed will the Bristol Airport bye-laws.

 

Simon is on a hiding to nothing especially with the second ticket, it's specifically stated in the government Code of Practice that stopping to prevent an accident is fine (as well as it being damn common sense!)

 

I wonder why there are two separate court claims.  It could just be a mistake by VCS, or there could be some shenanigans at work.

[dx100uk]

They are claimform packs from northants bulk court not court letters .?

 

Dx

[lookinforinfo]

Aren't they supposed to put both PCNs into one Court case?

 

[dx100uk]

nope

more court fees

more money

more court interest.

 

dx

[lookinforinfo]

Could you please post up both NTKs including times and dates. They will probably have made some mistakes in them which would be to your advantage.

Their claim for £170 is a dead duck as they haven't even included in their signs that they can add extra charges. Some Judges throw out the whole case if those charges are included. Also in the contract they have with the airport it covers the car park not the roads. And even if the roads are private they are still covered by airport byelaws so just relax their cases are weak. 

Oh yes, could you please include the NTDs with the dates and times included.

Edited July 29, 2022 by lookinforinfo

[FTMDave]

If you haven't already done so, you need to acknowledge service tomorrow with the court and send off a CPR request.  x2 of course.

 

dx100uk usually deals with all this, but I know he's extremely busy at the moment.  However, all details are in posts 34-36 here  https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/398733-vcs-windscreen-pcn-claimform-incorrect-reg-scunthorpe-wasnt-a-proper-car-park-its-vcss-site-number-02871-claim-discontinued/page/2/#comments

 

 

[dx100uk]

ok things are getting dis ointed and you need to get back on track and not miss important dates

it doesn't take you 2 mins to go get the court claim post/sticky we need you to fill in.

 

 

complete it once and post back here 

 

then go start a new topic for the 2nd court claim and fill in the sticky again.

 

then we will get you moving.

 

dx

 

[southwestram]

I have now created two new topics for this, one for each PCN issued, as obviously, the defence would be different in each case, and as suggested, it would be better to keep them separate

 

[FTMDave]

Good idea.  Of the two, the not-murdering-the-passenger will be the easiest to win.

[southwestram]

I wondered whether not including anything in the file for the first PCN Subject Access Request response might be a bit of a technical faux pas, and (hopefully) not then a claim that they could continue with?

[dx100uk]

so what happened?