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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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      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
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Credit Hire Organization - No Hire Taken. Disputed Storage Fees/Recovery Costs.


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Hi,

I am having some problems with a credit hire organization (CHO) that recovered my vehicle following a clear non-fault accident at the beginning of April and I’d like a legal perspective on options to force release of my vehicle/settlement. I was put in touch with this CHO via the AA - they referred me to the 3rd party via their Accident Assist service following a call to their general helpline. Consequently, I’ve written a strongly worded letter of complaint to the AA listing all of the failings I’ve experienced and this is due to be submitted today. I’m hoping this will put some pressure on the CHO to release my vehicle and/or come to a settlement. However, in the event that this fails or takes too long, I would like to explore my options for applying legal pressure to the CHO for release.

I believe that the CHO is holding my vehicle under a lien although they have not confirmed this. They have said they will not release the vehicle until their invoice for a little over £1k is paid. The invoice is for recovery and storage costs of the vehicle since it was recovered after the accident.

My dispute over the charges is as follows:

1. The vehicle was recovered 200 miles away from the incident without notice or consent.

2. The vehicle has been in storage with them since then but no contract has been signed/issued, no terms and conditions have been supplied, no credit hire was taken and no onboarding documentation was completed. I've spoken to them on phone calls and a number of WhatsApp messages/emails have been exchanged.

3. On the day after the accident, I told them that I didn't think my case was a good fit for them as I had no need for a hire vehicle - I was due to travel out of the country for an extended business trip about a week later. Additionally, I told them I would be away for 4-6 weeks and would be bringing back a second vehicle on my return. They insisted this wasn't an issue but continued to apply pressure for me to take up a hire vehicle until I travelled.

4. On the day after the accident, I also asked them if they were able to provide a BMW approved repair as the vehicle still has a manufacturer warranty in place. They told me they use BMW parts but could not confirm that it would be a BMW approved repairer. The answer was vague but I assumed this was not something they could offer. Further conversations around this have not offered a way forward with them using a BMW approved repairer.

5. A couple of days later, I told them clearly that I wanted the vehicle to be repaired by my local BMW dealership.

6, They ignored this and presented me with an "Engineers Estimate" around 10 days after the accident. I was told that this was drawn up by the call handler, who claimed to be an engineer, and comprised a list of parts requiring replacement along with an estimate of labour. It did not contain any photos of the damage, notes or substantiating detail to make an informed decision on the condition of the vehicle. I asked for further details which have never been supplied. I also questioned whether this was an Engineer's Report as they had been referring to it as such in the phone calls. It was not until much later that I noticed it was named otherwise in their written communication.

7. Their assessment was that the vehicle is a total loss, even thought I didn't believe they had the authority or qualifications to make that determination. They proposed to engage with the insurer on my behalf and take the case forward on the basis of a negotiation towards a settlement.

8. I was unhappy with this assessment, their proposed course of action and was very sure by this point that I did not trust this company to look after my interests. However, I was unsure how to extricate myself and my vehicle from this situation. I tried engaging with BMW and my insurer directly but neither were able to offer what I wanted - pay the CHO to release the vehicle and transfer it to a BMW approved facility. Even though I haven't taken a hire or signed a contract with this organization, their involvement has made it difficult to transfer the case to another third party.

9. Meanwhile, the CHO has continued to frustrate the process and argue against my wishes - largely centered around their insistence that I accept the vehicle is a "total loss".

10. Things dragged, until I asked for an estimate of costs around the end of May and I was presented with an invoice for a little over 1k. This was the first time that I was made aware of storage costs in any form, either as a daily rate or that they would be incurred/charged.

11. I've refused to pay this and I've since been advised that these charges may not be fully recoverable from a third party insurer given the lack of progress with the case. I was referred to the "ABI General Terms Of Agreement (GTA) Between Subscribing Insurers (Insurers) And Credit Hire Organisations (CHOs)" as a baseline for claims between CHOs and Insurers. To be clear, the CHO in question is not a subscriber to the GTA but the advisor proposed the GTA might still be the measuring stick a third party insurer would use when assessing the validity of the charges. On review of the GTA, I have identified 5 clear breaches of the terms and these are the focus of my complaint to the AA.

12. I informed them that further storage charges would be their own liability since they are choosing to retain the vehicle rather than allow it to be released. They have said that they do not accept liability for further charges whilst the matter is in dispute.

13. I've asked the CHO to clarify the basis on which they are holding my vehicle and asked if they are trying to exercise a common law lien.

On the the basis of the above, I believe that there is probably enough to show that a verbal agreement was in place to recover the vehicle and that the recovery element of their invoice is substantiated, at least in part. That said, the distance is questionable and I am concerned that recovery back to my local area is another cost that will need to be bourne by somebody.

I strongly dispute the storage charges on the basis there was no mention of this verbally or in writing (no T's & C's have ever been supplied) until the invoice was presented. Consequently, I don't see how this is substantiated in our verbal agreement to recover the car. Additionally, I believe that the delay to this case has largely been down to their insistence to remain involved even though they are not offering the services or resolutions that I want. To then charge for an impasse that they have created seems both unreasonable and unprofessional.

Would very much appreciate advice on the next steps from a legal perspective - formal demand for release of the vehicle with an LBA to follow?

Thanks,

James

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I'm sorry but this story is so incredibly long and involved but it is really difficult to follow it through. Don't forget we are volunteers and we are giving our time simply to help out.

Please could you give us a story in a bullet pointed chronology. Skip all the narrative. We really just want to know what the issues are and how it came about.

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Sorry about that. I tried to keep it brief but it is a bit of a saga... Will summarise below.

1. Following a non-fault accident, Credit Hire Organization (CHI) recovered my vehicle 200 miles from my locale without notice/instruction .

2. I told them straight away I didn't need a credit hire vehicle and made it clear I wanted a manufacturer approved repair.

3. They have tried to remain involved - pressured car hire when not required, pressured me to accept their assessment the vehicle was a total loss and this has lead to a breakdown in trust/the relationship.

4. I have not been given or signed a contract or terms and conditions. Additionally, I have refused to complete their onboarding questionnaire as they did not inspire confidence to engage them formally.

4. After 2 months of this dragging, they have presented me with an invoice for around £1k, which comprises recovery (25%) and storage (75%).

5. They are refusing to release the vehicle until they have been paid.

My next step is to make a complaint to the AA, who referred me to the CHO via their Accident Assist Service, but I would like to get advice on next steps for progressing this legally in parallel. At present, neither my insurer, nor BMW, not the third party's insurer are offering support to get things moving in the right direction. Desired outcome is to get the car to BMW asap.

Thanks,

J
 

 

BTW, original post is in chronological order.

Edited by orge
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