tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30501880679801637272024-03-18T02:47:37.378-07:00Parking PranksterPutting the fun back into parking<br>
<a href="http://parking-prankster.com/court-claim.html">Click for guide to fighting ParkingEye court claims</a> <br>
<a href="http://parking-prankster.com/private-parking-appeals.html">Click for help with low-cost appeals and court defences</a>Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.comBlogger1157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-35175554197127865792018-04-29T10:44:00.001-07:002018-04-29T10:44:21.356-07:00UKPC banned by the DVLA<a href="http://www.ukparkingcontrol.com/" target="_blank">UK Parking Control Ltd</a> have been banned from accessing the DVLA database. This means for instance that if they issue a windscreen ticket, they have no way of following up and contacting the keeper (unless the keeper appeals giving away their address). This also means that any ANPR site they manage is now effectively useless because tickets cannot be issued at all. Essentially then, their income stream dries up, and any landowners using them have no effective parking management.<br />
<br />
This is therefore not a step undertaken lightly by the DVLA. Although the DVLA are not divulging the exact details, they are investigating UKPC for a potential breach of contract. The DVLA will not be releasing details until the investigation is finished. UKPC will be hoping that the investigation is swifter than the investigation into MIL Collections, which has so far taken several years and is still continuing. Perhaps the investigation will be as quick as the one into Proserve, which only took a year or so.<br />
<br />
There are around 200 private parking companies and The Prankster receives most if his complaints about 20 or so of them. Sadly UKPC are one of those companies. UKPC have a long history of dodgy practices, being caught out faking timestamps on photographs multiple times, using council signs to fool motorists, and a myriad of other dodgy practices.<br />
<br />
He takes large numbers of motorists to court on bogus charges which have no basis in law. Although he is fully aware of this, he continues to do so in the knowledge that most motorists are scared of court and will pay up on receiving his bullying letters.<br />
<br />
Rupert Williams owns UKPC and the network of other companies he owns makes interesting reading. He has siphoned millions out of the business into his own pockets and his other businesses, (inclusing writing off huge loans) yet pays his staff a pittance.<br />
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Any UKPC who wishes to contact The Prankster confidentially can do so at prankster@parking-prankster.com<br />
<br />
The DVLA needs to take strong action and weed out the 10% of the industry who are not interested in providing proper parking management, but who instead devise schemes to fleece motorists to line their own pockets. These companies give a bad name to the industry, hurt the legitimate parking companies and most of all hurt motorists.<br />
<br />
When UKPC previously broke the law by forging timestamps on photographs so that they could charge motorists even though they did not overstay, the issue was brushed under the carpet and no proper investigation was undertaken by the DLVA. Frankly, UKPC have run out of chances, and if they have been found to do wrong, the DVLA should sens out a strong message to the rest of the industry that abusive practices are no longer acceptable.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-68621996177376129822018-04-28T07:20:00.003-07:002018-04-28T07:21:00.471-07:00UKPC in trouble againParking Company <a href="http://www.ukparkingcontrol.com/" target="_blank">UK Parking Control Ltd</a> are in trouble again, this time for failing to help track down a fly tipper, <a href="https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2018/04/parking-firm-fined-obstructing-fly-tipping-probe/" target="_blank">as this report from The Lincolnite shows</a>.<br />
<br />
North Kesteven District Council took them to court for failing to provide CCTV data when requested in order to track down a fly tipper. UK PC failed to show up and were fined almost £6,000 in their absence.<br />
<br />
This will be small change to their owner, Rupert Williams.<br />
<br />
Mr Williams awarded himself** £663,861 in dividends in 2016 and £354,714 in 2017<br />
<br />
Not content with that, he has effectively paid himself another £690,821 by writing off loans of £639,538 to Pins and Stripes Ltd and advancing them another £51,283. Rupert owns all the shares in Pins and Stripes Ltd.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05104383/filing-history" target="_blank">The 2017 accounts</a> also reveal he has written off loans of £330,030 to companies he owns,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuZAydj2DL6D2A1a7L0bh1t7EzRM2MPY2IMaD3lihn0O6DcweD-3Nz8fxdJU7T-odPrZz-QuRm-veH2P_d843BgZu_frqxj28Yb5rAkDCKLfSou0L2AvNMB1EHkk9UQkH3tzJe3tKPvY/s1600/2017.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="741" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYuZAydj2DL6D2A1a7L0bh1t7EzRM2MPY2IMaD3lihn0O6DcweD-3Nz8fxdJU7T-odPrZz-QuRm-veH2P_d843BgZu_frqxj28Yb5rAkDCKLfSou0L2AvNMB1EHkk9UQkH3tzJe3tKPvY/s640/2017.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div>
Rupert's companies are not trivial to track down. Some of the companies are listed here</div>
<div>
<a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/gp1HkB78uUWtXVYnvJ7SOMhXwxw/appointments">https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/gp1HkB78uUWtXVYnvJ7SOMhXwxw/appointments</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
and some are listed here</div>
<div>
<a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/l5DdWNiZIc0El9TmVMhUzMlX4fA/appointments">https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/l5DdWNiZIc0El9TmVMhUzMlX4fA/appointments</a></div>
<br />
There may be others.<br />
<br />
In other news, The Prankster understands UK PC are currently being investigated by the DVLA.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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**It is not clear how dividends were allocated between A and B shareholders, so The Prankster is not sure whether Amanda Williams is getting any or not.<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-30531500907916388982018-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:002018-04-16T10:36:05.837-07:00Parking Prankster on WatchdogThe new series of Watchdog starts this week on BBC 1, Wednesday, 8pm.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b09lkh" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b09lkh</a><br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster makes a small guest appearance where he explains how ANPR works (or, more accurately, does not work).<br />
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Watch this blog for an up to date report once the program airs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2TUuidKmNJs3Nv-3JNbflSULpghqIif1H-aAeToeRUOogWABMys3TiMq3_3Kd6xx9k5UgnhbWDANP5A_Vh4fOo42CLUBy2T2OhM89uXasIE-33gp_-aS2FRuF767QAW7GRWvB4WYtkA/s1600/reservoir+dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="867" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2TUuidKmNJs3Nv-3JNbflSULpghqIif1H-aAeToeRUOogWABMys3TiMq3_3Kd6xx9k5UgnhbWDANP5A_Vh4fOo42CLUBy2T2OhM89uXasIE-33gp_-aS2FRuF767QAW7GRWvB4WYtkA/s320/reservoir+dogs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
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The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-80475011018031715632018-04-15T11:02:00.002-07:002018-04-15T11:05:15.973-07:00DVLA clarify that parking companies cannot sell on debt to debt collectors.Parking companies obtain keeper data from the DVLA by way of the KADOE contract. Copies are available under FOI, such as <a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/kadoe_system#incoming-882991" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
This contract allows parking companies to engage debt collectors to pursue debts, but it does not allow them to sell the debt on to another party.<br />
<br />
Despite this a number of parking companies have ignored their contract with the DVLA and have been selling their data to rogue debt collector MIL Collections for as little as £1 per parking charge.<br />
<br />
MIL are well known for their aggressive practices which include blatantly lying on the telephone, using false and misleading information in letters, and pursuing debts despite not having in any known case a valid letter of assignment (MIL use an undated 'deed' which has no references to any actual parking charge and in some cases has provably been in existence before the assignment occurred as a recycled deed has been used).<br />
<br />
The DVLA initially took no action to protect motorists despite being informed of this practice many years ago, when MIL first started to buy up parking charges. Since then, MIL have caused misery and essentially 'robbed' large numbers of motorists by claiming charges which are not valid.<br />
<br />
The DVLA has now finally taken action.<br />
<br />
<b>DVLA Statement</b><br />
<br />
The DVLA has issued a statement to the Trade Associations on the matter of Debt Assignment<br />
<br />
<i>You will be aware that DVLA has been considering whether to permit private parking companies passing on DVLA vehicle keeper data to third parties as part of the assignment of unpaid alleged private parking charges. The term used in this context to describe this activity is "debt assignment."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The KADOE contract does not provide for the onward disclosure of vehicle keeper data by parking companies for debt assignment, and any proposals to do so require the parking company to seek written authorisation from DVLA. However, following representations from the sector, DVLA agreed to consider its position further.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I can now advise that the Agency has concluded that it will not be changing its position on this matter. As was the case with previous requests from parking companies, DVLA will not allow vehicle keeper data originating from DVLA records to be provided to third parties as part of a debt assignment arrangement. The Agency will consider disclosure of data obtained from DVLA to third parties as part of a debt assignment arrangement as a breach of contract which could result in suspension.</i><br />
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<b>British Parking Association Statement</b><br />
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The British Parking Association has stated they will fully support the DVLA in this matter, and that this is a serious breach which could result in the award of 10 sanction points.<br />
<br />
12 sanction points results in an immediate ban.<br />
<br />
<b>The International Parking Community</b><br />
<br />
The IPC have not made any public statement on this matter. However, their code of practice states<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
5.2 You must not pass any Personal Data to any third party company who is not a member of an Accredited Operator Scheme (or similar scheme of a different name) with an Accredited Trade Association or a firm entitled to carry on reserved legal activities </blockquote>
According to their sanction scheme, misuse of personal data can result in 6-12 sanction points, with a starting point of 10.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Factors indicating higher degree of harm<br />
1. Personal Keeper’s Data compromised or<br />
<b>used or obtained inappropriately.</b></blockquote>
<b>MIL Collections</b><br />
<br />
MIL Collections are run by failed businessman Alan Davies. Any motorists whose keeper data was purchased from the DVLA by a parking company and then sold on to MIL should raise a complaint with the DVLA and the appropriate trade association, the BPA or IPC.<br />
<br />
Misuse of personal data is an offence against the Data Protection Act 1999, so you may also have a valid claim against MIL Collections and the parking company. As the DVLA allowed this practice to carry on for some considerable time despite being notified, you may also have a claim against the DVLA, as they have a legal responsibility to keep keeper data free from misuse.<br />
<br />
If you provided your data directly to the parking company, without the DVLA being involved, then this does not apply.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking PranksterParking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-33691139805160789582018-04-13T01:30:00.002-07:002018-04-14T05:15:30.957-07:00Parking Awareness do not contest £535 claim for improper use of motorist's personal data<span style="color: red;">[Update 14/04/2018 Parking Awareness right to reply]</span><br />
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Parking Awareness sent a motorist an invoice for parking which the motorist disagreed was valid. When the motorist did not pay, Parking Awareness sold the alleged debt to rogue debt collectors MIL Collections.<br />
<br />
However, Parking Awareness's KADOE contract with the DVLA prevents them from selling on motorists' details without express written permission from the DVLA. Following the Prankster's advice, the motorist wrote to the DVLA and got a letter back confirming they had not asked for permission.<br />
<br />
The motorist therefore took out a count court claim against Parking Awareness for £500 for misuse of personal data. They did not contest the case and so paid out £500 plus £35 costs.<br />
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The DVLA are now looking into Parking Awareness's dealings with MIL Collections.<br />
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<b>Prankster Note</b><br />
<br />
If MIL Collection's have tried to enforce a parking charge against you, and the motorist details were provided by the DVLA, then you may have a valid data protection claim against the parking company, MIL Collections or both. If you are feeling brave, you may also have a claim against the DVLA as they were well aware this abuse was happening but failed to put measures in place to prevent it.<br />
<br />
The data protection claim would likely apply whether or not the parking charge was valid and whether or not you paid MIL or even if they achieved a court judgment against you.<br />
<br />
However, it is important to properly follow the process and get the wording of any claim correct, which will probably be different depending on circumstances.<br />
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<b>Parking Awareness right to reply</b><br />
<br />
Matthew Wild, a director of Parking Awareness Services, has contacted The Prankster to state that the reason they did not defend the claim was that they never received the court papers. Their mail processing company who receive their legal mail had stopped providing service in January 2018 (the contract actually ended 4th April 2018).<br />
<br />
They therefore only became aware of the claim once the claimant contacted them providing payment details. They are now suing the mail processing provider for their breach of services they provided us, for the amount of this claim and other damages.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-1283119961667584672018-04-11T01:03:00.003-07:002018-04-11T02:47:36.777-07:00MIL Collections - £750 awarded against them for “Unreasonable conduct in litigation”.<i>MIL Collections v George. D8QZ60RM Truro 10/04/2018. DDJ Rutherford</i><br />
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Guest report from Mr George. MIL Collections were represented by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemetters/" target="_blank">Danielle Metters from LPC Law </a> Mr George was represented by John Wilkie.<br />
<br />
This case has also been reported on the <a href="https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/truro-based-debt-recovery-company-1442360" target="_blank">Cornwall Live</a> website.<br />
<br />
<b>Court report</b><br />
<br />
DDJ Rutherford has quashed a parking charge and seriously rebuked debt collection company MIL Collections Ltd. The Truro based company were also ordered to pay £750 in costs to the defendant because of their “unreasonable conduct in litigation”.<br />
<br />
The exceptional order came after Cornwall based Llawnroc Parking Services and MIL Collections had pursued motorist David George for payment despite Mr George having bought a parking ticket and proved this to the private parking company. Mr George was helped by the Parking Prankster, along with the <a href="http://www.bmpa.eu/" target="_blank">BMPA</a> and Private Parking Appeals director John Wilkie (acting privately as a Lay Representative) in his defence of a claim from MIL Collections for £215 after the alleged debt was incorrectly assigned to it by Llawnroc.<br />
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MIL Collections Christopher Barrett, who calls himself “Head of Legal” for the firm, under cross examination from John Wilkie, admitted the company often provided fictitious names or pseudonyms on documents used in evidence. He agreed Paul King, G Watson and Matt Murdoch and Matt Murdock, names which often appear on MIL litigation, were all made up. In finding for the defendant and awarding exceptional costs Deputy District Judge Stephen Rutherford said:<br />
<br />
“If a professional debt agency brings a claim it must get the basic facts right…………<br />
Many of the letters were written by fictitious people or the names they used are pseudonyms, the problem is these letters were produced (in evidence) and that information would never have come out without the astute questioning of Mr Wilkie. They included wrong dates and wrong amounts, I can forgive one mistake, when it get to two or more I become worried.”<br />
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The judges criticisms of MIL continued:<br />
“Debt has to be properly assigned and a notice properly given. I’m not satisfied notice of assignment was properly given. I’m not satisfied this was a proper assignment in the first place. It was undated ……. and signed by a Mr Haddock which is a resemblance to a fictional character”.<br />
<br />
When awarding costs to Mr George, Deputy District Judge Rutherford said in a small claim court case;<br />
<br />
“Costs are only awarded if there has been unreasonable conduct. Late service of the (evidence) bundle, failure to comply with the pre-action protocols, breaking the Financial Conduct Authority rules, failure to comply with court orders, adding additional administration charges twice, effectively a way of trying to get back costs over and above small claims costs by the back door, all of that puts MIL Collections as having a cost order against them. It amounts to unreasonable conduct in litigation”.<br />
<br />
Costs of £750 were awarded.<br />
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After the case the defendant, David George, said “ MIL Collections appears to use claims to the small claims track to scare people into paying debts which maybe disputed, they use tactics which are, at best misleading to individuals like myself, and the judge has found them out and rebuked them in court”. Mr George also said he was extremely grateful for the help provided by John Wilkie, and to the BMPA and the many Private Parking blogs and websites for their help and encouragement.<br />
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<b>Prankster Note</b><br />
<br />
MIL's habit of using fictional comic book characters to sign their legal documents has now hit them hard. Although Matt Murdock may be a successful fictional lawyer, he is not in real life. At this time it is not known whether Capt. Haddock, the harbour master who signed the notice of assignment is real or false.<br />
<br />
As MIL have never been known to win a parking case against John Wilkie, the Prankster has no hesitation in condemning their business model as being built on a tissue of lies, relying on intimidating motorists into paying amounts which have no basis in law.<br />
<br />
MIL owner Alan Davies is therefore nothing more than a con man, relying on bluster and scare tactics to fleece unsuspecting motorists who do not know the true legal position.<br />
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If any motorists have paid MIL they have up to 6 years to sue them to get their money back. As MIL have no basis for pursuing these motorists it is likely they also have a valid data protection claim against MIL, and also possibly personally against Alan Davies and Christopher Barrett for using personal data unfairly and unlawfully. From 25 May 2018 any further incorrect use of personal data would be an offence against the new GDPR legislation, for which companies can be fined up to €20 million, or 4% annual global turnover.<br />
<br />
As Alan Davies will by now have no doubt his business model is entirely bogus, it is possible the courts would award large amounts if they find against him.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-66952300663280987732018-03-22T07:58:00.002-07:002018-03-22T07:58:31.275-07:00Court report. UK CPM lose on POFA and signage<i>Case No. D6GF60EJ – UK CPM -v- Mrs H – Before Deputy District Judge Bruce. Chatham.</i><br />
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<b>Bargepole report</b><br />
<br />
This involved setting off at the crack of dawn, and waking up the larks. Chatham is so far East that it’s almost in France. Angus also turned up, to sit in on a few of the 7 parking cases being heard that day.<br />
<br />
The Defendant was represented by me. There was no appearance for the Claimant, as previously notified by Gladstones. Although Ms Cross of Elms Legal was there for three other UK CPM cases, she hadn’t been instructed for this one.<br />
<br />
This was for a PCN issued at The Meads, Sittingbourne, at a location where the Claimant’s signage says “No Parking At Any Time”. The Defendant was the keeper but had been at home at the time, and the car was being used by another driver.<br />
<br />
So the defence really boiled down to two points – no keeper liability, as the Notice To Keeper (NTK) was not Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 sch 4 (POFA) compliant; and no contract was possible due to the forbidding signage.<br />
<br />
The Claimant had submitted the usual rubbish Gladstones template witness statement, citing Eliott v Loake and other irrelevant stuff.<br />
<br />
The DDJ (a barrister) took it upon himself to make the case for the Claimant from their evidence, and it seemed that it might be an uphill struggle given that he had awarded the case before ours to the Claimants.<br />
<br />
We started with POFA, and he said that a ‘period of parking’ wouldn’t apply in a situation where the car shouldn’t be parked at all. I argued that if that had been the intention of Parliament, they would have included wording to that effect in the statute, but they hadn’t, so there must be a period with a defined start and end time.<br />
<br />
The DDJ then said that the notice stated that the charges hadn’t been paid in full, and the PPC didn’t know the name of the driver. I pointed out that these statements were prefaced by the word “if”, which gave a different meaning to the wording mandated by statute.<br />
<br />
Moving on to the signage, he said that the terms were that if you parked without permission, you agreed to pay £100. I argued that the key phrase was “without permission”, which indicated that there was no contractual offer capable of acceptance by the motorist, or alternatively no contractual licence which could be construed from this wording. I took him to the relevant paragraph from the Bull judgment, and made the case that this situation was on all fours with that one.<br />
<br />
He then gave judgment, and at this stage we weren’t sure if we’d done enough to get over the line.<br />
<br />
On the POFA question, he felt that the NTK was ‘substantially compliant’; however that wasn’t good enough, the wording of the statute meant that it had to be fully compliant. Therefore, keeper liability did not apply.<br />
<br />
He agreed that the Bull case was persuasive, and agreed with DJ Glen that the only remedy could be a claim in trespass. It was a moot point as to whether the Claimant had the capacity to bring such a claim, but in any event, trespass wasn’t pleaded, so that didn’t apply.<br />
<br />
The claim was therefore dismissed, and he also observed that had he been finding for the Claimant, he would have disallowed the think-of-a-number-and-double-it additional costs added on by Gladstones.<br />
<br />
The Defendant did not take any time off work so there was no order as to costs.<br />
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<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
It is sad that the incompetent bunch of solicitors holed up in the golf course at Gladstones Solicitors are allowed to keep churning out these bogus claims. Although they have totally lost all credibility, they work on the premise that either people are scared by their letters, or do not know the true legal reasons why their claims are utterly flawed, and so they make their money from people who are bullied into paying up or who fail the court procedures.<br />
<br />
It is difficult to understand why they keep on doing this. Most people would call taking money from other people which you know you are not allowed, theft. Sadly, by hiding behind a legal shield they are able to avoid being called thieves and scammers. Nevertheless, The Prankster wonders how people like Will Hurley and John Davies can sleep at night knowing how they earn their money.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-23103114564148797372018-02-04T15:46:00.001-08:002018-02-09T07:57:31.628-08:00Parking Bill moves to next stage. Will Hurley and John Davies's use of obfuscation techniques found out.On Friday Sir Greg Knight's Parking Bill passed the second reading and now moves to committee stage. If all goes to plan it should reach the next stage around October.<br />
<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2017-2019/0017/18017.pdf"><br /></a>
<a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2017-2019/0017/18017.pdf">The proposed bill can be found here</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/parkingcodeofpractice.html">The bill's progress can be monitored here.</a><br />
<a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-02/debates/CC84AF5E-AC6E-4E14-81B1-066E6A892807/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill"><br /></a>
<a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-02/debates/CC84AF5E-AC6E-4E14-81B1-066E6A892807/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill">Hansard's copy of the Friday's debate can be found here.</a><br />
<br />
The bill aims to impose a common code of practice and regulated appeals system across the parking industry. As Sir Greg Knight put it;<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><br />Motorists should have the certainty that when they enter a car park on private land, they are entering into a contract that is reasonable, transparent and involves a consistent process. Poor signage, unreasonable terms, exorbitant fines, aggressive demands for payment and an opaque appeals process, together with some motorists being hit with a fine for just driving in and out of a car park without stopping, have no place in 21st-century Britain.</i></blockquote>
<br />
The debate was a one sided affair with no dissenters and MPs from all sides of the house and around the country lining up to expose the scams and dirty practices of the parking industry.<br />
<br />
There were a number of choice quotes.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“These people are the John Wayne of the cowboys”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> “The BPA are as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi Desert”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> “This Bill will mark the beginning of the end of these parasites”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> “This industry is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank”</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Some o</i>f the scams which have come to the notice of MPs include:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Parking companies failing to reply to correspondence</li>
<li>Confusion "marketing"; signs that advertise different terms and condition for the same car park - only one of which is correct</li>
<li>Using small signs mounted so high up motorists are likely to miss them - especially disabled motorists; using font too small for motorists to read</li>
<li>Obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.; deliberately breaching the code of practice; cancelling charges when the motorist appeals, but not correcting the problem and continuing to accept payments from other motorists for the same event</li>
<li>repeated issuing of charges to individuals parking in their own parking space outside their property</li>
<li>repeat ticketing of motorists away on holiday</li>
<li>ticketing residents before they have been informed a new scheme is in place</li>
<li>stopping in an empty lay-by for 15 seconds to check satellite navigation settings</li>
<li>using the term PCN and the mimicking of police tickets or court documents to deceive motorists into thinking they have received a statutory parking fine.</li>
<li>charging motorists for mis-keyed their number plate into an automatic machine when the parking company has a record of all vehicles currently in the car park</li>
<li>failing to maintain payment machines then charging motorists when the machines do not work</li>
<li>Advertising phone numners which do not work; are not answered; or are too complicated.</li>
<li>Only accepting payment by app</li>
<li>Acting in a predatory fashion at hospitals</li>
<li>Making it hard to get parking permits for a change of car</li>
<li>targeting of taxi drivers picking up passengers from retail parks</li>
<li>disparity between the ease with which a roboclaim company can file a bogus claim compared to the cost of defending it</li>
<li>lack of transparency of hotspots where large numbers of charges are issued</li>
<li>charging customers for temporarily leaving a retail park</li>
<li>The grossly invasive, threatening and wholly inappropriate use of debt collection companies</li>
<li>Offering free parking with hidden terms and conditions designed only to trigger charges</li>
<li>Issuing charges to people who decide not to park</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Prankster has seen all these practices and confirms they are in common use. The Prankster receives 10-20 emails a day on these themes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Prankster Notes</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There are a large number of parking companies, and although no-one likes receiving a parking charge, most of these companies act responsibility and very rarely feature in the Prankster's email inbox. When they do, the companies involved very often accept the charge is not valid and cancel the charge.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, there are a few companies who crop up time after time. they act in a predatory and unfair fashion. Names highlighted in the debate include Premier Parking Solutions, Premier Park Ltd, Link Parking, New Generation Parking, UK Parking Control and ParkingEye, and these correspond closely with the problem companies from the Prankster's postbag. Other problem companies include Excel Parking/Vehicle Control Services. These were not mentioned by name, but cases involving them were highlighted in the debate. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Smart Parking, were mentioned as a company that blights communities throughout Scotland. Their activities hit England and Wales as well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
Rogue solicitor firm Gladstones Solicitors were mentioned; the MP in question had referred them to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority for investigation. It did not escape the MP's notice that the directors of Gladstones had tries to obfuscate their association with the International Parking Community by repeated changes of names and address. </div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Prankster notes that although the obvious conflict of interest was highlighted by MPs, the DVLA have already investigated this relationship and for some unaccountable reason found there was no conflict. noted. Apparently the DVLA see no problem with "putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank."</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
Genuine parking companies have nothing to fear from this bill. In fact, they stand to gain because removing the bottom feeding practices means a level playing field for all companies.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-20429810042842202212018-01-09T12:44:00.000-08:002018-01-10T03:25:03.861-08:00Link Parking, you've been Gladstoned. Claim Number D6GF6K5E (Link Parking vs Mr Mann). 09/01/2018. Cheltenham. DJ Singleton<br />
<br />
Last year a member of the facebook group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/fightyourprivateparkinginvoice/" target="_blank">Fight Your Private Parking Invoice</a> was approached for help in regards to a County Court claim issued by Gladstones Solicitors on behalf of Link Parking.<br />
<br />
<b>Guest Report</b><br />
<br />
Summary; Gladstones Solicitors sent evidence late; witness statement late; their witness wasn't present in court; they couldn't prove the permit was a photocopy; case dismissed.<br />
<br />
Mr Mann had been ticketed for parking in a visitors bay within a residential complex where he owns a property. The claimant alleged that he displayed a "photocopied" visitors permit as opposed to a "proper" permit.<br />
<br />
As per usual, and as I've become used to seeing, Gladstones Solicitors issued the usual nonsense roboclaim that did not set out any course of action, far from professional for a regulated solicitor.<br />
<br />
Upon drafting a defence and submitting it, Mr Mann received the usual proforma nonsense from Gladstones Solicitors; however we proceeded ahead.<br />
<br />
<b>The hearing</b><br />
<br />
The case was allocated to the Cheltenham County Court. District Judge Singleton gave a concise and strict set of directions for all parties, including that Gladstones Solicitors must file a response to the defence; this was submitted late by Gladstones. Parties were also asked to submit evidence by set dates. Mr Mann ensured his was sent out on time; of course Gladstones Solicitors filed their evidence late, and even filed their witness statement late. Their Witness Statement was from the director of Link Parking.<br />
<br />
The hearing was due at 14:00 on the 9th January 2018. A solicitor appeared on behalf of the Claimant. Mr Mann was assisted by Michael Hartnett, a member of the Facebook group. In the hearing, District Judge Singleton essentially said everything that was needed to be said and was not impressed with Gladstones' conduct, wasn't happy that the witness was not present in court, and the main point being that the claimant couldn't prove that a photocopy permit was used.<br />
<br />
Case dismissed.<br />
<br />
It amazes me from having supported quite a few members on the forums with court claims, that Gladstones Solicitors still systematically behave in a way that is deliberately deceitful, unprofessional and is simply not the conduct you'd expect from a professional company.<br />
<br />
They have no regard to the court system, and merely use it in the hope that they'll get a default judgment or the defendant simply pays up.<br />
<br />
Once again, Link Parking, you've been Gladstoned.<br />
<br />
<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
Gladstones Solicitors are owned and run by John Davies and Will Hurley. Yet again they have shown what an incompetent pair of charlatans they are, filing a claim with no merit and failing to ensure their company obeys the most simplest of court directions.<br />
<br />
Luckily John and Will are apparently untroubled by any moral compass, or they would no doubt be unable to sleep at night.<br />
<br />
Their actions amount to no better than stealing from their customers, since they are not providing the least kind of service one would expect from a properly behaved firm of solicitors. They are also essentially stealing from motorists, by attempting to claim money which is not owed by them.<br />
<br />
Link Parking, you've been Gladstoned<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The parking Prankster<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-716185839236554612017-12-18T23:45:00.003-08:002017-12-18T23:46:29.985-08:00Company not liable for driver's personal actions. SCS Law humiliated in courtUK Parking Control v XYZ Ltd. Basildon 04/10/2017. D5HW078T DJ Monlieaux<br />
<br />
UKPC represented by a solicitor from SCS Law<br />
XYZ ltd represented by Mr D, an employee<br />
<br />
The Prankster was asked for help by a small company.<br />
<br />
In March 2017 they had received a worrying county court claim from a law company called SCS Law (a trading name of LPC Law), alleging that one of their vans had been parked on several occasions on the estate which their client UKPC managed the parking for. This was the first they had heard of this, so they requested more information, which was duly emailed to them.<br />
<br />
The van was a company van which had been parked at the house of an employee at night. SCS Law alleged that no commercial vehicles were allowed on the estate between something like 19:00-07:00 and UKPC had “charged” the member of staff with this offence at various times in the middle of the night – midnight etc. The employee had no recollection of this happening, and did not receive any windscreen tickets. UKPC had sent everything to the previous address of the company, who did not receive any of it, even though redirection was in place. Unfortunately there were two buildings on the site with very similar addresses and the same postcode, and a large amount of post had gone missing.<br />
<br />
The employee made enquiries and found out that UKPC do operate the parking there. New signs had been fitted around his estate, but these were done in late December – all of the charges were from October and November 2016.<br />
<br />
<b>The Hearing</b><br />
<br />
The judge was not impressed by SCS Law's bundle. She ruled that the company had no keeper liability; although they were the registered keeper of the van, they were not the keeper for the purposes of POFA 2012, which defines keeper in a different way. The staff member who used the van was the keeper.<br />
<br />
The driver was also not acting as agent of the company, because this was private use after the working day had finished.<br />
<br />
No contract was formed with the driver because the signs were poor and not visible at night when the tickets were issued.<br />
<br />
The paperwork had also not been received within the mandatory time period, and was therefore out of time to establish keeper liability.<br />
<br />
The claim was dismissed.<br />
<br />
<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
There were a number of other flaws with the case, any of which could also have rendered the charges invalid. The signage was forbidding, which would make any contravention a trespass, and the charges invalid as per the rulings in ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67. The UKPC contract appeared to be with a company which was dormant. It was not apparent why UKPC thought they could override the rights of the home owner to park on his own drive.<br />
<br />
The operation appeared to be a self-ticketing one, with part of the income from each ticket going to the management company. This would appear to contradict their claim they were dormant.<br />
which it was decided not to use were not explored.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>SCS Law</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The claim was handled by Andrew Morgan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRtl5bz5MU8Vf3NU0cBgtk-xMYb2gSQYH3yFE8X_VXEhw6vYtClc5QNDpTKemsPZEE2iIR3sc5oVGW2iYBTCaqi5rwD8AyMKNKMcfYFa43EN5g5qaf8b_Mu4Q7gz5uE_mturNA7QFF9U/s1600/andrew-morgan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="585" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRtl5bz5MU8Vf3NU0cBgtk-xMYb2gSQYH3yFE8X_VXEhw6vYtClc5QNDpTKemsPZEE2iIR3sc5oVGW2iYBTCaqi5rwD8AyMKNKMcfYFa43EN5g5qaf8b_Mu4Q7gz5uE_mturNA7QFF9U/s640/andrew-morgan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The claim was so flawed that The Prankster questions the judgment of Andrew Morgan for his handling of the case. SCS Law claim to be experts in parking law, but on this showing The Prankster can only conclude that they are completely incompetent.<br />
<br />
The buck has to stop somewhere, so the Prankster holds director Len Crowder to account.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18NQFKJlqACyrKJDzuiRD0_PTGX5zYuvfks5xwczxMhj8riY1wuIzPsx1YsqeOUZDEWBXxtRJtIX3QC0MWcUJbgXGqIlZ3Wk2wnUpVvyucUR0h4o0eLQ8qvKFmf_kfpqJATY7Zj2eyJE/s1600/len.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="593" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18NQFKJlqACyrKJDzuiRD0_PTGX5zYuvfks5xwczxMhj8riY1wuIzPsx1YsqeOUZDEWBXxtRJtIX3QC0MWcUJbgXGqIlZ3Wk2wnUpVvyucUR0h4o0eLQ8qvKFmf_kfpqJATY7Zj2eyJE/s640/len.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
If Len is not ensuring Andrew is trained properly, and apparently failing to ensure he has basic knowledge of the law surrounding parking, then this is partly Len's fault too. In the Prankster's opinion Len is failing his duty to his client by filing no-hope claims and taking his client's money without apparently fully appraising them of the risks involved.<br />
<br />
Really, if you are holding yourself up to be experts in some area of law, you should at least have basic knowledge of the issues.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.scs-law.co.uk/parking-litigation/" target="_blank">http://www.scs-law.co.uk/parking-litigation/</a><br />
<div style="background-color: #eef6f7; border: 0px; color: #6c8081; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
We are a firm that specialises in litigation on behalf of private parking companies.</div>
<div style="background-color: #eef6f7; border: 0px; color: #6c8081; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
We have issued over 5000 legal proceedings to date in relation to parking tickets and attended over 4000 hearings representing parking companies at court</div>
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking PranksterParking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-83846599303343473212017-12-17T14:37:00.001-08:002017-12-18T14:34:03.245-08:00Did you book parking online at Liverpool Airport?The Prankster has been made aware of a twitter thread from foodwithaface<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/food_withaface/media">https://twitter.com/food_withaface/media</a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/food_withaface/status/939412872588820480">https://twitter.com/food_withaface/status/939412872588820480</a><br />
<br />
A parking space was booked online with a company called Liverpool Airport Limited. The car was duly parked at the airport.<br />
<br />
On returning from the trip, Foodwithaface found that the vehicle has a windscreen ticket, issued by a different company called Vehicle Control Services. The ticket claimed the vehicle has contravened some new terms and conditions which were not present on the web site.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRqpi4bwL-og21mvZSq9VyQlWgtle6dlaVHH0kOZ7DKLHwQ-1Fq5zhWHonEqywb9wQDiuLz0pJ6sNnYI6oncGZURFddE9afryawrhkDs69sOHjiTQimUSlSrmfi5gyIsTqjykXKbWYeQ/s1600/DQl4lkuXkAA48OR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRqpi4bwL-og21mvZSq9VyQlWgtle6dlaVHH0kOZ7DKLHwQ-1Fq5zhWHonEqywb9wQDiuLz0pJ6sNnYI6oncGZURFddE9afryawrhkDs69sOHjiTQimUSlSrmfi5gyIsTqjykXKbWYeQ/s400/DQl4lkuXkAA48OR.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
She therefore appealed to VCS, who as usual dismissed the appeal. The dismissal appeared to have little in common with the actual appeal.<br />
<br />
Foodwithaface therefore started a Facebook and Twitter campaign highlighting the problem. After a short time Liverpool Airport relented and cancelled the parking charge.<br />
<br />
<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
If you have booked online at Liverpool Airport and been issued with a parking charge, then you may have grounds to either get it cancelled; or, if you have paid, get the money refunded.<br />
<br />
There are two issues in play here. Firstly, if you have entered into a contract to park with Liverpool Airport Limited, then Vehicle Control Services are not a party to that contract and therefore have no rights to charge to for breach of contract.<br />
<br />
Liverpool Airport could of course get VCS to enforce the contract on their behalf - but that is clearly not what is happening - the (not a) parking charge notice claims that VCS are the creditor, and not Liverpool Airport.<br />
<br />
The second point is that once you have entered into a contract with somebody, the other party cannot unilaterally alter it. They cannot, for instance, introduce additional terms and conditions which were not originally present.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJnx9QWU6CjuXYrv2fZxvJisDZXJdC6brvezthrDybbEp9abPDBVG15CzFQrpOtHVXx14z37F8dSljStWh0Iz08ohELF7K2u5ONXaKt25CdQA7c7IicKc0thnWYb5IocAUES7q0Fnv7w/s1600/DQmG4tuWkAAM7Qe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="861" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJnx9QWU6CjuXYrv2fZxvJisDZXJdC6brvezthrDybbEp9abPDBVG15CzFQrpOtHVXx14z37F8dSljStWh0Iz08ohELF7K2u5ONXaKt25CdQA7c7IicKc0thnWYb5IocAUES7q0Fnv7w/s640/DQmG4tuWkAAM7Qe.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The terms and conditions do not mention that there is a parking charge for contravening the contract. The ParkingEye v Beavis case in the supreme court shows that it is crucial for the existence and level of any charge to be prominently brought to the attention of the motorist at the time the contract is in force. If it is not, then it is likely to be an unfair term breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.<br />
<br />
On another level, it is extremely worrying that the DVLA is giving out keeper data to a company who appear to have no rights to request this. The DVLA give this data out without putting any robust processes in place to check that the request is valid and that the company has the right to this data.<br />
This is a clear dereliction of duty by the DVLA and may also be a breach of data protection legislation.<br />
<br />
<b>Update</b><br />
<br />
Liverpool Airport changed their terms and conditions on about 7th December. The new text is as follows.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f1f1f1; color: #363b3b; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">5.2 Customers should park vehicles only within designated bays, within authorized areas and so as not to cause obstruction, failure to park within a designated bay may result in a Parking Charge Notice.</span><br />
<br />
However, this does not properly provide the information about parking charges required by Beavis, such as the charge level and the full set of reasons for charges. It also does not address the fact that VCS are still not party to any contract, and so have no rights to any charges.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-30677586426873996652017-12-17T03:59:00.000-08:002017-12-17T03:59:24.916-08:00Is Bryn Holloway Lead Assessor of the Independent Appeals Service corrupt or incompetent?The Prankster has been made aware of yet another bogus decision by the kangaroo court run by the the IPC, as detailed <a href="http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5739126" target="_blank">in this MSE thread</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Overview</b><br />
<br />
The vehicle keeper was not the driver, and based their case on the fact that keeper liability did not apply in this situation.<br />
<br />
<b>Appeal</b><br />
<br />
The parking company stated that they were claiming against the vehicle keeper and that keeper liability applied.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
The vehicle keeper informed the IAS that they were not the driver and appealed to the IAS on the single point that keeper liability did not apply. This was because the notice to keeper failed to specify the land where the vehicle was parked and also was not delivered in the correct time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLq4RJR27PjzB1UxQ6NB9ohZafLs7JTRvGjDHLL1BZiAa-GukWU9k3TNX4mEO3mGk8boA4Jj3Wf-E27oNEUdzRMwBzYCcYqNUH3ZTkpHlYaGiFo4ey-kaFXc5zK-l8K_qpxD-zkrrkCk/s1600/ntk-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="627" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLq4RJR27PjzB1UxQ6NB9ohZafLs7JTRvGjDHLL1BZiAa-GukWU9k3TNX4mEO3mGk8boA4Jj3Wf-E27oNEUdzRMwBzYCcYqNUH3ZTkpHlYaGiFo4ey-kaFXc5zK-l8K_qpxD-zkrrkCk/s640/ntk-2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, schedule 4 makes the keeper liable for parking charges in certain circumstances. This is a quite incredible concession which does not exist anywhere else in contract law - that someone can be liable for a contract entered into by another person which they have no real knowledge or control over. In return for this, the parking companies have to obey a few minor rules.<br />
<br />
It is completely fair they they need to tell the keeper where the vehicle was parked. Without this information, the keeper is completely in the dark. Clearly 'ONE STOP' does not fulfil this requirement. If this is perhaps a shop, then there are over 770 of these in England, Scotland and Wales.<br />
<br />
The notice also has to be served within a specific time frame. The parking company claim they posted it within the time frame, but this is not the requirement. The requirement is that it arrives in the timeframe. The parking company also failed to provide any evidence of posting.<br />
<br />
As there is no reason to disbelieve the fact that the letter arrived out of time, and the parking company are not disputing this, then clearly keeper liability does not apply.<br />
<br />
So how then does the assessor deal with this minor irritation which blows the parking company case out of the water? Simple. They rule the late delivery as an inadmissible appeal point and tell the keeper to refer any complaints to the IPC. As for the relevant land point, this is silently ignored.<br />
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<br />
The appeal was dismissed<br />
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<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
The assessor claims to be a barrister or solicitor (although they apparently do not know which they are).<br />
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<br />
It is therefore ludicrous that they are unaware of the basic law surrounding keeper liability and they also demonstrate a beginners failing to understand the law of contract.<br />
<br />
It is also bizarre that a person who claims to be legally qualified is unable to deal with both points of a two point appeal.<br />
<br />
<b>Bryn Holloway</b><br />
<br />
Bryn Holloway is the lead assessor of the Independent Appeals Service and the buck stops with him.<br />
<br />
This is not an isolated incident. Pretty much EVERY appeal to the IAS which the Prankster has been made aware of is not dealt with correctly by the assessors.<br />
<br />
When complaints are made, the IAS does not investigate them but instead send back a template reply stating that it cannot investigate the complaint because this would affect the impartiality of the service.<br />
<br />
Therefore, in the Prankster's opinion, this is clear and unambiguous evidence that the process is not fair, but is biased against the motorist.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Assessors have little or no knowledge of the legal issues surrounding parking</li>
<li>Assessors fail to consider relevant appeal points</li>
<li>Assessors put different weight on evidence from parking companies than they do from motorists</li>
<li>Assessors make rulings which are out of line with those being made by real judges</li>
<li>The service is set up to be difficult to use by the motorist - for instance, they cannot paste into online entry fields, but must type everything out.</li>
<li>The service claims to be an ADR Entity, but fails to comply with the requirements for being an ADR Entity.</li>
<li>The service fails to investigate complaints or make meaningful changes</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Bryn Holloway should be ashamed of his disgraceful behaviour in the way he runs this service.<br />
<br />
If he is running the appeals service in this way knowingly, then The Prankster believes that the man on the street can only class this corrupt behaviour - Bryn is essentially colluding with parking companies to defraud motorists out of money they do not owe. If he is running the service in this way unknowingly, then by definition he is incompetent.<br />
<br />
A fair appeals service needs a strong character who can stand up to the parking companies and the trade association, and run it in an impartial way. The position of lead assessor is vitally important in an industry staffed by chancers, fraudsters, bullies and incompetents. There are good people in this industry, but they are disadvantaged by having to compete with bottom feeders allowed to get away with anything.<br />
<br />
It does not need someone like Bryn Holloway who appears on the available evidence to be a weak character, and no more than a lapdog for Will Hurley and John Davies.<br />
<br />
So Mr Holloway, which is it? Are you corrupt or are you incompetent?<br />
<br />
Either way The Prankster calls on you to resign and make way for someone who can do the job in a fair and impartial manner.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking PranksterParking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-44834842499233083912017-12-17T01:11:00.000-08:002017-12-17T01:12:08.423-08:00Court Report - UKPC Sunk Without Trace in Southampton<i>D2HW1A2M – UKPC v Mr L, before District Judge Cawood, Southampton</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5760466" target="_blank">Guest blog by Bargepole</a><br />
<br />
Claimant represented by Mr Carmichael (a proper solicitor)<br />
Defendant represented by me as Lay Rep<br />
<br />
This was a case I picked up from the Pepipoo forum. The Claim was for £2,560 + fixed costs, for 16 tickets accumulated at the Defendant’s previous residence.<br />
<br />
His wife had been the Leaseholder of the property, and the Lease granted exclusive use of a numbered space, with no mention of any need to display permits, or to pay penalties to a third party. Primacy of contract was therefore the strongest defence argument, and all of the relevant authorities supporting this point had been included in the bundle.<br />
<br />
I agreed with Mr Carmichael beforehand, that we should ask the Judge to rule on that point as a preliminary matter, because if the defence succeeded on that, everything else was irrelevant.<br />
<br />
But when we went into Court, the DJ started laying into the Claimant’s advocate, saying that they had filed a bundle comprising 400 pages, and how was he supposed to deal with that in a 2 hour hearing. He also said their Particulars did not address the point made by the Defence about the Lease, and they hadn’t explained how their contract with the managing agent could constitute a variation to the lease terms.<br />
<br />
It got worse. He then turned to the redacted contract in the Claimant’s bundle, saying the Directions had clearly said that the original should be produced. I then pointed out that, even if the copy contract could be admitted as valid evidence, that didn’t assist the Claimant. The party named on the contract was “The Residents of Park Centrale C/O Hazelvine Ltd”. Hazelvine are the managing agents, but there is no legal entity such as the residents, or any unincorporated residents’ association, and the Defendant had lived there for five years and never heard of them. The contract was also for 12 months, and dated 2013, so didn’t cover the dates in question. The DJ said he needed to consider what weight to give to that evidence, the answer being zero.<br />
<br />
The DJ then returned to the central point, which was that the case could not proceed unless the Claimant could show whether and how the Lease terms had been varied. He said that the Claimant should have requested permission to amend their Particulars pursuant to CPR 17.1, once they had sight of the Defence. Mr Carmichael requested a short adjournment to take instructions, and went off to phone SCS Law.<br />
<br />
Upon his return, he asked if he could make a verbal application now, under the informal procedure of the small claims track. The DJ was having none of that, saying that the Defendant was already at a disadvantage because the Claimant’s witness was not there to be cross-examined.<br />
<br />
So he gave his Judgment. He said that the Claimant’s solicitor was attempting to pull rabbits out of a hat, and that wouldn’t work in his court. The Claimant was a Limited Company with extensive resources, and had used solicitors to conduct their case. If he allowed an adjournment for the Claimant to file new particulars, it would then probably be re-listed a few months later for a full day hearing, which was not a proportionate use of Court resources. He also noted that the Defendant had had this hanging over him for several months, and it would not be just or fair to make him wait longer for the outcome.<br />
<br />
Claim dismissed, and so on to costs. The ordinary witness costs of £103.60 were agreed without argument, and we had filed and served a costs schedule for further costs based on unreasonable conduct under CPR 27.14(2)(g). The DJ said that the Claimant’s behaviour had been negligent rather than unreasonable, but he did allow a Lay Representative fee of £105, so a total of £208.60 awarded to the Defendant.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
Rupert William's UKPC is a disreputable company which has survived two prosecutions by Trading Standards, and widespread fraud by their wardens doctoring time-stamps on photographs to falsely accuse motorists of overstaying.<br />
<br />
Now they have been caught issuing tickets at a place where it seems impossible they had a valid contract.<br />
<br />
It the DVLA are to keep handing out keeper details, some form of balance and control is needed to protect the public from rogues and charlatans, and some form of appropriate penalty is needed to curb irresponsible behaviour. If the DVLA are too scared to ban parking companies, then perhaps some lesser penalty is needed. The Prankster suggest it might be appropriate that motorists get automatically paid £100 by the parking company if a ticket is found not to be valid.<br />
<br />
Oh yes, and congratulations to Bargepole for another excellent court appearance.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-66403090960169053392017-12-16T06:03:00.001-08:002017-12-16T06:03:57.021-08:00Courts buckling under number of claims<a href="https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/claims-taking-longer-as-huge-numbers-go-through-county-route/5064031.article" target="_blank">The Law Society Gazette has published an article</a> warning that the courts are buckling under the number of claims issued, which has reached a 10 year high.<br />
<br />
<i>From July to September this year, the Ministry of Justice reported that 560,000 claims were issued in the county court – the second highest quarterly figure since 2006. Of these, 445,000 were specified money claims, a figure which was up 15% on the same period in 2016. The number of claims being defended increased year on year by 5% to 76,000.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
If there have been 76,000 hearings between July and September, we can estimate there are 304,000 per year. The Gazette figures also imply 1 in 7 claims goes to a hearing.<br />
<br />
<b>Has the Parking Industry contributed to this problem?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Undoubtably. The British Motorists Protection Association keeps a tally of the number of parking hearings. Although it is not informed about all of them, there have been at least 6,828 of them (not including set-asides and re-hearings) this year. On this basis, parking companies file about 48,000 claims a year.<br />
<br />
Parking hearings also contribute just over 2% to the total number of hearings.<br />
<br />
Of these, well over half are filed by <a href="http://www.gladstonessolicitors.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gladstones Solicitors</a>, who are owned by Will Hurley and John Davies. These are the same people who run the <a href="https://theipc.info/" target="_blank">International Parking Community</a>, a trade association who give members access to the DVLA keeper database. The IPC also run an appeals service which is well known for being run in an unfair manner with a clear bias against motorists<br />
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Will Hurley and John Davies have therefore set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner, with a nice little conveyor belt going.<br />
<br />
They set up a trade association apparently designed to attract the rogues and bottom feeders of the industry. They dismiss motorists appeals on bogus grounds not in line with decisions made by the real courts. They then feed the charges through from the IPC to Gladstones, funding the costs themselves, but adding an estimated £125 per claim for their own pockets (£50 debt collection charge, £50 filing fee, £25 court fee).<br />
<br />
Even though Gladstones have proven themselves to be totally incompetent in court, their approximately 4,000 hearings can be viewed as something of a loss leader. It is the 28,000 cases which never get to court which are the true business model of Gladstones, who are creaming in an estimated £3.5 million from a largely automated process requiring no effort or thought.<br />
<br />
It is interesting that a pair of scoundrels can make themselves rich through a business model which disregards the fact that they are hopeless in court, (as often reported), but instead relies on bullying and intimidation to make motorists pay charges which based on Gladstones record, they would not be liable for if the case went to a hearing.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-90939554601565483632017-12-16T04:32:00.001-08:002017-12-16T05:12:35.713-08:00The great private car park planning approval scamGuest blog from shuteyepark, from the <a href="https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?88-Private-Land-Parking-Enforcement" target="_blank">Consumer Action group forums</a><br />
<br />
In December 2013 my daughter received a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from ParkingEye after over-staying a 2-hour free parking limit at Rivington Services (otherwise known as Bolton West Services) on the M61 Motorway.<br />
<br />
When we received the PCN we carefully investigated the ANPR system on site and discovered that although the cameras had planning permission the associated signage did not have advertisement consent. The Council’s Enforcement Officer contacted the landowner and / or private parking company (PPC) and requested them to apply for consent for the signs, and this consent was eventually granted in April 2015. The planning documents stated that the signs had been erected in May 2011, i.e. some four years prior to receiving consent.<br />
<br />
Having not received any of the original PCN papers due to problems with the post, my daughter found herself with a CCJ which we attempted to have set aside. We were in court five times, what with adjournment, stays to await Beavis verdicts and then the set aside application itself.<br />
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At the final hearing in 2016 at the Bolton County Court we relied, you might think unwisely, on a defence that the signage was illegal. ParkingEye’s Claims Handler, David Greenbank, although not attending the hearing, had submitted a Skeleton Argument containing a claim that they had been granted <b>planning permission for the signs retrospectively</b>. The judge found in favour of ParkingEye and anyway we had run out of time and he was anxious to move on to the next case (back-to-back parking cases). We had evidence to prove our case, but weren’t allowed to present it.<br />
<br />
Some time later I came across another case heard at Barrow County Court in May 2015 where again ParkingEye were Claimant. Indeed the very same Claims Handler, this time in a Witness Statement bearing a statement of truth, made the same claim: that they had been <b>granted planning permission retrospectively</b> for the cameras and signage.<br />
<br />
Then I came across a third case, this time involving the car park at Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees and a CAGger known as ‘terrier82’ who on 11th November 2016 reported: “Lost in court today, said due to the retrospective application making it legal.” It looks as if yet another judge had been persuaded by this retrospective signage planning permission scam. Tracing back through the ‘terrier82’ CAG thread to 29th June 2016 I found a copy of a Defence to Counterclaim Document indicating that the Claimant was once again ParkingEye. I wondered how many more cases they have won based upon false evidence? They didn’t get away with it at Crewe County Court in September when the judge found their evidence was “tantamount to perjury” (<a href="https://www.blogger.com/parking-prankster.blogspot.co.%20uk/2017/09/parking-eye-witness-tantamount-to-perjury.html" target="_blank">https://www.blogger.com/parking-prankster.blogspot.co. uk/2017/09/parking-eye-witness-tantamount-to-perjury.html</a>). So at Bolton, at Barrow, at Stockton and finally at Crewe County Court a single PPC has tendered evidence that cannot be true. Please send in your comments if you know of others.<br />
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Incensed by losing our case in court, and seriously concerned about possible miscarriages of justice, I set about investigating possible abuses of the planning system. For several years retired solicitor Robert Ransome had done some sterling work in listing private car parking sites that lacked planning approval.<br />
<br />
I decided to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation into planning as it relates to private car parks. I have now investigated over 400 sites, including all the ‘usual suspects’. The results are astonishing. At around three quarters of the sites I was unable to find advertisement consent for the parking signage. At almost all of the remaining sites advertisement consent applications were made for signs all of which were illegally in place. Usually these applications followed complaints made to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) by members of the public, councillors and in one case a solicitor. The belated applications ranged up to 10 years post- installation, with an average of some 30 months. It was extremely unusual to find a single site where planning had been applied for in advance which, in most cases, we are all legally required to do.<br />
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Soon I discovered that over five or more years the PPCs have been playing a cat- and-mouse game with the LPAs. Of the 400+ sites studied I found 60 where the LPA, almost invariably after receiving a complaint, directed or requested that the advertiser apply for planning permission and / or advertisement consent. Searching through vast numbers of planning registers I noted the criteria involved in private car park planning.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I contacted scores of LPAs and asked whether planning approvals can be back-dated, because ParkingEye clearly purports that if a site didn’t have planning approvals these could always be obtained later. To date, 133 LPAs have responded and almost without exception they state that ANPR cameras require planning permission (as land is being developed), and parking signs are classed as advertisements and normally require advertisement consent, a completely separate and parallel system to planning permission.<br />
<br />
Almost invariably the LPAs consider parking signs each smaller than 0.3sqm in area as having ‘deemed consent’, and signs exceeding this size as not having deemed consent but requiring ‘express consent’ under Class 2, Schedule 3 of the Town and Country (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (or the Welsh equivalent, the 1992 Regs).<br />
<br />
ANPR cameras attached to buildings have deemed consent - e.g. under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/418/introduction/made" target="_blank">Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development Order) 1995</a> - but cameras mounted on new, dedicated free-standing poles (as most ANPR cameras are) normally require planning permission. This planning permission can be applied for belatedly, and after four years unauthorised cameras are immune from enforcement (see, for example: Beehive Centre, Cambridge; Peel Centre, Stockport; and Welcome Break, South Mimms, Motorway Service Area).<br />
<br />
The situation for advertisement consent is quite different. Advertisements do not become immune from enforcement until 10 years after installation. Anyone who displays an unauthorised advert commits a criminal offence, and it is immediately open to the LPA to bring a prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court under s.224 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The penalty on conviction is currently up to £2,500, and in the case of a continuing offence a further daily fine of up to £250 until the contravention ends. Where a LPA achieves a successful conviction for failure to comply with an enforcement notice they can apply for a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, to recover the financial benefit obtained through unauthorised development. This power is not used often.<br />
<br />
Government policy, however, is that LPAs should not rush to prosecute, and the authorities have expressed concern about the financial risks of losing against large commercial concerns with deep pockets. So what tends to happen when a PPC is detected as having unauthorised ANPR cameras and / or signs is that the LPA politely requests them to apply for the appropriate approval, which is almost invariably granted. Only if an advertisement is considered to be detrimental to public safety or amenity can it be refused. Of the 60 sites where I found LPA enforcement against PPCs / owners, 55 complied with the enforcement deadline, which is normally 7 – 28 days. At the remaining 5 sites the deadline was breached by one month (Aldi, Blaby; and North Tees Hospital), two months (Hindpool Retail Park; and Corner House Retail Park), and three months (The Range, Barrow). How ironic, that a PPC that pursues parkers / keepers for overstays of mere minutes can itself breach planning enforcement directions by months! Such hypocrisy!<br />
<br />
PPCs have known since at least the end of 2012 that advert consent was required for their parking signage. Why, then, did they continue to flout the planning laws by failing to obtain approval for all other sites for at least the next five years? As one Enforcement Officer put it: “Having been aware that the signs at (XXXX) Retail Park were unauthorised I am surprised your company has not addressed other unauthorised signage at other locations within this borough, especially when criminal liability is attached to your flagrant breach of the Advertisement Regulations.”<br />
<br />
So the first big question is: Do private car park parking signs comply with the rules? Do they have deemed consent? Answer: <b>No</b>, they almost always exceed the 0.3sqm area threshold. The largest sign eligible for deemed consent would be around 550 x 550mm (area approx 0.3sqm), the sort of size we see occasionally in car parks as repeater signs. The Planning Portal states: “You may need to apply for advertisement consent to display an advertisement bigger than 0.3 square metres.....” . Virtually all private car parks have signs larger than this threshold size, and most car parks have at least one large sign, e.g. at the entrance. And it only takes one large sign amongst many to break the rules. Some PPCs, e.g. ParkingEye, often have standard sizes of signs at their sites, e.g. 600 x 800mm = 0.5sqm area, and all of these require express consent from the LPA.<br />
<br />
It is interesting to note that Riverside Retail Park (Chelmsford) did not have advert consent at the time Barry Beavis received a PCN there, but the issue was not raised by the defence. (Footnote: The LPA says that they would have granted planning permission and advert consent if an application had been made).<br />
<br />
In the present study of 400+ sites, 305 (over 70%) appeared to have no advert consent whatsoever. A further 98 (approx 25%) did not apply for advert consent until they were ‘outed’ by complaints from the public. By that stage they may have been issuing parking charges for many years, even ten years. The average time of lacking consent was around 30 months, and many thousands of unauthorised parking charges may have been issued per site during that time. In total, millions of victims may have been unfairly penalised. (In most of these cases it was ParkingEye that applied for the planning, despite their false claims that they were not able to apply).<br />
<br />
The second big question is: Can PPCs obtain advert consent retrospectively? The answer is a definite “<b>NO</b>”. There is no such thing as retrospective advert consent. This is confirmed by virtually every LPA contacted. Space does not here permit a full recital of other evidence that supports this statement. However, in the Court of Appeal in the case of <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2005/1507.html" target="_blank">Andre Agassi v. S. Robinson (H. M. Inspector of Taxes) [2005] EWCA Civ 1507 </a>there was a modern slant on the old dictum that nobody should profit from their unlawful conduct. At [20] and [28] is stated that costs recoverable in litigation cannot include the costs of any activities that are unlawful.<br />
<br />
Illegality defences were explored in the <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1338.html" target="_blank">Court of Appeal in ParkingEye Ltd v. Somerfield Stores Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1338 </a>where Laws L.J. at [29] concluded that ParkingEye, when contracting with Somerfield, did not at the outset have an intention to deliberately break the law. Consequently he upheld the contract. Contrast that with this present situation where some PPCs have deliberately broken the law by erecting their contract-bearing signage without first having in place the mandatory prior advert consent required by law. As we have seen, any unauthorised advertising constitutes a criminal offence which will remain so for all time. Such illegality cannot be reversed by a subsequent grant of advert consent. In contrast to the Somerfield situation, where illegality was incidental to the contract and unintentional, here illegal wrongs have been committed at the time of entering contracts with defendants. Furthermore, the wrongs are deliberate, are central to the contract, are criminal (not civil torts) and are repeated at multiple sites on multiple occasions over half a decade or so. The scale is industrial.<br />
<br />
While the debate continues about legal issues, there is another important issue to consider: <b>adherence to codes of practice</b>. In order to obtain the details of a vehicle’s registered keeper from the DVLA a PCC must be a member of an Accredited Trade Association (ATA) that is recognised by the DVLA. There are currently two ATAs: The British Parking Association (BPA) and the Independent Parking Community (IPC). Both ATAs have an Approved / Accredited Operator Scheme (AOS) and a Code of Practice (CoP). Every version of every CoP that I have seen requires their Member PPCs to conduct their businesses according to the Law.<br />
<br />
In the case of the BPA the CoPs state: “2.4 When there is relevant legislation and related guidance, this will define the overall standard of conduct for all AOS members. All AOS members must be aware of their legal obligations and implement the relevant legislation and guidance when operating their businesses......” and: “4.3 Under the Code you must keep to all the requirements laid down by law.”<br />
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In the case of the IPC the CoP ( e.g. 26th September 2014 version) states: “It remains the duty of the operator to appraise themselves with any legal provisions that concern their operations and to adhere to them.” and: “2.4 If you obtain and process vehicle keeper’s data you are obliged to: 2.42 Be compliant with all necessary legislation.” and: “3.1 This Code is designed to complement the laws which apply to the parking industry. It is your responsibility to ensure that your business adheres to all relevant legal provisions.”<br />
<br />
To summarise, the PPC (whether a BPA member or an IPC member) has an overriding duty to comply with the law in creating and enforcing its contract with a motorist (or, by extension under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, with a vehicle’s keeper), and in communicating the terms of that contract.<br />
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In the judgment in <a href="http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2015/67.html" target="_blank">Cavendish Holdings BV v. Talal El Makdessi; ParkingEye Limited v. Beavis [2015] UKSC 67</a> the judge drew attention to the BPA CoP. At [111] is stated: “.....while the Code of Practice is not a contractual document, it is in practice binding on the operator since its existence and observance is a condition of his ability to obtain details of the registered keeper from the DVLA. In assessing the fairness of a term, it cannot be right to ignore the regulatory framework which determines how and in what circumstances it may be enforced.”<br />
<br />
Virtually 100% of sites in this survey either had no advert consent whatsoever for their parking signs, or were obliged to apply belatedly with no possibility of back- dating. Most of the signs are, or at some time were, unauthorised and displaying unauthorised signs is a criminal offence. All AOS CoPs require their members to operate within the law, but the elephant in the room, the inconvenient truth, is that the signage is almost entirely <b>outside</b> the law. Meanwhile PPCs that do not adhere to the CoP are not entitled to obtain keeper particulars from the DVLA, yet they do. Indeed, a typical DVLA KADOE contract with the PPC, at [A5.1], requires users to: “....at all times comply with Law and Industry Best Practice....” and, at [A6.1], to: “.....comply with the ATA’s Code of Practice or conduct.”<br />
<br />
Many of us have complained to PPCs, to the BPA and to the DVLA but all deny that there is a problem – every complaint seems to be suppressed. What we have here is a vast gravy train of citizens’ money, continuously gaining speed and now out of control. The ATAs are not independent, being funded in a cosy arrangement with the PPCs, and turkeys don’t vote for Christmas! The DVLA, too, are turning over vast amounts of our money in data access fees; they continually claim they do not profit from this service, but the costings they have produced seem to be more akin to those relating to manual (V888) enquiries rather than electronic enquiries which appear to operate with minimal human involvement.<br />
<br />
There may be questions about the statistical sampling method used in this study. Sites were investigated initially because they were high-profile, controversial car parks, and of course it may well be that low-profile orthodox sites may be missed. For that reason, the study is being extended and another 400 sites are currently under investigation. Planning registers are now being searched, not only by postcode / applicant name, but non-specifically using catch-all searches on key- words such as ‘ANPR’, ‘camera’, ‘recognition’ and ‘automatic’.<br />
<br />
To conclude, this study raises serious concerns about the monitoring and regulation of private car parks. These results form part of a much larger report to be presented to MPs in advance of a Parliamentary debate on self-regulation listed for the New Year. Meanwhile, PPCs should be held to account and should refund all those parking charges gained at sites that are or were being operated in breach of the law and CoPs. There is particular concern that many PPCs are claiming to operate within the CoPs when they are actually in breach; they use the CoP as a kind of veneer or cloak of respectability and the public and authorities are being seriously misled. These interim results will inevitably fuel demands for the introduction of a proper independent statutory regulation system, since self-regulation really isn’t working.<br />
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<b>Prankster Note</b><br />
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It is of course very worrying that private parking companies such as ParkingEye charge motorists huge sums for trivial overstays, while operating a deliberate policy of not complying with the law.<br />
<br />
One ParkingEye employee confided their strategy to The Prankster<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>One thing to note that may be of interest to you motorists is that the majority of sites, there is no planning permission.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>We operated a model of retrospective planning.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>So get the go ahead from the client, bang the system in and then if there was any noise file a retrospective planning order.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Point was to save on costs. And it worked.</i></blockquote>
<br />
Shuteyepark has done a vast amount of research regarding planning permission and advertising consent. <a href="http://www.parking-prankster.com/advertising-consent.html" target="_blank">His research can be downloaded from here</a>.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-62426284561504671922017-12-14T22:18:00.000-08:002017-12-15T04:27:03.607-08:00Excel lose parking case against company. No reason for filing claim ever apparent<i>Excel Parking Services Ltd vs Clever Car Finance Ltd. D6DP7R03.12/12/17. Skipton County Court. </i><br />
<br />
Judge Faye Wright presiding<br />
Claimant represented by Mr Pickup of Elms Legal<br />
Defendant represented by Mrs R – company director<br />
Lay Representative for the defendant – Ian Lamoureux<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Guest Report</b><br />
<br />
<b>Background</b><br />
<br />
The company was the owner of the vehicle but not the Registered Keeper. The driver – Mrs R, was an employee and insured to drive the vehicle. On the date in question Mrs R was using the vehicle for personal reasons, on a shopping trip with her 3 year old child.<br />
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The Pay and Display machines at Cavendish Retail Park were not accepting coins and so Mrs R was unable to obtain a valid ticket. She tried for several minutes. She then attempted to find the car park attendant for assistance but was unable to do so. Being unable to obtain a ticket or find assistance she left the car park.<br />
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The first communication received by the company defendant was a ‘Final Reminder Notice’ (FRN). The FRN explained that it was “now too late to appeal”. Mrs R immediately responded from her personal email account explaining that she was the driver.<br />
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Excel replied to say the “appeal” was rejected. Mrs R sought advice from a Facebook group, at the same time the company started receiving debt collection letters from BW Legal. She used a paid for appeal service to send further emails to Excel denying liability for any debt. The emails were ignored and the BWL letters continued. Eventually court papers arrived addressed to the company.<br />
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In total 4 emails were sent to Excel, all in the name of the driver with no mention of, or reference to, the company.<br />
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Not understanding the particulars of claim or the legal difference between herself and the company, Mrs R submitted an internet template defence which did not address the pertinent points and made irrelevant arguments. The case was allocated to the claimant’s home court in Leeds.<br />
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Seeking advice from another Facebook group, Barry Beavis put Mrs R in touch with Ian Lamoureux who agreed to assist with the case and Lay Rep for the defendant.<br />
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IL advised Mrs R to request the case be re-allocated to the defendant’s home court in Skipton, which was granted. He then advised on an email to Skipton requesting an ‘unless order’ for the claimant to state their cause of action against the company defendant. No response was received. It never became known what cause or reason the claimant had to pursue the company.<br />
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IL assisted with writing a witness statement. This inevitably contained statements contradictory to the defence. The evidence relied upon was the first email from Mrs R; proof that the company was not the RK; a sworn affidavit by Mrs R stating that she was using the vehicle for personal reasons unconnected with the company. Cases relied on were <a href="http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/motorist-wins-appeal-cps-vs-ajh-films.html" target="_blank">Excel vs Smith</a>, C0DP9C4E and C1DP0C8E ( CPS vs AJH Films does not transfer liability from driver to keeper). IL also assisted with a skeleton argument to directly rebut the claimant’s witness statement and highlight their unreasonable conduct.<br />
IL was advised and supported at various stages by Coupon-Mad (SchoolRunMum) and Bargepole.<br />
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Excel were relying on:<br />
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<a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/1453.html" target="_blank">CPS vs AJH Films Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 1453</a>: A Court of Appeal refusal to allow an appeal for a case where on the (undisclosed) facts the driver was found to be acting as an agent of the company<br />
Excel v Jennings C6QZ0T47, a small claims hearing where the judge surprisingly found that family members were acting as agents of the registered keeper.<br />
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<b>The hearing</b><br />
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IL had assisted with creating a ‘preliminary matters’ document, amended from Bargepole’s template to include a section disputing the claimant’s witness statement being written by a paralegal who claimed to have “conduct of action” – a ‘reserved legal activity’.<br />
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The three preliminary matters were quickly dismissed by Judge Wright:<br />
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<ol>
<li>The paralegal was authorised because BW Legal were regulated</li>
<li>The claimant had not failed to comply with CPR 27.9 because they were represented by an advocate, therefore in attendance.</li>
<li>The advocate had RoA because he was instructed by Elms Legal who were registered with the SRA.</li>
</ol>
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<br />
The hearing began with Mr Pickup conducting a lengthy cross examination of Mrs R focussing mainly on the first email and the claimant’s assertion that it was sent on behalf of the company as it didn’t expressly state that it wasn’t. Mrs R stuck by the statements in her witness statement and skeleton argument that the email was written by her personally, in her name, and made no reference to the company.<br />
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Mr P’s delivery was shaky and nervous and some of his questions were directed to Mrs R personally rather than as the company representative. IL had to intervene more than once to point out that Mrs R was here as the company representative and not personally the defendant. IL was eventually reprimanded by the Judge for assisting Mrs R with her evidence under CE.<br />
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The claimant had stated in their witness statement that the first email response to the FRN was sent by the company from a company email address. They had adduced the email into evidence but the print out (perhaps deliberately) did not show the top of the email with the ‘from’ address.<br />
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The defence had adduced the same email showing that the email was sent from Mrs R’s personal address. This was damning to the claimant. Judge Wright went through the rest of their witness statement which offered nothing by way of actual proof or even persuasive evidence that the company was liable. She dismissed CPS vs AJH Films as irrelevant and said the Jennings case did not bind her, nor did she find it persuasive.<br />
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She drew attention to some of the irrelevant and contradictory statements in the defence but accepted the defendant had submitted an internet template defence which it did not really understand. She said this was a common problem for defendants.<br />
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In summing up Judge Wright said the case rested on whether Mrs R had been given either expressed or implied authority from the company to enter into a contract on its behalf at the material time. It was incumbent on the claimant to prove or convince her of such on the balance of probabilities, which it had failed to do.<br />
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Claim dismissed.<br />
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IL made a strong argument for costs pursuant to CPR 27.14(2)(g) on the basis that the claimant never had any right or reason to pursue the company in the first place and had full knowledge of who was driving prior to action being commenced.<br />
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It had ignored all reasonable attempts by Mrs R to engage in pre-action correspondence in order to narrow the issues and avoid litigation. It had also submitted false evidence in order to mislead the court.<br />
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Judge Wright disagreed that this crossed the threshold of unreasonable behaviour and awarded costs only for travel and parking.<br />
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Interestingly, after dismissing the case and dealing with costs. Judge Wright gave Mr P a lengthy ‘talking to’ about Excel’s woeful particulars saying they did not comply with CPR part 7 or the accompanying practice direction. She said she sees this all the time and all the judges at Skipton are fed up with it.<br />
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She went on to say that she understands there are a limited number of characters that can be used but that most other PPCs get around this by submitting separate, more detailed particulars. She explained that if the PoC had been brought to the attention of the court earlier she would have issued an order for further and better particulars. She urged Mr P to make sure this message was delivered back to his client.<br />
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<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
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It would be clear to anyone with the slightest legal knowledge that there was no possibility of successful claim against the company. They were not the driver or keeper of the vehicle. The driver was not acting as their agent and the vehicle was not being used for company business.<br />
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This was therefore nothing more than clumsy attempt at bullying.<br />
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From the conduct of this case it is clear that the owners of Excel and BW Legal are morally bankrupt and it is especially worrying that they have apparently attempted to present evidence in a clearly false way. They are essentially demanding money under false pretences.<br />
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The Prankster therefore has no hesitation in stating that in his opinion Simon Renshaw-Smith of Excel and Sean Barton and Rachael Withers of BW Legal are morally corrupt individuals who should not be in the industries they work in. Their businesses are run in a shambolic way with woeful understanding of the legislation and responsibilities in their industry sector. They have poor regard to consumer rights and their responsibilities to their customers.<br />
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Mr Pickup does not escape censure for his behaviour either. He needs to be reminded that his primary duty is to the court, and that if his client is attempting to mislead the court in the way it presents evidence he should not allow this. Perhaps he can take a moral lead from the prosecuting barrister in this case.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5181277/Judge-slams-police-rape-trial-student.html" target="_blank">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5181277/Judge-slams-police-rape-trial-student.html</a><br />
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There, as soon as the barrister, Jerry Hayes, found that the police were withholding evidence which undermined their case, he disclosed it.<br />
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The Prankster believes that as soon as it was clear to Mr Pickup that his witness had lied, he should have requested to halt the hearing to ask for instructions, and if his client refused to drop the claim, then he should have considered his next actions carefully.<br />
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On a legal note, it is worth pointing out that CPS vs AJH Films refusal to appeal, it was found that <i>"This case involves a decision on the particular facts."</i> Therefore, while it is clear that a driver can be acting as an agent of a company in some circumstances, it is also clear that in other circumstances they are not. As the facts themselves were not disclosed, this is not therefore useful case law. The judgment is concerned whether or not an appeal would be allowed, and as one of the reasons was that the appellant did not turn up, this further lessens the usefulness of the case.<br />
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In The Prankster's view, Mr Pickup was therefore either legally incompetent to try and use this case; or, if he was actually aware of its shortcomings without clearly bringing these to the attention of the judge, then he was underhand and despicable; his duty is to the court<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="para7">.</a><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="para7"><br /></a>
On a separate note, if you are fighting a parking claim in Skipton, and the particulars of claim are not clear, you should bring it to the attention of the court. Excel have a long track history of not bothering to file proper particulars at any court, let alone Skipton.<br />
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The Prankster congratulates Mr Lamilad, for his assistance to the defendant, along with Coupon mad, Bargepole and everyone else who assisted.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
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The Parking Prankster<br />
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Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-1994182375709629252017-12-08T14:28:00.003-08:002017-12-08T14:28:39.040-08:00Murdo Fraser MSP introduces Proposed Regulation of Privately-operated Car Parks (Scotland) Bill<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Murdo Fraser MSP has introduced a bill to regulate the car parking industry.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">An overview of the bill is here;</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/106912.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #22229c; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/106912.aspx</a><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;" />The consultation document is here;<br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;" /><a href="http://www.parliament.scot/S5MembersBills/Murdo_Fraser_Consultation_Document.pdf" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #22229c; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, "lucida grande", arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration-line: none;">http://www.parliament.scot/S5MembersBills/Murdo_Fraser_Consultation_Document.pdf</a><br />
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Several of Mr Fraser's constituents have fallen foul of <a href="https://www.smartparking.com/" target="_blank">Smart Parking</a>, a company with a chequered history. Their low standards and deficient machinery have caused huge numbers of motorists to be issued charges when they have not transgressed. Their appalling behaviour may be the tipping point behind this bill, rather like the clamping in Changegate Car Park, Haworth of the car Betty Boothroyd was travelling in may have led to the banning of clamping in England and Wales.<br />
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The bill aims to address the issues of excessive charges, the inconsistency of signage, the process for appealing imposed penalties, and the presentation of invoices.<br />
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More controversially, to ensure that issues of 'fairness' to operators are also considered,the bill also aims to examine the introduction of keeper liability, which would help operators to identify those who would become liable for charges.<br />
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Anyone wishing to reply to the consultation needs to do so before 2 March 2018.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
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The Parking PranksterParking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-49199141952834365412017-12-08T13:42:00.000-08:002017-12-08T14:30:51.199-08:00UKPC lose 7 ticket residential case. Judge rules resident can park in safety<i>UKPC v Ms H. D5HW059T Manchester Civil Justice Centre. 07/12/2017. District Judge Ranson</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Guest Report </b><br />
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I listened in on the above case this afternoon, where UKPC had issued 7 tickets in a six month period last year to a resident of a block of flats. The claim was for just over £1100.00. Six of the tickets were issued for not parking in her allocated bay, and 1 ticket was issued for not parking within a marked bay.<br />
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Ms H explained that, due to drug users frequenting the parking area (due to broken security gates) she had not felt safe parking in her allocated bay as the area was littered with needles. Instead, she parked in a well lit communal area within the apartment block grounds, close to her apartment and displayed her permit.<br />
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Several complaints were made to the landlord, but these fell on deaf ears.<br />
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SCS sent a Ms Hurley to represent the claimant. She provided photos of the vehicle on 6 occasions parked in the communal area. She also provided one photo of the vehicle in pitch dark alleging that it was not parked within a marked bay - it was so dark you could not even see any bay markings!<br />
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After hearing both sides, the Judge dismissed the claim as the landlord had not addressed the issue with the needles and therefore, as Ms H had complained on several occasions, Ms H was not able to park in her allocated bay and had parked in a safe, well lit, needle free area instead.<br />
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Ms H was understandably very upset by the proceedings and was extremely relieved by the outcome. She didn't want costs and just wanted to go home.<br />
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<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
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Sadly some parking companies have no intention of operating a proper residential parking service. Their sole intention is to gouge residents by creating an inappropriate set of rules conducive to issuing as many charges to residents as possible.<br />
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It is clear to The Prankster that UKPC, owned by <a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/l5DdWNiZIc0El9TmVMhUzMlX4fA/appointments" target="_blank">Rupert John Williams</a>, is one of these companies. UKPC have a long history of deceit and malpractice. They have been taken to court by Trading standards twice, and their wardens have been caught manipulating photographs to pretend motorists overstayed.<br />
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The Prankster believes that reform is long overdue for this company.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
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The Parking Prankster<br />
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Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-70570095932539261642017-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:002018-02-22T08:30:48.057-08:00British Parking Association put up the shutters for Brexit. Address for service in Germany 'not acceptable'It appears the British Parking Association (BPA) are ready to seal off the UK from the rest of the world as this <a href="http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5747796&highlight=tecovery" target="_blank">MSE thread shows</a>.<br />
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BusyBee1904 received a notice to keeper from NCP for a parking event. As they were not the driver, they discharged their responsibility by providing the name and address of the driver, who lived in Germany.<br />
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Here is where things got a little weird. NCP refused to accept the address, and continued to chase BusyBee1904 for the parking charge. BusyBee1904 therefore filed a complaint with the British Parking Association who came up with this perposterous response.<br />
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<i>"I am advised that a name and full address was provided for the driver, however, as the person concerned is a resident of Dusseldorf, outside of the UK, the operator was unable to accept that as a serviceable address. Schedule Four of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 requires a serviceable address to be supplied in order to transfer liability. As none has been supplied, the liability has reverted back to the Registered Keeper in accordance with the legislation."</i><br />
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Here is the requirement from the Protection of Freedoms Act, 2012 (POFA).</div>
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<i>5 (1) The first condition is that the creditor [...] is unable to take steps to enforce that requirement against the driver because the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and</i></div>
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<i>a <b>current address for service</b> for the driver.</i></div>
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So what is a "current address for service"? Well, that is conveniently defined at the beginning of the Act, in paragraph 2(1). </div>
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<i>“current address for service” means [...] in the case of the driver, an address at which the driver for the <b>time being resides</b> or can <b>conveniently be contacted</b>;</i></div>
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As the address where the driver <b>resides</b> has been supplied, a "current address for service" has clearly been supplied. The second condition has also clearly been met. For the benefit of the British Parking Association, the way to<b> conveniently contact</b> somebody living in Dusseldorf is via something those of us in the know call a "letter". You pop this "letter" in an "envelope", write the address on the outside and stick on a prepaid delivery charge those of us in the know call a "stamp".</div>
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Apparently some intrepid company called the Royal Mail is prepared to venture outside the scary boundaries of the United Kingdom for the princely sum of £1.05. Simply take this "letter" to them and they will do the rest.</div>
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The Prankster understands that the BPA might not yet have progressed beyond carrier pigeon, and that the attrition rate of these is unacceptably high across the channel. He is happy to advance parking knowlege several centuries and introduce the BPA and their clients to the heady delights of the "post". </div>
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No charge has been made for this educational service.</div>
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<b>Prankster Notes</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06#6.8" target="_blank">Here is what Practice Direction 6 says about a legal "address for service"</a></div>
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<i>Service of the claim form where before service the defendant gives an address at which the defendant may be served</i></div>
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<i>6.8 Subject to rules 6.5(1) and 6.7 and the provisions of Section IV of this Part, and except where any other rule or practice direction makes different provision –</i></div>
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<i>(a) the defendant may be served with the claim form <b>at an address at which the defendant resides</b> or carries on business within the UK or <b>any other EEA state </b>and which the defendant has given for the purpose of being served with the proceedings...</i></div>
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It does therefore seem strange that the British Parking Association has chosen to refine "address for service" in a manner which neither complies with POFA or with the legal definition from practice directions.</div>
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The Prankster therefore recommends that anyone in a similar position raises complaints to the DVLA and the IOC, and also considers making a claim against the parking company for harassment and breach of the Data Protection Act. From May 2018, a data protection breach can cost a company <a href="https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/dpa-and-gdpr-penalties" target="_blank">€20 million or 4% of annual global turnover</a> and therefore this is a very useful tool to use against parking companies wilfully ignoring the law and data protection requirements.</div>
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<i>Dear DVLA,</i></div>
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<i>I wish to raise a complaint about NCP. They are pursuing me for keeper liability. However, I have provided them with the name and address of the driver, who lives in Germany.</i></div>
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<i>I refer you to the Protection of Freedoms Act, 2012 (POFA), paragraph 2(1).“current address for service” means [...] in the case of the driver, an address at which the driver for the <b>time being resides</b> or can <b>conveniently be contacted</b>;</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>As the driver both resides and can be conveniently contacted at the address given, it is clear that keeper liability no longer applies.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>I have also contacted the British Parking Association, who incorrectly stated that keeper liability still applied.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Please therefore take the appropriate corrective action against both NCP and the BPA, and keep me informed of your progress.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Dear ICO,</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>I wish to raise a complaint about NCP. They are breaching the first principle of the data protection act 1998 by using my personal data in a manner which is neither fair nor lawful.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>They are pursuing me for a parking charge under the keeper liability provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. However, I was not the driver, and I have discharged my responsibilities under the act by providing the name and address of the driver, who lives in Germany.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<i>I refer you to the Protection of Freedoms Act, 2012 (POFA), paragraph 2(1).“current address for service” means [...] in the case of the driver, an address at which the driver for the <b>time being resides</b> or can <b>conveniently be contacted</b>;</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>As the driver both resides and can be conveniently contacted at the address given, it is clear that keeper liability no longer applies.</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>They are therefore using my personal data in a manner which is both unfair and unlawful by using it to pursue myself for the parking charge.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Although "address for service" is defined explicitly in POFA, I also refer you to practice direction 6.8, which also makes is clear that even if it had not been, a lawful address for service can in any case be anywhere in the EAA</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<i>Service of the claim form where before service the defendant gives an address at which the defendant may be served</i></div>
<div>
<i>6.8 Subject to rules 6.5(1) and 6.7 and the provisions of Section IV of this Part, and except where any other rule or practice direction makes different provision –</i></div>
<div>
<i>(a) the defendant may be served with the claim form <b>at an address at which the defendant resides</b> or carries on business within the UK or <b>any other EEA state </b>and which the defendant has given for the purpose of being served with the proceedings.</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Dear NCP</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Letter before claim</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<div>
<i>I wish to raise a complaint about your actions. You are breaching the first principle of the data protection act 1998 by using my personal data in a manner which is neither fair nor lawful.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>You are pursuing me for a parking charge under the keeper liability provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. However, I was not the driver, and I have discharged my responsibilities under the act by providing the name and address of the driver, who lives in Germany.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>I refer you to the Protection of Freedoms Act, 2012 (POFA), paragraph 2(1).“current address for service” means [...] in the case of the driver, an address at which the driver for the <b>time being resides</b> or can <b>conveniently be contacted</b>;</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>This is therefore a breach of the first data protection principle, which states data must be used fairly any lawfully. The data protection act provides that damages can be claimed if a breach occurs.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Your continued actions are causing me stress and distress, and this therefore also constitutes harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>I therefore request that you immediately confirm you will no longer pursue this parking charge, and invite your offer to cover reasonable damages.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>If you fail to reply within 14 days I reserve the right to take legal action. I am open to appropriate alternative dispute resolution. Please therefore also view this as a challenge to the parking charge, and issue me with a POPLA code. </i></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
The Prankster has previous blogged that POPLA view an address for service as valid even if it is abroad.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1725223759"><br /></a>
<a href="http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/popla-rule-address-for-service-can-be.html" target="_blank">http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/popla-rule-address-for-service-can-be.html</a><br />
<br /></div>
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-55413593116123862312017-12-03T04:52:00.000-08:002017-12-03T04:52:13.951-08:00VCS spend over £1,000 chasing bogus £100 parking charge at Albert Street, Birmingham<i>VCS v Ms O C8DP9D8C Birmingham 1/8/2017</i><br />
<br />
Ms O parked her car in Albert Street, Birmingham in 2014, entered her registration and paid the correct amount. She was certain this was done properly. As the car was a hire car she had taken special care to enter the registration correctly.<br />
<br />
Vehicle Control Services disagreed, and issued a parking charge. Ms O contested this at POPLA and sadly the POPLA assessors believed VCS over Ms O and the appeal was declined. At this point Ms O contacted The Prankster for help. The Prankster checked the POPLA evidence pack and noticed that the signage at this car park was in the name of Excel Parking, and not VCS.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the incompetent assessors at POPLA had not noticed this.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnCubmFwWIj1DHrtYYjPwJr-FSQ8buAlBy5OQiDElRvKgQxFlsEnAwGWsALyitfIm5WervHZN0YibGXMLW1Xdgb5zXcZ1VTTdxY28lhn5N9vFfQqTJtLvzmPmaExT7KB9RbNeIDd8XUU/s1600/albert+st+-+excel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="777" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnCubmFwWIj1DHrtYYjPwJr-FSQ8buAlBy5OQiDElRvKgQxFlsEnAwGWsALyitfIm5WervHZN0YibGXMLW1Xdgb5zXcZ1VTTdxY28lhn5N9vFfQqTJtLvzmPmaExT7KB9RbNeIDd8XUU/s640/albert+st+-+excel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This of course meant that VCS had no contract with Ms O and therefore no right to pursue any parking charge.<br />
<br />
The Prankster helped Ms O point this out to VCS, and also over the course of a few years to their debt collectors Rossendales and BW Legal.<br />
<br />
The Prankster also helped Ms O file a complaint with the Credit Services Association, complaining about the bullying and misleading letters she had been sent by BW Legal.<br />
<br />
BW Legal filed a claim anyway, and Ms O filed a counterclaim for misuse of her personal data.<br />
<br />
VCS had a long history of filing court claims regarding this car park, but pulling out if the defendant raises the defence that the signage was not in their name, such as VCS v Zozulya, claim A8QZ6666 and VCS v Ms M, claim 3QZ53955.<br />
<br />
It is therefore clear to The Prankster that they were fully aware they had no valid claim, and that this was therefore a speculative claim and an attempt at bullying Ms O into paying up.<br />
<br />
Despite this, BW Legal got their 'Litigation Executive' <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohan-krishnarao-a5569340/" target="_blank">Rohan Krishnarao</a> to file a reply to defence stating that he felt the defence was embarrassing for its lack of particularity. He asked for the defence and the counterclaim to be struck out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGutjD07UJkNGQlMg55s9MxtdtIQ6HpxAps3YtWvWyso3cgVQYz1NRP3R9HInVU2gBEX09u6IcMNU2c6fM95FJ8C4TXHAN6z-7GobQZotKdXIVNUF6WVYAcH1svTKV1iqP3Umdo7Gv1c/s1600/bluff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="632" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGutjD07UJkNGQlMg55s9MxtdtIQ6HpxAps3YtWvWyso3cgVQYz1NRP3R9HInVU2gBEX09u6IcMNU2c6fM95FJ8C4TXHAN6z-7GobQZotKdXIVNUF6WVYAcH1svTKV1iqP3Umdo7Gv1c/s640/bluff.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This is a standard trick by BW Legal and as far as The Prankster can tell, dear Rohan puts this on all his cases regardless of merit. Perhaps this is a trick he learned while studying law at Cardiff University.<br />
<br />
<b>Hearing 1</b><br />
<br />
The first hearing was an allocation hearing on Monday 23 Jan 2017. Interestingly, the week before the hearing, the Prankster got hold of a document from the BW Legal dated 18 November stating that VCS had ordered BW Legal to stop pursuing Ms O. As BW Legal were still pursuing Ms O, The Prankster wondered what was going on.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbz_VXKr9aITFkChfqSMQOD8Yx83paGkgMbey56wWylCbi9VrflPgwkZVbCbQORNz92I8IaH8eiBngtn1g6oJLtVbhFCLp_lVKckXJbdt6JMNYiV6n4339myTeEv8oCqwATosHfnuWOE/s1600/cancel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbz_VXKr9aITFkChfqSMQOD8Yx83paGkgMbey56wWylCbi9VrflPgwkZVbCbQORNz92I8IaH8eiBngtn1g6oJLtVbhFCLp_lVKckXJbdt6JMNYiV6n4339myTeEv8oCqwATosHfnuWOE/s640/cancel.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Prior to the hearing The Prankster tried to give this document to BW Legal's solicitor, a bad tempered older gentleman. He refused to accept this and started ranting that Ms O had no legitimate counterclaim as her details had been validly obtained from the DVLA. Obviously he had not read the case notes - as this was a hire car, the DVLA would not have had her details to give out. The Prankster decided to leave him to his own devices.<br />
<br />
Immediately the hearing started, the solicitor announced that VCS were discontinuing the claim. This left only the counterclaim. The judge ordered Ms O to file more detailed particulars. The solicitor asked if they could have a directions hearing once these were filed.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Hearing 2</b><br />
<br />
Despite asking for a directions hearing, VCS had no directions they wished to ask for. Neither did Ms O. The judge therefore gave the only direction he could, which was to set a date for the next hearing.<br />
<br />
In passing he mentioned that he heard most of the parking cases in Birmingham and initially thought this was another run-of-the-mill case until he realised that the claim was discontinued and only the counterclaim was valid. He was now sad that he would not be hearing it, as it looked rather interesting.<br />
<br />
He did mention that the particulars looked overly long, at which the Prankster had to smile a wry smile, as they had been asked to lengthen them at the previous hearing.<br />
<br />
After the hearing the BW Legal representative, a younger chap, confided that he had no idea why the directions hearing had been asked for. He speculated it might have been an attempt to discourage Ms O from continuing by introducing extra hearings.<br />
<br />
<b>Hearing 3</b><br />
<br />
There was some confusion over the hearing fee for the counterclam hearing. Ms O attempted to pay it, but the incompetents at BW Legal had for some reason already paid the £25.<br />
<br />
VCS engaged <a href="http://www.18sjs.com/victoria-empson-ch.html" target="_blank">Ms Empson, who introduced herself as a barrister</a>.<br />
<br />
Ms O was represented for the third time by The Prankster.<br />
<br />
There was a pre-hearing discussion. It turned out BW Legal had given Ms Empson the wrong paperwork and the old particulars of claim. The Prankster allowed her to photocopy his copy. She said a counterclaimant witness statement had not been filed. The Prankster replied they were relying on the particulars, which were also a statement of truth signed by the counterclaimant.<br />
<br />
BW Legal had also not filed a witness statement. However, after some discussion it turned out they had, but for some unaccountable reason had sent it to the wrong address, despite no other claim paperwork going there. Ms Empson showed The Prankster the witness statement which turned out to be the same as their defence. As it was not introducing new material, The Prankster was happy to continue.<br />
<br />
Ms Empson explained she would be attacking the defence for not showing any loss. The Prankster explained he would rely on Vidal-Hall v Google on that point.<br />
<br />
In the hearing the DDJ got immediately stuck into the minutia of the Data Protection Act and quizzed The Prankster fiercely on what the personal data was and what the exact breach was. There was quick agreement that the issue was around principle 1 - was data processed fairly and lawfully.<br />
<br />
The DDJ then dived off down subclauses (a) and (b). The Prankster explained he was not claiming non-conformance with the subclauses; only the 'fair and lawful' provision.<br />
<br />
There was then some argument on when the breach occurred. The Prankster explained that in principle VCS could start the process of asking for a parking charge. However the breach occurred once they had been informed that their claim was not valid and they continued for several years to press on anyway, causing distress and harassment.<br />
<br />
The Prankster could see the DDJ was in two minds. At this point the hearing still had not got into why the parking charge was not valid, so The Prankster asked the DDJ if he might explain this, as he thought this would help. He read the first line of the sign from the bundle. "By parking here you are entering into a contract with <b>Excel Parking</b>". He stated it was basic contract law that a third party could not sue on a contract between two other parties. He asked what VCS were doing bringing a court claim in the first place as only Excel had the right to do this.<br />
<br />
The judge had a light bulb moment.<br />
<br />
He said VCS could act as agents for Excel, and collect money on their behalf, but only Excel could bring a claim. He asked Ms Empson if she had anything to add. Unsurprisingly she did not.<br />
<br />
The hearing then went through the letters to Rossendales and BW Legal explaining to them that the charge was not valid because VCS were not a party to the claim, and their template replies totally ignoring the issue. The hearing also went through the other claims VCS had filed and then discontinued.<br />
<br />
The hearing examined quantum of damages. Ms Empson stated Ms O had never listed her costs. The Prankster explained the costs were trivial; postage and printing, and not worth individually listing. Instead, he was relying on Vidal-Hall v Google and the costs took into account the distress caused by 2 years of letters which were all template replies never addressing the issues raised. The amount was set both to reflect this distress, taking into account the level of the parking charge and the need to set an amount to stop parking companies claiming money they were not allowed.<br />
<br />
The judgment was then made.<br />
<br />
The judge found that the data processed was personal data.<br />
The judge found that it had been processed unfairly and unlawfully.<br />
However, for technical reasons he found that in this particular case, there was no breach.<br />
<br />
However, despite that, he said that the court had other methods whereby he could deal with claimants who abused the court process. He then went on to costs. He explained that although the counterclaim failed, the courts themselves had discretion to address the matter.<br />
<br />
He stated that VCS had behaved unreasonably in bringing the claim after such a long time; when they had been informed of the reason for failing; when they had brought and discontinued other claims.<br />
<br />
He then quizzed the defence on the time spent over the case, allowing this at the litigant in person rate. He then discounted this by 50% to take into account that the counterclaim failed, arriving at the figure of £222 - not a million miles from the £250 claimed. This was awarded under the unreasonableness rule, 27.14(2)g<br />
<br />
Ms Empson contested that the claim was not unreasonable but the DDJ disagreed.. Costs to be paid within 14 days.<br />
<br />
<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
Although this case was lost on a technical reason, this applied only to this case. The Prankster believes that other similar cases would succeed, and also that if Ms O appealed, she would have had a good chance of success. However, for obvious reasons, she chose not to.<br />
<br />
What is good news is that Simon Renshaw Smith's greed and utter lack of morals in pursuing this case has led to his comeuppance and a substantial loss for his company.<br />
<br />
This will have cost;<br />
£27 POPLA fee<br />
£54 BW Legal costs<br />
£50 BW Legal filing fee<br />
£50 two hearing fees<br />
£700 3 sets of representation costs, including 1 barrister<br />
£222 costs<br />
<br />
All told, this is well over £1,000. Perhaps Simon has a valid claim against POPLA. After all, if they had done their job properly in the first place, the appeal would have been upheld then.<br />
<br />
It also means that if Simon brings any more cases for Albert Street, Birmingham using the wrong claimant he would likely be facing another substantial costs ruling.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-70980896116586554842017-12-02T15:33:00.003-08:002017-12-02T15:33:38.290-08:00Private Parking Solutions hammered in court<i>Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd v Ms B D0GF1A8R Brentford. DDJ Chohan 22 Nov 2017</i><br />
<br />
PPS wished to charge Ms B, a resident, for parking in her own space while not displaying a permit in her courtesy car.<br />
<br />
Ms B retorted that she had been a resident for 20 years, that she had the right to park in her own space, and that PPS had no rights to issue charges to her.<br />
<br />
PPS disagreed and so instructed the famously incompetent <a href="http://www.gladstonessolicitors.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gladstones Solicitors</a> to file a claim on their behalf. As can be expected if you hire joke solicitors, things did not turn out well for them.<br />
<br />
Gladstones did not bother to follow the directions the court issued, and did not bother to file a bundle until after the hearing had actually started. When they did, it was their usual template nonsense, shoddily thrown together and worse than useless.<br />
<br />
The bundle promised to include an agreement from the landowner authorising parking management, but did not.<br />
<br />
The parking attendant, Jakub Gajewski, who is also the <a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07437253/officers" target="_blank">sole director of PPS</a> issued two witness statements, one of which claimed that he made physical or verbal contact with the driver. This was incorrect.<br />
<br />
During the hearing, PPS were represented by Mr Wogan. Ms B was represented by counsel.<br />
<br />
DDJ Chohan was suitably unimpressed by the way Gladstones had conducted the case, finding that they had not complied with the directions previously issued. The claim was dismissed and costs of £350 were awarded under the unreasonable behaviour rule, 27.14(2).g.<br />
<br />
<b>Prankster Note</b><br />
<br />
Jakub Gajewski has previously been blogged about due to the underhand and devious tactics his operators use. He was kicked out of a car park in Ashford, but continues to file claims, although he has lost all reported cases. <a href="http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/funding-appeal-to-get-civil-restraint.html" target="_blank">There is now a civil restraining order being sought against him</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/private-car-park-operator-inhibiting-11060658" target="_blank">In this newspaper article</a> he claims to operate 300 car parks, although this seems to be unlikely, particularly as he acts as one of his own car park attendants.<br />
<br />
In short then, he appears to be a rogue. As such he is in good company employing Gladstones Solicitors, and their rogues gallery of Will Hurley, John Davies, Jamie Ashford and Helen Cook. None of these five seem to have the faintest idea of the law surrounding parking.<br />
<br />
It is a strange world that we live in, given that these people are directors of parking companies, directors of parking trade associations and solicitors specialising in filing claims for parking charges.<br />
<br />
PPS are now £350 worse off, plus the cost of their own representative, the court costs of £75 and the costs of instructing Gladstones. When you employ a firm of solicitors who appear blissfully unaware of the requirements of the court process, let alone the issues surrounding parking claims, this is what happens.<br />
<br />
This is not an isolated incident - Gladstones are a byword for incompetence and shoddiness.<br />
<br />
PPS, you've been Gladstoned!<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-56735350678099939612017-11-06T10:24:00.002-08:002017-11-06T11:59:58.609-08:00Ex-tower Nigel Barrington-Fuller made bankrupt This week The Prankster referred to the case of Mayhook v NCP. In that case Nigel Barrington-Fuller, an ex-barrister towed away Mr Mayhooks car from an NCP car park and refused to return it. Mr Mayhook successfully sued NCP and Barrington-Fuller, and was awarded damages and costs.<br />
<br />
As a postscript to this story, it has now emerged that Barrington-Fuller has not paid NCP monies owed to them and had therefore been made bankrupt in May 2017.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=64994&st=580" target="_blank">The story was reported on pepipoo.</a><br />
<br />
It is not known whether the monies owed had anything to do with the Mayhook case.<br />
<br />
Mr Mayhook was awarded £87,000, broken down as follows;<br />
<br />
Solicitors costs £45000<br />
Barrister £12500<br />
After the event Insurance £24000<br />
Disbursements £4500<br />
<br />
This did not include NCP or Mr Barrington-Fuller's costs - presumably they shelled out a similar amount. It is therefore quite possible that the bankruptcy concerned monies that Barrington-Fuller owed to NCP as part of this settlement. However, this is of course just speculation.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-28837773023545264452017-11-05T11:55:00.000-08:002017-11-06T10:14:14.124-08:00IPC Kangaroo Court strikes againThe IPC appeals service, the IAS, has been regularly exposed as a kangaroo court which does not provide a fair or independent appeals service. Instead, it is institutionally biased towards the parking operator.<br />
<br />
A fair service would produce results which are by and large the same as would be produced in a court of law. Sadly <a href="https://www.theias.org/Lead-Adjudicator" target="_blank">the lead assessor</a> Bynn Holloway has created a bogus set of rules for his minions to<br />
follow which achieve almost exactly the opposite.<br />
<br />
For example, in the civil courts the burden of proof is on the claimant. Although Bryn is apparently a barrister, and therefore should know this, he has created an appeals service in which the exact opposite applies.<br />
<br />
Many parking companies have decided not to use the keeper liability provisions of the Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012, and so only the driver is liable. In those cases it is therefore up to the parking company to prove the driver is in fact, the person they are accusing of being liable. A large number of small claims cases have shown this to be the case. Here is just one of the many recent cases<br />
<a href="http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/new-transcript-keeper-not-liable-if.html" target="_blank">http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/new-transcript-keeper-not-liable-if.html</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Therefore it strikes me that there is a simple question that the court has to ask itself. Is there evidence produced by the claimant to show that Miss Quayle, and I will call her Miss Quayle for the remainder of the judgment, is there evidence to show from the claimant that Miss Quayle was on a balance of probabilities the driver on 28th December 2014 when the car was parked in the Princes Dock area? The claimant has produced absolutely no evidence that the defendant was the driver and simply says that they are entitled to presume that the defendant was the driver because effectively she was the registered keeper at the time.<br />I disagree. </i></blockquote>
However contrary to this, on Bryn Holloway's misguided orders, his lackeys regularly assume that the keeper was the driver even though the parking companies offer no evidence whatsoever.<br />
<br />
Even worse, evidence the keeper provides to show they were not the driver is regularly ignored. In one case the Prankster helped with, the parking company stated on the driver was male. The keeper was female and therefore any fair appeal service would find for the keeper. However, this was not good enough evidence for the IAS. The keeper also provided witness statements from the occupants of the vehicle that she was not even present at the time of the incident (she was at home preparing a meal). Even this was not good enough for the IAS! The appeal was dismissed.<br />
<br />
Of course, it is not possible to run a fair appeals service which believes whatever the parking company states, however incredulous, while simultaneously disbelieving the evidence of the motorist.<br />
<br />
When motorists complain they have received a poor decision Bryn routinely refuses to investigate and instead sends out a template letter stating that he cannot investigate because this would compromise the service. Of course, this is smoke and mirrors. Any proper appeals service would properly investigate complaints.<br />
<br />
The Prankster therefore has no hesitation in saying that based on the available evidence it appears that Bryn Holloway is an incompetent fraud who lacks the experience, moral fibre and legal knowledge to run an appeals service fairly and properly. In the Prankster's opinion he has zero credibility and should seriously consider whether he is the right person for the job.<br />
<br />
Bryn's lackeys hide behind the cloak of anonymity. The Prankster believes that this is because if their names were to become public they would lose all credibility in the legal community. The Prankster therefore has no hesitation in saying that based on the available evidence it appears that Bryn's minions are either biased or incompetent, and have no place in serving on an appeals service.<br />
<br />
Here is one recent example of the IAS's bias and incompetence.<br />
<br />
The motorist parked in a car park in Folkestone run by CPM a couple of months ago. It turned out the ticket machine was out of order; a small group of people gathered round it and one person phoned the number given. She was told to text the car reg no to the mobile number given, which the motorist duly did. Two hours later they returned to find a PCN recently affixed to the car.<br />
<br />
The motorist appealed to CPM, which was declined, and then in due course to IAS where the appeal was also dismissed. At no point was the point answered that the motorist had sought out and obeyed the instructions of the parking company.<br />
<br />
The Prankster firmly believes that if this goes a claim the parking company will be laughed out of court by the judge. Essentially an oral change to the parking contract has been discussed and agreed by both parties, and this will therefore take precedence over any signage.<br />
<br />
The fact that Bryn Holloway fails to understand this proves in the Prankster's eyes that he is not a fit person to run an appeals service and that his knowledge of contract law is shaky at best and non-existent at worst.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-62150631323893571632017-11-05T06:11:00.000-08:002017-11-05T07:19:48.983-08:00Clamping is back! But is it legal?<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rail-travellers-lose-right-of-appeal-over-parking-fines-d90m5zdvx" target="_blank">The Times this week reported that some car parking companies are attempting to bring back clamping.</a><br />
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The situation arises at station car-parks where byelaws are in force. The British Parking Association has recently told its members that they do not need to offer an independent appeals service for tickets issued at these car parks, which means that POPLA is no longer available to motorists.<br />
<br />
This immediately sets alarm bells ringing. Indigo, one of the companies who manage railways car parks, lost 90% of their POPLA appeals in 2016.<br />
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As any parking tickets are issued under byelaws, the next available step to a motorist who wishes to dispute a ticket is to wait for the parking company to prosecute the driver at a magistrates court.<br />
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Essentially, the payment of the £100 charge to the parking company is equivalent to a bribe to stop them taking the process to court.<br />
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However, the court route opens up more problems than it solves. The first problem is that the Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012, sch 4 does not apply, and only the driver is liable to any charge. As this would be a criminal case, the burden of proof is on the prosecution and that burden is significantly higher in criminal than civil cases. We have seen that similar cases where POFA does not apply and the driver is not known are routinely thrown out of civil court, and this would therefore be even more likely in criminal court. The byelaws do also provide that the <b>owner</b> may be liable, but this is not necessarily the same as the registered keeper. As all the TOC knows is the name of the keeper, this leaves them with a tricky problem. For instance, with many vehicles, the actual owner is a finance company. In addition, there is the possibility that the supposed ability to fine the owner may be ultra vires, as the enabling regulation (Transport Acts) only refers to "conduct of persons while on railway property".<br />
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Chances of successful prosecution are therefore seriously diminished.<br />
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The second problem is that any case must be filed within 6 months. Unlike civil cases, where a debt can be pursued for up to 6 years, there is a much stricter time limit for bye-law cases. If the parking company dilly dallies, they will find themselves timed out.<br />
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The third and more fundamental problem, is that the penalty for breaking a byelaw is a fine, and any fines levied go to the state. The parking company gets nothing. There is therefore no financial incentive for them to take a driver (even if they can identify them) to court.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Clamping</b><br />
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Some creative person at the parking companies has therefore decided to chance their arm and reintroduce clamping. “Clamping in operation” signs have started appearing in certain station car parks operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The signs warn:<br />
<br />
<i>i) Any vehicle parked contrary to the railway byelaws may be clamped and/or removed by</i><br />
<i>the Operator or authorised person;</i><br />
<i>ii) The costs incurred by the Operator for this may be recovered from the owner of the</i><br />
<i>vehicle;</i><br />
<i>iii) In addition to any parking penalty, a clamp release fee of £125 will apply</i><br />
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GTR have stated that they will <i>"target only persistent offenders who aren’t buying tickets and owe us large sums as a result."</i><br />
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The premise being that if somebody continues to dispute that a parking charge is owed, then one day they will return to the station to find their car clamped. The car will not be released until all the parking charges are paid, together with a release fee.<br />
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However, the legal basis for this appears to be extremely shaky. The Prankster has seen an extremely insightful analysis by a former barrister which identifies five reasons why clamping in these circumstances is probably unlawful.<br />
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In summary, these are;<br />
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<i>a) Train Operating Companies do not have lawful authority to clamp/remove. Any attempt to use the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4202/railway-byelaws.pdf" target="_blank">Railway Byelaws 2005</a> to grant that authority is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_vires" target="_blank">ultra vires</a>, for the power to make such a byelaw was not granted – either expressly or impliedly - by <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/38/pdfs/ukpga_20000038_en.pdf" target="_blank">Transport Act 2000</a>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>b) The words of Byelaw 14/4/ii are not enough to constitute lawful authority within the</i><br />
<i>meaning of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. In order to create the lawful authority that</i><br />
<i>Parliament had in mind it would have to (a) define how, when and where clamping can take</i><br />
<i>place, and (b) incorporate the required level of regulation.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>c) Even if Byelaw 14/4/ii did amount to “lawful authority” it clearly does not permit</i><br />
<i>clamping when the authorised person only has reason to believe a breach has occurred. Any</i><br />
<i>clamping carried out on the basis of a merely alleged breach (which would, in any event,</i><br />
<i>require an associated appeal process) would be illegal.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>d) Even if Byelaw 14/4/ii did amount to “lawful authority”, there is no lawful authority to</i><br />
<i>charge a release fee in addition to costs. Any attempt to demand such a fee before removing</i><br />
<i>the clamp would be another form of extortion.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>e) A demand that a motorist pay an unenforceable “penalty” is wholly unwarranted. To use</i><br />
<i>a clamp in order to force him to pay it would be an act of blackmail</i><br />
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<br />
There is a similar previous case on the record. In <a href="http://www.davidmarq.com/bama/Mayhook-V-NCP%20Judgement%20transcript.pdf" target="_blank">Mayhook v NCP,</a> NCP confiscated Mr Mayhook's car and refused to return it. After a long legal battle they found themselves <a href="http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4317481" target="_blank">a five figure sum lighter</a>.<br />
<br />
The Statute of Marlborough 1267 (the relevant sections of which are still in force):<br />
<a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Hen3cc1415/52/1/section/I">http://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Hen3cc1415/52/1/section/I</a><br />
makes it a criminal offence to seize property over alleged unproven debts.<br />
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In summary, the removal of the motorists right to independent appeal and the reintroduction of clamping appeal to be ill thought out and likely to introduce more issues than it solves.<br />
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<b>Motorist Options</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
What should a motorist do if they find their vehicle is clamped on returning to the station?<br />
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<a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/part/3/chapter/2/enacted" target="_blank">POFA 2012, schedule 3, chapter 2</a> provides that it is a criminal offence to immobilise a vehicle without lawful authority. The above analysis strongly suggests that lawful authority is not present.<br />
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One option would therefore be to involve the police. Although they might not be sufficiently au fait with the nuances of the law, they will at least be able to take down the details of the clamper so that they can be prosecuted for criminal activity at a future point in time. The police might also be persuaded to order the removal of the clamp in order to prevent a breach of the peace, but this is not guaranteed.<br />
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Attempting removal of the clamp is another gray area. This may or may not be lawful depending on circumstances.<br />
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It might be that the most prudent manner is to pay the charge, then immediately start the legal processes needed to reclaim any amounts paid, and also to invite the commencement of criminal proceedings against the clamper.<br />
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Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
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<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050188067980163727.post-57830779043674128952017-11-04T05:32:00.002-07:002017-11-04T05:37:48.632-07:00NWCP lose second reported court claimD3QZ88D0. NWCP v Mr H 29/9/2017.Preston<br />
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The IPC have waved the hand of incompetence over another of their customers, resulting in the inevitable court loss.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5571208" target="_blank">The full story is on MoneySavingExpert</a><br />
<br />
Mr H received a windscreen ticket on their car, but did not believe the charge was valid. Mr H therefore waited for the Notice to Keeper, and sent off an appeal. At that time, NWCP did not do court, but this was about to change, <a href="http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/nw-car-park-golden-duck-in-first-court.html" target="_blank">as previously blogged</a>, and three months later a claim form was received.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSs_KIImSQ1gFqcIzZCcNk0IyheMLLtZvVam1Q0zmldz2tG9k4CFLlGwYZJ50Qxi5JBmdUZtHyHhbYest1aQmNyJ34EuP6Zx_fmF5ZgH2uSHAED5oEj9cTfFZ5wYCrkravR86TBDibnI/s1600/Image+Six.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="747" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSs_KIImSQ1gFqcIzZCcNk0IyheMLLtZvVam1Q0zmldz2tG9k4CFLlGwYZJ50Qxi5JBmdUZtHyHhbYest1aQmNyJ34EuP6Zx_fmF5ZgH2uSHAED5oEj9cTfFZ5wYCrkravR86TBDibnI/s640/Image+Six.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Mr H constructed a defence with the help of MSE, with CouponMad pointing out that the signage made no offer to park, and that the charge of £100 was hidden in the small print.<br />
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The court struck out NWCPs initial statement of case. The court was generous, allowing NWCP a second chance even though they had failed to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4 and Practice Direction 16, paragraphs 7.3-7.5.<br />
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A new statement of case was supplied and a hearing date set. Mr H misunderstood the court process and did not submit a witness statement. Upon realising the mistake, a witness statement was quickly submitted.<br />
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NWCPs witness statement was remarkably similar to that submitted for their previously reported losing case.<br />
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Mr H made a drop hands offer, which NWCP did not reply to.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Hearing</b><br />
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Mr H didn't have to expound on the filed defence and was only required to answer questions from the judge. Mr H was first asked if the car was parked there and he confirmed it was. He then asked Mr H if he was defending as a keeper or a driver. Mr H replied as keeper. The judge acknowledged that he didn't need to give details of the driver.<br />
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The judge then asked about Witness Statements. NWCP contested that it was received late. Mr H advised the requirement to file was in small writing so they didn't notice, and also said they thought they would get another letter after NWCP had paid the fees. The judge ruled there was nothing new in the Witness Statement so he would accept it.<br />
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NWCP was asked to briefly explain the case in which they said they had affixed a notice on the car, there were clear signs everywhere, they sent NTK and various letters and that the defendant didn't appeal. They then said he only got in touch after court papers were received. The judge didn't question why he didn't appeal.<br />
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The judge asked what signs were placed, and he was referred to the pictures in the evidence pack.<br />
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Then came the fun part. The judge grilled NWCP rigorously about the terms on the sign and the terms of the contract in the sign. They were asked who could park on land to which they replied "Pre-Authorised Vehicles only". They had a list of vehicles on a device which were authorised. Mr H's car was not on there hence a ticket was issued.<br />
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The judge asked what the contract was between NCWP and the driver and where this was stated in the sign. They didn't have much an answer.<br />
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Judge asked if there was invitation to offer parking for "unauthorised vehicles". They said no. He said there are 3 elements of a contract (which Mr H had mentioned in his defence) - offer, acceptance and consideration. The first of these being offer, as there was no offer for unauthorised vehicles it becomes a case of trespass. As the offer to park is for pre-authorised vehicles only therefore there is also no contract in place. The driver was forbidden to enter land and hence this was a trespass issue.<br />
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NWCP were given a chance to comment on this. There representative explained that they had an audit on the sign which the IPC had passed. The judge did not find this explanation helpful.<br />
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The judge went on about for some time about there being no offer for unauthorised vehicles therefore there was no contract this was an issue of trespass. The judge stated he was considering this as a preliminary matter, and as this was an issue of trespass they had no grounds to make a claim. He concluded by saying the case was dismissed.<br />
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Mr H was awarded £5.35 costs.<br />
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It was reported that NWCPs representative's face was well worth the price of admission - total anger, disbelief and red in the face. She asked Mr H to forward bank details so she could transfer the £5.35.<br />
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<b>Prankster Notes</b><br />
<br />
Yet another customer has been sold down the river by the incompetents at the International Parking Community. The background to the signage is that when the IPC came into being the main model for parking charges was to charge damages for breach of contract, and this model was in disarray. Will Hurley of the IPC explained to the DVLA that contractual model was in disarray, and that charges for breach of contract were unenforceable because parking companies made no loss if the contract was breached.<br />
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Instead, he came up with a wizard wheeze for customers of the IPC, which was not to use the breach of contract model but to charge on a contractual basis.<br />
<br />
Now, it is perfectly possible to construct a contractual basis for parking. As an example, the signage could say something on the lines of;<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can park here if</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Your vehicle is pre-authorised</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You pay £100 to park</div>
<br />
However, due either apparently incompetence or lack of legal experience, it appears that Will Hurley is unable to draft or audit a simple contract on this basis, and his signs inevitably end up as a dogs' breakfast of conflicting sentences.<br />
<br />
A large and ever increasing number of his customers have have their claims thrown out of court by judges explaining that the signs do not create a contract but create a trespass situation instead.<br />
<br />
Where notices are confusing or ambiguous consumer legislation requires they they be interpreted to the benefit of the consumer.<br />
<br />
Will Hurley is therefore doing his customers a great disservice by continuing to promote a broken signage model. One problem might be that if he admits his mistake, and starts a rewording campaign across the IPC, this may open him to huge legal costs from customers who formally trusted his legal competence.<br />
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Ironically, the very model which he told the DVLA was broken and unworkable has been reinterpreted by the Supreme Court who have ruled that damages need not bear any relation to costs incurred.<br />
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It is worth noting that a trespass claim can only be brought by the land occupier and so this claim was bound to fail. Ironically the same man apparently owns the parking company and the land, albeit under different companies, so it might have been the case that if he brought a claim for trespass under a different name it could have succeeded, although in a trespass case only actual damages can be sought.<br />
<br />
Happy Parking<br />
<br />
The Parking Prankster<br />
<br />Parking Pranksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15270922602703929291noreply@blogger.com3