Tweet
Hello everyone,
I wondered if anyone might be able to offer any guidance with a claim made against me by CPM/Gladstones? Any small help would by greatly appreciated..?!
The facts are as follows;
I work for a company providing support to tenants in a supported living setting. We possess a "licence to occupy" in what is effectively a warden flat. The landlord( owner)of the flats is a housing association.
IThe landlord peruse CPM to operate a permit scheme to manage and enforce parking rules on the land with spaces specifically allocated to staff and tenants. In May last year I received a PCN as my Permit had accidentally fallen to the footwell of my car. This meant that there was nothing displayed in the windscreen at all, in contravention of CPM signage on site stating " a valid permit must be shown at all times" . I ought to add we've parked here for around 8 years and the parking scheme was implemented a short while after the project was set up.
Initially I ignored the PCN (my memory is a bit sketchy here on this) but eventually received further threats from PCM (addressed to me the keeper via DVLA) under POFA 2012 schedule 4 para 9. Again I ignored this, but later pleaded my case with CPM, sending copy of permit, claiming honest mistake etc.....probably a mistake, but implied I was the driver. Anyway, they rejected my appeal. Later I ignored letters from debt recovery people, and missed a "non standard" 21 day deadline to the IAS in appeal. Further, I rejected an IAS offer to pay 15.00 for them to still consider my defence beyond this deadline date as they would only do so if I would accept their decision as "final and legally binding" !!
Later I received a "letter before claim" from Gladstones which gave me the option to negotiate with them. Having done some research on this forum and elsewhere at this stage,I made these representations;
1/ No authorization for CPM to enforce charges under "primacy of contract" case law as there was no mention of parking at all in the licence to occupy, or being required to show a permit to park. sent a copy of our licence to Gladstones. They however reversed the logic arguing there was nothing in lease mentioning the licencees being ENTITLED to a parking space.
The only clause of relevance reads exactly; " we reserve the right to withdraw any communal facilities or equipment and to close any communal areas provided that it is reasonable for us to do so". Gladstones pointed to this as giving the landlord the right to introduce restrictions around parking.
Separately I argued that the address shown on the permit (although admittedly not displayed this time.....) is different to the address of the property ( eg " X close" as opposed to " Y place") and that the contract was therefore null and void....( I may have been clutching at straws here....?!)
Gladstones rejected this returning with Y place(exact property location) falls under wider area of X close which their client CPM is responsible for. They sent a Google earth map of this area, with boundaries delineated by a pen, Y place parking area and flats inside the margin, although part of street in front of . the flats(the parking area is behind) is beyond this boundary, as defined by the map sent. They also maintained that this was all beside the point anyway,as the reason the PCN was issued in the first place wasn't because the permit bore the incorrect address. Latterly,do I have any case here?
Many apologies for tortuous length of this post, but hope it is at clearleast reasonably clear!? But any advice or suggestions, however small,would be gratefully received......!
I have sent an acknowledge of service back(claim letter dated 17 July) to the court so now have exactly 21 days to file a defence(including discounting first 5 days)
So far I informally sent an Email request(26 July, no reply so far) to Gladstones for copy of parking contract between CPM and the Landlord. Also requested a copy of the original PCN.
Thank you.
I wondered if anyone might be able to offer any guidance with a claim made against me by CPM/Gladstones? Any small help would by greatly appreciated..?!
The facts are as follows;
I work for a company providing support to tenants in a supported living setting. We possess a "licence to occupy" in what is effectively a warden flat. The landlord( owner)of the flats is a housing association.
IThe landlord peruse CPM to operate a permit scheme to manage and enforce parking rules on the land with spaces specifically allocated to staff and tenants. In May last year I received a PCN as my Permit had accidentally fallen to the footwell of my car. This meant that there was nothing displayed in the windscreen at all, in contravention of CPM signage on site stating " a valid permit must be shown at all times" . I ought to add we've parked here for around 8 years and the parking scheme was implemented a short while after the project was set up.
Initially I ignored the PCN (my memory is a bit sketchy here on this) but eventually received further threats from PCM (addressed to me the keeper via DVLA) under POFA 2012 schedule 4 para 9. Again I ignored this, but later pleaded my case with CPM, sending copy of permit, claiming honest mistake etc.....probably a mistake, but implied I was the driver. Anyway, they rejected my appeal. Later I ignored letters from debt recovery people, and missed a "non standard" 21 day deadline to the IAS in appeal. Further, I rejected an IAS offer to pay 15.00 for them to still consider my defence beyond this deadline date as they would only do so if I would accept their decision as "final and legally binding" !!
Later I received a "letter before claim" from Gladstones which gave me the option to negotiate with them. Having done some research on this forum and elsewhere at this stage,I made these representations;
1/ No authorization for CPM to enforce charges under "primacy of contract" case law as there was no mention of parking at all in the licence to occupy, or being required to show a permit to park. sent a copy of our licence to Gladstones. They however reversed the logic arguing there was nothing in lease mentioning the licencees being ENTITLED to a parking space.
The only clause of relevance reads exactly; " we reserve the right to withdraw any communal facilities or equipment and to close any communal areas provided that it is reasonable for us to do so". Gladstones pointed to this as giving the landlord the right to introduce restrictions around parking.
Separately I argued that the address shown on the permit (although admittedly not displayed this time.....) is different to the address of the property ( eg " X close" as opposed to " Y place") and that the contract was therefore null and void....( I may have been clutching at straws here....?!)
Gladstones rejected this returning with Y place(exact property location) falls under wider area of X close which their client CPM is responsible for. They sent a Google earth map of this area, with boundaries delineated by a pen, Y place parking area and flats inside the margin, although part of street in front of . the flats(the parking area is behind) is beyond this boundary, as defined by the map sent. They also maintained that this was all beside the point anyway,as the reason the PCN was issued in the first place wasn't because the permit bore the incorrect address. Latterly,do I have any case here?
Many apologies for tortuous length of this post, but hope it is at clearleast reasonably clear!? But any advice or suggestions, however small,would be gratefully received......!
I have sent an acknowledge of service back(claim letter dated 17 July) to the court so now have exactly 21 days to file a defence(including discounting first 5 days)
So far I informally sent an Email request(26 July, no reply so far) to Gladstones for copy of parking contract between CPM and the Landlord. Also requested a copy of the original PCN.
Thank you.
Comment