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Hi I am hoping someone can help me with my defense. I am pretty sure if I have a case to fight all of it and I hope someone can help me.
I received 3 parking tickets at the same private property which was a residential block of flats. These were on my windscreen the first two dated 17/12/2016 & 19/12/16. I parked my car and entered the building and stayed for the weekend. I didn't see any parking signs and the person who I was visiting had no idea you needed a permit. I returned back to my car on the Monday 12 December to two parking tickets on the windscreen from UK Car Park Management Ltd saying I didn't have a permit and the charge was £100 or £60 if I payed within 14 days. Well I was out of work at the time so I didn't have the money to pay.
I did some research about what I needed to do to obtain a permit as I would be returning to park there regularly. I obtained a replacement permit, at the cost of £5 which was allocated to the flat number I was visiting and at the end of the process I took a screen shot of a dispensation code which I was instructed to write and show in my windscreen. I did this for the next time I parked and on the 31/12/16 I got another ticket despite clearly showing the code in my window. I then had to write a massive note in my window which covered the entire dashboard in large letters with the code and continued to park there for another few days and no more tickets.
So after some debt collection letters and solicitor letters from Gladstones I have now eventually got a court letter which was issued 11/7/17. I didn't do anything about the letters before for a few reason a) internet advice b) lack of funds to pay and c) I suffer from depression and anxiety and this was too much for me to handle at times and I didn't have the strength to fight them. I hoped they wouldn't take me to court but they are and now forcing me into action, which is distressing me a lot and I am worried about my ability to cope. I can't remember the dates that I received any letters and unfortunately can't find many of them for evidence.
Sob story aside, I am being taken to court for a total of £583.07
So I genuinely didn't see the signs when I parked the first time and I felt that I needed to build up a case to see if their signage is up to scratch. I drove the 220 mile round trip to go to the car park to take some pictures which I will post. The immediate entrance to the car park from the road has no signs, the one closest to where I parked was actually broken, with only a corner intact. There were two that I drove past on the way into this side road part of the car park and one of them was so high I definitely couldn't see it from my car and the second was on the outside of an electricity station thing, which had many other signs on that confused things. Also on this sign there is a spiky bush in front of it that looks like it has been chopped back at some point, so I feel that arguing that it was obscured by the plant could have been a reason why I missed it. There was a sign across the road from where I parked but this is really low and actually with a car parked in front of it, can very easily be missed.
I believe from previous advice that the tenants tenancy agreement would have primacy of contract over the parking company but I will not be able to get a copy as this was an ex boyfriend who is now ignoring me when I ask him for help.
I also believe that even though the signage was not clearly visible that the wording on the sign is prohibiting and therefore a contract wasn't entered into.
I have sent off the acknowledgement of service and now I have until 13/08/17 to get in my defense. I have been getting a lot of information together and written lots of notes but am now stuck with exactly what to say in my defense.
I have been thinking of using a defence similar to this case:
http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...nocentmotorist
and I have found someone who has defended the claim because they were the tenant and had proof. That has some very useful stuff on old cases and this:
In the case of Saeed v Plustrade Limited [2001] EWCA Civ 2011 parking restrictions and a change which caused detriment to tenants and their visitors were held to be in breach of the well known and well established principle that ‘a grantor shall not derogate from his grant’.
Which i think will be of use in my case but I am worried I won't be able to put a well worded legal defense together as all the information is coming from bits here and there and I don't have a clue what I am doing.
I actually hired Private Perking Appeals and paid them to help me with this. I did this back when I got the claim and they have not got back to me since. I have called and emailed many times but they just took my money and did nothing!
Thank you so much in advance I really need help with this!
I can post pictures if needed. I have plenty of the car park and the signage, including broken and obscured signs.
I received 3 parking tickets at the same private property which was a residential block of flats. These were on my windscreen the first two dated 17/12/2016 & 19/12/16. I parked my car and entered the building and stayed for the weekend. I didn't see any parking signs and the person who I was visiting had no idea you needed a permit. I returned back to my car on the Monday 12 December to two parking tickets on the windscreen from UK Car Park Management Ltd saying I didn't have a permit and the charge was £100 or £60 if I payed within 14 days. Well I was out of work at the time so I didn't have the money to pay.
I did some research about what I needed to do to obtain a permit as I would be returning to park there regularly. I obtained a replacement permit, at the cost of £5 which was allocated to the flat number I was visiting and at the end of the process I took a screen shot of a dispensation code which I was instructed to write and show in my windscreen. I did this for the next time I parked and on the 31/12/16 I got another ticket despite clearly showing the code in my window. I then had to write a massive note in my window which covered the entire dashboard in large letters with the code and continued to park there for another few days and no more tickets.
So after some debt collection letters and solicitor letters from Gladstones I have now eventually got a court letter which was issued 11/7/17. I didn't do anything about the letters before for a few reason a) internet advice b) lack of funds to pay and c) I suffer from depression and anxiety and this was too much for me to handle at times and I didn't have the strength to fight them. I hoped they wouldn't take me to court but they are and now forcing me into action, which is distressing me a lot and I am worried about my ability to cope. I can't remember the dates that I received any letters and unfortunately can't find many of them for evidence.
Sob story aside, I am being taken to court for a total of £583.07
So I genuinely didn't see the signs when I parked the first time and I felt that I needed to build up a case to see if their signage is up to scratch. I drove the 220 mile round trip to go to the car park to take some pictures which I will post. The immediate entrance to the car park from the road has no signs, the one closest to where I parked was actually broken, with only a corner intact. There were two that I drove past on the way into this side road part of the car park and one of them was so high I definitely couldn't see it from my car and the second was on the outside of an electricity station thing, which had many other signs on that confused things. Also on this sign there is a spiky bush in front of it that looks like it has been chopped back at some point, so I feel that arguing that it was obscured by the plant could have been a reason why I missed it. There was a sign across the road from where I parked but this is really low and actually with a car parked in front of it, can very easily be missed.
I believe from previous advice that the tenants tenancy agreement would have primacy of contract over the parking company but I will not be able to get a copy as this was an ex boyfriend who is now ignoring me when I ask him for help.
I also believe that even though the signage was not clearly visible that the wording on the sign is prohibiting and therefore a contract wasn't entered into.
I have sent off the acknowledgement of service and now I have until 13/08/17 to get in my defense. I have been getting a lot of information together and written lots of notes but am now stuck with exactly what to say in my defense.
I have been thinking of using a defence similar to this case:
http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...nocentmotorist
and I have found someone who has defended the claim because they were the tenant and had proof. That has some very useful stuff on old cases and this:
In the case of Saeed v Plustrade Limited [2001] EWCA Civ 2011 parking restrictions and a change which caused detriment to tenants and their visitors were held to be in breach of the well known and well established principle that ‘a grantor shall not derogate from his grant’.
Which i think will be of use in my case but I am worried I won't be able to put a well worded legal defense together as all the information is coming from bits here and there and I don't have a clue what I am doing.
I actually hired Private Perking Appeals and paid them to help me with this. I did this back when I got the claim and they have not got back to me since. I have called and emailed many times but they just took my money and did nothing!
Thank you so much in advance I really need help with this!
I can post pictures if needed. I have plenty of the car park and the signage, including broken and obscured signs.
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