Sumons for parking charge notice

[legalnooby]

Hello,

i have received a county court sumons for a car parking charge and want to contest it. I have started to fill in my acknowledgement of service on line to inform them I intend to defend the claim in full.

I am asked 'You can choose to contest jurisdiction of the claim made against you. ' Yes or No?

I am unsure what this means.

Can anyone help please?

many thanks.

[legalnooby]

It's OK i figured it out.

cheers.

[ostell]

So what did you figure out? And do you need more help?

Your acknowledgment gives you 33 days from the date of issue to get your defence to the court. I say this because recently a couple of people, with parking claims, have been waiting for the court to contact them after acknowledgment and hence made themselves liable for a default judgment against them

P.S. It's a claim not a summons.

[legalnooby]

Many thanks for the pointers, I'm sorry it took so long to respond. I defo need help!
I responded to the claim on line and requested more time to file a defence so I need to get it in this week.

I plan to defend on the unfair charges. the parking company want £168 for parking on a deserted permit only car park
for two hours. The signage is also ambiguous, as the signs aren't clear which car park they refer to (there are other car parks on the same entrance).
I'm sure I read somewhere that only the land owner can issue permits or damages .

My plan is to put some defence together and submit on Thursday.

I would welcome any help.

cheers.

[ostell]

No, the parking companies, as subcontractors to the land holders, can issue court claims in their own right, They are not claiming damages, they are claiming the sum you agreed to pay via the contact created by the signs for breaching the terms of parking.

As you haven't given any details at all then it is difficult to give help but you could look through other cases both here and on the private parking forum at Pepipoo.com to find some previous defences to use asa base.

You have 33 days from the date of issue to get your defence to the court. What was the date of issue of the claim? Why not post here first for critique before you send?

[legalnooby]

Ok, thanks for the pointers.
The claim was issued on the 3rd of August. So i think I have 5 days to get my defence in.

What info do you need to help?
I'm happy to post my intended defence, particularly as I think without some help I will struggle to put a decent 'legal' defence together.
my plan was to convince the judge that it's unreasonable to charge so much for using a derserted car park which when I last used it there was no permit needed! I now realise after reading previous posts that probably won't wash.

[ostell]

A defence along those lines will fail..

Need to see the original Notice to Keeper/PCN that you received and pictures of the signs. Is this Scotland or NI, is it a hire car.

Look here and on the Pepipoo private parking forums to see what a defence should look like.
You query their right to issue charges and query that they have a contract to take people to court.
Yes post up here for critique before you send.

[legalnooby]

Cheers,

I never received the notice to keeper, only the second and third letter demanding £100, followed by £160 demand.
I will pop to the car park and take a picture of the sign today.
The car park is in lancashire.

many thanks.

[ostell]

If you have never received a Notice to keeper how do you know there was a problem? It could have been the called a Parking Charge Notice. If there was no ticket on the windscreen did it arrive within 14 days of the alleged breach of parking conditions? Did it contain all the required statements required to hold the keeper liable under the Protection of Freedoms Act?

[legalnooby]

hopefully I still have the letter demanding £100. I will check. The first I knew there was a problem was when I received a letter informing me they wanted £100. i will get all the letters together tonight. there was no ticket on my windscreen.
the car park is one a permit is needed.

[ostell]

So the wording on the sign will be very significant in that it may not be offering a contract to park to non permit holders. If there is no contract then there can be no breach of conditions and therefore no charge. Anything else is a penalty, which is not allowed.

[legalnooby]

I managed to get a 15 mins walk with a camera around the car park. To say the signage is inadequate would be an understatement!
It's possible to drive to where I parked without seeing a single sign, however on leaving four signs are visible if you are looking for them.


I think the line; 'by entering or remaining on this land you agree to abide by the terms and conditions' would be nice to know on entering the car park, however it's not shown in a prominent location as you enter the car park.

What I find most staggering is the car park looked exactly the same last year, the signs are either facing the wrong way, broken or difficult to see.
They are attached with tie wraps which isn't very secure.

So thats the basis of my defence. i will use a satelite picture and my own to show the court how the signs look.

The signs near the side of the car park are orientated towards the entrance to a neighboring car park which make the signs appear to be for a different car park.

As far as the letters go I received no NTK, then a second letter demanding £100 and stating the appeal had been missed, followed by (that I can find) two letters before action, this time wanting £160.

I think I at least have a chance of winning, rather than caving in.

My questios are;

1, How do I put the above into legal speak and when do I submit piccys ect.
2, What do I ask them for evidence, do I see there evidence?

Many thanks.

[legalnooby]

Hi,
This looks very similar to my case, except in addition if it's applicable the signage is appauling and confusing at the site my vehicle was parked on.;
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co...ladstoned.html

What happens about the driver?

Cheers.

[ostell]

That is a forbidding sign. there is no offer of parking to non permit holders and the only claim wold be for trespass by the landholder.

Did you get a notice to driver on the windscreen? When did you get a Notice to Keeper (or the first letter from the parking compnay).

[legalnooby]

Hi, there was no notice on my screen (it was parked in the evening from 8-10ish and the car park was both unlit and deserted/empty.

i didn't receive a notice to keeper only the second letter demanding £100.

many thanks.