advice on terms & conditions please

[fayh816]

Hi am hoping somebody could either answer or provide a link to my question please??
I am looking for the rules/ law on signage contracts, probably most often seen in car parks,I am wondering if one sign states the t & cs (the contract )then can other sign's in the same vicinity be deemed to be part of the contract if 1) it contains words not used or even implied in contract sign 2) it does NOT state on the sign that it is in accordance with the t& c 's.
Hope this makes sense!!
Thank you ☺

[des8]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

Hi and welcome.
1) T&Cs are not "the contract" but are the "part of the contract" which sets out the rights and duties of each party
2) If the words on the signs (which parking companies aver are contractual) differ the doctrine of contractual interpretation of "contra proferentem" (interpretation against the draftsman)
should come into play.
3) IMO it won't matter if one sign includes T&Cs and the other doesn't. The copany cannot go around confusing peeps!

As a matter of interest my daughter is defending a parking case on the basis that the Welsh and English signs differed. Parking Co. argument is they couldn't find a better Welsh translation (but that's their problem)

Would you care to post up more info (including pictures of the signs)?

[fayh816]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

Hi Thanks for your reply,I have uploaded (I think) a example of the sign's that so many people seem to misinterpretate
resulting in a very high charge for "overstaying" in a lot of case's.
I feel I am of average intelligence, can read and write well and when I read these sign's I don't get the impression that a charge will be given unless I'm out of the car park before my ticket run's out,and I'm pretty sure most people who receive these charges are interpretating the wording the same way, that's why there is so many issued.
But my main point and the reason I have been looking into signage contracts is that if a person of average intelligence can be confused by these vague sign's then how would a person ,with a disability (learning or physical) , who can't read so well vision problems etc meant to.
The t & c ' s in the sign with the Tariffs do not offer anything in large print , does not use plain language, states nothing about "grace periods,or over stays and basically from what I can see offers no provisions under EQ act.

What do you think?

Ps
Parking Co. argument is they couldn't find a better Welsh translation.....sound's about right ha ha

[des8]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

The signs are pretty standard.

Most peeps assume that car parks like this are pay and display. They are not. This park appears to be one where you could note your time of arrival and then pay on leaving when you know how long you have been parked.
Agree with your final comments.

Are you currently contesting a charge from PE?
If so you can post up the details so our resident expert (Mystery1) could give it he once over.

[fayh816]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

Thanks for clarification! !
My advocacy partner has just lost a case against them in small claims court!! He is dyslexic and didn't prepare his case, I only found out after chatting to his wife , and I have to say I've got on my high horse about it.
I really want to complain LOUDLY ha ha
They said he broke the " contract"by failing to adhere to the
T&c 's of the car park by over staying 20mins when in reality it tooks him 12 minutes to buy his ticket and they were 8 minutes over on leaving! !!
My line of thinking is this
If I can prove or provide evidence that the majority are confused by the signs,on that basis they do not form a contract with regards to overstays etc contra proferentem .
I also happened to come across some interesting minutes from a meeting between dvla, bpa, ipc some sort of parking forum, they discuss some of these signs and say how they do not offer provision under EQ act.
I'm not sure what I could do with this info I know he can't appeal the judgement, but am thinking of possibly complain to parking eye direct asking for money back , complain to bpa, and dvla, I know this is a limited option as they all earn so bloody much from these parking companies.I am not sure where we stand with issuing small claims proceedings against PE with the aim of getting what he has lost back, I could then speak for him as his advocate.
I know this could be directly linked
to the EQ act but I know my advocacy partner would be offended if the complaint was soley bases on this, and I agree , average people are caught out by these too!!!!
Be honest is this something one person can't change??
I have to admit I feel out of my depth !!!
Regards

[des8]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

To be honest .... forget it!
It's not worth trying to appeal the judgement, if for no other reason than costs will outweigh the stress.
No point in complaining to PE whose sole aim in life is to relieve people of their cash
BPA funded by parking companies like PE, so they won't help & as for DVLA.............

You talk about proceedings against PE, but I don't understand what your cause of action would be, especially as he just lost his case.

A word of warning: you talk about being "his advocate" and "advocacy partner"
The conduct of litigation is a‘reserved legal activity’ in the terms of the Legal Services Act2007, so be careful what you do.
In court you can act as a "McKensie friend" or a "lay representative"

[fayh816]

Re: advice on terms & conditions please

Mmmmmmmm that's what I'm thinking too, as a Advocate part of my duty/Responsibility Is To Give As Much information As I Can So They Can Make A Informed Choice, I Will Relay Everything And See What happens.
Proceedings Against parking eye...i was thinking along the lines of, he didn't break their contract as the contract is void due to being non specific etc!! ( that sound's daft I know ) I do feel tho the 900,000 requests for keepers info they asked the dvla for in 2013/14 say's it all.
Think I will write to BPA and DVLA with some stats and suggest they encourage private parking firm's to use "plain language " I may even make reference to the minute's I came across ha ha.

Many thanks for taking the time to reply.