Please could someone cast their eye over the following defence before I submit it online? TIA.
The driver went to view a flat. The landlord told them to park behind building A and said that they were covered by a residents permit. The driver saw the ECP sign but due to how illegible it was and holding the honestly held belief that they were covered by a residents permit parked up, walked round to the flat and when they got no answer called the landlord. Turned out the landlord had given the driver the wrong address. He should have sent the driver to building B which is next door and has it's own car park. The driver left the car park after 14 minutes.
The communications between the landlord and driver were by phone and the landlord is no longer contactable.
An appeal was submitted to the original NtK as follows:
I am the keeper of the vehicle and I dispute your 'parking charge'. I deny any liability or contractual agreement and I will be making a complaint about your predatory conduct to your client landowner.
As your Notice to Keeper (NtK) does not fully comply with ALL the requirements of PoFA 2012, you are unable to hold the keeper of the vehicle liable for the charge. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient. There will be no admission as to who was driving and no inference or assumptions can be drawn. ECP has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.
The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. ECP have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.
PoFA paragraph 9(2)(e)(i) has not been complied with. The NtK did not specifically invite the Keeper to pay the charge.
In big bold writing on the front of the NtK it says that payment is to be made within 28 days of issue. Section 8.1.2(e) of the PPSCoP says that the recipient of a notice has 28 days from the date of receipt, not date of issue.
The ECP sign in the car park mentioned is bit PoFA compliant with paragraph 2(2) or 2(3) as they do not adequately bring the charge to the attention of the driver (Ref Beavis case).
I have asked ECP to provide proof that they have a valid contract flowing from the landowner that permits them to issue PCNs at the location. They have failed to do so.
I understand having read other threads that I now need to raise my defence via the money claim website. I've found a step by step guide in another thread which I'll use. Following that I'll probably receive an N180 DQ which I'll ignore and then fill out my own N180 DQ and email it to them. Is that correct?
I can't tell you how much all the support and advice on here is appreciated. I started to panic last night but having read the advice I'm staying calm and staying the course. Eff these guys.
