Free Traffic Legal Advice

So not sure where to go with this so thought id try a forum

So basically got a private PCN for being in a gym carpark for i think it was around 20 minutes, the barriers where up and no clear signage about paying for anything, so went in and thought nothing of it,

6 months later I receive a court application and being told i owe £215 due to not paying for breach of contract. Again i thought there wasn't a fee to pay, i have since been back to the carpark during the day time to see a sign is there (and back at night but the sign is in pretty much darkness), but it doesn't mention anything about rates, just that you pay inside, barriers still in the upright position, however where i parked in the carpark space, no signs anywhere to suggest you have to pay, no rates, tariffs. anything basically. There is a sign about 100m away with a sign with things on it like prices etc

So i contacted parking eye's enforcement team, explained the situation and low and behold, no dice and payment is due, they say they wrote to me to which i wasn't living at the property at the time, i had moved out for a few months due to my medical conditions, by the time i found out, they said my chances for appeal had passed and that i had to pay.

They are saying once i drove into the carpark, i essentially agreed into a contact. but this is where it gets tricky

So i would be classed as "severely mentally impaired". I received PIP at the enhanced rate and have a blue badge based on my neurological conditions (Autism, ADHD & Dyslexia to name a few, all diagnosed ) and i require specialist software in order to be able to decipher words and letters. My council tax is also reduced due to having severely mentally impaired conditions.

So what i want to know is, should i fight this or just pay up? i have explained my conditions to parking eye and it's very much "F**K your conditions, pay me". I'm sure you cannot force a contract onto someone with severe neuro conditions and wasn't aware of them in the first place.

Any advice would be appreciated (it's probably going to be pay up you messed up and drop your pride, if so is their a way to reduce the bill?), I've also asked for reasonable adjustments with P.E due to my conditions, again ignored and pay me messages sent back.

Following on from jfellows, you hold a driving licence and thereby are presumed in law to have a basic level of competence e.g. to read and understand signs and directions etc. Is your condition one which requires you to notify DVLA? If not, then IMO the law would treat you as any other driver.

Hi Guys, Thanks so much for this

So this is currently in DQ stage, i've got to file mine by the 27th, but i saw on another post you guys did what i need to write and get it sent to them

Weirdley this is not being represented by either DCBL or DCB Legal. This one just went strait to small claims court, no collection agencies involved it seems. which i also found quite weird.

https://imgur.com/a/WDFYhwC
LINK TO ALL PHOTOS

So been to the carpark to have another look, it's the london aquatic centre, there is a sign on entry but the confusing is the barriers being up and it stating pay on exit, but when you're exiting at the barriers. no way to pay. Not sure if the signs were lit enough though?

as you can see in the photos, there is no clear signage about prices where i parked, for reference, i would have been parked where the fiat 500 is parked. I usually park in disabeled bays but couldn't find them haha

I have stupidly identified myself as the driver, well i think as i filed a defence (again all done before i saw this forum)

Any advice you guys can give me i would greatly appricite
 

 

If you're at DQ stage then we're rather late in the process... Let's please see ParkingEye's particulars of claim, and your defence.

this was my defence, however reading it back i don't think it will be a very good one

Defence
According to the claim they have filed, I am going to take quotes and break it down in my defence.

The signage displayed throughout the London Aquatics Centre

The signage they are referring to is no signs at the entrance letting you know you must pay for parking; it also has 2 barriers in the upright position so this would suggest there is no payment for parking otherwise the barrier would be down. Also, when parking in the disabled bays at the end of the car park, it has no signage whatsoever nears the spaces to suggest you even must pay for parking.

You must provide clear signage that I can see from my car seat when parked so I don’t have to leave my vehicle due to having a disability under the 2010 equality act which I can document I have. (18.9 of the BPA CODE of PRACTICE). (Evidence will be supplied to prove this is not the case as of 28/03/2025) They have signed up to the BPA regulatory body to which they are not following the rules they agreed to.

Also 19.2 of the BPA states Entrance signs play an important part in establishing a parking contract and deterring trespassers. Therefore, as we l as the signs you must have te ling drivers about the terms and conditions for parking, you must also have a standard form of entrance sign at the entrance to the parking area. Entrance signs must te l drivers that the car park is managed and that there are terms and conditions they must be aware
of. Entrance signs must fo low some minimum general principles and be in a standard format. The size of the sign must take into account the expected speed of vehicles approaching the car park, and it is recommended that you fo low Department for Transport guidance on this. See Appendix B for an example of an entrance
sign and more information about their use. Again not followed in this carpark as no signage at the entrace of the carpark (photograhic evidence will be supplied)

Also this is the first I am hearing of ANPR cameras being used, but again does not state how my data is protected for me to see within the carpark, the excuse of I can read it online does not suffice, they have a responsibility to inform me I am being recorded (as it’s not a public space) and how my data is protected
under the 2018 Data Protection Act

The claim is also incredibly vague, it does not state the times I was in the carpark, just the date so I’m not sure even if I’m within the grace period allowed with the BPA of 10 minutes

Regarding the 2010 Equality Act, I have requested reasonable adjustment under section 20 of the act with parking eye (I am diagnosed with ADHD, Autism & Dyslexia), to which parking eye and all agents associated with parking eye have ignored, not acknowledgement of my conditions which I have explained due to learning difficulties and needing software on my computer to help me read complex information. Just pushed aside as they do not care and only care about collecting money (which evidence will be supplied to the court), which is why there will be a counter claim
for disability discrimination under section 21 of the 2010 Equality Act. I requested reasonable adjustments in the form of email which would be no different from providing larger text or brail text for blind people.

Also, the legal representative fee, last time I check this was less then £10,000 which would put it to the small claim tract, in which you cannot claim legal fees other than court fees and witness fees unless a judge orders it. So, I am also confused as to why they are also trying to claim for this.

They also offered a without prejudice offer as ADR, to which I declined and said I wished to do this with a mediator which i offered to spit the cost 50/50 as I feel this is fairer to myself as I am not legally trained and have disabilities and did not fully understand what this actually meant, again ignored by parking eye. So can only assume they have declined this as a court letter has come through. Which does not comply with the courts pre
action protocol of trying to deal with this without court proceedings. So I will be asking the court to make mediation
mandatory and for parking eye to attend it.

For a contract to exist, the writer of the contract must ensure that the person reading it can understand this, as I have explained I have learning difficulties to which unless I use the software on my computer, cannot decipher information very well (to which I receive Personal Independence Payment for). So therefore,
I would class the contract and non-binding due to parking eye not taking into consideration of my conditions despite me requesting reasonable adjustments.

For their claim, how do i find it? checking on MCOL and all i can find is my defence and my AOS. not their claim, any idea where it maybe located? If not i will ring the court tomorrow and ask them to email it to me and forward to you guys

But the claim as i said in my defence is very vague, no timings on the claim, just that i entered on a date.

FUBAR.

The location is not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA and there was no Keeper liability. If the Keeper has blabbed the drivers identity, then that is a waste of a "golden ticket".

The particulars of claim would have been on the Claim Form received through the post (the same one that contained the details used to access MCOL)

I will try to find it for you tomorrow

No, you don't "just pay it". First we need too see the N1SDT Claim Form that has the Particulars of Claim (PoC) and it will say whether ParkingEye are pursuing this themselves or using a bulk litigator such as DCB Legal to pursue it.

We could also do with seeng the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) that was received. Only the original, no reminders please. It will be interesting to see if ParkingEye have tried to rely on PoFA in the NtK.

Depending on whether the claim is direct from ParkingEye or DCB Legal, any additional fake costs such as £70 (if DCB Legal) or even £25 (if PE only) should not be awarded in the small claims track. It's just a pity you didn't;'t come here first as the defence template would have covered this point.

For now, just follow the advice and show us the Claim Form (redacting only your personal details, the Claim number and the MCOL password. Make sure that all dates remain visible.

Also, show s the original NtK.

Hi, thanks for this, please see below the claim they have made, had to email the business support centre as i cannot find the form the court sent,

Thank you for calling the Civil Contact team for the Civil National Business Centre,

Please see your case details below as requested.

Claim No: **********

Claimant: PARKINGEYE LTD

Claimant solicitor: N/A

Telephone: N/A

Reference: *************

Claim amount: £210.00 = £125 parking fine, £50 legal representative fee & £35 Court fee

Particulars of claim: CLAIM FOR MONIES OUTSTANDING FROM THE DEFENDANT IN RELATION TO A PARKING CHARGE (REFERENCE **************) ISSUED ON 21/12/2024. THE SIGNAGE CLEARLY DISPLAYED THROUGHOUT LONDON AQUATICS CENTRE, QUEEN ELIZABETH OLYMPIC PARK, LONDON, E20 2ZQ STATES THAT THIS IS PRIVATE LAND, MANAGED BY PARKINGEYE LTD, AND THAT IT IS SUBJECT TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING THE PAYMENT OF PARKING TARIFFS, BY WHICH THOSE WHO PARK AGREE TO BE BOUND (THE CONTRACT). PARKINGEYE'S ANPR SYSTEM CAPTURED VEHICLE ******* ENTERING AND LEAVING THE SITE ON 18/12/2024, AND PARKING WITHOUT A VALID PAID PARKING TICKET. PURSUANT TO SCH 4 OF THE PROTECTION OF FREEDOMS ACT 2012, NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE REGISTERED KEEPER, MAKING THEM LIABLE FOR THE PARKING CHARGE PAYABLE UPON BREACH.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

We could also do with seeng the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) that was received. Only the original, no reminders please. It will be interesting to see if ParkingEye have tried to rely on PoFA in the NtK.

Never received them, I was away from home for a long time due to medical issues and have never found the letters, only knew about it when I received the court claim months later

When you have completed the form, attach it to a single email addressed to both dq.cnbc@justice.gov.uk and info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC in yourself. Make sure that the claim number is in the subject field of the email.

Should I be sending this to DCB legal if they haven't been appointed?