Court action threatened - the outcome

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OWNER AND FLEET OPERATORS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Got an issue guys, any help or info gratefully accepted.

Had a letter today from a solicitor telling me if i dont pay up in 14 days they will take further court action against me.

The issue.

One of my wagons has allegedly been parked incorrectly at Oxford services on 2/6/08 between 21.45pm & 23.55pm, and as I have ignored previous correspondence this is my last chance to pay up and look big prior to court action.

Todays letter is the first I have had about, it and upon checking further, he parked up on 2/6/08 at Carlisle truckstop just before 17.00, and left the following morning just after 04.00.

I have sent copies of his charts to the breifs, along with a copy of the parking receipt (which does not have the reg no on it), and also told them I will vigorously defend this in a court of law.

I have called Nightowl who confirm they use CCTV to record all movements of vehicles on site, but have to call them back monday to see if they still have the day in question, perhaps it gets over written?

I have never had one of my motors overnight in Oxford, it too close to home, so any ideas on anything I have missed to help defend this claim?

If the motor had been there, I would definately pay the ticket and be done with it, but there is no way I am coughing up for something thats clearly incorrect, and could use any help that you guys think may help me defend this unjust action they are threatening.

Cheers guys

2

Hi
The first thing I would do is request proof that the vehicle concerned was parked up there, then I would write and tell them that I was willing to go to court to defend the allegation. It is a recognised fact that if you do take up the challenge to go to court they back down, I know two others that this had happened to and they both never got as far as the court.
Good luck

3

PROOF PLEASE
There have been a number of scams like this - do not call the number on the letter but find the name and number of the solicitor in the phone book and call it to see if it is REAL

4

great answers guys many thanks.
Never thought of that one Rog.

5

Hi tc trans, This seems to me to be a possible case of mistaken vehicle identity. :grimacing:

To address ROG’s point about a possible scam, you could contact Nightowl and explain that you are the owner of Reg No ■■ ■■ ■■■ and ask whether there’s an outstanding parking fee against it. :sunglasses:
If this is inconclusive, it would suggest to me that Night Owl have simply got it wrong because:

tc trans:
Todays letter is the first I have had about, it and upon checking further, he parked up on 2/6/08 at Carlisle truckstop just before 17.00, and left the following morning just after 04.00.

Given that Night Owl says that they’ve sent you previous correspondence about this issue, why not ask for copies and suggest that they send them by recorded delivery? It might also be that the Make, Model and Colour of truck are wrongly documented too, so I’d suggest that you press Night Owl for further and better details.

I’m just slightly wary of:

tc trans:
I have called Nightowl who confirm they use CCTV to record all movements of vehicles on site, but have to call them back monday to see if they still have the day in question, perhaps it gets over written?

A court might be somewhat dubious about the validity of their claim if the primary evidence is missing for any reason.:grimacing:

I’m not sure that the lack of a Reg No on your receipt from Carlisle Truckstop would be detrimental to your defence, because you will probably have additional documentary evidence such as collection and/or delivery notes with the Reg No on them relating to the day in question. :wink:

IMHO, If all is as you say, you shouldn’t have too much trouble defending this on the basis of mistaken vehicle identity, but it might be an idea to engage a solicitor to do this for you. :smiley:

The info given up to this point in time seems to suggest that neither side has anything absolutely conclusive, so a court might then be decide the case on the balance of probabilities, which probably needs a skilful legal argument to be put forward by a solicitor.

Good luck mate. :smiley:

6

ROG:
PROOF PLEASE
There have been a number of scams like this - do not call the number on the letter but find the name and number of the solicitor in the phone book and call it to see if it is REAL

checked them out on the web and the address and numbers are correct, so therefore this must be real and not a scam. grrrrr

7

sorry guys my original post was slightly misleading. :blush: :blush:

Oxford services use CP Plus Ltd, who are trying to get the money out of me,
Nightowl was where my guy parked in Carlisle, who I am hoping still have the CCTV footage to use as proof to support that my vehicle was actually there and not at oxford.

8

tc trans:
sorry guys my original post was slightly misleading. :blush: :blush:

Oxford services use CP Plus Ltd, who are trying to get the money out of me,
Nightowl was where my guy parked in Carlisle, who I am hoping still have the CCTV footage to use as proof to support that my vehicle was actually there and not at oxford.

Hi tc trans, Thanks for clearing that up. :wink:

Ignoring the possiblity of Night Owl coming up with a video that supports your defence, why not enquire as to the strength of the evidence against you from Oxford / CP Plus?
BTW, that’s a perfectly legitimate enquiry and they have to give a good answer if they intend to use it in court.
By the same token, if you receive evidence from Carlisle, you’d be best to make a copy and send it to whoever is claiming against you.
There’s a general duty to ‘disclose’ evidence these days, but I’m still sticking with my suggestion that you at least consult a solicitor to get the finer details of your legal position. You might be in for a pleasant surprise. :wink:

9

thanks Dave, I will be looking for some legal advice on monday, and i am confident that this is really easy to prove my vehicle was not there as I will have the paper trail by monday mid day that confims the vehicle movements on said day.

I bet that this really comes down to some muppet who has written down a registration number incorrectly, or the reg number has been cloned, (which I find harder to believe)

Thanks again for your help

TC

10

tc trans:
thanks Dave, I will be looking for some legal advice on monday, and i am confident that this is really easy to prove my vehicle was not there as I will have the paper trail by monday mid day that confims the vehicle movements on said day.

I bet that this really comes down to some muppet who has written down a registration number incorrectly, or the reg number has been cloned, (which I find harder to believe)

Thanks again for your help

TC

No probs TC, I hope you get this sorted soon. :grimacing:

Good luck mate. :smiley:

11

Sounds like a nice little earner to me.

Don’t give them all your evidence yet unless they ask for advanced disclosure prior to a court case.
If they do start court procedings, Go along with it as long as you are sure you have overwelming proof that you are in the right.
When the judge finds the case against you unprooved he will award you expenses. Lost wages etc.
Nice earner and a day out. :wink:

12

limeyphil:
as long as you are sure you have overwelming proof that you are in the right.

the drivers tachos must be conclusive proof, along with the parking ticket for carlisle, and add to the the delivery notes and the details from the customers gatehoue that shows the wagon left with the relevant load number and trailer associated to that load.

On this occasion the parking attendant has clearly made an error, and further to that, I know without any doubt the truck simply was not where they suggest it was.

Lets see what they come back with.

13

I am the Driver of this wagon & i know where i was that night what would be nice if this does end up in court is i spoke to a driver that was parked next to me in carlisle that night for a considerable amount of time. I can’t remember his name but he drove for owens haulage a welsh company. The guy suffers with a slight stutter if anyone knows him please let Tc trans know as this would help if it gets to court.

14

owens-logistics.com/

You could always phone them and ask who the driver was explaining the situation and why you would like to know who the driver was

Just a thought

15

tc trans:
sorry guys my original post was slightly misleading. :blush: :blush:

Oxford services use CP Plus Ltd, who are trying to get the money out of me,
Nightowl was where my guy parked in Carlisle, who I am hoping still have the CCTV footage to use as proof to support that my vehicle was actually there and not at oxford.

Hmmm…

Had to reply to this,when I saw that name !! CP Plus are the biggest bunch of scammers going ! (and yes,they have been proved to be such !).
If your truck was in Carlisle,how could it be in Oxford as well (at the same time)■■ I wouldn’t be running around like a headless chicken over this,make THEM prove their case (which they can’t).

Have a look on www.pepipoo.com … This CP Plus lot are mentioned a LOT on that forum. There are some really knowledgeable people on there,including real life lawyers,who will laugh them out of court,with such a weak case as this.
You have nothing to worry about,as far as I can see… :slight_smile:

16

Is the truck fitted with a tracker?

All the vehicle movements will be recorded, and will show exactly where and when the truck has been.
Mine even shows my exact speed at any given time :imp:

Worth a thought.

Good Luck.

17

Personally i wouldn’t be wasting time & money employing a solicitor at this stage & I would ONLY go to court as a very last resort.

All you need to do at this stage (& it seems like you’ve already more or less done it) is write a very brief covering letter to the correspondent explaining you consider it be a registration mark recording error & including photo copies of that day & the next day’s charts + copies of relevant delivery notes etc. stating originals can be provided if necessary. (after 34 days in the case of charts).
Including the next days chart copy shows the mileage as continuous & therefor no 2nd driver.
Ask, as has been said, for evidence & a description of the vehicle.

Sounds to me like you’re quite worried about this. I’d suggest there really is no need to be. :slight_smile:

18

[quote="dieseldaveIgnoring the possiblity of Night Owl coming up with a video that supports your defence, why not enquire as to the strength of the evidence against you from Oxford / CP Plus?
[/quote]

Yep we had someone alleged that we’d lost a bit of a load which had damaged their car (although the damages list to their car looked awfully like they’d sumped it, with absolutely no damage to wings or bodywork whatsoever.

…but the whole thing disappeared as soon as we got our insurers to ask them about the evidence they had to substantiate heir claim…i guess a letter from a solicitor would probably also have the same effect.

Lots of these people chance their arms a bit, but will slope off quietly if you come across as professional and confident.

19

What happened in regards of this.■■?

20

just another example of transport being seen as a milking cow, why doesnt our industry get off its rear end and tell these rip off merchants in services and truck stops to get stuffed,we have to park up by law,so parking should be free :imp: