PARKING COWBOYS  v. BIGOT-JOHNSON ( 2016)   Case No.1

In an act of justified defiance Bigot-Johnson refused to pay the £70 PCN on the grounds he had paid the required parking fee for the time the vehicle had been left. Despite all his protests and appeals the company went straight to court to recover the £70 plus costs. Bigot-Johnson as usual chose to defend himself. A short extract from the trial's transcript appears below.

B-J : On what grounds was I issued a PCN ?
Counsel For Parking-Eye ( CPE ) : You broke one of the rules.
B-J : What particular rule are you referring to ?
CPE : The one that specifies that your car has to line up exactly in the middle of the parking bay
B-J : What !
CPE : Yes....there has to an equal room either side of the car to ensure doors can be opened well away from cars parking in adjoining bays . Your car was parked well over to the right.
B-J : I've never been aware of this rule
CPE : It's there alright.....buried in the terms and conditions on display by the ticket machines
B-J:  Just exactly where ?
CPE : Column 16 .....rule 637 ......one of hundreds listed in the small print
B-J :  What ! ....So tell me how many rules are up there on these notice boards
CPE : Around 800 with lots more to come
B-J : This is madness.......
CPE : No it's not......it's sound commercial practice. The more rules there are the more likely we are to catch motorists out. The greater the number of infringements the bigger our profits become. At present the company is unable to process parking charge notices fast enough...... such is the volume of parking transgressions
B-J : This racket of yours is nothing more than legalised extortion
CPE : No it's not .......we are simply insisting on our legal rights. Moreover the judges are on our side by agreeing that parking companies need to enforce parking rules...... otherwise their ability to regulate parking would be impossible.
B-J : But how can motorists be seen to agree to all the rules when they are given no chance or time to read them.....let alone understand what they mean
CPE : That's not Parking Cowboys problem.......though I must admit the company issued a PCN to one motorist for overstaying his allotted 2 hours free parking , because it took him over 150 minutes to read the company's rules and regulations through dirty , badly smeared glass
B-J : Your clients are without doubt evil money grabbing bastards
CPE : True......but very wealthy to boot.......with more than enough money to pay top barristers like me a small fortune to defeat awkward motorists like you with consummate ease
B-J : Someone please tell me what the hell has happened to courtroom justice ?