Thursday, 11 January 2018

REALLYOUTTOGETYOU PARKING SERVICES  v. BIGOT-JOHNSON (2017)   Case No. 1

Bigot was flabbergasted. Here he was again back in court having ignored a recent PCN from this notorious parking company.......all because he  quickly vacated the car park  after seeing their onerous terms and conditions.

Counsel for the plaintiff : Our cameras clocked you entering the car park at 10.23 am and then leaving the site at 10.35. This was a 12 minute stay for which you failed to purchase a ticket. And as you well know, non-payment justifies the issue of a PCN which you have steadfastly refused to pay.
B-J : Why should I pay..... the parking company that you represent is a rogue operator trying to obtain money by unwarranted threats and coercion. 
CP : There was a clear breach of the company's terms and conditions
B-J : Not so...... for instance,  a man might enter a shop with the intent to buy, but on inspection of the item he had in mind , he decides against  buying it and walks out. He can hardly be sued for breach because there was no offer made for the shopkeeper to accept.  So to put it in a simple nutshell : no contract had come into existence.
CP : Your point being....?
B-J : In pay-per-hour car parks, the offer has been established as the ticket machine , and acceptance is made by the motorist when he puts the correct money into the coin slot. This legal analysis of the situation allows the motorist after reading the terms and conditions to make a choice : to either accept the offer or reject it. And if he chooses the latter he is entitled to leave the car park without incurring any legal or financially liability.
CP : What......that can't be right. You had parked up for 12 minutes and my client wants your money.
B-J : Well , that doesn't surprise me at all but he cannot bring a claim under breach of contract since one was never entered to. His only recourse is to sue me for trespass..... even though I entered the site with the company's tacit permission to do so.
CP : Is that so ?
B-J : Indeed yes.....it was clearly implied by the huge signage board visible on entry       which said     " WELCOME " in big bold capital letters
CP : Sod that for a game of monkeys......my client will not let you off the hook so easily.....I can guarantee he will have you back in court demanding damages for trespass 
B-J : Ah .....but to succeed in that claim the company will have to establish some kind of financial loss such as damage to property or loss of revenue. However since the car park had plenty of unoccupied bays  at that time , my presence there for just 12 minutes could not have resulted  in any loss whatsoever. Issuing a PCN in these circumstances is nothing more than highway robbery
Judge : Bigot....... I agree with you entirely




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