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Summons to appear at Magistrate's court over parking fine from TOC

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MJD-UK

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Hi,

I am hoping for advice - I can see some posts about Magistrate's court over fares, but none for parking related fines.

I've received a summons to the Magistrate's court over 2 occasions on which my car was parked in a railway station carpark without a ticket on display. The TOC itself is taking me to court and there is no mention of any debt collectors or similar, although on searching through paperwork I have received 3 reminders about these occasions from 3 different companies (ZZP, Indigo) which I unfortunately did not respond to. The occasions referred to in the summons are still within the 6 month deadline and the court date is in 3 weeks (!).

I am not sure what to do when you receive an actual summons and I have a few questions please?

- The summons is for a court that is very far away from where I live. Do I get a say in where this takes place?
- The summons is for a date which I cannot make because I have a work engagement. Do I get a say in when this takes place?
- Apart from reminders of the 'fines' which were instantly raised to £100 each, I have not received any notice of an intention to prosecute or an opportunity to defend myself to the TOC (although I realise I should have asked the debt collectors questions). Have I missed a letter or is this step not necessary for a Magistrate's court? Having read this forum it appears the TOC does not have to let me know they will prosecute?
- Does anyone have any advice on what to do next? I have been told that my case is quite weak and that a magistrate would take a dim view on it. My car is parked at this station 3-4 times a week and parking is always paid for via a mobile app. On these two occasions, the mobile app (system) failed and so parking was not paid for. I have evidence that parking is paid for 3-4 times a week but no screen shots of the frozen app unfortunately.
- Is it too late to try to settle out of court? How would I go about it? The summons did not come with any information on what to do, but it did include the TOC's name with no contact name, so I thought I could maybe write to them?

Thank you for any advice in advance.

MJD-UK
 
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easyken

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Apologies - as noted below, Pepipoo maybe not the right place after all, was just trying to help :)

I'm afraid I can't help from a rail perspective, but have you posted this on the Pepipoo forum? They are specialised in parking fines & tickets, and may be best placed to help.
 
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Haywain

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I'm afraid I can't help from a rail perspective, but have you posted this on the Pepipoo forum? They are specialised in parking fines & tickets, and may be best placed to help.
As the prosecution is likely to be under the railway by-laws, this seems an appropriate place to be asking questions.
- The summons is for a court that is very far away from where I live. Do I get a say in where this takes place?
No, none at all.
- The summons is for a date which I cannot make because I have a work engagement. Do I get a say in when this takes place?
I think you would have to plead not guilty, in the first instance.
- Apart from reminders of the 'fines' which were instantly raised to £100 each, I have not received any notice of an intention to prosecute or an opportunity to defend myself to the TOC (although I realise I should have asked the debt collectors questions). Have I missed a letter or is this step not necessary for a Magistrate's court? Having read this forum it appears the TOC does not have to let me know they will prosecute?
They have let you know, by having the summons issued.
- Does anyone have any advice on what to do next? I have been told that my case is quite weak and that a magistrate would take a dim view on it. My car is parked at this station 3-4 times a week and parking is always paid for via a mobile app. On these two occasions, the mobile app (system) failed and so parking was not paid for. I have evidence that parking is paid for 3-4 times a week but no screen shots of the frozen app unfortunately.
Engaging with the process would be a good idea. It is failing to do so that has got you this far. Contact the TOC and ask them if you can resolve the matter.
- Is it too late to try to settle out of court? How would I go about it? The summons did not come with any information on what to do, but it did include the TOC's name with no contact name, so I thought I could maybe write to them?
It is only too late once the court case has actually concluded.
 

jon0844

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If you had problems with the app (could have been an issue at their end) then appealing early on would have been wise. They may have allowed you to pay retrospectively or flag your plate to not issue a penalty on those days.

The rules for railway car parks are different to regular ones so be wary of advice given elsewhere (often suggesting just binning tickets and ignoring all letters). For one, railway car parks can still clamp vehicles for non payment.
 

MJD-UK

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Thank you for your advice - the summons mentions that they are requesting a civil order in accordance with Railway Byelaw 14(4)(i) and Paragraph 2 of Schedule 9 to the Railway Act 2005. @jon0844 In hindsight I should have appealed earlier on, I guess I didn't take the debt collector letters seriously enough because they were not from the actual TOC. I have never had any direct communication from the TOC - and have had a diabolical experience with trying to reason with a debt collector before so I chose to ignore.
 

MJD-UK

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@jkdd77 "parked without paying the necessary charge where signage is displayed identifying that charges are made for parking. In accordance with Railway Byelaw 14(4)(i) and Paragraph 2 of Schedule 9 of the Railway Act 2005".
 

MJD-UK

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As the prosecution is likely to be under the railway by-laws, this seems an appropriate place to be asking questions.

No, none at all.

I think you would have to plead not guilty, in the first instance.

They have let you know, by having the summons issued.

Engaging with the process would be a good idea. It is failing to do so that has got you this far. Contact the TOC and ask them if you can resolve the matter.

It is only too late once the court case has actually concluded.

Thanks Haywain. I have not been given contact details for the TOC but will try to write to them without a contact name on their end or may even just call up tomorrow and ask who to address a letter to.
 

jkdd77

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@jkdd77 "parked without paying the necessary charge where signage is displayed identifying that charges are made for parking. In accordance with Railway Byelaw 14(4)(i) and Paragraph 2 of Schedule 9 of the Railway Act 2005".

Well, that offence can only be committed by the driver, and it's for the TOC to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that you personally were driving the vehicle at the time it was parked.

There is Magistrates Association guidance, itself quoting extensively from case law, stating that simply being the defendant is the owner/ RK is insufficient in itself to prove the identity of the driver, although the inference that the RK is the driver could be used, together with other supporting evidence, to reach such a conclusion on driver identity to the appropriate standard of proof. In contrast to most motoring offences, the TOC cannot draw an adverse inference from the OP's failure to respond to a 'section 172' request because no such request was served.

Accordingly, one option would be to plead not guilty, and put the prosecution to their burden of proof, while avoiding taking the witness stand (to avoid being asked who was driving).

No-one on this forum can guarantee the outcome of the case following a not guilty plea, which would presumably depend both on the standard of evidence offered by the TOC and on the attitude of the magistrates.

However, if you are convicted- and regularly paying for parking via the mobile app could lead to the inference that you also parked the vehicle on the day(s) which are the subject of the prosecution- then you will likely face a large fine and substantial costs, potentially approaching or exceeding four figures if convicted after a not guilty plea, so your next steps may depend on your attitude to risk and willingness to spend time fighting the matter (including potentially taking a day off work to travel to the court).

Hiring a local criminal defence solicitor to represent you may slightly improve your prospects of an acquittal, but may cost more than simply paying what the TOC demands in order to drop the prosecution. If acquitted, you may, at the discretion of the court, be able to recover some- but probably not all- of your costs from the TOC.

The other options are to plead guilty, which would result in a slightly smaller fine and reduced costs (but still likely several hundred pounds), or to contact the TOC to attempt to negotiate an out of court settlement, which would likely still be expensive, but less expensive than a conviction.

I concur with the advice from easyken to cross-post on the Pepipoo forum.
 

Maigret

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5 Jun 2019
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This poster is also receiving advice on MSE. Apparently the summons is an application for a civil order, so it's not a prosecution.
 

Puffing Devil

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It all depends if they are relying on the bylaws to enforce any penalties. If they are, then there's a whole can of worms opened up. The penalties for Section 14 offences are a fine, maximum level 3 - you'll have to look up that if you're interested. This rules out parking tickets for enforcement, as the penalty can only be applied by a court. On the face of it, motorists in a car park run by, or on behalf of, a TOC that is relying on the Byelaws, cannot receive tickets under the bylaws. The only sanction is prosecuting. We may see they equivalent of the old NR "Penalty Fakes" as an alternative to prosecution, but that's it.

TOCs are allowed to clamp and tow. I have no idea what the fee scale would be for that or how it can be recovered, as the Keeper is not necessarily the driver at the time of the offence.

There may be more on this is in a specialist forum, like Pepipoo.
 
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