Free Traffic Legal Advice

The Chief Executive:

https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/management/

Quote from: H C Andersen on May 31, 2025, 11:58:13 am

OP, if you're going to complain then, with respect, you don't ask questions.


Dear Sir,
Newark and Sherwood District Council(Civil Enforcement Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2025

As you will be aware, the above order came into effect on 7 April 2025. However, what I suspect you do not know is that your council is still operating under some previous unregulated hybrid regime and I enclose a copy of correspondence which I have received in respect of an alleged parking contravention which occurred on ** May 2025 which illustrates this point.

Although I have responded to this correspondence, as your officers have not followed the law to date, namely they have disregarded the Order, I have no confidence in their ability to comprehend the issues, admit their error and cease whatever enforcement they might have had in mind. Hence I am writing to you both for myself and any other motorists who might have received similar unlawful demands from the council.

I await your confirmation that my 'penalty' charge has been cancelled and that you will address the current shortcomings.

Yours...l

That sounds like a good idea. But who should I be complaining to?

I assume here for a start.
https://selfservice.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/renderform?t=326&k=AD2976DEACFE04AF64AC7CE4174015A063B29C61

Brian replied to me this morning saying:

"Good morning (my name), I am purely looking at the facts.

I have attached an image of what the driver would have seen at the payment kiosk if their payment transaction was declined.

I have also attached an image of what the machine would have issued the driver following a declined transaction.

 
The facts are also clear that we have not received payment for the parking charges applicable on Newark Lorry Park for the vehicles parking session on 5th May 2025.
 

As this is a barrier-controlled car park a Parking Charge Notice is issued as we cannot issue a Penalty Charge Notice on a pay on foot payment system as allows you to pay for your parking prior to leaving, not on entry.

Due to the payment system on this site a Parking Charge Notice is issued as a contractual private notice.

 

The parking signage is very clear on site as well as payment options.

 

We are very fair with the way we manage the parking enforcement at Newark Lorry Park.

 

Our system generates an overstay list, which shows all vehicles that have been on site longer than the 2-hour free parking period, without paying the parking charges on site.

We have a very small number of vehicles that are in contravention of the parking regulations on Newark Lorry Park.

 

I am not threatening debt collection, only informing you of the process.
 

I am very happy to discuss this matter further, if you want to give me a call on 01636 655835
 

Regards


Brian Rawlinson
Parking Services Manager
Newark and Sherwood District Council"

I have attached the 2 documents attached to the email. And I have also attached the receipt our driver provided that does not have "Transaction cancelled" written below and no evidence it was covered or tampered with. This raises doubts for me about what the kiosk screen said. He obviously did not use a fuel card that doesn't allow parking payment to test this out.

Beyond that, he does say it is a "contractual private notice". What does this mean then? Does the 2025 Order allow them to do this or should it still be a civil penalty under TMA 2004? And I assume it should still have an appeals proecedure and inform me of an independent appeals procedure?

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Will you please get away from what happened, it's distracting and irrelevant.

The council have made an Order.
This is legally binding on the council as well as others.
They are not complying with their order.

This is not about the facts of an alleged breach, it's about the legal powers available to the council to penalise such a breach.

Sadly such ignorance exists.

Do you think that Brian was replying to your email to the Chief Executive?

Okay, fair enough, I was just providing context and Brian's response.

So, obviously they can't legally enforce an Order that has been revoked (Order 2022), would obtaining the keepers details from DVLA not then be a data protection breach if that was the order they used to do so?

Also, if they had quoted the 2025 Order on the NtO they'd still be in breach right? As in, they still have to enforce it within TMA 2004 regs which they are not doing and hence in breach of the Order which allows them to enforce off street parking laces like Newark Lorry park?

Sorry, but why are you concerned about these issues? They have an enforcement power which they are obliged to use if they wish to penalise motorists.

They haven't.

I don't see the point of itemising everything they should and must do, this list would be as long as the applicable parts of the General Regs and Appeals Regs themselves, not to mention the Secretary of State's Statutory Guidance.

When I drafted my previous post initially I did include reference to obtaining DVLA data given that the only extant Order is the 'TMA' one. But then I thought, why bother at this stage? But I think it's an idea once the PCN's been cancelled because such a complaint should be directed at the council's DPO and this might wake them from their slumber.

Because I don't like just parroting statements without knowing exactly what they mean 🤷‍♂️

OP, if you're going to complain then, with respect, you don't ask questions.


Dear Sir,
Newark and Sherwood District Council(Civil Enforcement Off-Street Parking Places) Order 2025

As you will be aware, the above order came into effect on 7 April 2025. However, what I suspect you do not know is that your council is still operating under some previous unregulated hybrid regime and I enclose a copy of correspondence which I have received in respect of an alleged parking contravention which occurred on ** May 2025 which illustrates this point.

Although I have responded to this correspondence, as your officers have not followed the law to date, namely they have disregarded the Order, I have no confidence in their ability to comprehend the issues, admit their error and cease whatever enforcement they might have had in mind. Hence I am writing to you both for myself and any other motorists who might have received similar unlawful demands from the council.

I await your confirmation that my 'penalty' charge has been cancelled and that you will address the current shortcomings.

Yours...l

I emailed the council customer service email with the above, with "FAO John Robinson CEO and of Sue Bearman Assistant Director for Law" in the subject. I got an automated response saying I would get a full response or un update as to when I can expect to receive a response withing 3 working days. I didn't get a response. I followed it up on the 8th July and again on 17th July. And eventually got a response today which was frankly pathetic.

To summarise, it failed to actually address the issues raised and they seem to think I was negotiating when I requested for confirmation that the PCN had been cancelled. Apparently, I can pay the parking fees that ought to have been paid and in exchange they will cancel their unlawful demand for money 🤔 It would appear that their investigation consisted of asking the Parking Services Manager, aka Brian, and that was it.

"Subject: NSDC Customer Feedback response stage 1 ref: 5923031
 
Dear *my name*

Customer feedback: Response to your complaint (stage 1)

Thank you for the time you have taken in providing us with details of your complaint.  Feedback is incredibly important to us so we can continue to learn, improve, and develop our services for our residents.  We take all complaints extremely seriously and I am sorry that you have had to make a complaint in this instance. 

Our definition of a complaint is “an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents”.

This letter will outline what we do when we receive a complaint and how we seek to find a resolution.  It will include details of your complaint and the steps we have taken to investigate.  It will also confirm if your complaint has been upheld and outline any actions we will be taking.  It also provides information on what to do if you are not satisfied with our response.

Firstly, when we receive a complaint, it is logged as a ‘stage 1 complaint.’  When you contacted us you raised the following issues: -

You have raised the following issues:

- A formal acknowledgement of this complaint
- A substantive response to the concerns raised
- Confirmation that enforcement practices are aligned with the 2025 Order
- Confirmation of the cancellation of the penalty charge issued

I understand that, to resolve your complaint, you are seeking the following outcome/s:

- A formal acknowledgement of this complaint
- A substantive response to the concerns raised
- Confirmation that enforcement practices are aligned with the 2025 Order
- Confirmation of the cancellation of the penalty charge issued

To investigate, and review your complaint I have Consultation with the Council's Parking Services Manager
Review of the Newark Lorry Park parking charges, parking charge notices, procedures, signage

Your complaint has been partially upheld, detailed below are the reasons for this decision:

Review of procedures and notices for the Newark Lorry Park
Ongoing consultation with parking authority
Ongoing consultation with the Council's Legal team
Clarification to the affected party of the circumstances surrounding the issue of a penalty charge notice
Offer of mutual resolution to the affected party
As below, we would like to elaborate on the circumstances that lead us to this position, what we are doing in more detail, and offer a resoution which you hope will find acceptable:
Following receipt of your complaint, I have reviewed the issues you have encountered when your driver parked at Newark Lorry Park, which is summarised below.
 
Your vehicle VRM *Vehicle reg* arrived at Newark Lorry Park on 05/05/25 at 14:58 and exited the site on 06/05/2025 at 06:43.
No payment was received from your driver for parking your company’s vehicle on the site.
There is clear signage as you enter Newark Lorry Park and around the lorry park stating the terms and conditions when parking on the site.
Newark and Sherwood District Council operate an ANPR barrier payment system on Newark Lorry Park. Drivers entering the site are agreeing to the terms and conditions of Newark Lorry Park.
All vehicles entering the site have 2 hours free parking on site, this benefits driver on a break, using the café, fuel bunker and Lorry Wash.
All drivers parking their vehicles for longer than the 2 hours free parking period should pay for their parking session prior to leaving the lorry park. Clear instructions are displayed on the lorry park parking tariff and information boards located in several locations around the site.
There is clear signage stating, ‘Pay at the Kiosk’.
When drivers use the Kiosk, the instruction is very clear and displayed in multiple languages.
The receipt that you forwarded to the Parking Services Manager was not a valid parking receipt. This was a card transaction receipt and was clearly marked as Transaction Declined.
The Parking Services Manager has previously sent through to you an image of what your driver would have viewed upon entering his vehicle registration number.
As the card payment was cancelled the driver would have seen a message that was also sent through to you.
If the driver was having difficulty he could have spoken to our officer on site or called on the lorry park help point, which is managed by the Authority’s CCTV team 24 /7 365 days a year.
No contact was made by your driver for assistance. As the parking session had not been paid for, a voucher for the showers would not have been issued.
 
We note your challenge for the Penalty Charge Notice issued, and we are now reviewing our arrangements for such at the Newark Lorry Park. This is a complicated process and will not be concluded before we are obliged to reply in respect of your complaint. We would therefore offer the following for conclusion of this matter:
 
1.      That the parking charges for vehicle registration number PN71 DVR - £19.17 + vat @ 20%. Total £23.00 is paid to cover the duration of the stay.
 
2.      Following payment of this parking charge, Newark and Sherwood District Council will cancel PCN 09.05.25 3.
 
Subject to your agreement, we can provide you with an invoice for the parking charge. We thank you for your time and consideration and assure you of our best attention. We hope this brings the matter to a conclusion; please contact me should you wish to discuss further.
 

Again, I am really sorry that you had cause to complain to us and I hope that this letter shows that your feedback has been fully considered and that you are satisfied with this response.  The steps outlined above would complete stage 1 of our complaints process.

If you are still concerned or unhappy with our response you may choose to escalate your complaint to stage 2 of our complaints process.  To do that, you should reply in writing (email or letter), ideally explaining why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are seeking. Your complaint will then be reviewed by a Business Manager or Director who was not involved in this stage 1 response.

A full copy of our Customer Feedback Policy is available on our website https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/customerfeedback/.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Pete Preece

Business Unit Manager"

So what's your intention?

It's just incredibly annoying that given the amount of time, that I get a response from someone who has clearly not bothered to look into the matter.

The fact they offer an ultimatum, if you pay the £23 for parking we will cancel the £70 (including VAT) unlawful demand for money, it's laughable.

I responded and doubled down. The fact I had previously offered to pay the £23, as it was a genuine misunderstanding, but the parking service manager rejected and demanded £70 and insisted the driver had intentially tried to defraud them and the company, despite there being no evidence of that, and then considering the administration cost dealing with this unlawful demand for money, means they will get no payment from us.

I escalated to stage 2, because they didn't actually address the main issues I complained about, I.e, operating in breach of the 2025 Order, attempting to enforce under a mix of TMA 2004 and contract law, not following legal process of pcn enforcement, obtaining registered keepers details through a revoked order (2022 Order) etc.

I could have agreed to pay the £23, but doing so would let them off the hook and allow them to continue to operate unlawfully. And lastly because I think the Parking Service Manager is a dick, and I don't like his attitude, accusing this driver of deliberate wrong doing without any evidence to support that. Dude needs a reality check or just training.

In short, you've not accepted their offer and have escalated to Stage 2 as set out in their letter.

You now have 2 strands going within the council: the complaint and the still live PCN. I wonder whether the council will make the link?

My employer decided to undermine me and pay it without asking me first and without knowledge of the situation. They think the council made them a gesture of goodwill out of the kindness of their hearts by cancelling the PCN in exchange for paying the £23. 😑

Anywho, I updated the council Manager chap who is investigating my Stage 2 complaint, and made it clear I still expect a full response to the points I raised, also  including why the council thought it was appropriate to give an ultimatum, to pay £23 to in order for them to cancel a PCN which they told me they are currently investigating the legality of.

So, I'll see what they say.