Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Gurkha12 on May 22, 2024, 03:31:39 pm
-
Well, for now, you should proceed only as the keeper. As @slapdash has pointed out, trying to blame the app is not going to get you anywhere. Have you complained to the app people?
Where are you up to with Plan A? It is too late for Plans B and C so, keep at Plan A until/if/when they issue a claim, which is Plan D.
For now, you can safely ignore any debt collector letters. Never, ever, ever, communicate with a debt collector. They are powerless and are only engaged to try and care the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying. They are not a party to the contract you allegedly breached with the parking company. They cannot take you to court or give you a CCJ or send bailiffs.
If/when you receive a Letter of Claim from either the parking company or a firm of roboclaim solicitors contracted by them, come back for advice on the next steps. An LoC will give you 30 days to pay, not the usual 14 days.
-
@b789 To be honest with you I am not sure what test I put on the appeal as I dont think that I received a copy of it from Park & Control. I certainly cant find it on my email system.
I will keep looking. As such I am not sure if I identified myself as the driver or not.
-
I am also upset that their app took my payment without ensuring that the car reg details were correct and I am positive that I input them correctly.
Some caution can be required with this line of argument. Is it reasonable to expect an application to be able to verify that any sequence of characters received is a potentially valid reg no issued by some authority somewhere in the world? (Plenty use non Latin script for example).
In your particular case the "partial" reg you input would be a perfectly valid early UK VRM. It just so happens that it is in use.
Obviously it is far more likely that something went wrong. Two problematic areas, particularly on a mobile device are related to autofill very often being "iffy" and issues related to input focus.
It can be very easy to inadvertently touch a different area on a screen for example whilst keying which can easily cause a loss of focus.
The configuration of your on screen keyboard can make this worse. Many may use a floating keyboard they drag out of the way.
UI design plays a major part. A screen allowing more than one input field can be a recipe for disaster, eg a screen containing a widget for a VRM and a drop down or similar for a duration and a submit button.
A bit of experimentation may enable you to find a situation where your keying gets lost. That may help.
-
That ship may have sailed. What was in the original appeal?
-
Whatever you do, do not identify the driver. They have no idea who was driving and because their NtK is not compliant with the requirements of PoFA, they cannot transfer that liability to the keeper.
It is what we would call a “golden ticket”. Please tell us that you did not identify the driver when you appealed. No “…I parked”. Only “…the driver parked”, the royal “we”.
-
apologies, but what is the NtK?? Please let me know asap and I will scan and post it.
I rejected the offer of £20.00 as I felt that this was the problem of their parking app for taking my payment without rejecting the car reg no. as I believe that it should have done. As I said I am damn sure that I keyed in the correct reg no.
The car park is on the top of a building which is mix use commercial. I have checked on the companies house register and identified the Directors as I did read the Plan A option. I assume that the suggestion is that I contact this company directly and explain in detail what has happened??
I really do appreciate your help!
Thanks
Is this attachment what you are asking for??
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
Where is the rest of the NtK? We need to see both sides of it. When you initially appealed, did you do so as the keeper or did you identify yourself as the driver?
The initial appeal response shows that they offered you a reduced charge of £20 for a gross keying error. What was your response to that offer?
We don't need to see any of the countless debt collector letter you have received or are going to receive. You can safely ignore all debt collector letters. They are powerless to do anything, no matter how scary the content may seem. File them or use them as kindling.
The other side of the original NtK (not any reminders) is required in order to form an opinion.
Have you tried Plan A yet? What was this location? A hotel maybe? You need to contact the landowner or their agent (not Park & Control) and ask the to get P&C to cancel the PCN.
-
Thank you! - All docs now redacted
-
I have removed those attachments - you may wish to redact your name and home address before uploading them to a public website.
-
will do...
Attached are the two letters from Debt Recovery Plus and the original PCN notice
Thanks for your help.
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
We need to see copies of all written correspondence, so the initial parking charge notice, your initial appeal, and their response.
-
On the 2nd December 2023 I parked in a car park, opened their app and entered my details and made the payment.
I was sent a PCN of £100.00 from Park & Control on the 8th December 2023 stating "for the contravention of Failure to Pay for Duration of Stay"
I then sent in an appeal shortly afterwards via their website complete with the receipt issued by the App. Interestingly enough the receipt was from APCOA and not Park & Control. This appeal was rejected as they said that I had not entered my car reg into the App correctly. I distinctly remember entering the full and correct reg number so was surprised that only the first part has been applied to the app.
(it should be noted that I have used many parking apps, including APCOA for Luton Airport, and the do not take payment unless the car reg number is input in full)
I called the company and expressed my shock that I was being charged despite having made payment for my parking and asked how it was possible that they would take payment without a valid reg number. They told me that I could appeal to IAS.
One other thing to note is that when I called Park & Control they claimed not to have heard of APCOA or know who they were. Research online however tells me that Park & Control is an independent limited company and not part of APCOA although they do have some of the same Directors.
I did start the IAS process and then left the country for a short break and neglected to complete the process.
Shortly afterwards I received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus, without any follow up correspondence from Park & Control, stating that I owed £170.00.
Stupidly I did not research this situation online or seek any legal advise and I called Debt Recovery Plus mid January 2024. I spoke at length to a woman there who told me that although the 30 day appeals process with IAS had expired, without my completing the appeal, there was a way in which I could continue my appeal.
This woman told me that she would send me an email with the details of what I needed to do. I received no such email and I then contacted the company, via their online message service, on at least two occasions stating that I was still waiting for the email and requesting that they call me.
I received no response until yesterday stating that I still owed £170.00. Again stupidly I called them and spoke to three of their representatives. I was met with abuse and rudeness excepting from one of their people. I was told that if I paid today then they would discount the charge to £136.00.
I have rejected their offer to pay today and said that I am going to seek legal advice.
I was still incensed that I was being charged despite having paid the parking charge. I am also upset that their app took my payment without ensuring that the car reg details were correct and I am positive that I input them correctly.
I am prepared to go to court however I am worried about the level of costs that I would incur if I did so. What is more if there is no point in going to court then what should I do??
I would welcome any advice on how to proceed and whether I should contact Park & Control again, or perhaps the owners of the car park at Dolphin House, Guildford.
"Please see other attachments in subsequent message"
[attachment deleted by admin]