Free Traffic Legal Advice

You have to respond to the LBC the Parking Company will review your letter.
Solicitors,

Here is an example of what to reply you should tailor it to your particular situation

I have received your Letter Before Claim in the post on

As Solicitors you will be familiar with the requirements of the Practice Direction (PD) which was applicable prior to 1st October 2017 and the Protocol which applies thereafter. As you surely know the intended purpose of the PD and Protocol is to assist parties to settle the issue between them without the need to start proceedings and to support efficient management by the court and parties of proceedings that cannot be avoided. In order for this to happen it is expected that the Letter Before Claim is compliant with the requirements of the PD pre-action conduct (paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) and the new pre -action protocol for debt claims paragraphs 3.1(a)-(d), 5.1 and 5.2. I therefore formally request all the information and documentation that your client is required to provide. This will include the following;
If I am being pursued and the driver or keeper of the vehicle
To provide concise details of the claim which should include the basis on which the claim is made and a summary of the facts
A copy of the contract with the landowner where they have been granted authority to bring the claim
To clarify if your client is relying on schedule 4 of POFA 2012
Any details of the signage at the time of the alleged offence including the location and signage that has been added following this date
Any photographic evidence that is alleged to support this claim
Further details of the claim including where the vehicle was parked and how the monies being claimed has been calculated
Copies of any previous communication sent by your client to me
A detailed summary of how the amount being claimed by your client has been calculated including the sum of £60 for the time and resources they claim they have spent.

I am unable to form any defence or response to your letter until I am in receipt of the requested information. Should your client fail to produce the requested information I will apply to the courts for an immediate stay in accordance with Paragraph 15(b) of the PD until this information has been provided. As you state in your standard letter which lacks clarity, please refer to Paragraph 2.1(c) of the PAP which obliges the parties to act reasonably and proportionately.
Should this matter proceed to a court hearing I will present this letter as evidence of my formal request and any response I receive from you in direct relation to my request.
I require a formal written response within 14 days of the date on this letter. I look forward to receiving this response,

Yes totally forgot that even though dealt with SWMBO PCN last year with signage issues and not grace period.Section 5.2  note 2 does not provide a grace period for short term periods up to 30 minutes mentions Airports, Railway Stations drop off/ pick up zones. The PCN does not mention POFA but does include that if payment is not made after 28 days they will recover from RK. There is no mention of paragraph 9 (2) (f). I think period of parking is the way to go as has been stated.

You are under no obligation to explain your reason to the Parking company as they must provide the 10 minutes if there was a delay due to traffic congestion or anything similar then by all means put that in do not over complicate the appeal. Just initially quote BPA  code of practice If I recall Section 19.5 but double check it see what they say.

If as you state there is a maximum stay of 20 minutes copy of the signs will be of assistance. Normally there should be a grace period of 10 minutes so it would be interesting to establish why the PCN has been issued given the situation.
Under no circumstances name the driver appeal as registered keeper only.
One step at a time and see if it needs to be escalated to IAS who have a poor appeal record.

The suggestion is that the driver did not have the consideration period to engage with the signs and therefore did not agree to the terms and conditions. The first step is to appeal as the registered keeper and do not mention the driver outlining you defence. Normally 5 minutes is granted but if you can provide sufficient information however unlikely they may not pursue the PCN. You then appeal to POPLA and see what transpires.

I have seen PCN whereby 29 days have mentioned your mentions 30 days. The Act does indeed mention 28 days. I have not seen any feedback the recipient of PCN has been disadvantaged with being over the 28 days. Perhaps someone may have further information for you.

It really depends what you have appealed on has any more weight that you can add to it it is not unusual for Parking companies to play tennis in an appeal situation I did one and it must have gone back and forth about half a dozen times or more. I used lack of sineag, period of parking before acceptance disagreement where signs were place according to plan submitted etc to substantiate my defence of their claim. It looks as if you can’t bolster your appeal it may well be turned down. Then it will be scary letters time and or court option.