I briefly parked at a health centre around 6:30pm.
The centre was closed but I needed to use the toilet in a nearby community centre which was open at the time.
I have health reasons and I need to use the toilet regularly.
I have a Blue badge as well.
As far as I remember, I had my badge displayed, but their photo is not showing the front of my car, so I can't be sure if I did or not.
I asked the centre if they allow blue badge holders to park there and they said yes.
but I haven't gone around to check their signs.
is there anything I can do? any template letters I can use to appeal?
your help is much appreciated.
Thanks very much
Alzahawy
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The Google Street View only shows pictures from April 2019 when it was run by APCOA. At that time there were no entrance signs which is a breach of the PPCs CoP. Can you get your own photos of the location and show them? The photo of the vehicle is terrible and does not show where it was parked. The photo of the sign is unreadable and bears no relevance to it's location in relation to the vehicle.
This is easily beatable but no disclosing the identity of the driver.
The photos were taken by one of the PPCs operatives. Did they leave a Notice to Driver (NtD) on the windscreen? Whilst they use some of the PoFA wording, I see no reference to them relying on PoFA which, technically, could prevent them from holding the keeper liable. There is no reference to who the "creditor" is either. It doesn't actually say that they can hold you liable as the keeper.
Can you show us the back of the NtK please.
Do not, under any circumstances, reveal the identity of the driver. They have no idea who that is. If you respond to anything, respond as the registered keeper (RK). No "...I parked..." or "...I drove..." etc. It should always be "The driver parked..." or "The driver was at the location..." etc.
As this is an NHS facility, have you tried PALS? A complaint to the them or the CEO of the NHS Trust will often see this cancelled. There are also issues for this with the Equalities Act 2010.
Again, if you could show us some photos of the signage at the location, especially as it looks like it was dark at the time, we could assist you further with advice.
Thank you for your prompt reply
@b789.
I have attached the back of the NtK.
There was nothing attached on my windscreen, just what I have attached here which came by post.
The issue is, I was not making use of the centre as they were closed. So I suspect they might not want to have anything to do with it.
I parked, no more than 15-20 mins until I went to look for a toilet and came back.
I will go there during the day and take some pictures.
If I complain to PALS, using medical reports of my conditions, how shall I word it? "The driver..." etc? but then it will be obvious as my name appears on the medical reports as well as the NtK?
Thanks again
Alzahawy
here is the back of the NtK.
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Just contact PALS and explain that you are a blue badge holder and registered keeper of the car and your reason for being at the location explaining that you have protected characteristics due to your disability and that their agent, NCP, should have made reasonable adjustments to allow additional time. By breaching the Equality Act they are jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agents. Breach of the Equality Act is a criminal offence, a distinct difference between the civil law that you are arguing against in this PCN.
See if they have any more photos that their operative took at the time by going to their website as though going to appeal. If you can, download them and show us them here.
After trying to get this cancelled by PALS or the NHS Trust, you should appeal to NPC using their website no later than Tuesday 6th February. So far, there is little evidence of any breach of any terms that they have shown in the NtK.
Just appeal using the following (without selecting anything that indicates you were the driver. You are appealing as the registered keeper. The "driver" and the "keeper" are two completely different entities in law.
I appeal as the registered keeper. I am under no legal obligation to identify the driver and decline to do so. You cannot transfer the driver’s liability (if any) to me as you have not served me with a notice to keeper that strictly complies with Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) and it is now too late to do so.
As long as the strict conditions of Schedule 4 are met, you may claim payment from the keeper or the hirer of the vehicle rather than from the driver. To do this you need to follow the procedures set out in the Schedule 4 paragraph (9). Please note that strict compliance is required. Partial or even substantial compliance is not sufficient.
You are also reminded that under the Equality Act 2010, you are required to make reasonable adjustments for the protected charectaristics of a disabled occupant of the vehicle. A blue badge was on display at the time and therefore your operative was under notice that this would be the case. By disregarding those characteristics and not making a reasonable adjustment you are now in breach of the Equality Act 2010 which is a criminal matter.
I require you to cancel the parking charge and remove my personal information from your database.
A couple of nitpicks.
It's NPC not NCP (2 different companies).
It's the Equality Act, not the Equalities Act
Thanks for the reply.
I have gone to the appeal page and managed to find the following images as suggested by
@b789.
I will also draft a letter to the health centre. Shall I also email the same letter to PALS?
And if they don't cancel it, then I will use the draft posted by
@b789 and appeal directly to NPC.
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There appears to be one other photo in there that you have not shown is. It is the third photo along the bottom of that page, a wide angle shot looking at the front of the car.
Can you download that picture and show us please?
Just reading through this thread, and whilst I would agree that contacting PALS is a wise step, I would personally take a slightly less gung-ho approach to doing so, and appealing to their good nature, rather than threatening them with being 'jointly and severally liable' for breaches of the Equality Act etc., as I'm not sure such an argument would be quite so clear-cut were it to get to court. The point of reasonable adjustments is to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people - I could easily see a judge concluding that requiring all car park users to have a valid permit
* would not, at face value, place disabled people at a substantial disadvantage.
I'm not saying the Equality Act should not be mentioned, I'd just be a bit more gentle in my mentioning of it. Especially with PALS. After all, they are human beings, and are potentially more likely to seek to seek to help someone who presents a genuine story of a disabled person being caught short and now being harangued by a parking company, than someone who steams in shouting the odds and threatening legal action. A sledgehammer is not always the best tool with which to crack a nut.
*remembering the potential, entirely separate, argument of whether or not any consideration is offered to non-permit holders, and thus whether a contract has been formed at all
Here are the other photos.
@b789: should I post the appeal to NPC now or wait till the 6th of Feb as you suggested.
I say this because the PCN was posted on the 16 of Jan, that would make today the 14th Day, ie the discount deadline.
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I say this because the PCN was posted on the 16 of Jan, that would make today the 14th Day, ie the discount deadline.
Put bluntly, the discount period is only worth being concerned about, if you have any intention of paying it. That's ultimately your call to make, as it's your money on the line.
There is no reference to who the "creditor" is either.
They do mention it at the top:
Looking at the photos provided, signage or lack of it, is going to be the strongest argument in any appeal.
The “discount” is only a form of bribe to get you to pay them without dragging it out through the appeals process. As already mentioned above by
@DWMB2, you have to decide whether you are prepared to fight this.
If you feel strongly enough that you are in the right and you are prepared to accept advice from us and you can afford to risk having to eventually pay anything up to c£250 should you lose, then ignore the
bribe discount.
As you are still pursuing Plan A, don’t ignore the Plan B appeal deadline.
Have you tried to get you MP involved? It costs nothing but a bit of your time and can help put pressure on the PPC to reconsider.
Thanks to all those who have contributed. greatly appreciated.
I understand your point about the "bribe" deadline. I am quite new to all this and taking these companies on, and my assumptions was if I can appeal before their "bribe" deadline, then I have nothing to lose. The way I am looking at it, is let's send the appeal/complaint to NPC and PALS at the same time, and hopefully one of them will get it cancelled. If not, then we can pursue further.
In any case, I have now sent a letter to PALS, attaching proof of my medical condition etc. Let's see what they say.
Thanks once again!
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