Free Traffic Legal Advice

Quote from: Intex310 on November 21, 2023, 08:48:19 pm

And those people sitting in their car waiting for the moment!!

Welcome to the world of private parking.

Quote from: Intex310 on November 21, 2023, 08:48:19 pm

In the PCN itself and on their portal, the pictures attached is of less than 5 mins. Any chance to appeal?

Section 13 of the British Parking Association's Code of Practice (there's a link to it in my signature at the bottom of this post) sets out the requirement for there to be a 'Consideration Period' of at least 5 minutes for a motorist to decide whether or not he accepts the terms of parking on offer, and to leave if he does not. The issue you might have here is that you appear not to have used the time parked to consider the terms, instead going to Argos to help your wife. This is potentially supported by the photos, which appear to show a sign containing the T&Cs directly behind the car, with no sign of you reading them etc.

Perhaps a stronger point might be found in the signage itself - do you have a photo of the signage at the site? The fact the charge was issued for 'Parking in No Parking area' suggests the signage might be forbidding - that is, there's no consideration offered to the driver, as it is not offering parking on any terms, so one could argue that no contract was formed. So that you are going into this with your eyes open, this is not an argument that PPS or POPLA will accept - you'd need to be prepared to potentially go to court to argue it.

There is an argument to be made that the signage does not create a contract. What consideration is being offered by a sign that says "No Parking?". There's no offer to park on certain terms there.

• Pay, or;
• Wait to see if PPS decide to take the matter to court. They have 6 years (from the date of the incident) to do so, but if they're going to sue they'll probably do so much sooner than that

You actually had 33 days from the appeal rejection date to submit a POPLA appeal. Not relevant now and would likely have been rejected anyway.

You should send the following in response to the LoC. No need to ask for another 30 days if you don’t actually need it. You want them to issue a claim as that is the ultimate dispute resolution service.

Quote

Your Ref. ############
Proposed Legal Proceedings
Claimant: xxxxxx xxxxxxxx Ltd

I refer to your your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being - assuming you don't faff about and delay any claim - is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

[Correct address here]

The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

[Only use this paragraph if you need more time] I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists".

Don't send me your usual blather about that.

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Yours faithfully

They will respond, ignoring or failing to answer the question about VAT, which allows you to submit a report to HMRC of suspected VAT fraud. It takes only a few minutes to submit the report and it is suspected that the fraud involves £millions. You can submit the HMRC report here: Report tax fraud or avoidance to HMRC

There is no guarantee that they will actually issue a claim, it just means that they have given you the required minimum notice of their intention to possibly issue one.