Free Traffic Legal Advice

Stick a formal complaint in to PPS anyway.

Thanks @Charitynjw and @b789

This is the timeline so far. Does the following look ok for a complaint to PPS or is there a template you'd have I could use please?

4 Feb 2025  - received a PCN from PPS in the post for £60. The PCN states it was issued on 28th January for an alleged Parking in a No Parking zone.
8 Feb 2025  - appealed the PCN with PPS via email
              Didnt receive any sort of acknowledgement or response to my appeal
22 Mar 2025 - Received a Notice to Keeper stating the parking charge was overdue and was now £100
              PPS's website was not working and I was unable to contact them in any electronic way
23 Mar 2025 - I raised a complaint with the BPA about the situation and the fact that PPS were not reachable
              Currently awaiting BPA's response

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding PCN [Insert PCN Reference Number]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the handling of Parking Charge Notice [Insert PCN Number], issued by Private Parking Solutions Ltd (PPS).

Timeline of Events:

    4 February 2025: I received a PCN from PPS, alleging that a vehicle registered to me was parked in a no parking zone on 28 January 2025. For clarity, the vehicle was never parked. It was momentarily stopped on a public road adjacent to private land, before turning around and departing. It was not on private land or within any designated parking bay as claimed in your notice.

    Furthermore, I have reviewed the photographic evidence provided with the PCN. All images show the vehicle with its engine running, and all photos were taken within a timespan of approximately three minutes. This clearly demonstrates that the vehicle was not parked, but temporarily stationary.

    8 February 2025: I submitted an appeal in accordance with the instructions on your website at the time, using the prescribed PDF form and emailing it to appeals@privateparkingsolutions.co.uk. Despite this, I received no acknowledgment or response to my appeal.

    22 March 2025: I received a Notice to Keeper stating the charge had increased to £100, despite my appeal remaining unanswered. At this time, your website was also non-functional, preventing me from following up or accessing any further information regarding my case.

While I note that your website has since returned to service, it was inaccessible at a critical time when I sought to engage with your appeals process and resolve this matter.

Your failure to acknowledge or respond to my appeal, issue a timely reply, and maintain accessible communication channels constitutes a breach of your obligations under the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice. These failings have left me unable to properly challenge this PCN, through no fault of my own.

I now request the following actions without delay:

    1. A full written response to my original appeal, addressing all points raised and including a full review of the evidence.

    2. Immediate confirmation that the charge is frozen until my appeal is properly processed and concluded.

    3. An explanation for the lack of acknowledgment and your failure to respond to my original appeal.

    4. Clarification as to why your website and communication channels were unavailable at a critical stage in this process.

    5. A full investigation into the mishandling of my case, along with appropriate remedial action.

Please treat this as a formal complaint under your complaints procedure. If I do not receive a satisfactory response within the timescales set out by the BPA Code of Practice, I will escalate this matter to the BPA, my local MP, and other appropriate consumer protection authorities.

I expect prompt and proper resolution of this matter.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Contact Information]
[Your Vehicle Registration Number] (if applicable)
[PCN Number]

Nope, I didn't. Never occurred to me to do that to be honest. I've always thought if someone requires an appeal to be sent via email to them, they are guaranteed to also know which email address that email was sent from and that is the email they would use to send the acknowledgement and response. One for next time to remember to do I suppose.

True, you're right. The charge was always for £100 and discounted if paid early.

Cool, I'll hold off on raising a complaint to PPS until I hear from BPA then.

Thanks

Nobody gives a crap about "debt collection". So what? Debt collectors are powerless to do anything except try and scare the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear. You can safely ignore any debt recovery letters. Shred them and use the result as hamster bedding for all anyone cares.

If you have a complaint with the BPA and it has been acknowledged, go to their website and look at their complaints policy and if it says they are required to respond within a set time, send them a prompt.

You can safely ignore any debt recovery letters. Shred them and use the result as hamster bedding for all anyone cares.

This advice remains true.

Hello,

Gentle reminder for this please

Many thanks

Thank you.

To clarify, you mean explain to BPA that the operator failed to respond to my initial appeal? If yes, I did already tell BPA that the operator didn't respond and BPA have asked me to get in touch with PPS to get the response to the appeal, hence my previous question about the complaint to PPS. I haven't contacted the operator since I raised a complaint with the BPA