Author Topic: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington  (Read 2540 times)

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Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #15 on: »
A slight edit suggestion. Are you intending to email this as a pdf attachment or directly as an email or posting it?


Customer Services Department
UK Parking Control Limited
The Apex
2 Sheriffs Orchard
Coventry
CV1 3PP

Subject: Appeal Against Parking Charge Notice [PCN Reference Number]

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to formally appeal request that the the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) referenced above, which I received as the registered keeper of the vehicle in question, is reissued. Due to exceptional circumstances, I was unable to appeal within the initial 28-day period stipulated.

I was out of the country for the entirety of the 28-day appeal period, as evidenced by the attached flight tickets. According to the British Parking Association's (BPA) Code of Practice for Operators, specifically Section 23.8, operators are required to have a process for considering appeals received outside the normal 28-day period if the appellant can provide evidence of exceptional circumstances.

The relevant section of the BPA Code of Practice states:

“You must have a process for considering appeals received outside of the normal 28-day period allowed for lodging an appeal where the appellant provides evidence of exceptional circumstances for the appeal not being lodged within the normal timeframes – where the addressee only discovers and can show that a Parking Charge Notice has been issued in their name after the 28-day period, the period must restart and any enforcement, excluding court action, must be paused.”


Given that I was out of the country and only became aware of the PCN upon my return, I am requesting that the Notice to Keeper be re-issued and the appeal period be restarted in accordance with the BPA Code of Practice. I also request that any enforcement actions, excluding court action, be paused immediately.

I look forward to await your prompt response confirming the re-issue of the Parking Charge Notice and extension of the appeal period and the suspension of any enforcement action. If you require any further information or documentation, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Name]
« Last Edit: May 28, 2024, 05:26:28 pm by b789 »
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #16 on: »
Thanks so much - I will use your suggested edits. I'd have preferred to email it as an attachment but I can't find an email address online so I guess I will have to post it - how dull!


Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #17 on: »
https://www.ukparkingcontrol.com/complaintspolicy
Their complaints policy may yield an email address...

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #18 on: »
So I received this a few days ago:

Quote
Dear NAME

Thank you for your recent correspondence in relation to parking charge reference XXXXXXX.

Unfortunately the opportunity to appeal this charge has expired and the charge has been referred to our debt recovery agent. To make payment, or request information, please contact ZZPS:

[ZZPS Address, telephone number, email]

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter,

Your sincerely,

[illegible signature]

Appeals Department,

UK Parking Control Ltd


I have drafted the following response - do you think best for me to send something along these lines or make a complaint straight away to BPA?

Cheers!

_________________________

Dear Sir/Madam,

I acknowledge receipt of your recent correspondence regarding the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) referenced above. I am writing to express my disappointment with your response and to formally reiterate my appeal based on the exceptional circumstances that prevented me from responding within the initial 28-day period and remind you of the regulations that you are bound by.

As previously stated, I was out of the country for the entirety of the appeal period, as evidenced by the attached flight tickets. According to Section 23.8 of the British Parking Association's (BPA) Code of Practice for Operators:

“You must have a process for considering appeals received outside of the normal 28-day period allowed for lodging an appeal where the appellant provides evidence of exceptional circumstances for the appeal not being lodged within the normal timeframes – where the addressee only discovers and can show that a parking charge notice has been issued in their name after the 28-day period, the period must restart and any enforcement, excluding court action, must be paused.”

I have provided clear evidence of my exceptional circumstances, and as per the BPA Code of Practice, you are required to restart the appeal period and pause any enforcement actions. Your recent response indicating that the opportunity to appeal has expired and the charge has been referred to a debt recovery agent is not compliant with these regulations.

I request that you reconsider my appeal in light of the BPA Code of Practice requirements. Failure to do so will leave me with no choice but to escalate this matter to the BPA and other relevant authorities for further investigation and resolution.

I look forward to your prompt response confirming the restart of the appeal period and the suspension of enforcement actions.

Yours faithfully,

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #19 on: »
You can continue to correspond, but IMO they'll ignore your request and do not have a legal obligation to do otherwise. 

They won't provide a POPLA code, and therefore..

..you're off to court if they wish unless you find another way to get the charge cancelled.

A court is not interested in the CoP, only the law, which is contract and PoFA.

IMO, your circumstances are not exceptional, if someone is away for such an extended period then they should make adequate arrangements to manage their mail.

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #20 on: »
..you're off to court
With UKPC, more likely "off to receive a Claim Form only for them to discontinue at the last minute".

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #21 on: »
This may well be so, but as regards the legal process the OP should be aware.

As regards possibilities and probabilities..OP some PPCs are more litigious than others and as with the stock market, past performance is not necessarily an accurate indicator of the future.


Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #22 on: »
Can you evidence that you were out of the country between the dates of the first NtK (plus 2 working days) and the 28th day after that? If so, you can complain (not appeal) to UKPC and request that they reissue the original NtK and restart the clock, thus allowing you to appeal. There is clause in the latest edition of the BPA CoP 23.8 that states they must reissue and restart the process if you can evidence that you (the addressee) could not have appealed within the original 28 day window. If you can and they don’t, a complaint to the BPA is in order.

You were advised to complain, not appeal about the reason you could not appeal within the required timeframe. I suggest you do that right now. Emphasise that it is NOT an appeal and emphasise that it IS a complaint.

Of course UKPC are not going accept that as an appeal. Before you can complain about this to the BPA, you have to exhaust the complaints procedure with UKPC.

In the meantime, just ignore any and all final reminders or debt collection letters. They are powerless to do anything and nothing will happen.

If the above complaint doesn’t get the PCN re-issued or a POPLA code, then it will end up as a court claim, either directly from UKPC or through DCB Legal. It matters not which. It is easily defended and is 99% sure to end up as a discontinuation.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #23 on: »
My apologies, I thought I was supposed to first appeal and then complain - in any case I have now complained the that PoC hasn't been followed and said that if not resolved I will escalate to the BPA.

Will update when I hear back :)

Thanks again to all

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #24 on: »
PoC = Particulars of Claim. You meant CoP = Code of Practice.

You'll deal with PoC later if they don't re-issue the NtK.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #25 on: »
Time for an update!

On 26th June I received a letter from QDR solicitors giving me a further 14 days to pay, after which they threatened that they'd begin court action.

Today I received an email back from UKPC complaints


Quote
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
Please be advised we have reviewed your appeal and can confirm the charge has been cancelled.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind Regards
Complaints Department
UK Parking Control
PO Box 1608
High Wycombe
HP12 9FN

Very happy with that result, many thanks all for your help

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #26 on: »
Excellent result - they caved in even earlier than normal. Thanks for the update.

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #27 on: »
Time for an update!

On 26th June I received a letter from QDR solicitors giving me a further 14 days to pay, after which they threatened that they'd begin court action.

Today I received an email back from UKPC complaints


Quote
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
Please be advised we have reviewed your appeal and can confirm the charge has been cancelled.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind Regards
Complaints Department
UK Parking Control
PO Box 1608
High Wycombe
HP12 9FN

Very happy with that result, many thanks all for your help

Good news. However, be aware that the right hand may not be aware of what the left hand is doing.

QDR were being mendacious by telling you that if you didn't pay within 14 days that they would begin court action. Firstly, they would have had to have been instructed by UKPC to act on their behalf and they would be required by the Pre Action Protocols (PAP) to have served you with at least 30 days notice to either pay before they could initiate court action. So, the QDR letter was nothing more than a debt collection letter which, as already advised, should be ignored.

Thankfully, UKPC have realised that they were obliged under the latest version of the CoP they had to either reissue the PCN and start the clock again or, as they have done in this case, cancel it. By cancelling it, they have saved themselves at least £35 in court fees that they usually end up paying by letting their PCNs get to Plan D.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #28 on: »
QDR also said "we will ask the court to order that you pay our client's legal costs."

They can ask all they like but my understanding is that for small claims (which this would fall under), the court will not award costs, unless it is punitive.

Re: UKPC NTK - No Permit - Hook Rise, Chessington
« Reply #29 on: »
QDR were acting as a debt collector. You will have been advised to completely ignore any debt collection notice as they will use language designed to get all the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to poop their pants and pay up.

If you're feeling particularly aggrieved and want to try and get some revenge, you could try and report QDR to the SRA. The conduct of solicitors is governed by strict professional and ethical standards and they should not use misleading or intimidating language.

Make a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). As QDR Solicitors have made threats that are not aligned with or breach legal procedures (such as implying that more than the fixed costs can be claimed in small claims court), this can be reported to the SRA.

The SRA can investigate if QDR's behaviour is deemed unprofessional or misleading. This won't be the first complaint they will have received about this firm of bottom-dwelling solicitors and failed legal wannabes.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience” - Mark Twain