Free Traffic Legal Advice

First things first, I'm very sorry to hear about your father, I hope all is well.

Before we move onto the facts of the parking incident itself, some process. The fact you were abroad for the times stated is unlikely to have much bearing on the case, other than the fact you are now beyond UKPC's arbitrary appeal window - this means they won't consider any appeals, nor provide a POPLA code, but this is not the end of the world. Ignore the debt collectors, you should not engage with them at all. File but ignore their letters. You need to keep an eye out for anything that is marked as a 'Letter Before Claim' or similar, which will come from UKPC's solicitors/legal firm. UKPC do tend to issue a lot of claims - another thing they (or more accurately their chosen law firm DCB Legal) tend to do, if the matter is defended, is discontinue the claims before they ever reach a courtroom. This thread from the MSE Forum makes for interesting reading: DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS. Usual caveat that past performance is not always a reliable indicator of future conduct, but you'll see there's been a definite pattern.

Now, onto the incident. You mention that it is your mother's vehicle, but that you are the registered keeper?

Quote from: Keeper on May 19, 2024, 07:54:26 pm

Car Park Signage

I have attached photos of the car park signage. I'm not sure exactly which bay the driver parked in but you can see from the signs that they may not be within visibility or regulatory regulations (you will know better than me!). There's one more sign I can try and add a photo of for location, it was on a gate that was open so that it wasn't really visible (it's the actual notice in the last photo).

That signage looks shoddy for a number of reasons - is there a sign at the entrance? The £100 charge isn't particularly prominent for a start, such a charge should be clearly brought to the motorists attention. The placement also looks poor, the signage should be 'there to be seen' - this is compounded if there is no sign at the entrance. There's also a potential argument that the signage is forbidding, as it doesn't make an offer to those without a permit to park on certain terms.

One point that may come in useful if/when this progresses to a claim, which is highly likely but will not result in anything other than a discontinuation before a hearing if you follow all the advice. You say the driver visited the location on 26th March and it was a location they had visited previously but had no or different restrictions back then. Was the previous visit more or less than 4 months previously?

If the last previous visit was less than 4 months previously, were there any prominent signs indicating that the terms of parking had been changed? If so, they have breached their own ATA, the BPA, Code of Practice rule 19.10 which states:

Quote

Material change - notices

Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms and conditions that would not be immediately apparent to a motorist entering controlled land that is or has been open for public parking, you must place additional (temporary) notices at the site entrance for a period of not less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who might be familiar with the old terms do not inadvertently incur parking charges.

Whilst some may advocate trying to appeal to the better nature of the customer service ethos of UKPC and try and mitigate the circumstance so that they reset the clock and let you appeal, it is just going to be a waste of time and effort. There are some rules in the CoP that could be argued that they should re-issue the PCN and start the clock but, to be honest, they won’t.

Whilst we haven’t yet seen both sides of the NtK (suitably redacted but with all dates showing) there is likely to be another flaw or two in it that will force them to make the claim under PoFA against the keeper. However, there is now an updated item to add to any robust defence to request that the claim is dismissed at the allocation stage as they will be in breach of several CPRs and PoFA. We will cross that bridge if and when we need to. For now, the keeper must not reveal the identity of the driver.

A Quick Look at the NtK shows PoFA failure to specify any “period of parking” in breach of 9(2)(a) and (c ). Also, the time stamp in the photo on the NtK appears to have been cropped which is a failure of BPA CoP 21.5a.

There are a couple of things you should be doing for now. Plan A is always the easiest to get these cancelled is to get the landowner to tell their agent to cancel it. You can continue with Plan A right up until the commencement of Plan D.

What did the business you were visiting at the time have to say about their patrons being invoiced for £100 for the privilege?

What was the date the original NtK was issued? Was it 27th March or earlier?

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.

Apart from the above, all you can do for now is continue with Plan A and wait or the ridiculous but useless debt collector letters. If, or more likely when, you receive a real Letter of Claim, either directly from UKPC themselves or DCB Legal (not anything from DCB Ltd), then come back for advice on how to proceed.

A claim is the start of Plan D and is easily dealt with and will end up with an eventual discontinuation.

Thanks.

To what breach do these examples refer e.g. parking for longer than permitted or simply parking in a manner where an instant breach occurs, for example not in a bay or without displaying a permit?

And does this argument always win or only sometimes. I would certainly appreciate any judgments on this point.

OP, pl answer the question about what the driver did e.g. park up as a patron or simply park and disappear off site etc.

Of course you should try and find out who the landowner or the management company they use to manage the estate. They are jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agents and they can easily ask the PPC to cancel the PCN. A complaint to the business you were a patron of asking them to intervene on your behalf with the estate management would be useful if only to let the management company and the business how these unregulated private parking companies are damaging their business.

Quote

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.

Quote

I have flight bookings / passport stamps.

Then I've already told you what to do.

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 the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) referenced above, which I received as the registered keeper of the vehicle in question. 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 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 your prompt response confirming the extension of the appeal period and the suspension of enforcement actions. 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]

Attachments:

Copies of flight tickets confirming my absence from the country during the appeal period