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I was parked in a free-to-park retail park while visiting one of the stores there and my car was slightly out of one of the marked bays and then received a ticket from UKPC with a fine. I have thus far ignored their letters and having not heard anything for a few months thought they had given up. Now received a "pre-action protocol for debt claims". NB it's a lease car so the first notice was sent to the leasing company who then advised UKPC to send it to our business.
I'd be very grateful for any advice.
many thanks
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the first notice was sent to the leasing company who then advised UKPC to send it to our business.
Before we provide any more detailed advice, to ensure we're doing so on the right lines - is the Letter of Claim issued to a limited company, or you as an individual? -
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Limited Co
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Thanks. What's done is done, and we can't change that, but for future reference in case you are unfortunate enough to receive another charge in the future:
- Ignoring them is generally not advised. As you've unfortunately discovered, it can lead to you (or your company here) being sued. Far better to be proactive and tackle them head-on. These companies prefer easy targets.
- As this is a lease car, you've even more reason to be proactive - parking companies almost never get the process right for transferring liability from the lease company to the hirer, opening an avenue of appeal.
Looking at this charge - it would be useful if you could show us a copy of the Notice to Hirer that you received (i.e. the first notice from UKPC that was addressed to your company and not the lease company). When you received that notice, was there anything else sent alongside it, in particular:- a statement signed by or on behalf of the vehicle-hire firm to the effect that at the material time the vehicle was hired to a named person under a hire agreement;
- a copy of the hire agreement; and
- a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement.
A last question on the incident itself - was the vehicle being driven on company business?
Another interesting phenomenon to be aware of - in recent months (well, over a year now), there have been quite a high number of instances of UKPC appearing to essentially play 'chicken' with the court process, issuing claims, waiting until a hearing date is given etc., and then discontinuing at the last minute. There's a thread about it here: (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/). There's no guarantee this will happen, and you should proceed on the assumption that you will have to go to court, but it's something to be aware of. One final point to be aware of, as it is the company being sued, then if a hearing does take place it may well be in a court of UKPC's choosing rather than yours, so you may have to travel. -
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Thankyou. I've attached scans of the initial letter that was merely forwarded to our company from the lease company, the next letter that then came directly from UKPC and the follow-on. Hope that helps. In this instance the car was driven for personal purposes.
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When you received that notice [direct from UKPC], was there anything else sent alongside it, in particular:
Are you able to confirm the above?- a statement signed by or on behalf of the vehicle-hire firm to the effect that at the material time the vehicle was hired to a named person under a hire agreement;
- a copy of the hire agreement; and
- a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement.
If they did not send the additional documents mentioned above, then they have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) (there's a link in my signature at the bottom of each of my posts), and as such they are unable to recover the charge from you as the hirer.
I think PoFA is probably your strongest defence - looking at the photo of the car, it does appear to be straddling two bays, so probably 'bang to rights' in terms of the actual contravention alleged.
As you haven't replied to any correspondence so far you'd be wise to reply to the Letter of Claim to set out your position. Here's a starter for 10, others can chip in if they wish:Dear Sirs,
We have received your Letter of Claim (UKPC Litigation Reference Number: ________), relating to a Notice of Parking Charge (NoPC) in which you allege that the driver of the vehicle registration mark _______ became liable for a parking charge, that currently remains outstanding. We, [COMPANY NAME], are the hirers of this vehicle. As a body corporate, we cannot have been driving. At the time of the parking event, the vehicle was not being used for business purposes, or otherwise in connection with our business. This matter therefore concerns whether the charge is recoverable from us as the vehicle's hirer.
To recover the charge from us as the hirer of the vehicle, you must meet the conditions specified in Paragraph 14 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“the Act”). We note from your correspondence thus far that you have failed to meet these conditions. These failures include (but are not limited to):- A failure to serve a Notice to Hirer containing all the information required by 14(5) of the Act.
- A failure to include alongside the Notice to Hirer the additional documents mentioned by 13(2) of the Act.
Yours
[COMPANY NAME] -
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Thankyou. They did NOT provide any of those documents to us.
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In which case something along the lines of the above could be an option.
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OP, for information who was driving isn't the issue so in truth that part of the draft could be omitted. However, as this would disturb the flow I'd leave it in.
As regards PoFA, the buck stops with the hirer, there is no option to name drivers or whatever, that horse doesn't even get to the starting gate. -
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For clarity HC, part of the reason I was adding in the point about it being impossible for the company to be driving was to counter any of the "We assume the keeper/hirer was driving" nonsense that is often spouted.
Of course it should be obvious that to the parking company, but when do they ever read appeals thoroughly...?
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Thankyou everyone. Really appreciate your assistance. I'll give it a shot!
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Do I need to preface the email/letter to them with "WITHOUT PREJUDICE" or not necessary?
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No - quite the opposite, you want to be able to show the court you contacted UKPC and tried to resolve the matter.
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Perfect, thanks so much
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