UKPC/SCS Law Help

Swoosh1968 · 6 December 2017 at 10:58PM

Evening all,

I've been lurking through the threads for a few days, especially the newbies guides, but the more I read, the more confused I get.

I'll apologise now as you've probably heard all of this a thousand times before. But at this point, I'm considering paying them just to get them off of my back.

I live in England, I am over 25 & the vehicle is not a lease car.

Since 2012, I've lived in an apartment block with my partner, who is disabled. We are allocated a single parking space (when available), a visitors space (when available) and a garage. There are 12 apartments here with only four parking spaces and two visitors spaces. Unfortunately, my partner can no longer get in and out of the garage with her disabilities and my car is too big to fit inside comfortably and as I'm nearly 7 foot tall, I would have to climb in and out through the boot to gain access.

A few years ago, I recieved a parking ticket from UKPC for 'not parking correctly within a marked bay'. When I contacted them to point out that the bay in question is unmarked, they, unsurprisingly, rejected my appeal.

Since then, and after a bit of research online, I decided to pay no further attention to them and continued to park on site, even when there was no space available. This isn't because I feel as though I can do as I please; As previously mentioned, my partner is disabled and I need my car available at the drop of a hat in case she is taken ill. The alternative is to park in the neighbouring street which is a 5 minute walk from our location.

UKPC have since issued several tickets, all of which I have ignored. I have now received a letter before claim asking for nearly £700 for 4 separate 'offences' dating back to 2015.

Several of our neighbours have taken a similar stance with UKPC, they were handing out tickets like sweets last summer. As a result, following relentless complaints from the residents committee, the property management company have suspended UKPC from attending the site until further notice.

I want to fight this as best I can but I have absolutely no idea where to start and as previously mentioned, the more I read, the more overwhelming it becomes.

Thanks for your time.

Redx · 6 December 2017 at 11:05PM

post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread has LBC rebuttal examples, so you want to adapt the newer daniel san one that references the new protocol changes brought in in oct 2017

also read the JOPSON case and the threads by danial san and hairray about tenants rights etc (own space issues)

Umkomaas · 6 December 2017 at 11:18PM

It’s no longer a simple process for you. The fact that you ignored all of their tickets, which could have easily been disposed of via POPLA, makes the hill steeper for you. But it’s not so steep as to make it unclimbable.

So yes, you could supinely capitulate and hand them over £700 to make them go away, but you’ll be marked by them as a mug, and if they get the chance, they’ll be back for more from you - because you’re an easy touch.

Alternatively, you could protect your and your partner’s rights to peaceful enjoyment of your property, preserve your access to your vehicle in the likely need of an emergency, and to be no longer hassled by an organisation, guilty of doctoring photo evidence of parking times, just in order to line their pockets at the expense of Joe Public - people just like you.

And do you know that if this got to court and you lost, the costs to you would be significantly less than that which they are currently trying to extract from you.

But if £700 is neither here nor there for you to avoid harassment, please let me have your address!

[Deleted User] · 6 December 2017 at 11:58PM

You need a detailed letter of response to say why the claims are unmeritorious.

If they have failed to set out in detail information for each ticket (very common) ask for it, explain that it is their duty to set out the case they intend to advance and that, at present they have failed to provide adequate information to demonstrate any claim at all, let alone sufficient information to permit you to prepare a response.

Ultimately they may issue court proceedings. Until then, be robust and insist on all the information you need. That will include details of all signage and their contractual right to operate on site.

Jopson is helpful. Also look at the parking requimebts/entitlements in your lease or the title documents.

Swoosh1968 · 7 December 2017 at 10:20PM

Thanks for all the advice so far. I've read the links suggested and the template letter but I'm still unsure if it applies to me and I really need some more help with this as I'm very confused by it and need to get a response letter sent out ASAP.

I've looked at the Citizen's Advice guide on this, but it seems a lot less detailed than the resources available on here and from past experience, visiting their offices would be a waste of time.

During my searching, it was mentioned somewhere that getting the landowner to cancel the charges is a possibility. Has anyone had any experience with this approach?

I've tried to attach a copy of the letter (with personal details erased), but I'm not allowed to attach links to my posts yet so am unable to.

Redx · 7 December 2017 at 10:26PM

you should ALWAYS try and get the landowner on your side with cancellations or witness statements etc, that goes without saying and yes its been done many times before

its probably the most important task for anyone appealing or defending a parking charge invoice

use tinypics to host your photos and then add a dead URL in your reply, changing http to hxxp

you are wasting your time looking at CA or elsewhere (apart from maybe pepipoo forums , or legal beagles etc)

the advice in that newbies faq sticky thread is up to date and those PaP details are very new to the game so that is why you were told to read and adapt the daniel san LBC rebuttal)

UKPC/SCS Law Help

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free