Home Office Keeper Liability Impact Assessment

peter_the_piper

I knew someone would mention that. LOL

HO87

peter_the_piper wrote: »

I'm a bit confused about the "Appeal section" at the top of page 20.
Does your proposal create a new right of appeal or route to judicial review? If so how will these be handled(ie by courts or Tribunals)
answer No.

I thought the BPA was supposed to be setting up an Independent tribunal.

I'm none too clear at the moment. As things were, the BPA were looking for the government to set up the "independent" appeals mechanism and to fund it. I think I now understand that the government has passed the ball back to the BPA to both establish it and pay for it.

Sirdan

HO87 wrote: »

I'm none too clear at the moment. As things were, the BPA were looking for the government to set up the "independent" appeals mechanism and to fund it. I think I now understand that the government has passed the ball back to the BPA to both establish it and pay for it.

Well that'll be very independent then won't it ? NOT!!

The BPA have a proven track record of being wholly self interested and completely untrustworthy ...what the hell do our Government think they are doing !!!!!??? :mad:

AlexisV

The second reading in the Lords took place yesterday. Here are the relevant parts of the transcript:

INTRO

Moving on from protecting people's homes to protecting use of their vehicles, I have no doubt that a number of noble Lords will have suffered the fate of having their car clamped. While there are, of course, many reputable clamping companies, the industry is also afflicted with more than its fair share of rogue operators using menace to demand and extract excessive release fees from unsuspecting motorists. This is an area where regulation has failed to tackle the abuses in the industry. We have therefore concluded that, where there is no lawful authority, an outright ban on wheel clamping is the only tenable way forward. We recognise that for some car park operators and other landowners the ban will remove one of the parking enforcement tools available to them. We also recognise that no one has a right to park their vehicle wherever they want-motorists have responsibilities too. So the Bill extends the operation of keeper liability for unpaid parking charges, which already applies to parking enforcement on the public highway, to other land.

DEBATE

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:
We also firmly support the Government's intention to crack down on cowboy clampers who have bullied and harassed members of the public. However, we are disappointed that the Government are not also seeking to ensure that there is proper regulation of the private ticketing regimes that the Bill establishes as an alternative. In the other place, the Minister said that effective self-regulation by the parking industry was the way forward. However, this issue has arisen precisely because industry self-regulation has proved totally ineffective. We are concerned that the Government's best intentions will do little more than squeeze the balloon, turning thug into extortionist as rogue clampers turn into rogue ticketers. Citizens may well turn to Citizens Advice, which dealt with more than 16,000 parking inquiries last year. However, it is under huge pressure as a result of the cuts.

Lord Bradshaw:
My Lords, I am going to deal with something very down to earth when contrasted with the noble Lord, Lord Selsdon. It concerns Chapter 2 on the clamping and towing away of vehicles. We are concerned that what are now rogue clampers will become rogue ticketers. It was argued in another place that the existing consumer law-the Fraud Act and the Theft Act-provide suitable protection for cities. I do not share that view and neither does Citizens Advice, because resorting to law is extremely long-winded and expensive. We have to deal with these issues effectively during the passage of this Bill.

First, we have to be certain that there is an independent appeals body that is funded by the industry, and that its existence is made plain both on the notices and the parking tickets that are received by people. We should insist that those who have the power to issue tickets should be members of an accredited trade association. I believe there is only one at the moment, but we have to take account of the fact that there will be more than one. The appeals body to which I have referred should be able to decide on a reasonable level of charging by reference to the charges imposed by local authorities or several adjacent car parks. It should be possible, even though charges will vary in many places.

The appeals body should also take account of the fact that the car park is properly lit and that, if people are to be penalised for parking over the dividing lines, those lines are clearly marked on the ground-not a small swab of paint in the corner, but properly marked. All that can be covered in regulations. The most important thing is that we are clear that only properly accredited people can access the DVLA database. That is the key. I am certain that, now, a lot of absolutely awful people are getting access to it.

I shall delay your Lordships for one or two more moments. I was a member of a police authority for a long time, and when I was, we had many cases of people accessing databases on an irregular basis. We have to be certain that only bona fide parking operators have that access.

peter_the_piper

" Citizens may well turn to Citizens Advice, which dealt with more than 16,000 parking inquiries last year. However, it is under huge pressure as a result of the cuts."
Just how long does it say to a driver "well you'll just have to cough up" cos thats their mantra.

vax2002

Something tells me someone has bobbed a few quid in someone's tin here....

vax2002

The answer is in all our hands.
Do not park in a private BPA scam member car park and do not use any business or retail park that uses Private ticket scams.
Why people would want to use them anyway I dont know ?
Because everyone does is not a valid reason.
If we stopped spending money with companies that employ crooks they will soon get the message.

AlexisV

It gets tricky when every supermarket has 'em unfortunately.