Apcoa and roxburghe

Stephen_Leak

You are right. They are not a legitimate company and it is a scam.

The final and more unpleasant threats usually include mentioning that, if the case goes to court, a county court judgement (CCJ) will be issued, that bailiffs will be appointed and that your credit rating will be ruined. For things to actually get to this stage, the car park owner would have to take you to court and win the case. Then, you would have to refuse to pay, to get a CCJ issued after 28 days. Then, you would have to still refuse to pay, to get bailiffs appointed.

The probably got your address from the DVLA. £2.50 each.

Roxburghe are under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, who are "minded to revoke their licence".

Graham White are under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for threatening people with legal action that they can't actually take.

Coupon-mad

paul5959 wrote: »

It' me again with the latest.
I have received the following by post today
Roxburghe

DEBT COLLECTORS

PO BOX 342

Location: EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT

Ticket Number:

It is in your own best interests to get in touch with us so we can resolve this debt without recourse to further action. If we do not hear from you within 10 days, we will pass the matter to our solicitors, Graham White, who will review your case for potential legal action.

We are fully aware of anecdotal information being presented via the internet and on various websites and you may well feel this guidance is worth following. We strongly urge you to seek independent legal advice rather than rely on these opinions, and we would respectfully suggest that you refer to the s52 of the County Courts Act.

You mean you got the next letter in the chain, as already shown in pictures on the PPC Letter Chains thread? THe pics are there so you know what to expect and can just play snap with each letter. No need to read it and type it out, we know about these letters and so can you.

Second from the top, click on 'PPC letters & threats'.

1. Watch the Watchdog clip on there, and then

2. scroll down to the pics of your fave PPC's threatograms, then

3. Play a nice game of snap with each matching templated threatogram, then

4. If you like legal stuff and want to understand why PPCs are very unlikely to win any small claim now (UKPC have never done Court anyway except when they were taken there by Trading Standards!) read the links on this CAG thread.

No private parking company (PPC) can actually issue a real fine or penalty on private land, retail car parks etc. Nor can they affect your credit rating nor send a bailiff round without the small matter of winning a Small Claim in Court first! And that won't happen.

The most that will happen is more junk mail letters that you can ignore, over the coming months (the fake piece of paper impersonating a parking ticket was the first link in the chain of this con). The registered keeper gets the letters, so if that's not you then educate them about this well-known scam and show them the links & info we are giving you here.

Please read the current forum and also show your family and friends so they also learn about this scam. Spread the word like we do! Just to be clear, we are NOT saying not to pay a fair Pay and Display fee nor do we ever condone selfish parking (in your case I know neither apply anyway). We ARE saying that if ever you get a fake PCN just laugh at it!

SUKIE wrote: »

Hi, I'm on the third 'invoice' from 'Parking Eye' now. From reading a number of threads on this site am I right in saying they're not a legitimate company and this is a scam?

I'm not overly worried about this and have ignored all three letters however I must admit I AM concerned about the mention of Bailiffs. I envisage being out of the house and my 14 year old daughter answering the door nd I get home to find belongings taken from my property! Could anyone please advise on whether or not they'd be allowed to do this? Where did the company get my address from? Why have they not been investigated if everyone is saying it's a scam?!
I'd appreciate any advice.
Thank you.

Same advice applies.

Just play snap with each letter and be glad you dodged a scam. There are no bailiffs, they can't just send the boys round. It never ceases to amaze me that people actually think a firm can allege you owe them money and then just send the bully boys round, without a court win first...OF COURSE NOT!

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=24362

It's an old thread but a good summary of the position. You are muddling up debt collectors with bailiffs and half-believing the threatograms!

A fake 'ticket' & letters from a PPC is much more like a phishing email scam than any 'PCN' and you wouldn't read a phishing email and believe it would you? Similar scam, impersonating authority and playing on some people's naivety. But not you because you are here now and can spread the word now you know the truth. Tell your friends & family never to pay a fake PCN.

LORD_ofthe_Rings

Hi I've just got a APCOA Parking Enforcement Notice from East Midlands Airport.
I'm a pensioner and it is many years since I went there and there used to a 'free' area but I could not locate it and took a left at the access roundabout and dropped my passengers at the end of the departure building on 6 September, no one was inconvenienced or anything and today 3 October I've just had this PEN saying I had contravened 01- Stopping a vehicle in a no stopping area.
Am I obliged to pay this or what?
Your advice would be most appreciated please.

RENEGADE_2

LORD_ofthe_Rings wrote: »

Hi I've just got a APCOA Parking Enforcement Notice from East Midlands Airport.
I'm a pensioner and it is many years since I went there and there used to a 'free' area but I could not locate it and took a left at the access roundabout and dropped my passengers at the end of the departure building on 6 September, no one was inconvenienced or anything and today 3 October I've just had this PEN saying I had contravened 01- Stopping a vehicle in a no stopping area.
Am I obliged to pay this or what?
Your advice would be most appreciated please.

You are obliged NOT to pay. You committed no offence, you merely breached the terms of a private company and like with all private parking tickets, this invoice you have received is not worth the paper it is written on.

As this took place on 6 September, which is before minor amendments to the policy from 1 October, you don't even have to communicate with them. Don't write to them (as in "appeal") and keep them in the dark as to whether you are even receiving their rubbish. That way, they don't know their letters have reached you and they cannot be sure who the driver was. The driver entered the contract with the airport and it makes precious little difference if keeper is driver because they only approach you as keeper. You have the right to refuse the name of the driver to THEM, not court.

But it won't go to court. A landowner may sue his target only for losses, and here, losses are ZERO. The invoice you have is a de facto "penalty". To cover themselves, they don't use the word "penalty" as it would be Goodnight Vienna for them. But given they are trying to exact even a penny out of you for what cost them nothing, they have no leg to stand on in court.

Letters you receive from debt collectors can also be discarded, they have no powers and furthermore, the alleged debt will not have been registered for reasons in the previous paragraph. Ignore, you are safe.

The_Slithy_Tove

RENEGADE wrote: »

The driver entered the contract with the airport

Debateable point. How did the driver do this? If it was by driving past a closely-typed sign which is impossible to read and digest as you drive by at 30mph, then no contract could possibly have been offered and agreed to. I bet the driver didn't even realise such a contract existed - probably just saw a sign full of text and thought that can't be important.

RENEGADE_2

The_Slithy_Tove wrote: »

Debateable point. How did the driver do this? If it was by driving past a closely-typed sign which is impossible to read and digest as you drive by at 30mph, then no contract could possibly have been offered and agreed to. I bet the driver didn't even realise such a contract existed - probably just saw a sign full of text and thought that can't be important.

Well obviously. What I meant was that in general, a so-called agreement is between landowner and driver and NOT the PPC and keeper. I contend that there is never a contract between driver and landowner in any circumstance.

The_Slithy_Tove

RENEGADE wrote: »

Well obviously. What I meant was that in general, a so-called agreement is between landowner and driver and NOT the PPC and keeper. I contend that there is never a contract between driver and landowner in any circumstance.

And so fails on two points - probably more

bazster

RENEGADE wrote: »

As this took place on 6 September, which is before minor amendments to the policy from 1 October, you don't even have to communicate with them.

POFA is irrelevant to APCOA and their airport scams. POFA is concerned exclusively with parking, not with dropping off or picking up in unauthorised locations. There is no RK liability for the latter.

I'm looking forward to hearing about APCOA getting their @rse spanked for trying to hold the RK liable in such a case.

Lisa01226

I received a parking enforcement notice from APCOA back in July for stopping in a non stopping area.

As me and my family had returned from holiday we used the onsite long stay car park at East midlands airport and as my 2 young daughters were exhausted from the flight my husband thought it would be a good idea to walk to pick the car up from the long stay car park and to drive down the road to me and my two young children where we were waiting with the cases. When my husband pulled up in the car to collect us he did not even switch the car engine off, I buckled up my daughters and he put the suitcases in the boot of the car. We must have been pulled over in the non stopping zone for 2 minutes at the most (neither if us realised it was a non stopping zone)

We received the letter from APCOA saying that wanted £100 from me or if I paid within 28 days 50 per cent reduction.

I ignored the letter and today I have received another letter from Roxburghe debt collectors these want £148 for our parking charge notice, they have also said that if they receive no payment within 14 days then they will pass this matter onto Graham white (solicitors). The letter also states "we are fully aware of anecdotal information being presented via the Internet and on various websites and you may well feel this guidance is worth following. We strongly urge you to seek independent legal advice rather then rely on those options".

Also

"Under the terms and conditions associated with this parking charge notice it is important to note that the driver who enters into contract with client for the parking of a vehicle at the car park, whether by purchasing a ticket or otherwise, is responsible for the resolution of this breach"

Any further advice would be appreciated, should I expect to a few more letters? Will they actually threaten to take me to court?

This as actually started to worry me a little so please can you put my mind at ease.

Thanks

Lisa

Half_way

Dont worry, send the airport a letter explaining things, and tell them that they must stop these threat letters imedialty as you consider them to be harrasment, and you hold the airport liable for the actions of their agents APCOA. Send a simalr letter to APCOA

the Airport publishes a propganda leaflet to people living nearby, heres some contact details

As ever we are keen to hear your
thoughts and welcome all feedback.
Get in touch via email, community@
eastmidlandsairport.com or by
phone, 01332 818414.

As for the parking restrictions heres a picture of the entrance, showing the clearly marked signs, so clear that is impossible to read




First up we have a Give way sign, next its the impossible to read sign from APCOA probably stating that its a not stopping area, after that a standard sign saying that the no stopping restriction ends ( red circle, blue background with a red cross - the word END is underneath)