VCS Parking Charge Notice to a lease car driver. Pleease Help!!

Paysa

Hi All,

(newbie long winded post so pls be gentle :-o)

I parked in a car park controlled by Vehicle Control Services, displaying !a valid all day ticket for £3. I entered at 10am and left at 13:45pm but due to my Satnav on my phone playing up, i was charging my phone in my car trying to get it to work, in order to calculate what time i needed to finish shopping by. As a result, i didnt end up buying the £3 ticket for some time after being sat in my car in a parking bay. As it was on a Sunday, the ticket is a whole day ticket regardless of how long you want to park for. I have recently recieved a PCN letter with the reason for the contravention being: 'Parked without displaying a valid ticket/permit'. This letter was first recieved by the leasing company, as its a lease car. Along with a £15 admin fee that my company will pay under the agreement.

The leasing company then transferred!liability by forwarding a copy of it to the company I work for. I was made aware of this the other day. I have since been researching what to do, to learn that VCS seem to have been operating fraudulently and more importantly I definitely remember paying for a ticket and clearly displaying it. I was!even helping a lady enter her registration as she was having some difficulty and I don't visit that city for shopping too often, so I'm 100% sure I bought and displayed a ticket.

Before managing to decide what to do, today my accounts department recieved an original version of PCN letter now addressed: 'To Whom It May Concern, (My Company).' (coincidentally on the last day of the 14 days for the initial PCN copy we recieved from the Leasing company).
I now have less than 14 days to pay £60/appeal or the amount goes up to £90 etc..

My Boss has said (understandably) that he will merely tell VCS that I am the driver of the vehicle and to pursue me directly as they do not wish to be liable for anything.

The recommended approach by !(MSE&watchdog transport solicitor on tv) of ignoring the letters may work for private drivers, it would obviously cause complications in my situation where I drive a lease car.

So my question is wthat course of action should I now follow to avoid paying the unjust charge, without being a nuisance to my Boss and Company?

Also, will my argument fall down if VCS choose to say that I was required to pay within X mins of entering the carpark? And if they were to display proof in court of all the tickets bought between the period of 10:00 to say 20 mins later, just to prove that my reg didn't show up therefore claiming I hadn't paid at all, would there be any way they could be forced to display a record of all tickets from 10am to 13:45 and could it be guaranteed that info would be legitimate and not doctored in any way?

I don't think I have a copy of the ticket purchased on the day as I regrettably recently cleaned my car out.

As they've enclosed 2 pics taken by an ANPR camera, showing my car from just 2 angles, should I write/email them requesting they send me more pics and prove to 'me' that there was no ticket displayed on any of the windows or dashboard??

Although, I still have 12 days or so left, my Boss wants to inform VCS that I am the usual driver of the car to shift the company's liability further on to me. I therefore need to get something sorted ASAP or reply to VCS stating that I am the usual driver of the car, so if someone can help ASAP it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

T

BASFORDLAD

Its simple

Tell VCS you were the driver.

You get the letters which you ignore

Paysa

Thanks basfordlad,

Somewhere on mse I think I read not to say that your the driver only the registered keeper because as long as they can't prove you to be the driver I.e. put you at the scene of the contravention, they have no contract with nobody.

Unless I say I am the registered keeper/'usual' driver and for them to send me future correspondence and then ignore the letters??

taffy056

When exactly did you get the fake ticket on your vehicle ? Just the date of it if you don't mind. The reason I'm asking is that vcs has been banned from getting keeper details from the dvla, they have another sister company but they cannot use that to get the details. Thanks

fil_cad

The letters will come in very handy if you have a pet mouse or hampster, the letters shredded will make a lovely warm bed this winter :money:

BASFORDLAD

Paysa wrote: »

Thanks basfordlad,

Somewhere on mse I think I read not to say that your the driver only the registered keeper because as long as they can't prove you to be the driver I.e. put you at the scene of the contravention, they have no contract with nobody.

Unless I say I am the registered keeper/'usual' driver and for them to send me future correspondence and then ignore the letters??

basically just ignore letters when you get them

Paysa

fil_cad wrote: »

The letters will come in very handy if you have a pet mouse or hampster, the letters shredded will make a lovely warm bed this winter :money:

As opposed to a paper airplane?? Lol, thanks

Paysa

taffy056 wrote: »

When exactly did you get the fake ticket on your vehicle ? Just the date of it if you don't mind. The reason I'm asking is that vcs has been banned from getting keeper details from the dvla, they have another sister company but they cannot use that to get the details. Thanks

Ended up PM'ing you

RENEGADE_2

Paysa, maybe this will answer all of your questions:

You need to offload all the excess baggage, the car hire company and your boss. The sooner the matter be in your hands, the sooner we can solve the problem.

Now, you've obviously heard that VCS has been involved in fraud. The fact is that ALL private parking companies are fraudsters with every part of their operation. That's the bottom line, you had a genuine reason for your mishap and any reasonable authority would overturn the penalty. This is something you cannot expect from the private parking companies (PPCs).

Now, in normal circumstances, we suggest ignore. Why? Firstly, we know they are going nowhere: they won't do court, they don't have a leg to stand on. The scheme is one squalid blackmail operation designed to trick you into paying remittance. By ignoring the threatening letters, they don't know you are receiving them and they don't even know that as registered keeper, you are the driver.

Your case is different. You need to get those amateurs off your back (boss and hire firm) because collectively, they are a nuisance; they are a spanner in the works. This means that you will have to communicate with your antagonist just once. By admitting you were the motorist, you now ensure that the PPC will never again bother hire company or your boss over this matter: they have their target and frankly, someone to pick on is all they want.

You now move to the next phase: in your letter confirming your identity, you also REJECT their entire demand. DO NOT use that word "appeal". Their demand is unlawful and you are not going to accede to their authority. You simply inform them that they are seeking a figure that exceeds losses. If they believe you owe them this figure, invite them to take the matter to adjudication.

You do not have to be polite as they themselves are not. But once that letter is sent, you can ignore everything that you receive and they now have no grounds on which to go back to your hire company or employer. You've told them it is you, if they're not happy with what you've explained them, they know their options. It's called County Court - it is NOT called, "oh your employee won't pay us, can you stop his wages?", because if your employer DARES put one hand on your earnings, you can have him at the Employment Tribunal for Unlawful Deduction of Wages. I will tell you how to go about this option on the day of the race. Until then, do what you have to do, and relax because you are on a winner. Contract Law is the legislation, and it only allows a landowner to seek losses caused by another's actions. Common Law expressly forbids one citizen penalising another. It's court, or nothing.

taffy056

Paysa wrote: »

Ended up PM'ing you

As I said in the PM got my vps mixed up with vcs sorry mate

Paysa

RENEGADE wrote: »

Paysa, maybe this will answer all of your questions:

You need to offload all the excess bagage, the car hire company and your boss. The sooner the matter be in your hands, the sooner we can solve the problem.

Now, you've obviously heard that VCS has been involved in fraud. The fact is that ALL private parking companies are fraudsters with every part of their operation. That's the bottom line, you had a genuine reason for your mishap and any reasonable authority would overturn the penalty. This is something you cannot expect from the private parking companies (PPCs).

Now, in normal circumstances, we suggest ignore. Why? Firstly, we know they are going nowhere: they won't do court, they don't have a leg to stand on. The scheme is one squalid blackmail operation designed to trick you into paying remittance. By ignoring the threatening letters, they don't know you are receiving them and they don't even know that as registered keeper, you are the driver.

Your case is different. You need to get those amateurs off your back (boss and hire firm) because collectively, they are a nuisance; they are a spanner in the works. This means that you will have to communicate with your antagonist just once. By admitting you were the motorist, you now ensure that the PPC will never again bother hire company or your boss over this matter: they have their target and frankly, someone to pick on is all they want.

You now move to the next phase: in your letter confirming your identity, you also REJECT their entire demand. DO NOT use that word "appeal". Their demand is unlawful and you are not going to accede to their authority. You simply inform them that they are seeking a figure that exceeds losses. If they believe you owe them this figure, invite them to take the matter to adjudication.

You do not have to be polite as they themselves are not. But once that letter is sent, you can ignore everything that you receive and they now have no grounds on which to go back to your hire company or employer. You've told them it is you, if they're not happy with what you've explained them, they know their options. It's called County Court - it is NOT called, "oh your employee won't pay us, can you stop his wages?", because if your employer DARES put one hand on your earnings, you can have him at the Employment Tribunal for Unlawful Deduction of Wages. I will tell you how to go about this option on the day of the race. Until then, do what you have to do, and relax because you are on a winner. Contract Law is the legislation, and it only allows a landowner to seek losses caused by another's actions. Common Law expressly forbids one citizen penalising another. It's court, or nothing.

Wow!! !thanks for your detailed reply :-)

I think my company will be sending the letter to them. So, they will probably write whatever they wish to. Could this cause issues for me in future communications with VCS?
If I can, is there anything I should get them to specifically write and/or avoid writing?

Also, regardless of whether I write to them or my company does, should I just give them my name as the 'motorist' and leave it to them to get my address from the DVLA or will this result in them contacting my company again?

Taking a look at the original accompaniying letter written by the leasing company to our company, they refer to themselves as the registered keepers of the vehicle and are writing to our company because (I quote): '...the vehicle will have been in your possession at the time of the incident.'
Therefore, what should I/my company refer to 'myself' as, in any letters sent?

One more possible issue: will it matter if my driving license is not registered to my current place of residence (temporarily renting due to living on patch for a sales job)??
If so, which address should I write the letter from?

Thanks