Towed at the drop off at Luton airport

jean232

I have parked my car at the drop off zone at Luton airport to help my deaf foreign cousin to check in to his flight. I have misunderstood the sign and thought my car would be towed if delayed for more than 10 min. It took me precisely 7 minutes to come back to my car to see it being towed away.

The guys asked me for £180 to release my car and did not show me any proof that they are entitled to exercise the towing penalty. I was not even given the chance to appeal or even been told of the appeal procedure. As I had to have my car, I have paid the fine to be surprised by a written receipt from Endeavour Vehicle Services having an email account ending by @hotmail.com and not showing any license number or proof of being a legal authority.

I hence sent them an email as well as APCOA explaining the situation and the confusion and stating the new law banning clamping/towing cars parked in private lands under the Protection of Freedoms Act2012 unless exercised by a local authority. I have also explained that the fine of £180 is very disproportionate and breaches the law protected by the principle of proportionality.
I ended my email by asking for a refund or I will find myself obliged to take this matter into court.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts.

daveyjp

POFA only makes clamping illegal. The right to remove an obstruction is a self help remedy for trespass and always has been.

The issue around the level of charge is a different matter.

peter_the_piper

Get some pics of the signs if possible as this could prove the tow was premature. Unfortunately I think airports re exempt from the tow ban, presumably for security reasons.

peter_the_piper

daveyjp wrote: »

POFA only makes clamping illegal. The right to remove an obstruction is a self help remedy for trespass and always has been.

The issue around the level of charge is a different matter.

sorry, but removal in the ppc scenario is also illegal. However its likely that airports are exempt from pofa.

esmerobbo

I once saw this at Luton on TV although it was APCOA who done the towing it was sanctioned by the Police.

Any vehicle left unattended at an airport is likely too be towed or worse still blown up!

Coupon-mad

daveyjp wrote: »

POFA only makes clamping illegal. The right to remove an obstruction is a self help remedy for trespass and always has been.

That's not correct, it's not just clamping that's banned and never has been just clamping ever since the Act was first put forward as a Bill. Clamping and towing and obstructing/blocking in on private land are all now illegal without 'lawful authority'.

In an Airport, APCOA and the Airport would have to have 'lawful authority' (which they may have if there are bylaws covering the Airport). But keep digging, jean232, as without that 'lawful authority' then APCOA have committed a criminal offence - even if they thought it was OK there.

Having said that...be sensible, this is an Airport and a very high security risk re terrorism (think of the car which drove into the entrance of an Airport and caught fire!). No wonder they reckon they can remove abandoned vehicles quickly, I almost agree with this towaway! Except that it was arranged by APCOA and I suspect they may not have the authority they think they have...

Sirdan

Coupon-mad wrote: »

That's not correct, it's not just clamping that's banned and never has been just clamping ever since the Act was first put forward as a Bill. Clamping and towing and obstructing/blocking in on private land are all now illegal without 'lawful authority'.

In an Airport, APCOA and the Airport would have to have 'lawful authority' (which they may have if there are bylaws covering the Airport). But keep digging, jean232, as without that 'lawful authority' then APCOA have committed a criminal offence - even if they thought it was OK there.

Having said that...be sensible, this is an Airport and a very high security risk re terrorism (think of the car which drove into the entrance of an Airport and caught fire!). No wonder they reckon they can remove abandoned vehicles quickly, I almost agree with this towaway! Except that it was arranged by APCOA and I suspect they may not have the authority they think they have...

The signs are IMO pretty clear , they say UNATTENDED vehicles will be removed. (Sorry OP )

RENEGADE_2

esmerobbo wrote: »

I once saw this at Luton on TV although it was APCOA who done the towing it was sanctioned by the Police.
!

The police don't draft the law, they are supposed to enforce it. I believe that unlike railway byelaws, no such statute exists to allow arbitrary penalising at airports, another such reason there is a 100% success rate for all those who ignore APCOA invoices.


Concerning the incident itself.
Self-help moving of a vehicle is one thing, impounding it and applying the very same unregulated charge for release is another. It is my opinion that a criminal offence has been committed subject to Protection of Freedoms and this should be investigated by police. If they are not interested, get immediate assistance from a criminal lawyer; I believe this issue can be tackled.

Sirdan

RENEGADE wrote: »

The police don't draft the law, they are supposed to enforce it. I believe that unlike railway byelaws, no such statute exists to allow arbitrary penalising at airports, another such reason there is a 100% success rate for all those who ignore APCOA invoices.


Concerning the incident itself.
Self-help moving of a vehicle is one thing, empounding it and applying the very same unregulated charge for release is another. It is my opinion that a criminal offence has been committed subject to Protection of Freedoms and this should be investigated by police. If they are not interested, get immediate assistance from a criminal lawyer; I believe this issue can be tackled.

The reality is you are extremely unlikely to get any support or assistance from the Police if you leave your vehicle unattended at an airport.

Airports Act 1986 Section 65(2) & 66(2) may come into play .

This would allow the Airport operator to act under Sections 99-102 of The Road Traffic Regulations 1984 as they apply to a public road.

So it would appear that Apcoa have it both ways ..the roads are private so they can issue their fake £80 tickets AND yet they can still tow as if the road were public.

RENEGADE_2

Sirdan wrote: »

The reality is you are extremely unlikely to get any support or assistance from the Police if you leave your vehicle unattended at an airport.

Airports Act 1986 Section 65(2) & 66(2) may come into play .

This would allow the Airport operator to act under Sections 99-102 of The Road Traffic Regulations 1984 as they apply to a public road.

So it would appear that Apcoa have it both ways ..the roads are private so they can issue their fake £80 tickets AND yet they can still tow as if the road were public.

This is it. Nobody can have it both ways because the two principles conflict with one another. If a private enterprise is acting according to a statute then more regulation is legally required as with railway byelaws because this way, the operator is abusing a power devolved to its sector by making a gross profit for itself and for having seized property which was never above board even before October. Be that as it may, this is the precise behaviour that was outlawed by the recent bill.

So either the Airports Act 1986 lays down precise instructions as to what an operator can or cannot do. Unless it says that in this eventuality, the citizen's right to a trial before making payment is discarded and possession of his property is legal until he makes that payment and moreover that the payment may indeed exceed losses with no limit thus clearing the way for the operator is issue a de jure penalty, then I vehemently contend that Schedule 4 applies on airports.

Too many people seem to back down because the police won't help them. Cops are human beings and they make mistakes. For fear of getting involved where they shouldn't, their policy is that if not 100% certain, they leave it. That however doesn't change the law. This is the reason the OP MUST get legal advice from criminal lawyers. I say this because I am sure the money can be reclaimed but definitely not via the County Court. They'll say "criminal matter". The police can make arrests if prompted to by criminal experts who draw out the full picture to them.

withabix

So you left your car bomb unattended in the Drop Off Zone?