UKPC Parking Charge

Raysay

Hi, I am looking for some advice as to what I should do with a Parking fine issued at Faraday Retail Park Coatbridge Scotland on the 18-2-2013. I have read the lots of replies on this and the advice given is to ignore.
I was parked in a disabled bay but unfortunately I did not display the blue badge, hence the ticket. I am the named driver of the car and my 15 year old grandson is the person who is disabled and he was with me on the day the ticket was issued.
The penalty is for £80 reduced to £40 if paid within 14 days from date of issue.
I so want to ignore this penalty after reading previous threads on this, my question is should I right a letter of appeal to UKPC or completely ignore them and have no correspondence whatsoever.
Thank you

Stroma

It's not a penalty only an invoice asking you to pay. Just ignore them is the best advice.

Raysay

Thanks Stroma, just to be clear I don't need to write a letter of appeal?
:T

ManxRed

Only if you want to play games with them.

Ignoring is perfectly OK provided its not a Hire or Lease/Company vehicle (let us know if it is).

SodG24

Raysay wrote: »

Thanks Stroma, just to be clear I don't need to write a letter of appeal?
:T

Absolutely not - do not contact them at -just ignore them.

pogofish

Don't waste any time appealing to these jokers - in Scotland, ignoring them is the best and only practical option!

UKPC and their fake collectors/solicitors threaten with English law, which would see them laughed out of any Scottish court should they ever actually try to bring a case - don't hud your breath!

fisherjim

I had a fake ticket from these jokers last year for parking slightly out of the box in a half empty free car park.
Following advice on here I ignored, and after seven threatening and desperate letters from them and their pantomime debt collectors they finally gave up.

Coupon-mad

Raysay wrote: »

Thanks Stroma, just to be clear I don't need to write a letter of appeal?
:T

You don't have to (and in Scotland there is no 'appeals procedure' worth taking seriously) but in fact you are in a great position to really push this, have fun with it and even get damages if you are up for it and play it properly.

If you do write an 'appeal', then make it a good one with reference to a potential 'Equality Act breach' - like trubster has done on pepipoo (same situation). This thread - below - is worth a full read, I also post as SchoolRunMum on pepipoo, used to work in Disability Advice and I gave the advice on this linked thread, about the fact this is a disability breach just as soon as the agent or the retail park KNOW that there was a disabled passenger:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=75213

And see today that trubster has devised a great new notice to put on your windscreen when driving a disabled passenger and parking in a private car park. You do NOT need to show a Blue Badge as it means nowt in private car parks and is not the only indicator of a disability need. The Equality Act 2010 applies, not the BB scheme.

Not all disabled people have a Blue Badge of course. That poster, trubster's son doesn't at the moment as it's not renewed yet and even getting a photo done is personally difficult for the boy to cope with, due to his specific disability, which gets highest rate DLA. They are certainly covered by the Equality Act 2010 so he has learned a lot since he first posted and is really having fun with this complaint!

Even if you just ignore UKPC for a quiet life (unlike trubster!) I would actually just put a straightforward complaint in writing to the retail park. Keep a copy in case you decide to threaten to sue them later on, for damages, if the letter chain of threats from UKPC gets just too tiresome (UKPC don't do Court so no worries there, they'd lose anyway). But you could do Court and you could get compensation for this breach and harassment, but only if you can show that the retail park and/or PPC 'knew or should have known' about the disabled passenger - so that's up to you whether to lay the foundations for it now by telling them.

Even if ignoring UKPC, I would still tell the retail park management in writing that their agent is breaking the law, can't let that go by unnoticed! Also that then means you have told them the facts about the disability and after that they (retail park and agent) are harassing you if they still pursue it. Keeps your options open for further action BY YOU if you decide to, later on.

Use a simple email complaint to the retail park management, threatening Court like this poster did:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4244645

...she started out as a newbie but then within a few days she had got the retail park to apologise and force the PPC to cancel the fake PCN.

Raysay

Hi thanks for the replies, most helpful. To ManxRed, just to be clear The vehicle is a lease hire vehicle through the motability scheme, and I am a named driver on the policy. The Policy is in my daughters name but she doesn't drive due to health problems. It is a fully adapted Wav vehicle with ramp entry to rear and clearly displayed "Disabled Tax Disc." on the wind screen.
I appreciate that it is my responsibility to display the blue badge but it was an oversight on my part but make no mistake the bay was being utilized by a disabled passenger in a fully adapted vehicle, something they will find out when they get all the details from the dvla/motability.
My only concern is that all correspondence will be sent to my daughter. Many thanks.

ManxRed

Its not your responsibility to display a blue badge on private land - the blue badge scheme doesn't apply. They should have seen that the vehicle was motability and made an allowance accordingly. In fact they've breached the BPA code of practice by even ticketing you in the first place.

Not sure how the RK thing works with motability vehicles, Coupon-Mad may know.

You COULD have a lot of fun pushing the landowner about the conduct of their agent UKPC who could be in bother re: The Equality Act as per Coupon Mad's post above.

Raysay

Hi thanks for the replies, most helpful. To ManxRed, just to be clear The vehicle is a lease hire vehicle through the motability scheme, and I am a named driver on the policy. The Policy is in my daughters name but she doesn't drive due to health problems. It is a fully adapted Wav vehicle with ramp entry to rear and clearly displayed "Disabled Tax Disc." on the wind screen.
I appreciate that it is my responsibility to display the blue badge but it was an oversight on my part but make no mistake the bay was being utilized by a disabled passenger in a fully adapted vehicle, something they will find out when they get all the details from the dvla/motability.
My only concern is that all correspondence will be sent to my daughter. Many thanks.