Railway station car park - fine

AliceBanned

Hi

Not sure whether anyone can advise. I never usually park at station car parks but I did this morning as I've been having some problems at work and just felt I needed to take off some of the burden of my journey for a change, so I decided to park at the station. It is important to note that I don't usually do this - as the machines are a bit unfamiliar. I didn't have change so I went to the "cash and card" one (First Capital Connect station car park). I put my credit card in but without me knowing it it hadn't taken a payment - I know from previously that it doesn't ask for a PIN, as far as I can remember anyway.

So I get back this evening and have a ticket! £75 to be paid within 28 days. It was a genuine mistake, as a ticket was in the machine and it had today's date on, so I assumed the machine had just issued this, failing to notice "expiry time" 08.19 at today's date. I don't know why that ticket would be sitting in there but partly in a hurry and partly being unfamiliar with the machines, I mistakenly thought this was my ticket and put it on the dashboard. So upsetting! I've phoned my credit card company and they said there is no sign of it being used this morning, so the payment definitely wasn't taken. the machine just issued my card back but didn't tell me anything - they are bloody confusing machines and you can hardly see the damn monitors. Does anyone know how reasonable they might be about this? The notice is from APCOA parking.

I haven't had a parking ticket in over ten years - I used to get them in London but now live in Herts and am always very careful to try to avoid them..just a case of me being in a depressed state of mind, really struggling with keeping going, getting to work etc and then the machine not being very clear either. Just the last thing I need..

Coupon-mad

This is not a real parking ticket if it's issued by a private firm like APCOA where they are not acting on behalf of a Council. You can tell it's a fake PCN if it isn't headed up with the word 'PENALTY'.

So the advice is for you to read some other current threads seeing as the advice on what to do with a fake PCN is everywhere (and it IS NOT to ignore it, not any more). And this is not a real Railway Bylaws ticket (before anyone asks just because it's a railway car park). Again, that's only tickets that are actual penalties.

AliceBanned

OMG. Possibly you are right, but when I dial the number it states "First Capital Connect" car parks. It states "parking contravention charge notice". And in truth I had an invalid ticket, although totally by mistake.

There is a threat to contact the DVLA if I don't pay up. I am writing to appeal and explaining what happened re the card/machine. It was confusing in the circumstances - it was unclear whether or not the machine had registered my card..

Thanks

Stroma

Wait until you get a notice to keeper , dont appeal now ! then send this below to challenge this fake ticket. If they reject it they must give you a popla code to appeal independently






Name
Address

Date

Dear Scammers,

In regards to the invoice received with ref number xxxxxx dated xxxxxx, the keeper denies all liability to your company, if you reject this challenge the keeper requires within 35 days a popla verification code for them to appeal independently, per Version 2 of the BPA Code of Practice.

The keeper has nothing further to add, and will not respond to any correspondence from your company unless it contains the popla code. If you wish to find out why the keeper rejects all liability, pay the £27 plus vat to popla to find out

The challenge will be deemed accepted if there is no popla code on any rejection that you supply within the timeframe stipulated above.

Yours Faithfully

Your name (printed)

AliceBanned

Hi

many thanks - I'll also look into it a bit more via these forums.

Half_way

any mention of something called bylaw 14?

AliceBanned

None whatsoever.

Coupon-mad

AliceBanned wrote: »

OMG. Possibly you are right, but when I dial the number it states "First Capital Connect" car parks. It states "parking contravention charge notice". And in truth I had an invalid ticket, although totally by mistake.

There is a threat to contact the DVLA if I don't pay up. I am writing to appeal and explaining what happened re the card/machine. It was confusing in the circumstances - it was unclear whether or not the machine had registered my card..

Thanks

Of course they can get your address from the DVLA, so can most PPCs but it doesn't make their invoice a real fine. We know that APCOA and NCP call their fake PCNs 'parking contravention charge notices'. Not a real one then, not a penalty at all (you can always tell just from the missing word penalty).

Do as advised, wait for the Notice to Keeper to arrive in the post (next month or so) then challenge. Carefully worded as in the above example!

In the meantime you have a few weeks to read threads on here about how to appeal to POPLA and what's involved in a strong POPLA appeal.

There are examples on lots of threads and you mustn't rush a normal appeal off at that stage or it will lose and you would feel under pressure to pay (not that POPLA decisions are binding on the motorist, they are only binding on the PPC scammer). Anyway we know how to write winning POPLA appeals, tried and tested long & strong wording is posted several times on other threads about any PPC scam. Happy reading while you await that first letter from APCOA. Please do not phone them, not sure why you rang! Never ring about any fake PCN (or even a real one from a Council). This is not something to phone up about and I suspect that number was actually APCOA employees.

Coupon-mad

Half_way wrote: »

any mention of something called bylaw 14?

Bylaws aren't relevant to a PPC ticket. Mentioned it in my first reply.

AliceBanned

Ok thanks. I need to check the actual notifications on the ticket machines too. Surely they could be operating on behalf of First Capital Connect - or I can find out from the train station office whether or not they are?

I phoned to ask how to appeal as I thought it was genuine at the time of phoning. I also want to appeal if it is genuinely a penalty, as I was mislead by the machine and the fact that a ticket was sitting in the machine (probably planted by APCOA!!).

Coupon-mad

Listen, of course they are acting as agents for FCC but it doesn't make it a penalty! A 'PCCN' invoice from APCOA is just a private parking ticket. Still a scam, same as when Highview act as agents for Tesco and when Smart Parking act as agents for Asda in Supermarket car parks. Exactly the same.

You do not need to analyse this, you have a fake PCN like everyone else on this forum. You do NOT respond to a windscreen fake PCN as long as the DVLA have your address as keeper. Just wait for the Notice to Keeper, that's the time to challenge. We know what we are doing here and if you read ANY other thread around yours on page 1 or 2 of this forum you will see the advice working for people again and again.

You need to spend the time reading about other fake PCNs and POPLA appeals in order to get fake PCNS cancelled.