Luton Airport APCOA PCN

Captain_Krunch

raulrobbo wrote: »

Had one from Birmingham Airport last week!!

This is a private land fine. They are not parking fines whatever they may look like. I realise that many of them mimic those issued by the council or the police but they do not have the same authority.
A private land firm is not an emanation of the state. It does not have the right to punish you for the manner of your parking any more than your neighbours do.
This is essentially an invoice arising from a civil dispute. They say that you accepted a contract by parking there and breached it by staying too long or otherwise parking at variance with the contract.
Private land fines used to be very easy to escape by refusing the details of the driver. They only have a contract with the driver. Unfortunately the Protection of Freedoms Act came into force in October 2012 and it makes the registered keeper liable for the penalty if he does not disclose the details of the driver within 28 days.
All that means is that the claim runs against the registered keeper. It just makes it easier to find the person against whom there should be enforcement.
The chances are high that they will not sue. Even though the law has recently changed in their favour and they were quite aggressive in the beginning, they do not sue in the majority of cases.
If they do sue then they would only have a claim for the sum of the original fine plus about £35 in costs. They will send you debt collection letters in which they will threaten to sue you for their debt collection costs. Do not be intimidated by that. They have no claim for that.
Even if they do go to court, they would still have to prove that the signs are adequate and clear. Quite often they are not.
Also, they will have to prove that they have suffered loss. They may be able to claim a very small amount in administration costs but it is going to be the sum they are trying to claim from you. Their loss would seem to amount to no more than about £5.
They will send you some very nasty letters though. You will get debt collection letters making threats of legal action. They will probably get Graham Whyte solicitors to write to you as well. None of these are anything to worry about. It will not impact upon your credit history and it will not add to the costs.
Unless you actually get a court summons, none of these correspondences have any legal basis. If you do get a court summons then you can always part admit the claim and offer £5 for their loss.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need more information.
Jo C.
Jo C., Barrister

Ahh Bless!!!!

enfield_freddy

raulrobbo wrote: »

Had one from Birmingham Airport last week!!

This is a private land fine. They are not parking fines whatever they may look like. I realise that many of them mimic those issued by the council or the police but they do not have the same authority.
A private land firm is not an emanation of the state. It does not have the right to punish you for the manner of your parking any more than your neighbours do.
This is essentially an invoice arising from a civil dispute. They say that you accepted a contract by parking there and breached it by staying too long or otherwise parking at variance with the contract.
Private land fines used to be very easy to escape by refusing the details of the driver. They only have a contract with the driver. Unfortunately the Protection of Freedoms Act came into force in October 2012 and it makes the registered keeper liable for the penalty if he does not disclose the details of the driver within 28 days.
All that means is that the claim runs against the registered keeper. It just makes it easier to find the person against whom there should be enforcement.
The chances are high that they will not sue. Even though the law has recently changed in their favour and they were quite aggressive in the beginning, they do not sue in the majority of cases.
If they do sue then they would only have a claim for the sum of the original fine plus about £35 in costs. They will send you debt collection letters in which they will threaten to sue you for their debt collection costs. Do not be intimidated by that. They have no claim for that.
Even if they do go to court, they would still have to prove that the signs are adequate and clear. Quite often they are not.
Also, they will have to prove that they have suffered loss. They may be able to claim a very small amount in administration costs but it is going to be the sum they are trying to claim from you. Their loss would seem to amount to no more than about £5.
They will send you some very nasty letters though. You will get debt collection letters making threats of legal action. They will probably get Graham Whyte solicitors to write to you as well. None of these are anything to worry about. It will not impact upon your credit history and it will not add to the costs.
Unless you actually get a court summons, none of these correspondences have any legal basis. If you do get a court summons then you can always part admit the claim and offer £5 for their loss.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need more information.
Jo C.
Jo C., Barrister

payments by western union OK with you?

The_Deep

I am surprised that a barrister should take the time to set out to us grandmothers the most efficacious method of sucking eggs.

It is good to know that we have been doing it right all these years.gAT

Ralph-y

Unless I am missing some thing (not that unusual) why the anti replies?

the poster has just made his first post on any MSE forum and is probably a internet forum newbie ...... It is surprising how many seasoned tinternet users do not use/ understand/ see how forums work.

It would be quite easy to 'google' s phrase and find an old thread with out knowing that there is a plethora of further information and further still not know how to navigate the forum to it :-(


If the OP is a barrister, then we may have just pi''ed off what could have been a helpful contributor (I hope not)

As above if I am out of order / missing some thing then please let me know

Ralph:cool:

The_Deep

The hostility is perhaps because the newbie lawyer did not bother to do a bit of research before posting, "before embarking on a career as a lion tamer ..." applies

Also he/she failed to mention a crucial fact. Most airports are covered by byelaws and POFA therefore does not apply.

In the circumstances, I am inclined to think that a bit of teasing is permissible.

Guys_Dad

I tend to agree with Ralph-y. OP has had a NtK and is responding and trying to help. The fact that the forum may already know most of what is in the post and maybe if OP had done some more reading should not cause us to turn on someone who may become a helpful contributor with a legal background in the future.

So, thanks for the contribution and stick around to help but check out what level of knowledge is already around from the regulars.

Coupon-mad

The OP is not a barrister. He's posted an old response from that 'justanswer.co.uk' site. It's not this poster who has written that, you can tell by the wording if you Google the first sentence.

I also think he's read old advice from 'just answer' as well as finding a 2013 thread here. Oh dear.

ManxRed

Graham Whyte. That takes me back.

DCM71

Hi All

As I'm not a seasoned forum person, in fact brand new and this subject of APCOA parking fines applies to me.

At Birmingham Airport my wife and I lapped the one way system multiple times, trying to guage which IBIS hotel we were staying at, and which of the car parks we had pre-paid to stay in.

At the entrance to the car park I stopped and waited for my wife to check which hotel, and car park we were meant to be using, we were stopped for a max of 2 mins while she talked to both hotel receptionists, and returned to the car where we drove into our pre-paid car park.

They have issued the usual Parking Charge notice with the photographs over 30 seconds taken from their washing machine with spy cam car, with me clearly visible in the drivers seat waiting for my wife's return.

Please could you give me help on resolving this matter with my parking fine?

Thanks in advance

Additional: I've just noticed they issued the notice on the 25/11/15 and I never received it until the 04/12, and I have to appeal before the 08/12