Help with appeal to vehicle control services pls

Louise31

Hi I just wanted some advice as to how I should appeal to vehicle control services ltd. I received a pcn for overstaying for £60 at matalan where the limit is 2 hrs. I did not genuinely see the signs and have been shopping there on many occasions. I received the notice on the xxNovember and the contravention date is on the xNovember. Please help.

Coupon-mad

Hi Louise, you should find all you need to know to appeal to VCS and to complain to Matalan, in two 'sticky' info threads permanently 'stuck' at the top of the forum for newbies to read:

'successful complaints about PPCS' shows you how easy it can be to get a Store Manager to cancel this!

and if not,

'newbies...have you got a private parking ticket? read this now!' tells you all about appealing as you have got your Notice to Keeper, and how to win at POPLA stage.

Stick around on this thread over the coming weeks to let us know how you get on when complaining. If Matalan say VCS were taken on by the retail park management then ask for their contact details and send the complaint to them! You were only shopping and are very angry about this harassment...blah blah as you will see in the sticky thread about complaints.

And come back for double-checking when drafting your POPLA appeal if you have to take it to that stage. We can help you to win as we have 100% success at the mo.

HTH

Louise31

Thanks so much for your help. Will read through the info. Do I have to let vcs know anything in the meantime? Don't worry I will be here for the long run.

Coupon-mad

You have 28 days to appeal as keeper (not driver) to that letter, so read the forum for a week or so and then send your appeal off . Not sure if you can do it online for VCS; check the Notice and if you can, then choose that option as it's instant and doesn't waste a stamp on the scammers. I would send a strong 'humdinger' of an appeal like you will see linked in the 'newbies' sticky thread, just to try to make VCS think about folding rather than POPLA.

Louise31

Thanks coupon-mad I am reading through it all and boy is there a lot to read and get my head round. My little two constantly distracting me and making me lose my train of thought. The letter states I have to pay within 14 days for the reduced fine so what will happen if my appeal goes in after the 14 day deadline? Sorry for all the questions

Umkomaas

Louise31 wrote: »

Thanks coupon-mad I am reading through it all and boy is there a lot to read and get my head round. My little two constantly distracting me and making me lose my train of thought. The letter states I have to pay within 14 days for the reduced fine so what will happen if my appeal goes in after the 14 day deadline? Sorry for all the questions

Don't be pressurised by their 'very kind offer' of a reduced scam. A scam is a scam. If you had any intention of paying anything, then I guess you wouldn't have come here in the first place.

I'm sure you'd prefer to have to pay £0.00, which is what it will be - if you work things through with our advice/guidance.

Folkiedave

As part of their reply to your appeal - they will say they cannot accept it because you are not the driver. This is nonsense and is simple a way for them to get the driver's name and address. Best to stick to letting them write to the registered keeper. And do not admit to being the driver.

Guys_Dad

Folkiedave wrote: »

As part of their reply to your appeal - they will say they cannot accept it because you are not the driver. This is nonsense and is simple a way for them to get the driver's name and address. Best to stick to letting them write to the registered keeper. And do not admit to being the driver.

And if they do, refer them to the BPA Code of Practice http://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_CoP_June_2013_update.pdf

Operator procedures
22.4 If a driver or keeper challenges a parking charge you must
review the case and decide whether to:

• uphold the parking charge and explain why it was issued and should therefore be paid, or
• reduce or cancel the charge and take no further management action other than informing the driver

POPLA (Parking On Private Land Appeals)
22.14 Drivers and keepers may appeal against a parking charge to POPLA.

Redx

Louise31 wrote: »

Thanks coupon-mad I am reading through it all and boy is there a lot to read and get my head round. My little two constantly distracting me and making me lose my train of thought. The letter states I have to pay within 14 days for the reduced fine so what will happen if my appeal goes in after the 14 day deadline? Sorry for all the questions

hi, I recently posted about a "soft appeal" to PE regarding a similar scenario (overstaying)

I have redacted and altered the submission letter but have reproduced it below , I would advise you to copy and paste it into word or wordpad on your pc, alter the dates and times and personal details to suit your own circumstances without admitting yourself as being the driver, just the registered keeper (RK)

also gather any receipts and photocopy or scan them and add them to your appeal as well, PE cancelled the charge in the case I was involved with so it never got to popla

also consider complaining to Matalan etc, find out who the actual landowner is and make a complaint to them (if its not Matalan)

here is a template letter to help you on your way, but dont forget to alter it accordingly, hope it helps you

[FONT=&quot]Template Letter [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Name
1 Any St
Manchester [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lancashire[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Post Code[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Dated 07/11/2013[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Parking Company
P.O.Box xxx
Cxxxxxx
Post Code

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Dear Sir/Madam, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Re: xxxxxx ref no[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]On (date) my vehicle Reg Number was parked at xxxxxx Shopping Park, Name of Town , City etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When I received your letter dated xx/xx/2013 I discovered a parking charge notice had been issued for my vehicle`s stay on that car park whilst out shopping there. The parking charge notice stated that it had exceeded the 2 hour time limit allowed for shopping there but had no idea that this was the case as it is not a pay and display car park and no tickets are bought or issued and so no display ticket is ever shown or received. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I believe my vehicle is not in breach of this contravention for the following reasons , mainly due to the fact that [/FONT][FONT=&quot]there are mitigating circumstances to explain why it was parked where for that length of time and would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They were visiting the shops on that complex on that day and bought goods from Matalan which in total accounted for the vehicle overstaying but they were going about their lawful business according to the reason why the shops are there and it is why my family and I often visit that shopping complex with no previous issues over many years.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
• The driver only stayed within the shopping complex and only visited the shops on that shopping park itself, namely Matalan , blah blah.
• They did not realise on that day that the vehicle had overstayed but I believe that as the driver was out shopping there it is only fair and proper that in this instance you waive the charge because the vehicle was not depriving anybody of anything and especially not the landowner. I have enclosed copies of some of the receipts from that day to show my good intentions, although I do not have all of them at this time but may still find them.
• The signage only says what to do if you know beforehand that you will overstay, but gives no indication of what to do afterwards and clearly you cannot make any restitution as it is not a pay and display car park so although the intentions were honourable I do agree that on that particular day it seems that giving the shops too much business has resulted in this overstay.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please find enclosed copies of some ticket receipts from the various shops on the complex which are valid at the time and date that the parking charge notice was initiated in order for you to validate my argument that they were actually shopping there and had not just “parked up for the day”!.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In light of the above it is clear that I should not be held liable for the vehicular parking charge and I request that the parking charge notice is cancelled accordingly to promote goodwill between a legitimate shopper and the businesses on that complex who pay rent and other charges to the landowner in order to encourage people to park, stay and shop, which is all they did that day and is the only reason the car park and shopping centre exists, ie:- to attract shoppers. I therefore ask you to cancel the parking charge notice to show goodwill on both sides.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]However, I must point out that if you were to not grant my appeal I would require a POPLA reference as I would appeal to them in the light of my sincere intentions above , and I would also be asking them to cancel the parking charge notice as I do not believe the punishment here fits the “crime” and that the fees incurred are excessive and punitive in nature.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I would also like the full contact details of the landowner in case I need to take it up with them or to find out any contractual details as regards the shopping centre and parking rules.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I would also like a copy of the contract allowing your company to collect parking charges on their behalf as their legal agent so I can study it when making my POPLA appeal.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I would also like a copy of the actual legal contract between the landowner and yourselves so that I can again study it when making my POPLA appeal[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lastly, I would like a full breakdown of the costs incurred by the landowner caused by the inadvertent breach of his or your rules as clearly the charges you have imposed here are not relevant to my individual circumstances and seem to be punitive in nature instead of just claiming back “damages” for an inadvertent 1 hour “trespass” on the landowners land whilst doing legitimate business in the shops there. These details will also be considered when I submit my POPLA appeal because I do not feel your “blanket charge” is reasonable, especially in this case where on most pay and display car parks it would warrant £1 to £2 per hour parking charge at the very most.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Yours sincerely/faithfully[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][ ] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Name of Registered Keeper[/FONT]

Coupon-mad

That's a pretty good first appeal Redx, although of course as you know, people would need to avoid 'mitigation' and go for 'no genuine pre-estimate of loss' and other heavier stuff at POPLA. Anyway I will link your example first appeal to the sticky thread 'newbies...read this now!' which this OP will hopefully have read now along with the complaints sticky thread.

Redx

totally agree with you, didnt want all the eggs in the one basket and this type of appeal worked for me with PE recently and no need for popla

I believe the only reason mitigation won here was due to having receipts proving that the shops got their business throughout the parking period, clearly they knew they would lose if it went to popla too

if the OP gets a rejection and a POPLA code then clearly a much more involved appeal will be needed that isnt relying on mitigation at all, which was my next move had my soft appeal failed for my relative

I had even started working on it because I believed PE would tell me to go stick my soft appeal where the sun dont shine , lol

ps:- I cannot link to threads as a newbie so cannot do more to help at the moment, which explains why I havent posted any links, in case anyone asks