Civil Enforcement - Bury St Edmunds

huddsmoose

Hi, I've tried to read through previous advice but have confused myself a bit, hoping you can weigh in...

I received my PCN in October '13, asking for £100 (or £75 early payment) for overstaying my 2 hour free period by 15 minutes.

In December '13 I received a second letter, entitled "Protection of Freedoms Act" telling me to pay the higher amount, that POPLA is no longer available to me and that I have 14 days to raise any concerns with CEL.

At the time I read through out of date MSE advice and thought I'd ignore all correspondence but having received the second letter, and re-read the forum, I'm concerned that I'm too late to appeal?

I was parked at the Station Hill car park in Bury St Edmunds (next to the train station), which appears to be owned or managed by NCP.

Any advice on my next course of action is greatfully received - should I send an appeal to POPLA? What is my response to CEL? What are the best grounds to focus on?

Thanks
Huddsmoose

Coupon-mad

Welcome to the parking forum but it seems you haven't read the right parts of it yet! Here you go, start at the top:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

A few months back, we got soooo busy with new threads, all the same, that to ensure no-one missed out on advice I spent hours writing a sticky (info) thread for the top of the forum, giving it capital letters saying 'NEWBIES READ THIS FIRST'.

The newbies thread is clearly headed up that it coves OLD tickets as well. It covers in simple terms what all the acronyms mean, how to appeal with a DOZEN linked examples...what to do if you miss the appeal deadline & get to debt collector letters stage...and yet every day, new posters here don't read the stickies.

I also started another one showing people how to complain and get these cancelled by retailers. It's the one called 'Successful complaints about PPCs'.

Please post again with any questions...AFTER reading the stickies (info threads 'stuck' on the board at the top, sorry if stating the obvious). And AFTER you have complained robustly to the Retail Manager (Co-op by any chance, as shown in lots of links in the successful complaints sticky, including one where they've just given one of the forum newbie posters a Christmas Hamper by way of apology for CEL?!).

I hope your next post here in a reply later this week, will be to tell us this has been cancelled by the Store Manager following your complaint as a paying customer!

You can't appeal directly to POPLA. You have to get a POPLA code from the PPC by appealing to them first and the ''newbies'' thread tells you to also try a late appeal (with copy receipt or bank transaction for shopping) as well as complaining as per the ''successful complaints'' thread links. A two-pronged attack to get this cancelled before Christmas!

commonsenserules

Why oh why do people even enter into correspondence with the cowboys who run the PRIVATE parking sites and in particular why bother appealing to POPLA. IGNORE THE LETTERS! The only people who can fine you are the Police and the Council. I have only ever known one private individual, an idiot, issue on the grounds of contract and how far do you think he got before a District Judge? Cut off at the knees. My Client paid £1.50 for parking and went over by 15 mins. He sent a cheque equivalent to the extra 15 minutes so where was the landowner's loss? No the District Judge couldn't see a loss either and the Landowner was kicked into touch, having lost his issue fee. District Judges are not idiots and there was no sympathy at all for the Landowner. Its pure greed. This is the ONLY case that has ever made it to Court, I got involved late on, and I have dealt with a lot of cases. The car park enforcers are in the clampers/security/enforcement category (make up your own mind of their type) and use dirty tactics sending letters and Notices that mimic Court pleadings. IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE !!! I wouldn't even send a cheque but IGNORE COMPLETELY. This advice does NOT apply to Council land.

Coupon-mad

commonsenserules wrote: »

This advice does NOT apply to Council land.

This advice is rubbish and wrong. ''The only case at Court'' you reckon, even though ParkingEye are handling four or five small claims cases per DAY some weeks right now?! And most people are losing.

Compare that to the POPLA outcomes - we win 100% of POPLA appeals. It's a no-brainer, as is the complaint to the Retailers every single time. Make life difficult for every PPC, every time, with a complaint to their clients. Come the time of contract renewals there will be some PPC casualties in 2014, I expect.

huddsmoose

Thanks for the advice, following which I've realised that CEL have broken BPA CoP (including not offering a 40% early payment discount) and have sent them a challenge based on such.

I've asked for a POPLA code but as I've missed the 28 day appeal period I imagine their response will be negative (although I did mention Halsey).

wendywindows

I have received a parking fine but I didn't actually park. I pulled into the car park to safely make an urgent phone call I did not leave the car nor did I turn off the engine. the letter stated that I had exceeded the maximum parking allowance. Should I ignore or should I tell them that I wasn't parked?

Hot_Bring

wendywindows wrote: »

I have received a parking fine but I didn't actually park. I pulled into the car park to safely make an urgent phone call I did not leave the car nor did I turn off the engine. the letter stated that I had exceeded the maximum parking allowance. Should I ignore or should I tell them that I wasn't parked?

You should do neither until :

1. You've started you own thread
2. Read the NEWBIES sticky thread

wendywindows

I don't understand?

Redx

wendywindows wrote: »

I don't understand?

he is saying that you should go back to this parking forum itself and press the BLUE NEW THREAD button and start your own topic, not ask questions about your own topic within somebody elses topic, it was part of the agreement you made when you joined this forum

opening a new thread (topic) is free of charge, and people will reply to your thread and post and should show you the same courtesy by stopping other members from hijacking your topic

it also shows respect to the thread originator (the OP - Opening Poster) by not hijacking their thread for your own purposes (it is considered bad practice and bad manners to hijack a thread)

the blue NEW THREAD button is top left and also bottom left on the main parking forum

The NEWBIES - READ THIS FIRST sticky thread is "stuck" to the top of the main forum and usually 3 or 4 threads down , by coupon-mad

Coupon-mad

wendywindows wrote: »

I don't understand?

This is someone else's thread, a random thread out of thousands every month on this forum. You seem to have missed the entire forum and just found one little old thread by Googling perhaps, which is never a good thing with a forum! Always click to page one! You need to read the 'Private Parking Ticket? Newbies please read this first' advice thread near the top on page one.

You can find page one with just one click, please see my signature below. Not the red bit. The black bit tells newbies where to click on the blue 'breadcrumb trail'.

huddsmoose

I just wanted to update people on my case and pass on a successful outcome!

Firstly, thanks to the many people whose advice I read before replying to Civil Enforcement, I can't possibly name check you all but what a fantastic resource this forum is! Moderators - if this thread now needs to be moved please do so!

To recap; I'd been sent a PEN when I overstayed a 2 hour free period. I left an appeal way too late and subsequently received a second letter, telling me to cough up the higher charge and that my right to appeal had expired.

I asked CEL for a POPLA code, which they refused, saying I'd missed the deadline. I replied pointing out that POPLA don't set deadlines and that refusing my access to the industry ombudsman, was proof of their failure to mitigate their alleged loss.

Today I received a letter telling me that my PEN has now been cancelled!

If anyone would like the content of the letters I sent I'd be happy to post them here.

Best of luck with your own battles!