CPS parking ticket - please help!

hanfrangipane

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice on how to proceed with a parking ticket.

The car was parked on a strip of land behind my flat in November. To my knowledge there were no spaces on the road (which is council parking) and the car needed to stop. It was 9.30 at night and, having read other threads, I think it is permit holders self ticketing.

I have had the first letter from UKCPS saying I must not ignore etc. and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm the registered keeper of the car and I was driving at the time (although I know not to mention that yet) but I'm moving out of this flat next Friday so will be changing my car registration address so do I tell them this? Otherwise all other correspondence will come here and there will be nobody to collect it.

What is my next step?!

Thanks in advance

Han

SevenTowers

hanfrangipane wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a bit of advice on how to proceed with a parking ticket.

I parked in a strip of land behind my flat in November. There were no spaces on the road (which is council parking) and I needed to unload my car. It was 9.30 at night and, having read other threads, I think it is permit holders self ticketing.

I have had the first letter from UKCPS saying I must not ignore etc. and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm the registered keeper of the car and I was driving at the time (although I know not to mention that yet) but I'm moving out of this flat next Friday so will be changing my car registration address so do I tell them this? Otherwise all other correspondence will come here and there will be nobody to collect it.

What is my next step?!

Thanks in advance

Han

You submit a soft appal, give them your new address, but don't tell them who the driver was, get a POPLA code off them, submit a forum assisted POPLA appeal and get the ticket cancelled, like 100's of others have already done..

It's all in the sticky threads - Read Them!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4766249

hanfrangipane

SevenTowers wrote: »

You submit a soft appal, give them your new address, but don't tell them who the driver was, get a POPLA code off them, submit a forum assisted POPLA appeal and get the ticket cancelled, like 100's of others have already done..

It's all in the sticky threads - Read Them!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4766249

Thanks Seven Towers,

I'd read the stickys but just wasn't sure re. Change of address.

Cheers for the reply

Coupon-mad

They will reply to your old address anyway so make sure you can collect letters quickly until you've won at POPLA. Read the sticky threads and learn how to win.

hanfrangipane

Coupon-mad wrote: »

They will reply to your old address anyway so make sure you can collect letters quickly until you've won at POPLA. Read the sticky threads and learn how to win.

This is my issue then - I move out next Saturday and have no way of getting post after that date as I'm moving cities and it's a rented flat!

hanfrangipane

Hi guys,


Could anybody help me word my soft appeal letter? I've read the sticky and followed links to some strong examples etc, but none seem to be the same kind of scenario as mine so I'm really struggling to word it.


I'm trying to pack to move house, sort this out, get my car fixed before I move....stressing out a bit!


The car was parked on a strip of land behind the flat and can't find out the landowner to complain to them (or at least not in time to complain before I have to respond to this letter - 28 days would be the end of this week as it was sent on the 21st December)


I don't think the signage was adequate to be able to read it from the car before entering the car park, so I need to mention that.


I've read the letter (white and yellow UKCPS letter) cut can't see any obvious breaches of POFA yet. Does anyone know of common ones for me to search for?


It doesn't state duration of stay, just the time that the vehicle was noted, is that something to mention.


Apologies for all the questions - I'm just a bit confused. Due to the volume of threads I'm getting a bit lost in the detail I think.


Any help would be MUCH appreciated as I'd like to get the letter mailed out tomorrow


Thanks


Han

hanfrangipane

Hey, I have drafted the following first letter to UKCPS - I'm aiming to send it tomorrow so could anybody cast their eyes over it for any obvious omissions? I've compared the UKCPS letter to the POFA act and the only error I can see is that they didn't mention the parking duration, only the time.


Thanks


Han







Recorded Delivery


UKCPS LTD


12000 Century way


Thorpe Park Colton


Leeds


LS15 8ZA





Dear Sirs,








Miss xxxxxxxxxxxx


xxxxxxxx


21/11/2013


Your Ref. xxxxxx


Without prejudice, except as to costs





I refer to your letter “Notice to Keeper / Driver / Hirer” of 21 December 2013.





Before I decide how to deal with this letter I should be grateful if you would first answer all of the questions referenced below.





Please note I wish to challenge your alleged claim against me under reference to the following:—


1. Cause of action. Please make this clear. If it is your claim that I entered into a contract, please send me a complete version of the terms and conditions of that contract to which you say I agreed to. Further to the above please explain fully on which of the following grounds your claim is based:


a. Damages for trespass


b. Damages for breach of contract


c. A contractual sum





2. Your loss. If it is your case that that a trespass was committed or that a contract was breached such that your claim is one for damages, please give me a full breakdown of the actual loss you say was suffered by your business or the landowner/landholder.





3. Status. Your letter simply mentions Xxxx xxxx. Please tell me who is the actual creditor making this claim for £100. To consider the validity of any claim I need to know who is making this claim and in what capacity.





4. Observed Your letter mentions that the vehicle was “observed without a valid permit or authority”. Please provide any witness statement or any photographic evidence of this observation, for without sufficient evidence your claim cannot be








considered. Please send me a copy of your procedures for handling and processing that evidence and the relevant audit trail. Furthermore, under section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 please send me a copy of all such photographs along with a copy of all other data you hold relating to me. As this would be required to be disclosed in any event as part of your evidence bundle in the small claims process, I do not expect to pay for the release of my personal data which you hold.





5. Ownership Please tell me who owns the land on which you claim this vehicle was parked. I wish to retrospectively include them in this and any further correspondence on this matter.





6. Landholder / Landowner. Your letter above mentions that the “vehicle was parked on land at Xxxx xxxx”. In the particular circumstances of this ‘incident’, I challenge that Xxxx xxxx is specific enough to allow identification of the area of land that you refer to. Xxxx xxxx represents a public highway under council control.





7. Contract to operate. It is my understanding following a communication with Gateshead Council Parking Services that UK CPS are not agents for Gateshead City Council and are not authorised to make contracts on their behalf. I would be obliged if you can explain any involvement, if at all, of the landowner /landholder in this case and provide me with a copy of any contract between your company and the landowner /landholder. To resolve any doubt please include their proof of ownership / holding for the land on which the vehicle was parked.





8. Contract. In the particular circumstances of this ‘incident’, the vehicle being parked at Xxxx xxxx. Any notice board headed “Warning Private Land” attached to the boundary fence of Xxxx xxxx “car park” could reasonably be expected, in the absence of further road markings indicating the extent of any other boundary, to refer to Xxxx xxxx in its entirety, which is under the control of Gateshead City Council. Any terms and conditions on this notice board would therefore be completely irrelevant to anyone outside of the “car park” boundary fence. Any argument or claim based on such contracted charge further mentioned on the notice is therefore invalid. I would like to point out that, as there was no negotiation leading to a meeting of minds in this case, any reasonable doubt concerning terms of any alleged contract, and/or it’s interpretation, such as the boundaries, location and ownership of land referred to, therefore lies with the present party and not the absent party or author of the notice. If it is your case that a contract has been breached or that a contractual sum is now due, please send me photographs of the signs that you displayed and upon which you seek to evidence that a lawful and legally enforceable contract had been entered into. Please ensure that the photographs show the terms and conditions in a clear and legible manner and that it clearly indicates the area of land referred to. Please provide me with a diagram showing the locations and layout of those signs at the “car park” including their relation to the vehicle. Also provide evidence that the wording is in plain and intelligible language and in sufficiently large print as to be legible to a driver at the “car park’s” entry point and that it was adequately illuminated on the evening of 21/11/2013 at 21.32.





9. Punitive / Unfair / Uunreasonable. The parking charge of £100 is punitive and is therefore void. £100 is arbitrary and disproportionate to any alleged breach of








contract or trespass. This would also apply to any costs incurred through debt recovery unless it followed a court order.





a. The £100 parking charge you are imposing is an unfair term (and therefore not binding) under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, Schedule 2 of those Regulations which gives an indicative (and non-exhaustive) list of terms which may be regarded as unfair and includes at Schedule 2(1)(e):





‘Terms which have the object or effect of requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.’


Furthermore, Regulation 5(1) says:


‘A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer’


And 5(2), which states:


‘A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.’


b. Unreasonable The £100 parking charge you are imposing is an unreasonable indemnity clause under section 4(1) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, which says:





‘A person cannot by reference to any contract term be made to indemnify another person (whether a party to the contract or not) in respect of liability that may be incurred by the other for negligence or breach of contract, except in so far as the contract term satisfies the requirement of reasonableness.’





10. Please provide me with the name and address of your solicitors, if any, in order that I may copy them into this correspondence.





Please note this is not an appeal however it is a challenge to your issue of the “Notice to Driver / Keeper / Hirer”. As set out in the BPA AOS codes of practice I should be grateful for answers to all questions raised. In this respect I remind you of your obligations set out in the current Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, in particular reference 1.2.


To avoid any doubt due to miscommunication, please do not do any of the following:


a. Send any further correspondence or documents to me or try to communicate with me in any way except to address in writing and sent by post the specific points I have raised in this letter.


b. Send me any document purporting to be from the county court unless it is a valid claim form duly issued.


c. Send any “Further reminders” repeating your charge, your letter of 23/7/13 has been received and will be considered.


d. Write to me threatening to send bailiffs to my address without first issuing a court claim form and obtaining the court’s judgment.


e. Send me any standard form letters from your company or debt collectors, no debt has been acknowledged.





I look forward to receiving your acknowledgement of this letter within 14 days and a comprehensive reply should be made within 35 days (in accordance with the BPA AOS Code of Practice B.22.8). I will then be able to make an informed decision as to how I shall respond to your Notice to Driver/Keeper/Hirer


If you reject this challenge or fail to address all the issues that have been raised then, in accordance with the BPA AOS Code of Practice 22.12, please ensure that you enclose all the required information (including the necessary ‘POPLA code’) so that I may immediately refer the matter for their decision.


If you fail to follow any of the procedures outlined in the BPA AOS Code of Practice or your legal requirements under the Protection of Freedoms Act, or the requirements of the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct then I will make a formal complaint to the DVLA Data Sharing Policy Group, D16.


Please Note: Unless you have specifically requested it and received my express permission, you do not have my authority to disclose or refer this letter or any other communication from me to any other person or organisation.


If you do decide to issue proceedings, please note that:


a) I reserve the right to add further arguments to the defence


b) I or my representative will be happy to attend any court mediation that might be offered.





I look forward to your reply.





Note: I am no longer available at the address that you sent your ‘Notice to Keeper/Driver/Hirer’ – as per notification sent to DVLA on 14/01/2014, the Keeper’s correspondence address is now:





Xxxxxx


Xxxxxx


xxxxxxx





This letter is written wholly without prejudice to my whole rights and pleas and may not be produced or founded upon in any proceedings by any party or other person except on my prior, express, written consent.

Redx

waste of time sending it recorded, already discussed and dismissed many times on this forum , mainly because they all tend to refuse anything that is signed for and then they have a rebuttal in that they know they didnt sign for it, so it goes undelivered and you have wasted your postage and your appeal does not get there

the bottom paragraph has also been discussed and dismissed on here too , as has the without prejudice bit too

that letter seems to have a lot of info in it that isnt relevant to the strip of land you parked on , so the danger here is you have copied and pasted it without altering it to suit your own case

stop trying to be too clever , just send a reasonable appeal in as registered keeper only , making sure that you research your facts and that the letter you send doesnt contain errors like I believe are in there now

hanfrangipane

Redx wrote: »

waste of time sending it recorded, already discussed and dismissed many times on this forum , mainly because they all tend to refuse anything that is signed for and then they have a rebuttal in that they know they didnt sign for it, so it goes undelivered and you have wasted your postage and your appeal does not get there

the bottom paragraph has also been discussed and dismissed on here too

stop trying to be too clever , just send a reasonable appeal in as registered keeper only

Thanks redx, I just used one that somebody else had used in as close circumstance as I could find to mine. Will get rid of the bits you've suggested. If I do that do you think the rest of it is ok to send?

Cheers

Han

Redx

frankly, I think it has everything to do with their circumstances and little to do with yours , so although it may look good there seems a lot wrong with it considering that a soft appeal is usually a dozen lines at most

I think you were looking for an identical case and that isnt one , not unless you were parked in the same space in or near gateshead that they were parked in , in that case it seems to be about whether or not the council own the land and its not private or something

one of the worst things you could do is send in an appeal that has the wrong details in it, makes you look an easy target

hanfrangipane

In that case I'm confused what to write then! All the 'strong' soft appeal letters I've looked at seemed quite long, and all mentioned things about breaches of regulations etc that aren't applicable in my case, so I don't know what to put.

I thought the case was similar, given that the area stated on the NTK relates to the entire area round the flat, not just the little patch that the signs relate to.

Any links to one you think is more appropriate?

Thanks for your help