Private Parking Ticket - Excel Parking Services - Debt Collectors letter received

Indiansummer_2

Can you advise and help please. PCN issued by Excel Parking Services Limited as driver of vehicle had purchased an all day pay and display ticket for £2.50 but had unfortunately not displayed this correctly in the windscreen of the vehicle. Following research on MSE awaited NTK which arrived. Emailed appeal to Excel within the specified 28 day time scale. In the email I asked for the PCN to be cancelled but also requested copy of information held on me under the Data Protection Act. Received an automated email response from Excel as below:-

Dear Sir/Madam
This is an automated response notification regarding your appeal/challenge to a Parking Charge Notice.
Please be advised that we acknowledge receipt of your email, and will be responding directly to you in due course. However, prior to doing so we require the following information in advance to enable us to process your appeal/challenge. If you have not already done so, please forward the following information as a matter of urgency, as we are unable to process your appeal/challenge without it:
1) The PARKING NOTICE SERIAL NUMBER This can be found in the top right hand corner of the Notice and will be prefixed, SERIAL No. XL/____________.
2) A FULL POSTAL ADDRESS that we can correspond with, as all decisions are conveyed in a letter to the motorist.
3) The FULL NAME of the motorist.
If you are unable to locate the PARKING NOTICE SERIAL NUMBER we will require the full vehicle registration number of the vehicle to which the NOTICE was served.
Please be advised that Excel Parking Services Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for any increase in the NOTICE CHARGE should YOU fail to provide us with the requested information within 7 (SEVEN) days from the date of this email.
Upon receipt of the required information we will place the NOTICE on hold while the circumstances surrounding the issue of the NOTICE are investigated and the Management team review the contents of your email. Once a decision has been reached, a letter will be issued to the motorist at the identified postal address conveying the outcome of the appeal/challenge. We will advise you in writing of any further course of action you should take, as deemed necessary to support your appeal/challenge.
Be advised – WE ARE UNABLE TO PROCESS YOUR APPEAL/CHALLENGE WITHOUT THE PROVISION OF THE ABOVE REQUESTED INFORMATION – A PARKING NOTICE SERIAL NUMBER AND THE FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE DRIVER/HIRER/KEEPER.
If you have already provided all relevant information, then please accept our apologies and ignore this email, as we will be dealing with your appeal/challenge and notification of the outcome will be sent to you in due course.
All Email correspondence should be directed to: [EMAIL="CPO@excelparking.co.uk"]CPO@excelparking.co.uk[/EMAIL]
Thank you for your co-operation.
Central Payment Office
Excel Parking Services Ltd
This communication is only for the use of the addressee. It may contain information which is legally privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient you must not read, copy, distribute or disseminate this communication or any attachments to anyone other than the addressee or use the information it contains. If you receive this communication in error, please inform us by replying to this e-mail. No responsibility is accepted by Excel Parking Services Ltd. for personal e-mails, or e-mails unconnected with the firm's business.

I have had no contacted with Excel Parking since receiving the above automated response. They have neither accepted nor rejected my appeal as registered keeper, nor have they provided me with a POPLA code. I have now received a letter from Newlyn Debt Collection Ltd, stating they have been instructed by Excel Parking Services Limted to recover the outstanding Parking charge noticed, (which has now risen to £166) which remains unpaid. Stupidly I contacted them by phone and advised them that Excel Parking had failed to follow the appeals procedure as per the BPA code and requested that I receive no further correspondence from them. I emailed Excel Parking again and received the same automated email response. Clearly they have not abided by the BPA code of Practice. I have also followed this up with a hard copy of the letter posted by recorded delivery.

I have raised a formal complaint with the BPA regarding Excel's obstruction of the appeals process and their refusal to comply with the BPA Code of Practice. I have also copied the letter via email to the DVLA AOS compliance team and the ICO as they have failed to comply with my request pursuant to section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Can you please advise where I go from here as I am concerned regarding the letter from Newlyn and the fact that Excel seem to refuse to give me a POPLA code. Many thanks

Redx

wait for the BPA reply, simple as that

and do not forget to try and get it cancelled by the landowner

spacey2012

Write to them including any copies of correspondence and state that:
SERVED LEGAL NOTICE : Date of service 1 working day from postmark
the registered keeper now discharges liability under POFA 2013 as you have failed to allow or administer a correctly worded (as BPA) appeal from the keeper and secondary failed to administer a POPLA code in rejection .


They are starting to please themselves, never beg of them, thats the rules they dont like em they will have to lobby some more MP'S
Make sure you obtain a certificate of postage.

DO NOT E-MAIL even if people in here tell you you can.
It is a legal thing that goes over heads and causes arguments, so just use a stamp and certificate of postage.

Coupon-mad

I have raised a formal complaint with the BPA.

Has Steve Clark confirmed they are investigating this? If not then send a copy of your complaint to him (email addy is in the 'NEWBIES read this first' sticky thread).

Indiansummer_2

Hello: I received an email yesterday from Peter Beasley, Compliance Manger at the BPA which is below:-

"Thank you for your e-mail received xxx, which refers to a parking incident which you experienced with Excel Parking Services Ltd. We have given your case the reference xxxxx and would ask that you use this on any future correspondence.

I can confirm that this organisation is a Member of the BPA's Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) and as such is expected to adhere to our Code of Practice which you can review on our website - (provided link to website)

If a member is found to be in breach of the Code, they would be subject to our Sanctions Scheme, where Operators who breach the Code can expect to receive a number of penalty points depending on the severity of the offence. As with driving offences, once an operator's 'licence' has reached twelve points in any given 12-month period, then they are likely to be faced with suspension or expulsion.

I will contact Excel Parking Services Ltd in relation to your complaint and request comment from them.

We are not a regularity authority though and as such we cannot handle specific appeals against parking tickets or other enforcement actions taken by our members but we can take actions where we believe they have breached our Code of Practice.

However, there is a clear expectation that the members of the BPA operate in a professional manner and those who are responsible for parking enforcement on private land sign up to our Code of Practice."

However this reply doesnt fill me with the greatest of confidence.

I have also received a confirmation email from Elizabeth Symons at the DVLA stating they would carry out a full investigation into my complaint

I have received an acknowledgement from the ICO giving me a case number and stating they would get back to me.

I did post a hard copy of an email sent to to Excel via recorded delivery yesterday.


I am really upset and concerned that I am now receiving debt collectors letters without even having had the chance to go through the proper appeals process via POPLA. It seems ironic that I am dependant upon Excel providing me with a POPLA code before I can appeal and they are obstructing this process but I am expected to put up with this harrassment. One verystressed bunny

HO87

Excel's response appears to be in direct conflict with the BPA's latest guidance in that the clear implication of the wording is that no challenge/appeal will be considered unless and until the details requested are supplied.

It beggars belief that so senior figure as Simon Renshaw-Smith, Excel's MD who sits on the BPA board could allow so fundamental an error as this response appears to constitute. I'm sure matters will be rectified with all speed.

@Indiansummer - did your original appeal include words to the effect:

"Please therefore cancel this charge or issue a POPLA code within 35 or I will consider the matter closed"

by any chance?

Indiansummer_2

Hello HO87, I didnt specifically ask for a POPLA code. The summary part of my letter is as follows:

"I believe there is no breach of this alleged “contravention” as a valid pay and display ticket had been purchased. In light of the above I believe it is clear that neither I, nor the driver of the vehicle, are liable for the parking charge incurred and I request that the parking charge notice is cancelled accordingly.

I would be grateful if you would send me the full reasoning in relation to each of the specific points raised in this letter. Please provide this information within 35 days of receipt by post. Please do not reply by email. I look forward to receiving your reply.
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."

My original appeal letter is lengthy and I am not sure if I can do attachments through this forum. I am quite happy to post a redacted version of my appeal letter if it helps though. Many thanks for your interest.

HO87

You cannot do attachments but, if you use a service like Dropbox you can post the "link" as part of the text of another post - excluding the http://www bit and one of us can do the rest for you.

Indiansummer_2

Hello HO87


I think I have managed to link the letter below:


dropbox.com/s/pq1x4gmx3wotx6s/Excel%20Parking%20Services%20Letter%2020131116.docx
Had to remove the hyperlink from the text though to get the post to go through


Many thanks, Indiansummer

HO87

That'll be:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pq1x4gmx3wotx6s/Excel%20Parking%20Services%20Letter%2020131116.docx

That's as detailed an appeal to a PPC as I have read for some time.

Can you let us know the following:

How long it was between the issue of the PCN and your receiving Excel's Notice to Keeper?

How long has it now been since you sent the letter of appeal?

The fact that you appealed and have had an acknowledgement, albeit not a response is useful. The fact that you had paid the relevant sum to park - and have evidence of that - leaves them with very little room for manoeuvre.

Indiansummer_2

Hello,
35 days between issue of PCN (stuck to car window) and date of issue of NTK. Automated email acknowledgement received on same day as email appeal (see previous post for contents). I didn't not respond to automated email acknowledgement. I have had no other contact with Excel since that time (63 days) until receipt of letter from Debt collectors. I have since written to Excel again both via email and by sending a hard copy via recorded delivery demanding they either accept my appeal and cancel the parking charge at no extra cost to me, or decline my appeal and issue a POPLA Code, in order for me to pursue the matter further. I stated I expected a response from Excel within 14 days of the date of the letter. Am now sitting tight to see what happens.


Many thanks for your help and interest.