APCOA Luton Failed Again

Happy_Sole

Thanks to this forum I have received notifications from APCOA that two PCNs for alleged contraventions at Luton Airport have been cancelled.

Although they had not mentioned the PoFA in their notices I initially appealed to APCOA on the basis that the notices were not received within the 14 days but I did state that there were other failures. I assumed that they would reject the appeals and I would then go to POPLA.

However 3 weeks had elapsed and I had still not had a reply from APCOA. Fortunately having through the forum become conversant with the BPA Code of Practice and the requirement that Approved Operators must respond to an appeal within 14 days I sent a further letter to APCOA reminding them of that clause.

Having initially contacted the DVLA and the BPA as suggested by the forum when I sent the original letter of appeal I did so again with a copy of the recent letter that I had sent to APCOA.

I immediately had a reply from the BPA that it was being referred to their investigation team and the next day I was informed that they had done so. It is apparent that no one at APCOA was to blame for their error in not responding within the 14 Days, as usual it was a SYSTEM error. The BPA informed me that as a result the parking charge notices were being cancelled by APCOA. I have now received letters from APCOA informing me that the charges are cancelled.

Many thanks to the forum and carry on with the good work .

HO87

Always good to hear back.

Out of interest did you use a "standard" forum appeal to APCOA so, on the basis of no authority to issue notice and/or proceedings; defective signage and charge does not represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss? Or had you added in the additional applicable point as far as APCOA at Luton is concerned, i.e. not "relevant land" within the meaning of POFA?

The vast majority of PPC's routinely reject "standard" appeals and so your confirming, one way or the other, may well indicate that APCOA had accepted that their NtK had been out-of-time. Assuming that you hadn't added the "relevant land" bit.

Happy_Sole

No my appeal, lodged on the basis that it most probably would be turned down anyway by APCOA and I would then proceed to POPLA, was solely on the basis of the PCN being delivered out of time. I did it on the basis that although the PoFA had not been mentioned there were references drawn from that act. It is obvious however that would not have worked in my favour although I was confident that a subsequent full blown appeal to POPLA would have been successful.


Where APCOA then slipped up was that although the appeal to them would have failed they did not acknowledge my appeal within the 14 days timescale 22.8 in the BPA Code of Practice.


Having not received their reply within that period I referred it back to the BPA for investigation which resulted in APCOA having to admit that they had contravened their own Association's Code of Practice and presumably the BPA informed APCOA that they had no option therefore but to cancel the PCNs.

bod1467

I thought the BPA CoP gives PPCs 35 days to consider an appeal, not 14?

Scratch that - they should acknowledge an appeal within 14 days, and accept/reject it within 35 days.