Parking Notice Sports Space Hemel Hempstead

ILikeCakes_2

Hi guys

I have received two Parking Notices from a private parking enforcement company named "Civil Enforcement LTD" at my local sport centre "Sports Space" in Hemel Hempstead.

The process for parking here is entering you vehicle registration at the time of parking, each time you visit the centre.

In the first instance;

I was using my own personal car to drop my family off for my daughters swimming lesson which they attend weekly and have done so for the past 3 years. The parking notice has documented me as parking there from 16:34 to 18:04, but in this occassion i only dropped my family off and returned later to pick them up. My suspicion is that the cameras have disregarded my first exit when dropping the family off. I returned to work during this time and have the evidence to prove so. I have read a similar scenario in another thread where the cameras had seemed to have done the same thing.

In addition, I had missed the first notice as the post was mixed with my fathers and have only just found the second notice which is a yellow letter which is headed with the PCN number a deatils of the parking notice, and is subtitled with the following

"Protection of Freedoms Act"

it then goes on to say "its been 32 days since the original notice was sent and in accoradance with the Protection of Freedoms Act i am not liable for the unpaid part of the PCN."
just before the letter ends it also states that "POPLA is no longer available for this PCN. if you wish to appeal please contact us direct".


In the second instance I was using my company car and in this occasion I was taking my daughter to her swimming lesson and did park. We were running late and I forgot to enter my Reg into the system. Yesterday my company had contacted me as the lease company had received the parking notice and is is now in the process of being reissued I believe. In this instance my daughter attended her Swimming lesson and if required i can get proof of this.

I have read the newbie thread where it has the template but i'm still not 100% sure on what action i should take.

Could someone please direct me as how to do a late appeal for the first instance and could some please direct me as to how to conduct the appeal letter as the register user and not keeper.

Should i use the Template in the Newbie Thread and add the Bona fide user of the facility.

Thank you in advance to anyone who is able to help me here.

Can't believe the luck having two notices lol

In addition the signage is there but i have no idea if it conforms to policy and also i believe the staff are supposed to ask on entry "have you registered you vehicle" which did not happen in my second instance.

Thanks guys

Coupon-mad

Should I use the Template in the Newbie Thread and add the Bona fide user of the facility.

For the one which is two visits I think I would write a more tailored appeal as your case is watertight and you need them to put up or shut up:





Dear CEL,

Re - PCN number
I am the registered keeper and have received your letter saying its been ''32 days since the original notice ...POPLA is no longer available for this PCN. if you wish to appeal please contact us direct". I wish to inform you that your PCN notice was an error on your part because the driver visited twice that day to drop off and collect two passengers, namely an adult who was accompanying a child who was booked in for a swimming lesson. The car was not parked there from 16:34 to 18:04 and your system has missed the fact the car left soon after 16:34 and returned to collect the passengers just before six.

To be clear - this was two visits misread as one by your cameras. Similar cases have (of course) been lost by parking companies in small claims this year, e.g. on 04/04/2014 in case number 3JD10885, ParkingEye v Griffiths at Edmonton County Court and on 12/05/14 in case number 3JD04329 ParkingEye v Martin at St Albans.

As I am sure you are aware, ANPR technology is not the same as CCTV technology; it does not record a continuous stream of images. Instead, a photograph is only taken and recorded when a numberplate is detected. I suggest that your system is misconfigured to record the duration of stay as the first entry and last exit, thereby ignoring any entry or exit which may have been detected in between. This possibility should also be easy to investigate and I require you to conduct a thorough manual check of your records.

However, number plate misses or misreads are a bigger problem and may have caused your problem in this instance.

As the system only records information when a number plate is detected, if a numberplate is missed - due to the placement of the camera or another car tailgating the target vehicle, for example - you would have no record on the system of that particular entry or exit, so you will never be able to resolve your issue.

If your system merely misread the numberplate at the time of the first exit and return, then you should be able to detect this mismatch by thoroughly reviewing your records between 16:34 and 18:04.

In an effort to resolve this mistake, I require you to carry out an investigation because this was certainly a double visit and as a matter of principle and good faith, as an AOS member with the BPA you must take every step to find the fault that caused this PCN to be wrongly issued. I will not accept any liability as keeper for your error and any further attempts to pursue the matter - any contact from yourselves or your agents - will be harassment.

Clearly there was no loss caused in any event and neither are your charges a genuine offer to park at a contractual price. And since it is in the public domain that your firm lost your appeal case in Civil Enforcement v McCafferty 21/2/14 3YK50188 (AP476) and your charges are a deterrent (unenforceable penalties) you have no cause of action against motorists, certainly not in spurious cases such as this.

Finally I would remind you that your Notice to Keeper letters do not invoke POFA 2012 since you routinely fail to include the requisite wording required from Schedule 4. So for you to then send a letter a month later pretending that I am now liable as registered keeper and finally mentioning the POFA2012 when it suits you, is at best a matter of sharp practice.

I look forward to your response within 21 days of this appeal/complaint and you must desist from continuing with debt collection under the circumstances.

If you refuse to cancel the PCN I will require your full investigation notes and a copy of your ANPR records for that day (only redacting registration numbers which bear no resemblance to the registration number in this case). If you refuse I will ask you to present evidence of your full investigation and your unredacted daily numberplate record in full, to the BPA Ltd as I will be making a complaint. I will of course also point out to the DVLA as well as to Mr Clark at the BPA Ltd., that you are claiming 'keeper liability' in a follow-up letter following a non-compliant non-POFA Notice to Keeper, which as you will no doubt be aware is the sort of misleading behaviour which caused AOS members to be banned by the DVLA only last year.

yours....





And as for the second one - if the lease firm have given CEL your name and address - which they SHOULD, but check! - then wait for the Notice to Driver then appeal that one using the usual template in due course (changing the start to remove 'I am the registered keeper').

ILikeCakes_2

Thank you Coupon Mad for your quick and detailed response.

Really appreciate the help you have given me and many others.

I'll update when I get a response

Thanks Again

ILikeCakes_2

Hi,

Can i please get thoughts on adding the below to the Template??


4) The Driver was a bona fide authorised user of the free parking facility and can provide supporting evidence if required.


[FONT=&quot]- if alleging that the free parking was used otherwise than to attend the facility, please enclose your investigatory evidence to support this.[/FONT]


Thanks again

Coupon-mad

Yep you can add that to the second appeal (the template one) but that's not ready to be appealed yet is it because you must await your 'Notice to Driver' in the post if the lease firm have given your details now (make sure they do). Don't try to appeal that one early - you haven't heard about that one yet, technically.

ILikeCakes_2

Thanks, yes, just being Proactive

The letter to my company was from the lease company and states the following, which is in reference to my company.

The relevant parking operator will reissue you the parking charge notice sending it to your address.

For me to appeal, should I instruct my company to respond with the driver details, reissuing the notice to me where I can then appeal, or should I wait until my company receives it and appeal as "on behalf of my company "***********, as the registered user......."


Thanks

Coupon-mad

I think I would go with the latter, but saying ''I have been passed the Notice you have sent to my company, and I am replying to appeal because I am the usual driver and user of car registration xxxxxxx.''

ILikeCakes_2

Thanks

Again, a massive help