UKPC Parking Charge - Station Shopping Court, Vastern Road, Reading (2014).

JemmyP

Hi all,

I received a UKPC Penalty Charge recently for 'vehicle owner/driver left site' (windscreen ticket). Instead of immediately paying I thought it best to do a bit of Google research and came across MSE! Life savers! :j

Firstly, I've read the newbie topic posted by Coupon-mad as well as several other topics here and on a couple of other websites, so I have a general understanding of what's required - I just want to check that i've understood it and in the right sequence.

When I initially Googled on what to do, I found several threads here (dated 2012 / 2013) stating to ignore the ticket and all subsequent bailiff, solicitor letters etc. BUT having done a bit more digging I've seen newer threads stating this is now out of date advice due to POFA 2012 changing this and now you need to do something and not 'ignore, ignore, ignore' as was done previously.

Thus, my understanding of what to do is as follows:

1.) Do not contact UKPC, instead await their Notice to Keeper (NTK) in the post, which should be received between days 29 - 56 (as this was a windscreen ticket).
2.) Once the NTK has been received, use the template set out under 'THE FIRST APPEAL TO THE PPC' in the new bit thread, keeping it general and purely as you the 'RK' as opposed to being the driver, as the 'RK' position gives you a stronger set of appeal grounds.
3.) If appeal is not successful request a POPLA code (I assume UKPC is uses POPLA and not IAS) and check it at the parking cowboys website and then appeal (after reading more of those forums!)

I've kept all this very general with no identifying names, registrations or dates etc as you never knows who reads these forums...

Is UKPC a small PPC? They're on none of the examples on the newbie thread, so just want to make sure that awaiting the NTK is correct, as opposed to pre-empting the bailiff letters that the other companies like NPC send out without first having sent out the NTK?

Is UKPC a BPA (POPLA) or IPC (IAS) member? (Linked to the question above).

Lastly, in the quite likely event my first appeal isn't successful, I can't seem to find any draft letters for the POPLA stage? Does anybody have any they could link me to, that I could have a browse over and see what points will fit my appeal over the 'leaving site' issue.

Hope i've understood all the other posts correctly, and hopefully I'm not jumping the gun at all in thinking my first appeal is going to fail and it will be going to POPLA... Fingers crossed!

Thanks for your help in advance!

neilleeds

JemmyP wrote: »

Lastly, in the quite likely event my first appeal isn't successful, I can't seem to find any draft letters for the POPLA stage? Does anybody have any they could link me to, that I could have a browse over and see what points will fit my appeal over the 'leaving site' issue.

Your appeal will be nothing to do with your circumstances and actions when parking, it will be based purely on the legalities of making up a £100 or whatever charge and attempting to force you to pay it. In terms of other cases to look at it's all about the company you are dealing with and the wording on their signs.

ColliesCarer

Hi JemmyP and welcome

Yes you've understood correctly

UKPC are members of the BPA and hence POPLA.
They should supply a POPLA code if they reject the appeal you send in response to the NtK when it arrives

See NEWBIES post #3 and follow the link How to Win at POPLA for example appeals
or use Search the Forum function with UKPC POPLA as search terms (click posts rather than threads) but as Neilleeds has said no need to look for your specific circumstances - mitigation is explicitly excluded at POPLA stage.

bazster

If you look around you'll see lots of UKPC threads. They are members of the BPA. Waiting for the NtK is the correct approach. UKPC are not aggressive and have never been known to issue court cases.

JemmyP

Thanks for all the quick responses!

I guess my main points at POPLA then would be:

Authority to issue tickets & Genuine pre-estimate of loss.

With regards to "Genuine pre-estimate of loss" - As my parking charge was for leaving the site and not for forgetting to pay and display (for example), does that point still apply?

I believe it would, as how can a company charge £100 for someone leaving the site, thats a ludicrous amount of money to charge as most car parks are something like £20 for 24 hours - So in effect they're charging 3 - 5 days stay for what is actually normally going to be a few hours stay.

Redx

yes we know , and as private parking is unregulated its why they try to "get away with it" , which is why most people who come here for advice end up staying and giving it out to others

its also why its on watchdog next wednesday night too (bbc1)

nobody here is going to try to justify it as it cannot be justified !

just use the appeal points of the template , when using it , then find suitable popla appeals using the links in post #3

JUST DO IT ! - is the advice given , dont query it , just do it

the more appeal points you have for popla , the more likely you will win , but they have to be legal appeal points , not mitigation , so you use as many as possible , not just one or two (unless you are testing popla and thats not for newbies)

this is why you get the popla code and then look for recent appeals against the same company or in the same parking area , ones that have been honed and used recently , then submit and wait for a POPLA verdict 6 to 8 weeks later

ColliesCarer

Yes the No GPEOL point applies.

The three main points you should ensure are included in the POPLA appeal when you get to that stage are the same three points that are in the 1st appeal template letter namely
Not a genuine pre-estimate of loss
No Authority
Non-compliant signage therefore no contract with the driver

but they are expanded at POPLA to include the legal arguments plus you might also have other points to add regarding non-compliance of their NtK when it arrives.

JemmyP

Brill - Thanks for the info, I'll definitely watch the Watchdog programme next week!

Does it matter how I send the appeal letter to UKPC? Only ask as I want to ensure they receive it and I presume they include an SAE, would it be best to put it into that or my own one and send that recorded delivery / signed for?

Redx

send in a standard envelope with free certificate of posting from the P.O.

JemmyP

Evening all,

I sent off the appeal in writing to the address listed on the back of the NTK, but today I've had a letter in the post from UKPC stating *FINAL REMINDER*.

I sent the appeal off 2 weeks or so ago, well within the time limit.

Does this letter mean they haven't receive my appeal letter?

Or is this standard for the company to send out a final reminder even if they have received your appeal notice?

I have proof of postage etc, or is it worth sending another copy if it has been lost in the post?

Sorry for all the questions!

Dee140157

To cover your back I would send again with covering letter including copy of proof of posting.
Tell the you sent appeal in xx date. Here is a fresh copy in case they mislaid it. You are going to complain to BPA that they are still chasing they charge whilst an appeal is lodged. That they have until xx/xx (35 days after you sent appeal) to cancel or issue POPLA code.

Then complain to BPA (address in post 6 of newbie sticky)