Robin Hood Airport - PCN keeper has named driver

Fatrich172

Hello - i've read your newbie post etc which appear to focus on the rights of the registered keeper and not so much the driver

my company received a PCN today (06.06.14) for an alleged offence at Robin Hood Airport.
Parking Charge Notice
issue date: 03.06.14
Contravention date: 15.05.14
Time: 19:16 (no duration and images on photos are not clear at all and provide no obvious times)
Stopping on roadway where stopping is prohibited

i heard today that my company has returned the form with my details as driver. I expect to receive in the next days/weeks a followup PCN from VCS where i am confirmed as the driver

what impact to any appeal rights do i have ?

interestingly the last paragraph includes "if you are the vehicle keeper and have not received this notice by the 14th day after the contravention date, our rights under POFA 2012 no longer apply"

obviously this is the case - closer to 3 weeks after the date. but as the named driver do i still have grounds to appeal ?

the car was stopped for ~ 1-2mins... sat nav....
first, and now possibly last time i've used the airport....

I want to appeal but if chances are impacted as VCS have me as the named driver - am i better off paying the lower fine... ?

thanks
Richard

Jim_AFCB

Whether you have been named or not won't impact on your ability to appeal, get a POPLA code, appeal to them and win.

See the Newbie threads at the top, and do a search for VCS and Doncaster for previous cases.

Stroma

Just wait for the letter to arrive then appeal using the wording in coupon's sticky thread, just change registered keeper to just 'keeper' then send it via the post office with a free proof of postage, and electronically if possible.

Fatrich172

Thanks very much!!
I will await their letter

Fatrich172

hello - can you advise if this is good wording for the "soft appeal" to VCS. bearing in mind my company has already advised VCS that i was driving the car at the time?


Dear VCS,

In reference to the invoice VC0xxxxx dated 17/06/2014, the keeper denies all liability to your company as it is an unlawful punitive charge, thus a penalty. The amount of the charge is disproportionate to the loss incurred by yourselves and is therefore punitive, contravening the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997. I also consider the PCN to be a penalty because you have alleged a breach of terms and conditions and yet have not quantified their alleged loss, as such you should now cancel the charge.

If you reject this challenge the keeper requires a POPLA verification code for them to appeal independently.

Any postal correspondence should be sent to the address you sent the parking charge notice
yours Faithfully

xxxx xxxxx

Redx

I would use the template letter in the NEWBIES sticky thread myself, as is

Fatrich172

thanks for swift response.
do you mean this one?


Dear xxx,

PCN number xxxxx

I have received yourparking charge notice dated xxxx for an alleged offence on the xxxxx.I decline your invitation to pay or name the driver, neither of which arerequired of me as the keeper of the vehicle. This is my appeal and allliability to your company is denied on the following basis:



A) The amount is neither a genuine tariff/fee for parking,nor is it based upon any genuine pre-estimate of loss to your company or thelandowner.

You are not thelandowner and do not have the standing to offer contracts to drivers nor tobring a claim in your own right.

C) Your signage wasnot sufficiently prominent nor clearly worded and consideration did not flowfrom both parties, so there was no contract formed. This is a non-negotiatedand totally unexpected third party 'charge' foisted upon legitimate motoristswho are not your customers and are not parties of equal bargaining power.Therefore ALL terms are required to be so prominent and the risk of a charge sotransparent that the information in its entirety must have been seen/acceptedby the driver. No reasonable person would have accepted such onerous parkingterms and I contend the extortionate charge was not 'drawn to his attention inthe most explicit way' (Lord Denning, Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1971] 2QB 163, Court of Appeal): 'The customer is bound by those terms as long as theyare sufficiently brought to his notice beforehand, but not otherwise. In{ticket cases of former times} the issue...was regarded as an offer by thecompany. That theory was, of course, a fiction. No customer in a thousand everread the conditions. In order to give sufficient notice, it would need to beprinted in red ink with a red hand pointing to it - or something equallystartling.'

As you have failed tocreate any enforceable contract I suggest that you cancel this unjustified'ticket'. If not, under your Trade Body's current Code of Practice you mustissue a rejection letter which, in order to answer my appeal, must include:

1. The legal basis ofyour charge, which is not clear (i.e. breach, trespass or contractual fee?). Askeeper, I cannot be expected to guess the basis of your allegation.

(i) if allegingbreach of contract, please supply a breakdown of your alleged 'loss' and statethe intention of your enforcement (i.e. deterrent or revenue?).

(ii) if allegingtrespass, enclose evidence of the perpetrator, proof of the liquidated damagesalleged and the calculation of this sum by the landholder.

(iii) if alleging'contractual fee' I request a VAT invoice by return and your explanation of howyou can allow drivers to park 'in breach' for a fee when your client originallycontracted you in order to disallow and deter - not allow and profit from -unauthorised parking. I contend this charge is merely a penalty which is not recoverablein contract law (as found by Mr Recorder Gibson QC in the case of CivilEnforcement v McCafferty 3YK50188 (AP476) 21/2/2014 Appeal). Should you try to rely upon ParkingEye vBeavis & Wardley at independent appeal stage, I will of course point outthat it was a flawed decision at small claim level so is not binding, and MrBeavis is continuing his defence to the Court of Appeal. There is clearly nocommercial justification for this punitive charge and no case law to supportit.



2. Proof of your locus standi to offer contracts to driversat this site and to bring a claim in your own right for this particularcontravention. If you are not the landowner, I will need to see a copy of yourcontract, showing the restrictions, the charges, the dates and terms ofbusiness including any payments between yourself and your client and thedefinition of your status as agents or contractors and your assigned rights (ifany). Such detail is necessary for me to make an informed decision. Failure todivulge your landowner contract (or heavily redacting it) will be deemed aswithholding pertinent information and, of course, I will require it to be shownat independent appeal stage anyway. A witness statement will not suffice, nor asite agreement with a managing agent or other party who is not the landowner.



3. Your explanation of the consideration that you believeflowed from the driver, and from yourselves. Consideration from both sides isrequired for a contract.



4. A copy of the signage site map and close-up pictures ofthe signs in situ at the time, taken at a comparable time of day in similarlight conditions.



5. The means to make an appeal to POPLA or the IAS. Thismust not be withheld or delayed, which would be a breach of the Code ofPractice.



If you fail to simplycancel the charge or supply the means to independent appeal in your first replyyou will also be reported to your applicable ATA and the DVLA. A certificate ofposting will be obtained for all written communications for this appeal and complaintand I intend to claim my costs when I prevail.



Yours,

Redx

yes, thats the one

Fatrich172

great, thanks.
just fired the email off now !!

Fatrich172

so the automated response from VCS was as below....
do i need to do anything else? it asks for address details of the driver/hirer/keeper - to my mind the first paragraph of the template states that i am confirming that i was the keeper and, as a letter, i have included my address in the header.... so nothing further needed....??






This is an automated response notification regarding your appeal/challengeto a Parking 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/challengewithout it:

1) ThePARKING NOTICE SERIAL NUMBER This can be found in the top right hand corner of the Notice and will be prefixed, SERIAL No. VC/____________.

2) AFULL POSTAL ADDRESS that we can correspond with, as all decisions are conveyed in a letter to the motorist.

3) TheFULL 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 Vehicle Control Services Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for any increase in the NOTICE CHARGEshould 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 NOTICEare 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.It may take up to 35 days from the receipt of your appeal for us to notify you of our decision or to inform you what further information/action we require. Should we require longer than this we will write to inform you of this in the 35 day period along with a date/timeframe by which we expect to confirm our decision.

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 youin the 35 day period specified above.

IMPORTANT: If you have already received a response from us informing you that you appeal had been unsuccessful, we will NOT respond to any further correspondence from you. Our letter would have informed you that our decision was final. As such, please disregard the information/requests referred to in the previous paragraphs of this email.

ColliesCarer

That's just their automated acknowledgement and as it sounds like you have provided all the information they state they require then you don't need to do anything else except await their decision.

In the meantime have a read of the NEWBIES thread post #3 and follow the link for How to Win at POPLA for example second stage appeals.

Also you can use Search This Forum to find VCS example at Robin Hood Airport.