Athena ANPR - Appealed then they reduced to £20 - need help

Jerryman1

Hi I'm a newbie and would really appreciate some answers/helps.

I received a PCN for parking at Lidl 15 minutes longer than the limit.
Athena ANPR sent me a PCN.
I Wrote back to them with a copy of my receipt using an Athena Template.

Today I received another letter from them saying they would like me to pay £20 for them to stop hassling me. No POPLA code or anything like this have been given. There is a phone number on the letter I can call. I certainly don't want to pay them.

What's the next stage? Should I just call them and shout 'stop bothering me', or should I send a letter but I'm not sure to who?

There seems to be a lot of information on the forum I searched for a while but didn't find answers for this situation. Any advice or pointing me to the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

bod1467

A typical stalling tactic. Just reply to them (email or letter - DO NOT PHONE THEM) demanding either cancellation of the PCN or provide a POPLA code. ANY other response will be deemed harassment.

And oh, by the way, they'll be reported to the BPA for their flagrant breach of the BPA code of practice ... that tactic has been specifically mentioned by the BPA in their newsletter as not being allowed. (And do it - report them. Details are all in the NEWBIES sticky thread).

Umkomaas

NEVER EVER phone a PPC (or debt collector for that matter), you just will not 'win', so don't waste any time on that front.

The template has clearly got Athena jittery and I think they're trying to squeeze a bit of cash from you as a last throw of their dice.

Their position is quite clear from the BPA Code of Practice, and they were reminded of this recently by the BPA (supported by the DVLA):

“the following practices may be considered as Code breaches and must not be continued:
• Asking the motorist to enter into additional correspondence to obtain a POPLA code
• Failing to include a correct and/or valid POPLA Code within the Rejection correspondence
• Issuing a POPLA Code with a date identifier which is significantly different from the date of rejection
• Appearing to indicate that the issue of a POPLA Code is conditional on driver details being supplied “

So either cancel or reject AND supply POPLA code.

They know if they supply you with a POPLA code you will have forum assistance, know they will lose and know it will cost them £27.

It's your choice, obviously. You could stump up (and later feel you've been fleeced) and get rid of it, or write back saying cancel, or reject with POPLA code, upon receipt of which you will find a number of winning POPLA appeal templates for copying and pasting with a slight tweak for your individual circumstances.

ColliesCarer

Hi Jerryman,

Write back to Athena demanding they either cancel the charge or reject your appeal and supply a POPLA code. In addition send a complaint to the BPA with copies of all correspondence to/from the PPC.

Also you could complain to Lidl - a number of posters have been successful in getting the charge cancelled by emailing the CEO.

Contact details for Lidl will be found by following the link to successful complaints in post #6 of the NEWBIES sticky thread - 1st thread on 1st page of forum - it also has details for BPA.

Also - just a bit confused by what you mean by
"I Wrote back to them with a copy of my receipt using an Athena Template"

What did you send Athena for your appeal to them?

Jerryman1

Thank you all for the help.

Collies, below is what I wrote to anpr. There's also an email address on their letter to me, so I presume I can stop posting them and just send emails which will be effectively the same?



As the registered keeper, I have received your parking invoice which of course, I decline your invitation to pay. I wish to invoke your appeals process, since all liability to your company is denied on the following basis:

1) The amount being claimed is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss to your company or the landowner
2) Your signage does not comply with your ATA Code of Practice and was not sufficiently prominent to create any contract
3) You are not the landowner and do not have the standing to offer contracts nor to bring a claim for trespass

Please issue your standard cancellation letter or a specific, detailed rejection letter. If you choose to send the latter, it must state:

- the legal basis of your charge (i.e. breach, trespass or contractual fee?) as your signage was not seen/accepted by the driver and your recent Notice failed to make the basis of the charge clear. As keeper, I cannot be expected to guess the nature of the allegation.

- if alleging breach of contract, with your rejection letter I require a breakdown of the liquidated damages suffered, and by whom, and when this calculation was determined and how this particular 'loss' arose. Please also explain how/why you charge a fixed sum no matter whether the alleged contravention was trivial or more serious and how that can amount to a genuine pre-estimate of loss.

- if alleging trespass please enclose evidence of the perpetrator and proof of the liquidated damages alleged and the calculation of this sum.

- if alleging 'contractual fee' I require that you now send me a VAT invoice by return and explain the daily rate for parking and service provided for the fee. Failure to provide this information and a VAT invoice now that I have requested it, will be considered evidence that this was not in fact a genuine offer to park for a fee and is merely a penalty which is not recoverable in contract law (as found by Mr Recorder Gibson QC, on appeal at Luton County Court in the case of Civil Enforcement v McCafferty 3YK50188 (AP476) 21/2/2014).


[FONT=&quot]Take formal note:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

(a) Your unsupported, unsolicited invoice and any further letters if you persist, will constitute harassment. If you continue, your contact and that of any agent will be deemed a 'serious and persistent unwarranted threat' as found by Lord Justice Sedley in Ferguson v British Gas Trading Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 46 (10 February 2009) and I reserve the right to take the matter further. You have been informed that I consider this to be harassment so any decision to send further letters rather than cancel the invoice will reinforce the evidence of your persistent unwarranted threat and you may be required to justify your actions in court.

(b) Any obfuscation on your part, such as pretending I have to name the driver, alleging I am too late or unable to appeal as keeper or requiring more evidence when clearly I have already set out my full challenge for this stage, will be reported to the DVLA and to your respective ATA, as a sanctionable breach of your Code of Practice.

(c) If you reject my challenge and insist upon taking the matter further I must inform you that I may claim my costs from you and my time at the court rate of £18 per hour. The expenses I may claim are not exhaustive but may include the cost of stamps, envelopes, travel expenses and legal fees as well as liquidated damages for distress arising from harassment.

By continuing to pursue me you hereby accept liability to pay my costs when I prevail and you acknowledge and imply full understanding of the above.

Yours,

xxx[/FONT]

ColliesCarer

Ok thanks - that appeal template letter was fine. Your wording just made me wonder whether you had sent an Athena POPLA appeal to them as your 1st appeal.

Re: your response - my own personal preference would be a letter addressed to whoever had sent the £20 begging letter - with free cert of posting obtained. I just think letters are that bit more formal when dealing with correspondence such as this.

It also avoids them playing silly b****rs which the forum have seen other PPC's do by refusing to acknowledge that the emailer and the keeper are one and the same person and asking for the emailer to provide proof.

So if you decide to email - set up a throw away account to use just for communicating about this PCN - you don't want this lot spamming you on your normal one. I would also suggest scanning the begging letter and attach it.
You could also use the alternate email addy to do your complaints to the BPA and Lidl.