VCS Parking 'Fine' on Private Land

MrsHop

So the notice to keeper arrived this morning and I have prepared my challenge letter. Can you please let me have your thoughts....


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Without prejudice, except as to costs Parking Charge Notice -!Notice to Keeper!VC03462088
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This letter is a!formal challenge!to the issue of yourParking Charge Notice -!Notice to Keeper as set out in the!current!BPA!Ltd!AOS Code of Practice B.22
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On!*******!I was the registered keeper of vehicle registration number!*******.
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Before I decide how to deal with your!Parking Charge Notice -!Notice to Keeper, I should be grateful if you would first answer all the questions and deal with all the issues I have set out below. Once you have done so, I will be able to make an informed decision on how I deal with the matter.
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I should be grateful for!specific!answers to all questions raised. In this respect I remind you of the obligations set out in the current Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct.I dispute!your claim!for the reasons set out below. Please note that although I dispute the whole basis of the parking charge, my main concern is its disproportionate and punitive level.

1. Your parking charge amount claim.
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Please explain!on which of the following grounds your claim is based:
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(i)!​Damages for trespass
(ii)!​Damages for breach of contract
(iii)​!A contractual sum

2. Your loss.
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If it is your case that a trespass was committed or that a contract was breached such that your claim is one for damages;!please give me a full breakdown of the actual losses!which evidences that this parking charge is a true reflection of the damages caused solely by the alleged parking contravention.
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3. Your status – the creditor.
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Your!Parking Charge Notice -!Notice to Keeper simply mentions Vehicle Control Services Ltd. Please tell me who is the actual creditor making this £100!parking charge demand. I need to know exactly who is making the claim and in what capacity.
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4. Ownership of premises.
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Please tell me who owns the car park as I wish to send them a copy of this letter.

5. Contractual Authority (as required by!BPA Ltd AOS CoP B.7)
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Please provide me with a copy of the contract between your company and the landowner/landholder that provides the necessary contractual written authority for the issue and enforcement of your Parking Charge Notice - Notice to!Keeper.
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6. Signage.
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If it is your case that a contract has been breached or that a contractual sum is now due, please send me photographs of the signs that you display and upon which you seek to evidence that a lawful and legally enforceable contract was been entered into. Please ensure that the photographs show the terms and conditions in a clear and legible manner. Please provide me with a diagram showing the locations and layout of those signs at the car park.!Also provide evidence that the wording is in plain and intelligible language and in sufficiently large print as to be legible to a driver at the car park’s entry point.

7. Local Council Planning Issues and Liability for Car Park Maintenance
Newcastle City Council have advised that there is currently an Enforcement Order in Place Notice Reference RD/PPD6402 refers.
This is in relation to Plot of Land at 12 Quayside, NEWCASTLE upon Tyne (Land . Newcastle City Council state that there is currently no planning permission in place to allow use of this plot as a car park and that by reason of design, the layout of the land is detrimental to highway safety and fails to promote a safe, secure and convenient car park to the detriment of the local environment.

It is my understanding that to be part of the British Parking Association there are rules, regulations and Codes of Practice that its members must be comply with.

As such can you please confirm that The British Parking Association are aware that there is currently NO Planning Permission in place for this plot of land to be used as a car park and subsequently confirm that there has been no intentional abuse/misuse of DVLA information and therefore a significant failure to abide by the terms of the BPA codes of professional Conduct.

8. Summary
I look forward to receiving your acknowledgement within 14 days and as there are no ‘exceptional circumstances’ your!comprehensive reply within 35 days (in accordance with the BPA AOS Code of Practice B.22.8). I will then be able to make an informed decision as to how I deal with your Parking Charge Notice – Notice to Keeper.
If you reject this challenge or fail to address the issues that have been raised then,!in accordance with the BPA AOS Code of Practice 22.12, please ensure that you enclose all the required information (including the necessary ‘POPLA code’) so that I may immediately refer the matter for their decision.

If you fail to follow any of the procedures outlined in the BPA AOS Code of Practice or your legal requirements under the Protection of Freedoms Act, or the requirements of the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct then I will make a formal complaint to the DVLA Data Sharing Policy Group, D16.

Please Note: Unless you have specifically requested it and received my express permission, you do not have my authority to disclose or refer this letter or any other communication from me to any other person or organisation.

Best regards
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Umkomaas

NO, NO, NO.

This is an old appeal from Parking Cowboys! Do you understand what this means?

Without prejudice, except as to costs

The PPC won't feel compelled to respond to a series of questions with an accept/decline. You'll be left in no man's land.

For an initial appeal, please use the template in the NEWBIES sticky, post #1.

MrsHop

This one?


I refer to the above notice which I challenge, not as driver but as keeper of the car, on the following grounds:

a). The sum sought does not represent a genuine pre-estimate of any loss and yet it is intended as a deterrent, so the charge is a penalty.
b). The signage on site is deficient, the wording unclear and it fails to comply with the Code of Practice.
c). In the absence of any evidence it is my case that you lack any or sufficient proprietary interest in the land.
d). Your notice was deficient and fails to comply with Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

This is my formal representation. There will be no admissions as to who was driving that day and no assumptions should be drawn in the absence of evidence. I have decided to appeal this as keeper and as such, you must either rely on the POFA 2012 or you must cancel the charge if you know you cannot claim keeper liability in this case. Please uphold this challenge or send a rejection letter, so I can escalate this matter to the independent appeal service offered by your Trade Body.

Umkomaas

That's the baby!

You almost certainly won't get a cancellation, what you want is a POPLA code where you can win with our help.