These DRP letters are making me very unpopla!

Unpopla

Sorry, I know; you are sick of reading these....

My partner received a PCN from APCOA at Birmingham airport (BA01 – failing to park in a designated parking area) back in May.
After reading through your newb thread (and some of the associated ones), I replied within the allotted time using the following template;


[FONT=&quot]Dear APCOA Parking, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]PCN number BIA101xxxx[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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).

Take formal note:

(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, [/FONT]

......

After a nice summer of no contact (middle of May – middle of October), we have finally received a response – in the form of 2 letters from DRP, in the space of 15 days. (Can they skip the appeal process like this?).

The 2nd letter is a Notice of intended court action. And there is a bold statement saying ‘A Court Judgement against you could seriously affect your ability to obtain credit in the future’. This has successfully driven my partner to the point of wanting to submit & pay the amount.


Please can I get some assurance & guidance on the best way to move forward? I know the writing is on the wall – I just want to make sure I’m reading it right.

Fruitcake

First of all, you can safely ignore anything and everything you get from debt collectors such as DRP. The only thing they have the power to do is provide you with an alternative source of bog paper or firelighters. They have absolutely no power to do anything.

The regulars will be along with further advice but do not let let your partner pay these scammers under any circumstances.

Send him/her here for reassurance if necessary.

APCOA are members of the BPA according to the BPA website, so a broadside to PoPLA, DVLA, and the BPA are in order because they must respond to your first appeal with either a cancellation or a PoPLA code. They must not under any circumstances bring in debt collectors whilst the appeals process is running.

Have another read of the NEWBIES for further info about this sharp practice.

Coupon-mad

Wow APCOA keep doing this! Complain to he BPA as per the email given in post #6 of the NEWBIES sticky.