RAC: Millions in private parking fines 'charged illegally'

trisontana

This from the BPA website:-

Private land is well managed and motorists see the benefits

20 February 2015





It is worth reiterating that there are around 34 million vehicles on Britain’s roads. This is placing increasingly heavy demands on all parking facilities and the problem is only set to get worse. As more cars are purchased, the argument for well managed roads and parking facilities gets even stronger.
The BPA is extremely proud that it has introduced effective self-regulation given the government’s resolute refusal to provide for proper regulation.
It’s very easy to avoid parking enforcement: don’t park where you shouldn’t and pay when you should, and it's important to remember that the vast majority of motorists never receive a parking ticket. Additionally when things go wrong there is the opportunity for motorists to appeal to an independent adjudicator, POPLA, if the parking operator is a member of the BPA’s Approved Operator Scheme.
Since POPLA’s launch by the BPA on October 1st 2012 over 57,500 appeals have been submitted. There has not been one instance where an operator has refused to accept a POPLA decision. The 57,500 appeals heard at POPLA equates to around 1% of tickets issued. This is broadly in line with the proportion of appeals received by both Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT). Of those appeals, 49% are won by the motorist and 51% by the operator.
The BPA’s Code of Practice for Parking on Private Land was developed in partnership with consumer and motoring organisations, including the RAC Foundation and has a robust audit and Scheme of Sanctions to ensure its members comply, thus ensuring motorists are treated more fairly than ever before.
Patrick Troy, BPA CEO said: “We know that a major concern of motorists is the level of charge made by operators when drivers overstay or park without paying. The genuine pre-estimate of loss argument has been a bone of contention for many years and so we look forward to the Court of Appeal reaching a decision.
“BPA approved operators are working with current law as they understand it and POPLA exists to address instances of perceived unfairness. POPLA offers motorists a simple, free appeals service for parking tickets issued on private land, something that has already changed the way in which people can seek redress.”


I would wish the BPA would make their mind up. Is the question of GPEOL still current. I thought that GPEOL had been dropped from their lalkets COP?And, I thought that the Beavis case was about "commercial justification" and nothing to do with GPEOL.

marleyboy

TrickyWicky wrote: »

My thoughts?: I hope they get their balls nailed to the floor. PPCs are scum.

I'm thinking they are being repeatedly stamped on at this very moment.

Mike172

I hope Trevor is having a bad day

tykesi

I bet there are some amusing meetings going on in BPA towers today!

Fergie76

Michael Green from Challenge the Fine on Sky News right now.

Umkomaas

Mike172 wrote: »

I hope Trevor is having a bad day

I doubt he has any clue about what's going on. He won't let any of this guff interfere with his getting to know personally all the car parks he infests!

StaffsSW

Umkomaas wrote: »

I doubt he has any clue about what's going on. He won't let any of this guff interfere with his getting to know personally all the car parks he infests!

No no no no... It's N Martin that personally knows all the sites, not Trev. And don't go confusing the pair of Pats who are not aware of each other.

bazster

Umkomaas wrote: »

I doubt he has any clue about what's going on. He won't let any of this guff interfere with his getting to know personally all the car parks he infests!

But that ain't Trev personally, that's N. Martin. Do try to keep up!

Interestingly the DVLA hauled them over the coals in a recent audit because of them screwing up POFA so consistently.

Their response? That they don't use contract law any more, they pursue claims for trespass. Apparently DVLA was happy with this. Presumably their audit procedure (if there is one, DVLA doesn't seem to have written procedures for anything else) simply states "raise a query and obtain an answer".

bazster

StaffsSW wrote: »

No no no no... It's N Martin that personally knows all the sites, not Trev. And don't go confusing the pair of Pats who are not aware of each other.

Is anyone keeping track of the Hargreaves clan? Have they reached an entire alphabet of Hargreaves' yet?

ManxRed

I genuinely believe that Patrick Pantsonfire is so deluded that he probably thinks that the BPA is coming out of all this looking very good indeed.