IAS Appeal Dismissed - What do I do now?

flintlok

Hi All,

I have recently been fighting a ticket from PCM which was issued end of January this year.

Just so you know the back story, I was visiting a friend where parking is very difficult in the evening. So i turned into a street and parked there thinking it was just a normal residential road. Upon returning to my vehicle i found a ticket for parking on a private road and there was the tiniest of signs on the corner of where i turned in which no one would notice when paying attention to the road.
I appealed to IAS without success. As I have seen from previous posts you need to appeal with facts rather than stories.

I based my appeal on the fact the sign was poorly positioned (too high to be noticeable) and under a street lamp where the contrast of lighting makes the sign barely legible at night (which is the time that i parked).

I even referred to their code of practice to prove the sign fails to comply with most of the basic standards.

Here is my appeal that i supported with photos:

"Appeal regarding Parking Charge Notice number: XXXXXXXXX

To whom it may concern:I am the registered keeper of vehicle XXXX XXX

I am in receipt of a parking ticket) from Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd (PCM) with the above reference number XXXXXXXXX

I have responded to this notice and PCM have ‘denied my appeal’ on 24th February 2015 and informed me to contact the IPC.

I therefore would like appeal this notice on the following points:

Site Signage not compliant with Schedule 1 of the IPC Code of Practice (COP):

• Site signage not compliant with IPC required standard wording in Schedule 1 of the COP; none of the phrases from Group A are present on the sign when a minimum of one is required. This is proven in photographic evidence on Image 1.

• Site signage not compliant with IPC required standard wording in Schedule 1 of the COP; Group A text is required to be before Group B text. As the text “This site is PRIVATE LAND...” includes the phrase “PRIVATE LAND” this is considered to be Group B text. This is proven in photographic evidence on Image 1.

• Site Signage and position not compliant with the ‘Text Size’ requirement of Schedule 1; Group A text should be a minimum of 60mm high as the situation matches “Parking area entered immediately after leaving a 30 mph road” and the Anticipated Approach Speed (mph) is 15-24. The sign is not compliant asproven in photographic evidence on Image 2. The text is only 20mm high.

• Site Signage not compliant with the ‘Text Size’ requirement of Schedule 1; no part of the sign which contains relevant text should be over 6’, or under 12”, from ground level.This sign and all of it’s text is over 6’ from ground level.The sign is not compliant as proven in photographic evidence on Image 3.

• The sign fails to comply with the ‘Contrast and Illumination’ section of Schedule 1; specifically it is inadequately lit (in fact, not lit at all at times as the street light above is faulty) and not made of retro reflective material. The sign is not compliant as proven in photographic evidence on Image 4.

• Site signage not compliant with IPC point (1) of the ‘Other Signage ’section of Schedule 1; specifically it fails use the required language to identify PCM as ‘the creditor’"

The dismissal i got from IAS was laughable, basically they don't even follow their own code of practice and said "i don't care, pay the fine"

Here is the reply:

"The Appellant challenges the parking charge on the basis the signs at the location breached various aspects of the code of practice.

The code of practice is an example of best practice. Even if I were to find that the Operator had breached one or more of the requirements under the code this does not mean that the parking charge is not enforceable. In this appeal, I must simply be satisfied that the Operator provided sufficient notice, and this can be done without complying with the code.

Having seen the photographic evidence provided by both parties I am satisfied there were numerous signs throughout the location which were visible to drivers. I would expect any driver on parking and seeing a sign to consider its contents. The evidence is also clear that the content of the signs can be read at night time. Had the Appellant done so they would have realised that they were entering a contract and would be bound by its terms. Consequently, the appeal is dismissed."

So what do i do now? I've seen elsewhere to not pay at all no matter what and if it goes to court (in that rare case) then fight all the way.

What shall i do?

Thanks in advance!

Dan

I'm now putting updates on my OP so its all together to make it easier for others to follow my progress so here they are.

UPDATE** 24/03/2015
so i've now quickly received a letter in the post from PCM say that because my appeal was dismissed they require payment within X amount of days otherwise they will involve debt collectors and/or court action.
I have ignored this as advised.

*UPDATE* 24/04/2015

So I have now received a letter from a debt collection company requesting payment for a now higher bill of £160. If I don't then the letter states they will advise "their client" to take court action.

UPDATE

I have a new letter from the debt collector saying if I don't pay by 8th April they will tell the parking agency to take it to court... Starting to worry now...

Herzlos

The IAS is a kangaroo court and the rejection just makes them look worse.

Ignore everything you get from them unless you get actual court paperwork.

Do not pay.

salmosalaris

Your choice , pay it or ignore and see if they issue court papers .
I know what I'd do but in the event of a claim your defence needs improving

Coupon-mad

Ignore it, just keep all the letters. You are only in the same position people were in before 2012 when we all ignored fake PCNs.

IAS decisions...what can I say...hmmm...I won't comment but others will. PCM are not litigious and your case is as sound as it ever was.

flintlok

Thanks all, i'll be sure to keep all correspondence and i think i'll ignore it unless i get anything court related which by the sound of previous experiences is very unlikely. fingers crossed!

The_Deep

I would treasure that "Independent Adjudication", If they were daft enough to take you to court you could show it to a judge and ask the anonymous adjudicator be called to explain his/herself.

I think that you have nothing to fear going forward, (how I hate that phrase).

flintlok

UPDATE** so i've now quickly received a letter in the post from PCM say that because my appeal was dismissed they require payment within X amount of days otherwise they will involve debt collectors and/or court action.

Do i still ignore this?

Thanks!

Nodding_Donkey

Of course you do.

Marktheshark

Expect Gladstone Solicitors to be in contact as they are owned by the same bunch that did your appeal.
They appear to run a one stop shop here, regulation of members, appeals, debt collecting, solicitors and suing people.
Appealing to them appears to put people in to their system for more treatment.

Like it or not the ignore advice is going to have to come back out with any IAS member.

The_Deep

You could suggest to them that the only way that they will ever get a penny of your money is to make a claim, turn up at court, and convince a judge that their claim has merit.

Warn them however that, if they do take you to court and lose, you will be lodging a counter claim citing the "Independent" adjudication as an example of Red Cow Gang abuse of court procedure.

Paperbird

Or you could write to the IPC and ask if they expect companies to comply with their code of practice or could they confirm is it just an example of best practice as the IAC say it is.