MPs Call For Curbs on PPCs in Parliament

The_Deep

esmerobbo wrote: »

Freddy may say "Berkshire Hunt" is right.

Indeed, the only use for a horse is on a plate, with pommes frites and a bottle of vin rouge.

Hot_Bring

Not_Scammed wrote: »

HB,

I'd like to do the same here, can you list the link and evidence please.

Thanks

Below is the text from my email to each candidate standing in Hove. Seperately I sent a document with links to articles and threads about DVLA and who they sell data to. Yes, the email is not perfect and I'm sure many will pcik holes in it's content but it's a start. Feel free to use as is or !!!!!!!ise as you see fit.



Good Afternoon,

As a Brighton and Hove resident, voter and active campaigner against the unfair, unregulated and often extortionate parking invoices many private parking companies send out, I would be interested in your stance and views regards this matter.

I strongly believe that the practice of a private parking company being able to effectively issue a ‘penalty’ ( I use the word for clarity despite it not being legal under contract law for a private company to issue a penalty to an individual ) is immoral and utterly wrong. I have assisted many dozens of people, many scared and worried, with getting these type of invoices cancelled but it shouldn’t be necessary – there should be legislation to prevent this bullying. I don’t mind if that means new legislation or an alteration of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 but the problem should be resolved. What should happen though is that people should stop being dragged before courts and given CCJs for a minor parking ‘infraction’.

I draw your attention to a debate in the HoP yesterday - http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2015-03-16a.610.0&s=DVLA#g618.1

Should you wish to evidence the despair and pain this matter causes many people then please take a few minutes to read some threads on this website - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

For transparency – I am the poster ‘Hot Bring’ on the said website should you bump into any of my posts.

It is utterly repugnant that DVLA should be allowed to sell registered keeper information at all, let alone to private companies of questionable standing and that don’t have real cause to have the data.

I would be interested in your views on this matter and what you plan to do about it if I were to vote for you in the up and coming election.

Hot_Bring

And I now have a response from the Conservative candidate ( although his answer leaves something to be desired ) :

Thanks for your email.

Prior to becoming a councillor and parliamentary candidate I served for 30 years with Sussex Police, as a detective in Brighton and Hove and as Superintendent in charge of Hove (and Shoreham as it then was).

I dealt with a number of cases involving clamping on private land which was undoubtedly extortion on occasions – and the worst ‘companies ‘ were involved with organised crime.

I am pleased the clamping has been outlawed but remain concerned with some of the practices still used in terms of ‘tickets’ being issued. <name removed>, my wife, is a district nurse in Hove and recently received such a ticket when visiting a patient. She did what many people do and shrugged her shoulders and paid up but it did seem unfair.

I agree therefore there is a case for better regulation with controls on penalties and a proper appeal system. The owners of the land do need to be able to deal with abuse of parking (disabled spaces, residents spaces in flats, spaces at supermarkets for parents with young children etc.) on private land. I certainly do not think this is something which should be passed to the Police who have more than enough to do.

I am not entirely comfortable with the DVLA charging for registered keeper details – but I suppose the company enforcing the parking matter has to have some way of enabling a properly regulated and responsible company to follow up where a car is, for example, parked in a disabled bay at a block of flats or doctors surgery. The only workable alternative would be to return to clamping, and I would not want that to happen.

Thanks for drawing your campaign to my attention. I will do what I can if elected to end the abuse you highlight.

The_Deep

Not a bad reply and, if he gets elected, and gets letters of complaint from vulnerable constituents, he will no doubt become more familiar with the problem.

No doubt, as a policeman, it was drummed into him that the police must not get involved in Civil matters, but in many cases, the practices of PPCS venture into realms of harassment and extortion, in many cases consumer protection laws are being breached.

I would say that he is one of the good guys, he just needs to be educated a little more.

Marktheshark

This is an opportunity that has been under estimated .
Provide some provable cases of these parking firms under hand tactics with some victim testimonials of how they were treated and send them to the MP's mail boxes.

salmosalaris

Presumably good car park management will involve analysis of the site and its problems and the PPC solution then tailored to alleviate such .
The necessity to issue "penalties" ( let's call them what they are) should surely only be a last resort after other options have been considered and dismissed for good reason otherwise how has "commercial justification" been established ?
Strange then for example how PE seem to be taking over hospital car parks with their "one solution fits all " ANPR system that does nothing to prevent motorists who are not using the facility abusing it for the permitted parking time .

Oops wrong thread !

bargepole

Hot_Bring wrote: »

... Thanks for drawing your campaign to my attention. I will do what I can if elected to end the abuse you highlight.

Translation: I will write a letter to the new Secretary of State for Transport.


And he will reply, trotting out the standard DVLA mantra about ATAs, the AOS scheme, Codes of Practice, reasonable cause and the need for landowners to protect their land.

Hot_Bring

OK, below the responce from the Lib Dem candidate. He doesn't stand a chance of being elected in Hove but the telling part for me was he was unaware of POFA ( even the Conservative candidate must have been unaware otherwise why would of his wife just paid ? ). I don't blame him, I wouldn't expect a prospective MP or even a sitting MP to know about every act ever passed. I would urge everyone to contact all their candidates to see their views - if nothing else it spreads the message.

"Thank you for your email. I had a look at the debate you mentioned about private cark park monitoring companies and their charges. It seems clear to me that these companies have been allowed to grow and that most people know someone who has suffered at their hands. I must admit that I was unaware of the details of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 so thank you for drawing that to my attention. I can see that it was a robust attempt to regulate this practice but I can also see you think that regulation should be tightened still further. I understand that you object to the details of an owner of a vehicle being given by the DVLA to these companies (only when they are registered) but what alternative do you suggest? I can undertake, if elected as your MP to pursue any individual cases that you may want to present of any constituents who have been unfairly treated and I will certainly come to you for advice should an opportunity arise to amend legislation in the future. Many thanks again for your email."

Captain_Leaky

"........but what alternative do you suggest? " Well one thing would be to cap the maximum charge a PPC could levy, why not limit it by law to say, £25. Another would be to deny planning permission for any retail park development which does not offer unlimited free parking at all times. I would argue that the land is not 'private' in the conventional sense. It simply isn't at all like someone parking on your driveway outside your house is it? After all, a retail park relies upon members of the public to come into it's stores and therefore 'invites' them to park.

Hot_Bring

And now from UKIP, just Labour and Greens to go :

"I totally agree with your comments something needs to be done and get rid of these Cowboys . I can’t believe this has been going on for so long.
Being a victim myself of this practice, not only were my details given out by the DVLA, it was the wrong registration, wrong car, I was never even there.
I got there in the end however very time consuming and frustrating.

UKIP will lobby hard to bring change.

Keep up your good work in helping others who can’t cope with all this till we change it."