Excel Parking (Peel Centre Stockport) - IAS stage!

sportmonday

Hi

I received a PCN from Excel Parking (Peel Centre Stockport) in February 2015. I followed the instructions contained within the newbie sticky and appealed using the format provided. As expected it's been denied and so we move onto the IAS appeals stage.
Can anyone offer any advise on how to proceed? I understand that I'll need to draft a letter but am a little unsure of how to it should look. It seems a little pointless as I know it will be rejected anyway!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

NB. 'the driver' of my vehicle did not purchase a ticket when visiting this site. Assumptions were made that it was a free car park on a retail estate.

I can't post an image of the actual PCN as I'm a new user but here is the content of the rejection letter:

Dear Mr xxxx

Notice Serial No:
Vehicle Registration Mark:
Date & Time of Issue: 07 Feb 2015 at 19:47


We refer to your appeal against the above Parking Charge Notice, which was received on the 22nd
February 2015.

Please note that we are proceeding on the reasonable assumption that you were the driver of the vehicle on the date in question unless you are able to prove the contrary.

The Peel Centre Car Park in Stockport is a pay on entry Pay & Display car park. The Terms and Conditions of the Car Park require for a valid Pay & Display (P&D) Ticket to be purchased after entering the car park, detailing the full vehicle registration mark (VRM) i.e. xxxxxx. Management of this site is conducted via
ANPR cameras that take photographs of vehicles entering and exiting the car park and work in conjunction with the Pay and Display machines in situ.

On the 7th February 2015 you did not comply with the Terms and Conditions of parking by failing to purchase a valid P&D ticket. We can confirm that we have checked our records and are unable to locate any ticket purchased that either matches or resembles your VRM xxxxxx.
Purchase instructions are in place, providing all users of the car park with a step by step guide on how to obtain a valid ticket and there is a Helpline telephone number situated on the bottom of our signs. By making a telephone call on the number provided you can inform us of any problems while within the site, and most probably prevent a Parking Charge Notice being issued to yourself.

By failing to purchase a valid Pay & Display ticket, you were in breach of the Terms & Conditions of parking which you agreed to adhere too upon entering the facility. Our signage clearly states that you are to "purchase a valid ticket". Further more the signage goes on to state that "Parking charge notices will be issued for:- "Failure to purchase a valid Pay & Display Ticket within 15 minutes following entry to the Car Park".
CCAS

As established members of the Independent Parking Committee, we adhere to their Code of Practice for Private Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks. This Code of Practice gives recommendations in regards to the signage within the car park. The signs within the car park comply with the recommendations in the Code of Practice and are therefore deemed reasonable.

There are approximately 86 x highly prominent signs on site including 4 x Entrance Signs (2000mm x 1000mm) 25 x Information signs (1220mm x 660mm) 17 x Tariff boards (1200mm x 1000mm), 14 x "Pay Here" signs erected at a height of approximately 2.5 metres and 21 x Disabled P&D signs situated at key locations throughout the area.

When parking on private land, a motorist freely enters into an agreement to abide by the conditions of parking in return for permission to park. It is the motorist's responsibility to ensure that he or she abides by any clearly displayed conditions of parking. It is clear that the terms of parking stated that a pay and
display ticket must be displayed, or the motorist would face liability for a parking charge. We would note that you had the opportunity to leave the car park if you could not comply with the terms of parking.
We note your comments in relation to the amount of our PCN charges and we can confirm that they represent a sum for liquidated and ascertained damages in respect of a breach of the [parking contract] Those charges have been calculated in advance and were clearly set out on the signage. When a motorist
parks in breach of the Terms and Conditions of Parking, a loss is incurred by us as incorrect parking prevents the efficient management of the car park. If we are unable to regulate the car park, our clients would not require our services and the company would cease to exist. It is therefore commercially justifiable that the operator seeks to enforce its terms and conditions.
Furthermore, we would contend that it is too late for you now to indicate that you are unhappy with the parking charge Othis should have been done at the time of accepting the parking contract. Should you take up your option to appeal to the Independent Adjudication Service (IAS), we will rigorously defend our position on the level of the PCN charge. We would also contend that in any such appeal to the IAS you should set out your reasons, along with relevant supporting evidence as to why the charge is not appropriate.
You have raised a number of points in your appeal which are not appropriate for us to deal with at this stage. Please note that, as members of the Independent Parking Committee (IPC) it is necessary for us to evidence to the IPC that we have relevant authority to undertake enforcement activity at the site
concerned and that our signs in situ are compliant in setting out the relevant terms and conditions of use.
We will defend the points you have raised as appropriate should the matter proceed to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) and/or Court. We have therefore dealt with the pertinent points in your appeal below."
We are satisfied that the Parking Charge Notice has been issued correctly, and that sufficient attention was brought to you, the driver with regards to the Terms and Conditions enforced. In light of the aforementioned, your appeal is rejected. We will not accept any further appeals.

What you should do next - Either:
1. Pay the Parking Charge. In order to settle the Parking Charge Notice at the discounted rate,
the payment of £60.00 is to be received within our office by the 28th March 2015, after which the amount
payable will revert to £100.00.
Payments can be made online at xxxx by following the links for "PCN Payment", or
over the phone by using a valid credit or debit card. Alternatively you can send a cheque or postal
order made payable to Excel Parking Services Limited . It is the motorists responsibility to ensure that
payment is received within our office, and by the relevant date, as stated above.

(IAS). In order to appeal, the IAS will need the following information (which is contained in the subject
header of this letter). Appeals must be submitted to the IAS within 21 days of the date of this letter.
Please visit xxxx for full details on how to submit an appeal online.
It is important you note that if you wish to appeal to the IAS, the discount offer will no longer apply and
the full amount of the Parking Charge will be pursued.
Please note that further costs may be incurred should it be necessary for us to subsequently recover any
outstanding charge using debt recovery and/or court action.

Notice Serial No:
Vehicle Registration Mark:
Site No.: EXC0011
Date PCN Issued: 07 Feb 2015

Yours sincerely


Miss Gabrielle Selman.
On behalf of the Senior Manager
Central Payments Office

Coupon-mad

Can anyone offer any advise on how to proceed? I understand that I'll need to draft a letter but am a little unsure of how to it should look. It seems a little pointless as I know it will be rejected anyway!

You'll lose whatever you try. What more can I say...maybe don't bother? Sit out the debt collector letters rather than fire up Excel's enthusiasm when they win at IAS. I can't say much more for various reasons, so I won't.

sportmonday

Coupon-mad wrote: »

You'll lose whatever you try. What more can I say...maybe don't bother?

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the whole thing!

Fruitcake

My opinion is that all IAS appeals should be made because win or lose, it costs the PPC money. It also shows willing in the unlikely event that it ever got to court.

Coupon-mad

I am not sure people should be bothering...it's more likely to excite the PPCs and demoralise the motorist.

sportmonday

I'm more than willing to write to them and appeal, especially if it costs them money. Letters from debt collectors or faux solicitors firms do not bother me and will be duly ignored!

Lulu75

Hi - did you purchase anything from any if the stores that day? If so it may well be worth appealing to the store and see if they can help you. Sometimes it is worth stating you are a genuine customer who has made a mistake and see if they will support you - some stores do have the capacity to get fines quashed for you, after all they want customers to come back! Just a thought that might make this go away, good luck!

Redx

unfortunately, they rent from Peel Holdings who dont actually care so nobody will get anywhere with this

IGNORE is the best option, apart from an LBC or an MCOL from the PPC - which is possible over the next 6 years (or from Peel - which is unlikely)

Guys_Dad

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I am not sure people should be bothering...it's more likely to excite the PPCs and demoralise the motorist.

I think that you need to balance this opinion - and c-m's analysis of your chances of winning are virtually nil, particularly as you are not an overstayer but a non-ticket buyer - with the position taken by some judges (as reported in this forum) that if you did not take any steps to make an appeal through the industry appeal process, then you are an architect of your own misfortune.

I also believe that the rejections from IAS are actually in your favour if it came to court. The fact that they do not ask the PPC to prove they have the right to charge, that they say that the keeper is the driver and that they choose to ignore the IPC's standards on signs, never mind the dodgy so-called contract that the motorist allegedly agreed when parking that seems to stray into GPEOL territory when badly written signs are in use - all should help anyone who may be issued court papers. IAS are such a kangaroo outfit that their judgements should inflame even a mild-tempered DJ.

But there are no rights or wrongs and we are still awaiting sufficient court cases that have previously passed through the digestive tract of the IAS and been rejected.

Kayleighb1

Can I ask op what did you decide to do? I'm in the process of appealing for the exact same alleged contravention, and am basing the appeal on the fact that the signage is still bpa and not IPC.

The_Deep

No-one has mentioned v.a.t.

If this is a contractual charge, then vat must be accounted for, has it?

Some reading

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...7925&highlight=

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...3796&highlight=

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...5195437&page=4> ,

I would advocate that you appeal. If you win, (unlikely), it is game over.

If you lose, it is likely to be so flawed and partial to the PPC that, were you to produce it in court, it would swing things for you.