Excel PCN, odd letter

Vangirl

Hi, sorry if this has already been covered but I've searched through and couldn't see anything about it.

The driver of my vehicle received a PCN for a 22 min unpaid for (completely forgot to pay!) stay in a car park in Brierley Hill. The parking took place on 22nd December 2014, and the "Issue date of this notice" is 29/04/2015. Firstly this seems a long time after the parking to receive a PCN!

One strange things about this letter I've noticed is that on the reverse they say that they are a member of the BPA and I would have the option to make a POPLA appeal. Yet I read just a few minutes ago that Excel are now a member of the IPC, not the BPA. As the letter is dated 29/04/2015, this seems odd. I wondered if this is because at the time of the parking they were still BPA?

I did wonder if it might be a phoney letter, but they have details that clearly came from the DVLA, so assume it's legit.

Basically I was wondering what you guys think, from what you say it seems that if I can get a POPLA then it's a fairly straightforward process. But the fact they are no longer BPA, will they still send me down the POPLA route or will they make me go IAS?

Unfortunately I basically need to decide what to do today as I've left it a bit late! So if anyone has any immediate thoughts on this that would be great to hear. Thanks!

Redx

yes they were in the BPA back then in december 2014 ; so this is in your favour, so use the template letter in the NEWBIES thread, amend it to say popla appeal (delete the IAS reference) and appeal it

they may turn you down but should issue a popla code if that happens

if they offer IAS or something silly its because they have not realised but we will deal with that by BPA complaint if necessary , so just appeal it for now, not naming the driver

they had 14 days to issue this NTK if no windscreen ticket was issued, and 29 to 56 days to issue it if a windscreen ticket was issued, if claiming POFA 2012

therefore there is no keeper liability, again this is in your favour due to their tardiness

but as this happened whilst a BPA member, they have to use popla , so may well just cancel once they realise this, plus may cancel as pofa doesnt apply

its a good thing, so stick with it

Vangirl

Ooh great thanks, I'll get on with it right now!

Vangirl

The letter doesn't mention POFA 2012 or that it is a 'Notice to keeper', are these just implied by the PCN or do they normally state them?
I thought I should check it's ok to proceed with the template text, all I've done to it is remove the IAS reference as you suggested. Do I need to remove point d)?
Thanks again!

Hmm also, would you recommend the template text in the newbies thread, or the one linked to off the MSE main page? from 2/3 way down this page: mse /reclaim/private-parking-tickets#route3

bazster

It doesn't have to mention them.

Vangirl

Great thanks :-)

Redx

adapt the newbies thread template, as I said earlier

leave D) in, even if they are not using it (it protects you as keeper)

it doesnt have to mention them, but my point is that as keeper they can only hold you liable if they are invoking POFA 2012 and are within those rules, otherwise they can only hold the driver liable (who you dont have to reveal)

the trick here is to be smarter than they are and hold your ground and dont give too much info away unnecessarily , they will try and trick you so dont fall for it

bear in mind here what the endgame is , a war of attrition where you stand by your rights even when they are failing the due diligence tests themselves

Vangirl

Great, thanks again!

Vangirl

I've now got my letter through saying they still want me to pay them money, or I can appeal through POPLA, and have given me a code.

Is there a standard text I should use at the POPLA stage? i had a look through the stickys and found a paragraph to add in, but was just wondering if there is a set text like at the previous appeal stage?

Many thanks,

Umkomaas

No standard text as such, but your appeal needs to cover the following:

1. Signage
2. No Contract with landowner to pursue charges in their own name at court
3. No proprietary interest in the land
5. Unlawful Penalty Charge
5. ANPR Accuracy (if appropriate)
6. No genuine pre-estimate of loss (GPEOL)

There are plenty of examples across the forum; here are a couple of links for you to follow and research:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=62180281&postcount=15

POPLA DECISIONS STICKY

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4488337

Read from the most recent backwards to get a feel for what appeal points POPLA Assessors are currently upholding appeals.

bazster

Add to that list:

- no keeper liability due to the Notice being way out of time.