Yet another Parking Notice Charge at Doncaster Airport

zoonyx

Considering Donny council have, and are spending many millions of pounds linking the M18 to this road, you'd better hope it's a public road really otherwise you open a whole new can of worms!

(I don't know the definitive answer though).

bod1467

Public road (adopted by the council) would put a whole new spin on this.

Giant_Hogweed

OK here goes, might be a bit long winded so advice welcome before it's sent :-)

Dear BW Legal,
Ref VCS/T0******

Re PCN VC********

As you have sent out a generic letter rather than examining individual cases, I'll send you a generic reply with a few facts added.

The debt is denied. The amount charged bears no relation to the parking fee..

Your debt collection costs of £54 are not appropriate. The amount is also excessive. I refer you to ParkingEye v Somerfield where debt collection costs of £60 were found to probably be a penalty by HHJ Heggarty.

Complaint
I wish to raise a formal complaint regarding your letter.

You are misrepresenting the legal process. A CCJ is not automatically entered following a successful hearing. The losing party has 14 days to make payment and if they do this has no effect on credit or employability.

Please follow your formal complaints procedure. If I am not happy with your response, I will escalate to the CSA.

Add to this a few facts.

1. An appeal WAS sent within 28 days of the PCN via e mail on 8-06-15 and an automated reply received stating I would receive a response between 28 and 35 days. Nothing arrived and I was NEVER offered a POPLA code or an IAS appeal.

2. I received a letter 68 days later (yes, SIXTY EIGHT) headed NOTICE OF INTENDED COURT PROCEEDINGS part of which was visible in the address window. This I believe is against the law.

3. A letter was sent to your client asking for a letter that follows the Practice Direction as the previous correspondences did not. This was sent on on 18-08-15

4. I received a letter from ZZPS dated 9-09-15 now claiming £150

5. I received another letter from VCS dated 14-09-15 stating "this account has been forwarded to our debt recovery company" and "We will not acknowledge or respond to any further correspondence" . They seemed to have changed their minds!

6. Second letter from ZZPS dated 22-09-15 threatening legal action via a solicitor.

7. I received a letter from Wright Hassall solicitors demanding more money. It's quite clearly a fake either sent by ZZPS or VCS in a desperate effort to frighten me into paying up. It didn't work.

8. Finally, fed up with the tirade of empty threats I named the driver in a letter to ZZPS dated 20-10-15. I also informed 'Wright Hassall' I had named the driver.. I did not inform VCS due to their statement in point 5.


So I have discharged my liability on this matter and if I receive any more letters from yourselves or VCS I will take legal advice with a view to taking your company and VCS to court for harrassment.

Yours




Too long winded? Or shall I hit them with the lot? If they had bothered to look into one or two cases they may have not wasted theirs and my time. I removed the paragraph about demanding a response within 10 days as my letter demands full payment within 16 days. Also l've been looking at the stuff I've received its struck me that not one of them has been signed. Isn't this a leal requirement?

Giant_Hogweed

Just bumping this for approval/disapproval and advice from Coupon mad, RedX ,Ralph-y Umkomaas or any other one of the more learned people on here.

Thoughts please?

DaisyM_3

I got a ticket at the roundabout just outside Doncaster Airport about 2 years ago. I stopped behind a taxi to ask how to get into the premium parking car park, after driving round for 20 minutes trying to find it. He didn't know. I saw the white van, and asked the driver if he knew where it was, and was horrified when I returned home to fined they had issued a ticket.

I wrote to the company that issued the ticket, explaining what had happened and they cancelled the 'fine'.

Giant_Hogweed

Well VCS haven't cancelled mine that's for sure! I've even dobbed in my brother in law as driver (he does reside permanently in the Philippines so it was no big deal to him) and they're still chasing me!

I'm hoping the e mail above finally does the trick, although I would go to court to fight these jokers if necessary, and I've got all the letters/e mails filed in readiness, but I'd rather not bother, it's taking up my time (and some of the other peoples on here to whom I'm eternally grateful) and although i'd been warned it would happen I didn't think they'd be stupid enough to continue with their idle threats after I'd discharged my liability.

Any thoughts on my e mail people?

I'd rather get an OK from Coupon Mad, Umkomaas, Ralph-y, RedX or any one of the other more knowledgeable people on here before I send it.

Coupon-mad

Solicitor/legal letters do not have to be physically signed. Have a look at any letter you've ever had from a non-sole trader solicitor about conveyancing etc. Almost never signed by a named person; they don't have to be.

I think your email is fine, I might add the following but it's up to you:


Your debt collection costs of £54 are not appropriate and I do not believe these additional costs were set out on any signs so cannot have formed part of any alleged contract.

and

Finally, fed up with the tirade of empty threats I named the driver in a letter to ZZPS dated 20-10-15. I also informed 'Wright Hassall' I had named the driver. I did not inform VCS due to their statement in point 5 but I take this opportunity to reiterate that the driver was named to VCS' agents well before the commencement of any proceedings, as the POFA Schedule 4 requires. For the aviodance of doubt and uncertainty, I include VCS in this email and remind them that the driver's name and address is:

xxxxx xxxxxxx

(Philippines address)


Copy the emails you send to VCS, never mind if they WANT to see them, this then ensures they have seen the name and address of the driver and can't later - in any court papers - rely on the POFA and pretend they haven't ever seen the driver's name and address:

CPO@vehiclecontrol.co.uk

Giant_Hogweed

Thank you Coupon Mad, I'll add the extras you've suggested.

I have another question though (please don't sigh), when my invoice first arrived, I e mailed VCS with one of the template challenges from this site within four days. I received an automated reply within minutes.

Shouldn't their next move have been sending me a POPLA code to use on appeal to the IAS ?

I never received anything, the next thing that came was the 'NOTICE OF INTENDED COURT PROCEEDINGS' letter, 68 days later. Surely (if I'm correct) this isn't in line with their own guidelines and proceedure?

Many many thanks again, I'd be fretting like bug**ry without all your help.:-)

Ralph-y

"
Shouldn't their next move have been sending me a POPLA code to use on appeal to the IAS ?"

no /.........

you are mixing up PPC's / ATA's

the IPC mob use the infamous IAS .... who has 'Skippy' as the lead 'high executioner ' :eek:

the ...... only slightly worse BPA use POPLA

"I never received anything, the next thing that came was the 'NOTICE OF INTENDED COURT PROCEEDINGS' letter, 68 days later. Surely (if I'm correct) this isn't in line with their own guidelines and proceedure?"

again you are expecting much from this load of scammers ........

they have yet to be brave enough to try out a real judge over such ......

there is no easy end to all this ....... until six years have passed ...

but

I am sure that forum members will be extremely surprised if VCS tried to use your case .....:)

keep on with CM's advice

and

good luck

Ralph:cool:

Coupon-mad

Shouldn't their next move have been sending me a POPLA code to use on appeal to the IAS ?

There is no POPLA code, nor any other code, to be forwarded to proceed to the IAS.

They should have sent a rejection letter or email but if you did not include a postal address in the email then they will have ignored it (as the PCN and acknowledgement email says, you must include a postal address/full name and VRN/PCN when appealing). Did you include all of that...not sure if I've already asked you? If you did, then I would have expected a rejection letter in the post offering IAS. If you missed a detail out, that explains why they ignored the appeal.

Not that I am saying that's right or fair, just telling you like it is with Excel or VCS!