Should I go down the IAS appeal process? Advice needed.

kirstin41

Hello. I received a PCN from Excel Parking in July of this year. They said I hadn't paid their fee to use the car park. I did pay the fee, however I inadvertently entered my last cars registration number into their machine. I sent them a copy of the ticket I paid for, explaining that this had been my mistake, but I had paid their fee.
They wrote back and said they would reduce the fee to £10, but only if I could provide evidence that I previously owned the vehicle. I replied and said how on earth did they expect me to do this, and as they seem to be able to obtain details from the DVLA, to seek evidence themselves.
Or course they've now written back to say I will have to pay the full amount, or I can appeal through the ias.org website.
Is this a good idea, or should I just leave it now and wait for the solicitors letters etc?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS, since I received this PCN, I have discovered that the ANPR cameras and signage that are in the car park have actually been erected without planning consent from Bradford Council!

enfield_freddy

kirstin41 wrote: »

Hello. I received a PCN from Excel Parking in July of this year. They said I hadn't paid their fee to use the car park. I did pay the fee, however I inadvertently entered my last cars registration number into their machine. I sent them a copy of the ticket I paid for, explaining that this had been my mistake, but I had paid their fee.
They wrote back and said they would reduce the fee to £10, but only if I could provide evidence that I previously owned the vehicle. I replied and said how on earth did they expect me to do this, and as they seem to be able to obtain details from the DVLA, to seek evidence themselves.
Or course they've now written back to say I will have to pay the full amount, or I can appeal through the ias.org website.
Is this a good idea, or should I just leave it now and wait for the solicitors letters etc?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS, since I received this PCN, I have discovered that the ANPR cameras and signage that are in the car park have actually been erected without planning consent from Bradford Council![/QUOTE]


then your info has been requested and released illegally by Excel and the DVLA.

Herzlos

Complain to the council, IPC and DVLA about their illegal access due to the ANPR consent.

Also complain to the IPC and DVLA about them requiring evidence for the wrong-registration thing. Their records should show that your car was in about the same time as that ticket was, but the car on the ticket was never in the car park, so it should be trivial to figure out that you put the wrong code in without even asking you about it. The system should also have warned you that the registration you entered wasn't recognised. Of course, they will have done neither because they want the PCN charge and not the parking fee.

There's 2 schools of thought about the IAS - they will bend the law spectacularly to reject your appeal.

one approach is that you don't want to legitimise it by bothering to use it, it's totally corrupt and you'll get rejected anyway.
The other approach is that it'll make you look more reasonable should it get to court, costs them money, and because of how badly the law is abused makes it less likely for it to go to court, and opens them up to costs and damages since your appeal would be upheld by a court.

How you want to proceed is up to you, though. Do not pay Excel anything.

Quentin

You need to read through the newbies thread with FAQ at the top of the forum on how to appeal to IAS.

But there are different views on the answer to your question.

The authoritative one is that it's probably a waste of your time as the outcome will be rejection!

hoohoo

Quentin wrote: »

The authoritative one is that it's probably a waste of your time as the outcome will be rejection!

And the other authoritative one is that it'll make you look more reasonable should it get to court, costs them money, and because of how badly the law is abused makes it less likely for it to go to court, and opens them up to costs and damages since your appeal would be upheld by a court.

It also stacks up evidence to get ATA status removed from the IPC until they provide a proper appeals service, not the "friends of Jon and Will gravy train".

Quentin

hoohoo wrote: »

And the other authoritative one is that it'll make you look more reasonable should it get to court....

Where is that "authoritative" one's opposite contribution in the "authoritative" newbies FAQ thread that is supposed to be the starting point for everyone coming here before they post?


There is only one "Authoritative" thread in this forum - the sticky FAQ!


The "authoritatives" here should get this issue finalised so the thread is not seen as confusing.


Everyone accepts it is a lot for newbies to take in at one go, and if the writers are now arguing on who is best at giving "authoritative" advice it is even more of a hotch pot


The FAQ boldly says "DO NOT BOTHER" appealing to IAS

kirstin41

Thanks so much everyone, very informative. I am loathe to go through the appeals process as like you say, they will no doubt reject it. Rest assured though, I will not be handing any money over. Do you think it's worth speaking to the council to get formal confirmation that there has been no planning consent? I have checked the website and nothing shows.

Herzlos

Quentin wrote: »

Where is that "authoritative" one's opposite contribution in the "authoritative" newbies FAQ thread that is supposed to be the starting point for everyone coming here before they post?


The "authoritatives" here should get this finalised so the thread is not seen as confusing.


Everyone accepts it is a lot for newbies to take in at one go, and if the writers are now arguing on who is best at giving "authoritative" advice it is even more of a hotch pot


The FAQ boldly says "DO NOT BOTHER" appealing to IAS

Agreed, we should stick with the one in the newbies thread, and potentially decide if the newbies thread needs updated. Rather than sidetracking this thread with the debate.

Herzlos

kirstin41 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone, very informative. I am loathe to go through the appeals process as like you say, they will no doubt reject it. Rest assured though, I will not be handing any money over. Do you think it's worth speaking to the council to get formal confirmation that there has been no planning consent? I have checked the website and nothing shows.

Definitely. If you've got that in writing and use it as an appeals point, it'll be interesting to see how they contest it (I bet it'll be "Just because the method of enforcing the contract was illegal, doesn't make the contract invalid"). Ditto for court. If the ANPR set-up was illegal, they can't profit from it.

The_Deep

Whatever the "authorative" version may be, the common sense advice is yes you should appeal to the IAS.


This costs the PPC money and pulls the rug from under any attempt to take this to court.

kirstin41

I have now appealed via the IAS, I will report back with their response, I'm not expecting it to be in my favour!