BPA Parking Charge - Do I need to pay it?

aspectmatty

Hi,

I have received letters from BPA in regards to a Parking Charge i apparently owe them. I received my second letter from them earlier this week. Back in October I parked in the wrong parking bay at my workplace - We have a car park that is shared by multiple buildings/businesses, with allocated car parking bays. When I drove out on my lunch break, I came back and parked one space away from our allocated spaces. This was not intentional - there were over 6 or so free spaces and I just parked up and went back to my workplace as normal. Later that day I had the 'Parking Charge' Notice on my windscreen.

All advice I have received so far from colleagues and friends is to ignore these and they will eventually stop sending the letters. I just want to confirm this with someone who may have more knowledge on the matter. I do not beleive I should pay this as there were still plenty of free spaces when I came back to my car - No one was affected by this small error on my part.

I would include the letter or a link to the letter uploaded online, but as a new user it won't allow me to do this. In short, the letter states that I have to pay the full amount of £60 within 14 days to avoid further action. It also says:

"If this letter is ignored, further action may include referring to a Credit Reference Agency to confirm the correct address, instruction of solicitors to secure immediate payment, referral to debt recovery or the issuing of court proceedings, all of which could incur further costs which may be added to the amount owed. To avoid further unnecessary costs or action, please pay the outstanding parking charge amount as stated above or make arrangements for the driver to pay. In accordance with the parking terms and conditions, further information including how to pay, the right to appeal etc, can be found on the reverse of this notice."

It just sounds to me like they try to intimidate you into paying. Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks
Matt

pappa_golf

the British Parking Assoc do not issue tickets , please state the name of the company that issued the ticket


as a new user , upload your picci to tinipics etc and when posting alter the HTTP:// to HXXP:// , someone will convert it for you

aspectmatty

Sorry, I got confused - I meant CPP, Car Parking Partnership. They are part of BPA.

hxxp://imgur.com/xPkVJSo - hopefully this should work.

pappa_golf

yes you will find them listed under liberty printers , now owned by capita (same as parking eye)


http://imgur.com/xPkVJSo


please think back , what date did you get your first letter ? , as it seems they are still only asking for £60 , is this the first LETTER from them?

aspectmatty

Are you saying I need to pay this? Or can I ignore the letters?

pappa_golf

not yet , please answer questions above

aspectmatty

I do not remember the date of the first letter, however it was around early November. I can upload the first letter if this helps - If I had paid within 14 days, the amount would have been £30. The letter above is the second letter I have received.

pappa_golf

the reason for asking the date is that to comply with POFa 2012 the first letter has to arrive between day 29-56 after the event ,


go and read up on the newbies thread , and stop worrying until the end ox xmas/new year

aspectmatty

I've just checked the first letter again and the date is 14/11/2015, the date of the actual event is 14/10/2015. So it was between days 29-56 after the event.

HO87

Whether you pay the notice or not is entirely a matter for you.

You now have three choices:

1. Ignore the notices and run the risk of all that that entails which amounts to the potential of being pursued for the alleged debt for the next 6 years or even a default county court judgment.

2. Attempt to appeal to CPP arguing that new legislation means that a means of alternative dispute resolution must be available for 12 months.

3. Pay the ticket.

Take such time as you feel is appropriate to save yourself £60, or not, to read through the Newbies Thread and gain some understanding of the real legal situation and how you have fallen victim to the skimdustry.

Your call.

Fruitcake

aspectmatty wrote: »

Are you saying I need to pay this? Or can I ignore the letters?

No, and no.


You should read the Sticky thread for NEWBIES then appeal as KEEPER using the template letter contained therein.
If you are outside their made up appeal window they will reject it telling you it is too late to appeal. So, you should look up the recent changes in EU legislation that say you should have access to alternative dispute resolution for up to a twelve month as already mentioned.
Do a search on this site for 12 month ADR and EU or variations thereof.
When you find it, quote it in your appeal. Make sure you do not reveal who was driving.


In addition, tell your colleagues who advised you to ignore this that the law changed in 2012. Invite them to contribute if it ends up costing you money due to their very bad out of date advice.