appeal letter for "no stopping at all" enforcement

HAMMERSTONES

hi, i have drafted an appeal letter for an IPC member who is enforcing a charge for a "no stopping at all sign" which i will try and attach later, could someone please take a look to see if its ok, and what are the best timescales to appeal to an IPC member.
the letter is basically the draft version from the newbies section with some bits i added as a bit of a foreword.

in a nutshell the driver stopped in this "no stopping at all " zone at night, there are lots of signs but the area is not illuminated but the signs are retro reflective. the NTK has no period of parking just an incident time, but states the period of parking was the period immediately preceding the incident.

many thanks

Dear xxxxxxxxx

Re PCN number: xxxxxxxx

In relation to the above PCN number I would like to raise a few concerns,

· If you are complying with your IPC’ code of practice part C 3.1 (b) then you should specify the period of parking to which the notice relates. You have however specified an incident time and a period of parking immediately preceding the incident.
· You say the charge is incurred for stopping/parking in an area where stopping is prohibited, and indeed your sign says “NO STOPPING AT ALL”, you clearly have access to the DVLA database on the basis of parking enforcement, you are clearly enforcing a no stopping rule so you are arguably using my data in a way that it shouldn’t be used.
· If you are adhering to your IPC code of practice then this clearly does not cover “no stopping zones” so you are arguably acting outside of it.
· If you are following the Code of Practice, then that requires you to allow a grace period, making no stopping rules unenforceable.
· Given private parking tickets are issued based on a contract communicated by signage, how can the contract be adequately read and understood without stopping to read it?
· The Protection of Freedoms Act specifically discusses parking, and not stopping. Therefore it is arguably not covered anyway


I am not ignoring your charge for a purported parking infraction. As this is purely a charge (not a statutory penalty) issued under a purported contract and the driver has not been identified, I require the following information so that I can make an informed decision:

1. Who is the party that contracted with your company for the provision of their services? I require their contact details.
2. What is the full legal identity of the landowner?
3. As you are not the landowner please provide a contemporaneous and unredacted copy of your contract with the landholder that demonstrate that you have their authority to both issue parking charges and litigate in your own name.
4. Is your charge based on damages for breach of contract? Answer yes or no.
5. If the charge is based on damages for breach of contract please provide your justification of this sum.
6. Is your charge based on a contractually agreed sum for the provision of parking? Answer yes or no.
7. If the charge is based on a contractually agreed sum for the provision of parking please provide a valid VAT invoice for this 'service'.
8. Please provide a copy of the signs that purportedly were on site which you contend formed a contract with the driver on that occasion.

If you believe you have a cause of action, send a Letter before Claim within the next 21 days and I will take advice and will respond.

In my opinion, there is a better alternative than legal proceedings, namely that we utilize the services of a completely independent ADR service suited to parking charges. This does not include the IAS appeal service - which lacks any transparency and possibly any independence from the IPC - unlike the alternative offered by the British Parking Association, POPLA, which is transparent and has been shown to be independent.

Do not send debt collector letters and do not add any costs or surcharges. I will not respond to those, so to involve another firm would be a failure to mitigate your alleged loss. In any case, the addition of any debt collector 'costs' is not my liability because the POFA 2012 can only potentially hold a registered keeper liable if certain provisions have been met and even then, the 'amount of the parking charge' is the only amount pursuable.

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

That's fine, says what you want it to say although it is academic because the PPC will reject it and then IAS is not worth trying even for no-stopping areas, except MAYBE if you can get photos at dusk/darkness which prove not only where the photos were taken and the time/date as well as proving the wording is not lit and that the amount of any charge is illegible on every sign at that time of evening.

Even then the IAS would probably wriggle out of it and favour the operator saying something stupid like 'these dark photos are too dark to make out and could be anywhere, so I'm going to ignore them because I can'.

I woud remove from the above appeal: ''And indeed your sign says “NO STOPPING AT ALL” because that really doesn't help your side.

Which PPC? Some are likely to sue you, some won't. So who was it?

HAMMERSTONES

Thanks again for the advice, you did actually reply to my initial query yesterday ,
It's ES parking enforcement ltd.

Coupon-mad

Oh yes, nobody worth worrying about then! I recall giving you the BMPA lowdown on them.

Marktheshark

ADD any contractual offer was read and declined with the "driver" leaving the site immediately once they had read the signs offering the genuine contractual offer (Beavis vs Parking eye Supreme court)

This opens up the Beavis judgement on its gift given defence point where the driver rejected the offer to contract and left, the supreme court laid down in some detail at what point the contract is formed by performance.

HAMMERSTONES

thanks for all the advice so far

just a quick question, can a PPC enforce a parking charge for a location that does not offer parking in the first place?

ta

pappa_golf

HAMMERSTONES wrote: »

thanks for all the advice so far

just a quick question, can a PPC enforce a parking charge for a location that does not offer parking in the first place?

ta

would be interesting to see there contract


(which you will ask for)

ManxRed

They certainly can't hold the Registered Keeper liable, as PoFA only applies to Parking.

trisontana

ManxRed wrote: »

They certainly can't hold the Registered Keeper liable, as PoFA only applies to Parking.

As was illustrated by those clowns in Norfolk who tried to give a parking ticket to motorists going through one of their fake "no entry" signs.

HAMMERSTONES

fast forward from Feb 2016 to Oct 2017
I never had a reply from my appeal letter although I have proof it was delivered, I subsequently received numerous debt collecting letters from ZZPS and Wright Hassal, which I ignored.


I have now received an LBC from Gladstones requesting payment, stating PCN number, date of charge, location and amount.


I have revisited the Newbies section and read a lot of the stuff in #2 post in relation to on-going cases and new protocols, but to be honest I am a bit lost as where to start in compiling a defence letter. a lot of the cases are re parking where as this was a no stopping zone


Brief outline, I was the registered keeper but not driving at the time, the photo clearly shows L plates, I was on a lesson and stopped to get into driving seat, it was at the rear of a petrol station that had a no stopping policy, at night with poorly light signs as appeal letter stated,


all help really appreciated

claxtome

A quick update -> HAMMERSTONES has created another thread and he/she has added other posts to. I have asked them to move the posts here so forum members can comment in this thread.