Appeal Rejection Letter - Next step IAS, advice please?

playaz

Hi Guys,

I recently got a parking ticket via a private company which is a member of the IPC and followed the process on the MSE 'newbie' guide. I then sent them the standard IPC letter/template on the 'newbie' page and have since received a detailed response from the private parking company.
In a nutshell, they say the following:

• My vehicle wasn't parked correctly (e.g within the marked bays) & as such have no option but to uphold the appeal.
• As a member of the IPC, a further appeal lies to the Independent Appeals Services. A letter before court may not be sent within 21 days as we allow time for motorists to challenge the PCN or to pay.
• They have extended the discounted payment by 14 days, after this date the full charge will be charged. Should I feel the decision is incorrect I can appeal to the Independent Appeals Service (IAS) within 21 days of their letter.

I feel the fine should be cancelled due to the poorly marked bays that are pretty much non-existent, I have attached photos that they have themselves taken and sent to me as their evidence. I want to provide the best argument in relation to the poorly marked/maintained parking bays can anyone suggest how to best approach this?


I have attached images below to give you an idea of the car park and the exact image they have sent me as their evidence, what does everyone else think, do you feel the IAS will uphold my appeal on the basis of these marking bays?


The first two images below are the same however in the second one I have drawn a black arrow to indicate the poorly maintained bay marking, you will notice the that there isn't an actual full white line. The third image is an image I took myself in the day to illustrate the extremely poorly maintained bay markings.



Image 1 - http://postimg.org/image/uu1dwzfqt/
Image 2 - http://postimg.org/image/n00sbl7xx/
Image 3 - http://postimg.org/image/94qnmnu95/


I know the IAS is a bit of 'kangaroo court' according to other posts on the forum however I feel that my argument is quite strong based on the photographic evidence I have.


Can anyone offer some advice on this, I could pay the £60 fine to make the problem 'go away' but I really do not feel I should as i'd be very surprised if others hadn't been caught out in the exact same manner - obviously I don't want to go court for something as minor as a parking offence (I have a clean record with the police/courts and want it to remain that way lol)


Can anyone give me some advice on the matter, do you feel I should pay the fine or would it be best to continue the appeal (based on my evidence).


Thanks again


P.S Should I send a letter to the IAS and proceed with the next stage of the complaint is there a 'base template' people use for this process?

-- UPDATED PHOTOS --
For people who may read the first post here are a collection of photos from that car park that I feel illustrate my point well.
http://postimg.org/gallery/1xrmfd646/7a463c19/

hoohoo

playaz wrote: »

Hi Guys,


I know the IAS is a bit of 'kangaroo court' according to other posts on the forum however I feel that my argument is quite strong based on the photographic evidence I have.

ROFL

The IAS do not care what your argument is. They exist only to rule for the parking companies.

Redx

its not a "fine" (its an invoice , nothing more)

its not an "offence"

its a civil matter, so there will be no criminal record , no police record, you are worrying about non-existent stuff there

it would be the same if you didnt pay a plumber for fixing your boiler, but there would be no police or magistrates courts involved, just a CIVIL court similar to Judge Rinder without all the theatrics

dont big it up when its minor !

if you feel you have a case, go for it, but dont be surprised if you fail at the IAS, most people fail

in any case you are not bound by the IAS decision, so can appeal to them and still ignore the PPC and debt collectors for 6 years, only dealing with court papers if they arrive

ps:- you used the F word more times than Gordon Ramsey

Guys_Dad

I would make my major appeal point the lack of markings. Frankly, I can't see ANY markings in your photos 1 & 2. Is this an area that you should not have parked in? There are no marked bays in these 2 photos.

What precisely was the "offence" for which you received a ticket - I need their exact wording. If that area had faded bay markings, then even the IAS have to agree with you, surely.

Coupon-mad

hoohoo wrote: »

ROFL

The IAS do not care what your argument is. They exist only to rule for the parking companies.

I agree with hoohoo, next to no chance even with those markings.

Your own photo is the worst one so don't use it. Unless you can show us the signs and maybe they don't create any obligation to park in marked bays - then you'd have grounds.

No-one is telling you your choices are IAS or pay up. There is a valid 3rd option: ignore the silly debt letters unless you get a Letter before Claim then respond, or court papers = defend. It would not be the end of the World, is not an 'offence' and has no effect on your record.

obviously I don't want to go court for something as minor as a parking offence (I have a clean record with the police/courts and want it to remain that way lol)

Look up the firm by searching 'BMPA' and their name on Google to see if they are 'small fry' or litigious. Even if they do sometimes sue, you would still have a clean record, you know, even if you lost a small claim and had to pay. A small claim doesn't affect your credit rating nor give you a CCJ or any such black mark if you turn up for the hearing and even if you lose, as long as you pay there is NOTHING, no repercussions.

Most firms never try court. Some try a few cases, this doesn't look nailed-on for a court claim - you are most likely to just get silly letters every month, begging letters pestering you. We've almost all been there, done that, ignored a parking company's threatograms (I know I have). But with those non-existent markings, if you provided that evidence any decent Judge would have a proper look, unlike the IAS.

The reason I say don't bother with the IAS is because you end up feeling like you have no grounds/no options when you lose. Better to stay as you are now and let it ride or reply as the Parking Prankster suggests in the link in post #3 of the NEWBIES thread, refusing the IAS but suggesting the Consumer Ombudsman (which you won't get) but it looks reasonable if you have at least responded to the dispute, explaining why the IAS is no option for a consumer but suggesting a truly impartial ADR.

playaz

@GuysDad
Hi mate the exact wording on the ticket is as follows :

Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space

playaz

Here is the 'signage' - from that picture I would expect there to be proper marking bays

Guys_Dad

playaz wrote: »

@GuysDad
Hi mate the exact wording on the ticket is as follows :

Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space

Well if there were no visible markings, how could you park within them?? That has to be your number 1 point along with photos.

playaz

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Well if there were no visible markings, how could you park within them?? That has to be your number 1 point along with photos.

I'll post the photo's shortly... they look ever worse than previously.... Gimme 10 mins and you guys can judge for yourselves about this 'car park'

playaz

Rather than add individual photos I've added a link to the whole gallery of photos I took, there are a few duplicates. The car park is very small, one half of it is 'reserved' for another company so I haven't taken photos of that side (although strangely enough that side has better more visible lines).

But the half for the 'general public' is demonstrated in the photos below - do people think that these photos would give me a SLAM-DUNK victory if I make an appeal to the IAS based on the principle the ticket was for parking outside of the bays that are not even visible.

Photos:
http://postimg.org/gallery/1xrmfd646/7a463c19/

thorfan

Wow... what is supposed to indicate a parking bay?