PCN from Civil Enforcement

gbphonehome

Good evening,

My wife received a PCN from Civil Enforcement at Sportspace in Hemel Hempstead. The notice did not arrive in the 14 days stated in the POFA 2012. Incident date: 06/01/2016, PCN Issue date: 02/02/2016. She also was going on the OLD advice of ignore the PCN. So we received a Final reminder. I am going to appeal using the "Template appeal for BPA members" from the NEWBIE sticky post.

Questions;

1. Can I still appeal? The PCN contains the sentence; Representations: In writing only (by electronic mail or post) within 28 days of the PCN issue date, to the address... and it's been longer than 28 days.
2. I am adding the following to the template. Does this sound resonable?
   The date of the incident, as stated on the PCN, is 06/01/2016. The date PCN was issued, as stated on the PCN, is 02/02/2016. This timeframe exceeds the 14 day relevant period for which notice must be given as stated in POFA 2012 Schedule 4 paragraph 9 sub-paragraph 5. Therefore there is no keeper liability.
3. The system at Sportspace works by allowing 3 hours of free parking but you need to enter your number plate on a machine in the lobby. They use number plate recognition to issue PCNs to cars not registered. The driver entered the number plate incorrectly. Should I state this in the appeal?

Thanks for the help!

-Greg

Redx

yes you can add it, but they will probably tell you (or the keeper) that its too late to appeal as its outside the 28 days appeal window

these rules changed 3.5 years ago so IGNORE is a 4 or 5 year old strategy

you can add a note stating that as keeper it is believed that the driver may have input an incorrect VRN into the machine, so to check their computers for such errors

be good if they issue a popla code, but I suspect they wont and you will be at stalemate for the next 6 years, before you ask , yes they do issue court papers and have done a lot recently

The_Deep

If they were silly enough to issue a claim it should not be too difficult to win, especially if you were not the driver.

vivatifosi

Don't know if it helps, but I've also had a noticed cancelled for parking at Sportspace. There's more info on the thread about it here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5168705

One other thing I'd mention, they failed to say which car park I was parked in - as
you will know, Sportspace has several.

Thanks again to those who helped.

gbphonehome

Thanks for the advice Redx.

gbphonehome

Viva, I saw your post about the sportspace before I posted in the forum but I was unclear how exactly you modified the template. If you don't mind can you give me some pointers as to language to use? Sorry but this is my first time.

gbphonehome

Would someone mind reviewing my appeal letter?

I challenge this 'PCN' as keeper of the car and I will complain to the landowner about the matter if it is not cancelled.

As keeper it is believed that the driver may have input an incorrect VRN into the machine. Please check your records to see if this may be the case. The driver may have entered something like XABA XXX instead of XBAB XXX.

The notice also fails to establish keeper liability on two grounds:

1. The date of the incident, as stated on the PCN, is 06/01/2016. The date PCN was issued, as stated on the notice, is 02/02/2016. This timeframe exceeds the 14 day relevant period for which notice must be given as stated in POFA 2012 Schedule 4 paragraph 9(5).
2. As per POFA 2012 Schedule 4 paragraph 9(2)(a), the notice must specify the relevant land on which the vehicle was parked. The location (Sportspace, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JS) specified on the notice has multiple car parks administered by Civil Enforcement ltd. The notice fails to specify in which car park the offence occurred.

I understand you do not own the car park and you have given me no information about your policy with the landowner or on site businesses, to cancel such a charge. So please supply that policy as I believe the driver may well be eligible for cancellation.

There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. You must either rely on the POFA 2012 and offer me a POPLA code, or cancel the charge.

I have kept proof of submission of this appeal and look forward to your reply.

Coupon-mad

Yep I would send that by email right now, so they have it in the morning.

Make sure the email includes the keeper's full name and address as shown on the PCN and the correct VRN and the PCN number too, as the PCN tells you such details MUST be included.

vivatifosi

Hi, in addition to the above, I mentioned that they failed to serve the notice in time, and failed to state in exactly which car park I was supposedly parked at the time. I don't have access to my laptop with letter on it, but those were the two main additions. Both were backed up with relevant sections from POFA I think, which I read in full at the time in order to understand what I was quoting.