Parking Eye & DRP

ads1980

Hello all.

Firstly I would like to say I've read all the newbie information but it doesnt really apply to my problem which is why I've started a new thread....

So, on 17th February I booked a 1 night stay at the Premier Inn at Manchester Airport. There are actually 2 Premier Inn's on site (North & South) but they are located directly opposite each other. As I pulled on the the service road that leads to these 2 hotels as well as a Holiday Inn Express, I couldn't remember if I had booked the premier Inn North or South. So I pulled in a the first opportunity (which happened to be the car park of the Holiday Inn Express). I checked my email to see which Premier Inn I was booked in to and then drove out of the Holiday Inn car park (I was parked in there a matter of no more than 2 minutes) and drove to the Premier Inn North Hotel where I had a reservation & parking which was at a cost of £5. I stayed over night and then left the next morning.

A few days later, my wife received a PCN from Parking Eye (our car is registered in her name and not mine) stating that I'd spent 9 hours and 55 minutes parked in the Holiday Inn car park. There were 2 pictures on the letter showing my car in the car park at 22:41 and then leaving at 08:36 the next morning. The issue here is that the the CCTV image of my car leaving is on the service road that is shared between the 3 hotels. So the picture of my car leaving at 08:36 was correct but my car had been parked in the Premier Inn hotel car park all night.

I initially thought this letter was sent in error by the car parking enforcement in the Premier Inn car park so I phoned them up and the woman told me that they don't use Parking Eye in their car park. That's when I notice it said Holiday Inn and she said that was the hotel next door.

So, I appealed to Parking Eye explaining all of the above information and also included my Premier Inn booking confirmation showing a £5 charge for car parking and gave them a copy of my bank statement showing the £80 paid for the room and a separate £5 charge by premier inn for car parking. I explained the scenario and asked them to check the CCTV of the Holiday Inn a couple of minutes after the time they had clocked my car being parked there as it would show that my car had gone. I gave all my details as I was driving and not my wife and I was pretty sure that as much as these guys are cowboys, they would check the CCTV and all the details I had supplied and then realise that I had not parked all night in the Holiday Inn car park.......

But no...next thing I get is a PCN in my name. I just ignored this as I couldnt supply any further information. They sent a couple of chasers and then I got nothing for a while. I have also since moved house but last week, received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus to my old address in my name claiming that I owe £160 blah blah blah.

So I'm not sure if I should just ignore this or try again to explain to them what has happened. I guess the problem lies that the exit camera is not actually in the hotel car park and on the service road that links the 3 hotels.

Any advice would be great thanks.

pappa_golf

this car park has been mentioned before , again with DR+ , one wonders if the land comes under bylaws , (I do not know the site)


on the letter from PE , is their a paragraph that says "after 28 days we have a right to go after the keeper using POFa2012" or is this paragraph missing from your letter?

Umkomaas

Nothing will change the situation now. There is no further appeals process. Unless you can get a landowner cancellation (have you contacted Holiday Inn to tell them the problem their agent is creating with the siting of the cameras picking up Premier customers?), DRP will continue to chase. But you don't have to pay!

As this is ParkingEye, receiving a DRP letter is not totally bad news. Ordinarily PE sue many non payers in the small claims court, but it seems that debt collectors are utilised if they are not likely to proceed to court.

But, you can never completely rule anything out, so you do need to notify both PE and DRP of your new address so that anything further is received there, not your old address. You need to read the following to get an appreciation for what is happening across the country when people change addresses and where documents continue going to firmer addresses. As PE has 6 years to pursue you, notifying them of the change of address is essential.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5524754

You should follow the lead from that thread and fire off complaints as explained there.

DRP can safely be ignored. They have no powers to pursue you other than by sending 'scary' letters. They may even shuffle your papers over to Zenith Debt Collections who you might think are a new organisation now chasing you - wrong! Same outfit, same address, same old BS, just operating from a different desk!

If you receive from PE a 'Letter Before County Court Claim' or real court papers, do not ignore either - come back for further advice.

One final point, have you notified your change of address to the DVLA, for yours and your wife's driver licences and separately for the V5C (logbook) for any car(s) you own. You need to do separate notifications for each - there's no 'read-across'. If you don't notify them, you're looking at a real penalty (not a PPC phoney lookalike), and a DVLA penalty can be as much as £1,000.

HTH

ads1980

Hi there....

Ok, the letter states

On 16th February 2016 vehicle ******* entered the Holiday Inn Express Manchester Airport car park at 22:41:00 and departed at 08:36:19 on 17 February 2016.

The signage, which is clearly displayed at the entrance to and throughout the car park, states that this is private land, the car park is managed by ParkingEye Ltd, and parking tariffs apply or a Parking Charge will be incurred, along with other terms and conditions of the car park by which those who park in the car park agree to be bound.

By either not purchasing the appropriate parking time or by remaining at the car park for longer than the permitted , in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the signage, the parking charge is now payable to ParkingEye Ltd (as the creditor).

You are notified under paragraph 9(2)(b) of schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that the driver of the motor vehicle is required to pay this parking charge in full. As we do not know the driver's name or current postal address, if you were not the driver at the time, you should tell us the name and current postal address of the driver and pass this notice to them.

You are warned that if, after 29 days from the date given (which is presumed to be the second working day after the Date Issued), the parking charge has not been paid in full and we do not know both the name and current address of the driver, we have the right to recover any unpaid part of the charge from you. This warning is given to you under Paragraph 9(2)(f) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and is subject to our complying with the applicable conditions under schedule 4 of that Act.

Should you provide an incorrect address for service, we will pursue you for any Parking Charge amount that remains unpaid.

Should you identify someone, who denies they were the drive, we will pursue you for any Parking Charge amount that remains unpaid.

Marktheshark

You hit Holiday Inn hard and fast, get all targets, social media included, let the world see how they treat their paying customers.
They will call of the parking firm with enough pressure.

Here is some generic advice, in future ask if they have this parking firm in their car park and if they do make it clear that the reputation of this firm means that the hotel are sending you a clear message, they do not want your custom.

ads1980

Yes, I've updated DVLA and had the V5 doc sent back and also my driving licence with the new address.

I haven't contacted the Holiday Inn so I'll do that - thanks for the advice.

I'll take a look through the link that you posted too and update Parking Eye and DRP with my new address.

I'm still amazed by the fact that I supplied more than enough evidence to show that I didn't park in there and I think their problem is now that they cant prove that I didn't leave and park in a different car park.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll be back here again soon!

Fruitcake

ads1980 wrote: »

Yes, I've updated DVLA and had the V5 doc sent back and also my driving licence with the new address.

I haven't contacted the Holiday Inn so I'll do that - thanks for the advice.

I'll take a look through the link that you posted too and update Parking Eye and DRP with my new address.

I'm still amazed by the fact that I supplied more than enough evidence to show that I didn't park in there and I think their problem is now that they cant prove that I didn't leave and park in a different car park.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll be back here again soon!

They don't care, they just want your money. I think if this went to court and you told "the driver's" story from the viewpoint of an occupant of the car (which you were) and the position of the ANPR (not CCTV) cameras, then the judge would believe you.
This is probably why it has gone to debt crawlers and not court papers.

Let us know if you do get court papers, but please don't tell us about debt collector letters.

ads1980

Well that's part of the problem...I wasn't even their customer in the first place. This whole penalty is a joke.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I've emailed Holiday Inn to see if they can do anything here.

ads1980

So a positive update on this one....

I contacted Holiday Inn (thanks for the idea people) and their deputy manager replied back with the following...

"I would like to first apologise for the inconvenience that has caused to you due to getting parking fine. With regards hotel being land owners, this is not true. Manchester Aiport Authority owns all the hotels and their car parks in and around the airport. The car parks are itself managed by different parking companies which are working for Manchester Airport.

If you could provide me with vehicle registration number and parking eye reference number I will speak to parking eye and get this fine cancelled as a goodwill gesture.

Looking forward to your reply"


So, its hardly a goodwill gesture as I never actually parked in the car park but I'll take this all the same. I have replied with the details requested and also asked that I am sent written confirmation of the cancelled fine.

Umkomaas

Nice one. You'll need to receive confirmation of the cancellation from PE, so don't fall asleep on it. Normally 7-10 days for a confirmation letter.

For regulars:

Manchester Aiport Authority owns all the hotels and their car parks in and around the airport.

Quite possibly covered by byelaws. Maybe why we don't see many MAN airport cases. I've never seen one get to court. More than likely why PE aren't pursuing this themselves, instead shuffling it out to DRP.

Ralph-y

Well done ........:j

this is one for us to keep in the back of our minds ....

"With regards hotel being land owners, this is not true. Manchester Aiport Authority owns all the hotels and their car parks in and around the airport. The car parks are itself managed by different parking companies which are working for Manchester Airport."

ads1980 .....

can we now ask if you would take a little time to help us and the 'cause' ....



This is a campaign of asking people to keep sending Theresa May actual hard copies of the trash they've been deluged with. Let her advisers' desks overflow with annoying paperwork re PPCs.

No emails, all letters from genuine people pouring their hearts out. Write to your MP as well as Mrs May:

https://bmpa.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/211923909-Why-not-write-to-your-MP

The more the better, write it yourself if you are able and enclose copies of the threatograms and rubbish thrown at you.

Do not do this by email - make your paperwork land with a thump on desks, just like it all landed in a very unwelcome way on your doormat.

Apparently the DCLG are looking to make an announcement before the year end so let's make MP's and Mrs May aware that action needs to be strong. You can be sure that the BPA and IPC suits are lobbying Parliament and meeting their friends in suits.

So let the consumers' voices be heard.





thanks

Ralph:cool: