Indigo Rail Station 'Penalty' Notice

Fruitcake

Fair_A wrote: »

Thank you aging so very much.

:eek:

That's a bit much, even if I am a bit old and creaky myself. :rotfl:

Coupon-mad

any junk mail only lasts 10 days with Outlook.

Outlook is cr*p, in my experience, not just because of the above. Full of glitches and ridiculous errors and really clunky.

I agree with you all and I have emailed Indigo requesting a POPLA code by the way of a ADR. Let's see what happens next. I will in the mean time draft a complaint to the BPA and DVLA just in case Indigo decide not to give me a POPLA code. I will let you know what Indigo say.

Good. It will soon be timed out anyway.

windsmurf

I had a similar issue, initial appeal rejected out of hand and POPLA code issued incorreclty. I wrote to INDIGO and subsequently emailed BPA.

INDIGO did nothing and sent me a letter from the debt collector.

BPA took action and contacted INDIGO who then issued a code.

First Letter to INDIGO:
Dear Sir or Madam,

Further to your letter dated 19/12/16 I have attempted to lodge an appeal on the POPLA website. Unfortunately the POPLA verification code that you provided me did not work. I emailed POPLA on 15/01/17 to question this, and on 16/01/17 they advised me by phone and email that the code which has been provided me is a duplicate and has already been used by another individual. POPLA have instructed me to contact Indigo for a replacement POPLA verification code so that I can lodge my appeal as is my right under BPA code of practice. See attached correspondence from POPLA.

Please send me a replacement POPLA verification code by letter to the address above.

Note that I will not be accepting any further emails from Indigo due to your failure to conduct a proper review of my original appeal which was submitted by electronic means. Your original response was a pro forma letter which did not address any of the specific conditions of my original appeal.

Any emails sent from Indigo to any email address held on your records in relation to this appeal will be determined not to have been delivered and will not be read.


Yours Faithfully,


Follow up letter emailed to BPA:

Indigo park solutions – FAILURE TO PROVIDE AN APPEALS SERVICE
Duplicate popla verification code: xxxxxxxx
PENALTY REF: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I’m writing to complain about the conduct Indigo Parking Solutions (INDIGO) and seek your support in ensuring that this matter is addressed and to ensure that you hold you operators accountable to the BPA code of practice.

Having rejected my initial appeal by sending me a pro-forma rejection, an appeal code was provided to me: POPLA Verification code: xxxxxxx (wrong one)


When I attempted to lodge my appeal online through the POPLA website the code did not work. I contacted POPLA to query this and they advised me that I had been provided a duplicate number, and would need to obtain a replacement number from INDIGO. I wrote to indigo on Jan 16th to request a replacement code so that I could lodge my appeal (Please find attached my letter and associated correspondence with POPLA).

I have received no response from Indigo.

Today (28/01/17) I received a letter from “PCN Admin Centre”, a trading name of ZZPS Ltd. It is clear that instead of following the appeals process that they are committed to under BPA code of practice, INDIGO have instead passed my details on to a debt collection agency.

In taking this action INDIGO have failed to provide me with an efficient appeals process and breached numerous terms under clause 22 of BPA code of practice. I am now living in fear of debt collectors and/or court action due to INDIGO’s flagrant disregard for the BPA appeals process to which they have prescribed.

I am writing to request that the BPA take the following actions:

1. Penalise INDIGO to the full extent of your authority for failing to follow the code of practice to which they have prescribed. If they are not held fully accountable and penalized for this breach then drivers will be subject to the demands of cowboy operators operating without any regulatory authority. I am certain that drivers will continue to be intimidated into making payment without being granted access to an appeals process. This is extortion and the BPA must send a strong message to make it clear this is unacceptable and to ensure that INDIGO change their operating practice.
2. Demand that INDIGO drop any further action against me in relation to this PCN due to the stress and anxiety their breach of regulatory rules has caused me. I believe that the PCN was issued unfairly and I wanted to appeal.
   If the BPA are unable to enforce item 2 then as an absolute minimum I require the BPA to:
3. Ensure that INDIGO cancel any ongoing action against me by their debt collection agency as I have not yet been given the opportunity to appeal.
4. Ensure that INDIGO issue a replacement POPLA Verification Code
5. Contact me in writing to confirm the actions the BPA has taken in addressing this issue and the resultant actions that INDIGO are taking.

Yours Faithfully


Good Luck

Fair_A

Hi Guys,

So just to give you an update.

I emailed Indigo Solutions or rather Indigo PCN Admin Centre requesting a POPLA code. I heard nothing back. I emailed again and eventually someone replied back today stating they require permission from the owner (my partner) in order to speak to me, the driver on that day of the alleged offence.

In addition to the above, I also complained to the BPA along similar tone to windsmurf, stating breach of clause 22 but also stating breaches of clause 14 issues a penalty notice misrepresenting themselves.

This is what the BPA emailed back.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email in connection to Indigo Parking Solutions, who are members of the BPA’s Approved Operator Scheme.

Unfortunately we do not have the authority as a membership association to request a parking operator to cancel a parking charge or recall it from debt recovery, as per the collection process.

If an appeal outcome has not been received, it is necessary that the motorist contact the parking company and or debt recovery company dealing with the matter to request copies of the relevant documentation. I note that you have already obtained a copy.

Please be aware that a motorist has a period of 28 days from the date of the rejection of the appeal to utilise POPLA. Once this time has lapsed, there is no obligation for the parking operator to provide a further POPLA code to enable the motorist to appeal further.

In these circumstances, if POPLA is not used within the 28 day timeframe permitted, and if a charge remains unpaid at this stage, the parking operator will pass the charge to a debt recovery agent. This will increase the amount of the charge as the debt recovery company will add their charges and pursue the motorist for payment as per the collection process.

If the charge remains unpaid at debt recovery stage it will be at the discretion of the parking operator as to whether they will choose to pursue payment through the legal system.

I appreciate you advised you did not receive the original appeal outcome, but unfortunately unless recorded delivery is used it is not possible to ascertain whether mail has, or has not been sent and or received by either party. The BPA will not become involved in a dispute on this point between the motorist and the parking operator. As it is not currently a requirement of the Code that the operator send mail recorded delivery we cannot advise there to be a breach of the AOS Code of Practice.

All appeals are a matter for the landowner or operator’s procedure with the option of taking it to POPLA (where applicable) and or the courts, and as a membership association, and not a regulatory body, the BPA is unable to intervene in this situation.

Moving forward should you wish to contest the charge, we would advise that legal advice be sought from an appropriate source. As we are not legally trained we are not qualified to offer any advice in this area. I am sorry we have been unable to assist you further.

The BPA have failed to acknowledge any breach either clause 14 & 22 but also failed to acknowledge my complaint. Do I write back and state the ADR Act 2015 and state foul play on behalf of one of your members or not? Should I be hopefully that Indigo coming back today might provide me with POPLA code and also provide me with evidence that they did actually email me their rejection letter?

Any advice on what to do next would be so very welcomed? Thank you so much in advance.

Redx

I would , I would complain again about the above AND ALSO about the obvious misrepresentation of authority in INDIGO issuing PENALTY NOTICES on railway land

dont forget the major objective here, to string it out past the 6 months deadline and also cause some grief as well

Marktheshark

The only known case of a PPC trying a bylaw ticket was thrown out of Doncaster mags court, I think they landed somewhere around bawtry with the courts boot right up their backsides.

Fair_A

Thank you Redx, Mark, How does the letter below sound? Comments/feedback are most welcome.

I am not 100% sure about my facts and whether PPC are allowed to chase payment through the legal process as I have stated in paragraph 2?

---

Thank you for your prompt reply.


If it is that the BPA don't have the authority as a membership association to request one of your members to cancel a 'penalty’ charge, then I accept the BPA’s word for it.


I understand the point regarding the period of 28 days to utilise the POPLA code, however under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2015, the consumer has the right to also appeal within 12 months. Therefore I would state there is an obligation for the parking operator to provide a further POPLA code to enable the motorists to appeal further when potentially foul play has been carried in which a parking operator failed to provide an appeals process in the first instance. The BPA needs to be aware of this.


I understand that the parking operator has right to pursue the motorist for payment as per the collection process if the alleged offensive takes place on private land, under contract law in which the POFA Act 2012 is applicable however this is not the case under Railway Bylaws. Only the railway company has the right to issue/enable penalties. Breaches of bylaws are criminal offences and not a breach of contact. It is actually the Railway company that has right to pursue payment through the legal system, not the parking operator.


I appreciate that unless recorded delivery was used by the parking company that it is not possible to ascertain whether delivery of the rejection letter was made or not. On this occasion, neither physical delivery or soft delivery through email was made. I have already asked your member to provide evidence that they actually did send the email. It has been 19 days since I requested this information.


Whilst the BPA cannot get involved, I feel what the BPA can do, is take my complaint seriously and understand there has been breaches by one of your members, Indigo Parking Solutions Ltd under clauses 14 & 22 (clause 22 subject to pending evidence) for which there has been no acknowledgement. Misrepresentation of Authority is serious breach and as stated under the code, clauses 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 have these have been breached in this case with the initial issue of the 'Penalty' Notice affixed to the vehicle window followed by further intimidating letters stating 'Penalty' Notice and ‘PCN’ under which 14.3 states “The abbreviation ‘PCN’ is also used to mean a ‘penalty charge notice’ in the regulated environment. Unless you have previously defined a PCN as a ‘parking charge notice’ on your signs and notices, you must avoid using the term ‘PCN’ to avoid confusing drivers about the nature of your parking enforcement. On this occasion, your member has failed to defined their use of PCN on their notices/letters as a parking charge notice but instead have stated Penalty Notice throughout.



In addition, I am going to lodge a formal complaint to the DLVA for the alleged breach of the Data Protection Act because on this occasion under Railway Bylaw, Indigo Parking Solutions Ltd had no legal right to contact the DLVA under section 4 of the POFA Act 2012 because on this occasion it did not apply. In addition, signing up to the KADOE contract, Keeper of a Vehicle at the Date of an Event, “the contract sets out numerous conditions for access to ensure that the data is used lawfully, such as the requirement for the parking company to operate in accordance with their code of practice”, which on this occasion, Indigo Parking Solutions have clearly breached the BPA code of practice cause 14 right from the onset of the alleged offence.

So as you can see, whilst the BPA can't/doesn't wish to get involved, there has been serious malpractice by one of your members for which the BPA has a responsibility to act to ensure it's members practice fairly in accordance with your code of practice. I would the BPA to take my complaint seriously and escalate it.


I look forward to hearing from you.

Fair_A

Corrections on* Define and I would like the

The_Deep

I tried a complaint to the DVLA. about APCOA issuing Contract Law charges on land covered by bye-laws. They replied that the PPC was entitled to access RK's details to enquire of the driver. They seems to think that what the PPC did subsequently was not their concern.

I do not think that DVLA would be much help in a data breach claim. AFATAC, the PPC have proper cause to access their records. nc

Fair_A

Thank you Deep.


To what degree are PPC's bound to their respective AOS code of practices? If a PPC has clearly failed to adhere to a code of practice and then decided to break the code themselves and chase details which should only be accessed lawfully, such as the requirement for the parking company to operate in accordance with their code of practice, can they then be held to account in the court of law?


Like yourself, I can't see why the DLVA would care especially when accessing Keeper details is paid service, generating the DVLA millions each year....


I guess it comes back to the BPA and PPC. As Redex has suggest, I will try to string this out long enough and most importantly chase Indigo for a POPLA code. I will then submitted around day 26 and that should see the claim out beyond the 6 month cut off date to formally issue a charge. However considering I actually paid in the first instance, therefore not break any railway byelaw and that I was issued with a penalty charge notice, not a parking notice, I feel I have a very strong chance of winning! Famous last words!


I think I might look to study Contract Law!