Private parking ticket when my permit fell off - advice please!

strothel

Hi All

I've had the following reply to my appeal to the PPC by email:
BPA Code of Practice, Section 20.8 states: "If you have issued a parking charge notice to a driver in your car park but had no response,
you may wish to take the next step to recover the charge."
Section 20.10 explains: "In either case, you will need to try to
identify who was driving the vehicle and make contact with them. You do
this by first seeking the keeper details from the DVLA. Having received
the keeper details from the DVLA you will need to issue a ‘Notice to
Keeper’."
Notice to Keeper means a notice, addressed to the registered keeper of a
vehicle, which meets the conditions in the Protection of Freedoms Act
2012, Schedule 4, paragraphs 8 or 9. A Notice to Keeper can be given
either as the first step in recovering a parking charge, or as the
second step after giving a Notice to Driver. A Notice to Keeper must be
given if an operator wants to recover parking charges from the keeper.
Within Section 20.1, it states: "When a vehicle is parked in a private
car park, the normal rule is that the driver is responsible for paying
the tariff fee (if any) for parking, for following the terms and
conditions which apply, and for paying any parking charges. Because of
the difficulties of identifying who drivers are and where they live, the
law in England and Wales now allows car park owners and operators to
recover unpaid parking charges from registered vehicle keepers, or,
where relevant, from vehicle hirers."

As you do not wish to give the name and current address for service for
the driver, under the Code, we are able to pursue the registered keeper
for the unpaid parking charge.

This was followed up a few days later with a letter stating that they have requested my details from the DVLA as the registered keeper of the vehicle through the reasonable cause criteria. They then requested payment in full or the case will be passed to a debt recovery agent which may escalate to court proceedings.

So I'm not sure if this letter is a 'notice to keeper'? and I havent received a POPLA code..so what's the next step?

Thanks for your help!

Umkomaas

So I'm not sure if this letter is a 'notice to keeper'? and I havent received a POPLA code..so what's the next step?

Did you use the blue text template from the NEWBIES sticky?

If so, complain to the BPA and DVLA.

Complaints to the BPA and DVLA can be emailed to:

aos@britishparking.co.uk

or (if posting)

British Parking Association
Stuart House
41-43 Perrymount Road
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 3BN

and DVLA:

FOI@dvla.gsi.gov.uk

david.dunford@dvla.gsi.gov.uk

Coupon-mad

Yes, complain that you have not had a POPLA code, unless that reply does provide it.

strothel

Thanks, yes I did copy and paste the template in my appeal and no I havent received the POPLA code.

So I have drafted the letter to the DVLA is this OK?
Dear Customer Complaint Resolution Team
The DVLA will or may have already received a data request from Private Parking Solutions London. As the keeper of the vehicle I appealed a parking ticket received by them within the necessary timeframe and they did not supply me with a ‘Parking on Private Land Appeals’ (POPLA) Code. Failing to supply this code breaches the British Parking Association Code of Practice and therefore breaches the ‘Keeper of a vehicle at date of event’ (KADOE) contract to get DVLA data.
I have escalated this matter to the CCR team because I have no confidence in the data release team to take such a complaint seriously as it's in the public domain that they have dismissed these issues far too many times recently without so much as even supplying a copy of the DVLA complaints procedure leaflet. If my complaint is not resolved properly I intend to involve my MP and refer the issue to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.


What exactly would be my complaint to the BPA? Just that I appealed and didnt received a POPLA code?

Many thanks for your assistance!

Coupon-mad

What exactly would be my complaint to the BPA? Just that I appealed and didnt received a POPLA code?

And what you did about it to chase it up, and attach proof. NOT saying who was driving...

strothel

OK thanks...but surely I dont want to remind the PPC until day 56 has passed? Wouldnt prompting them to send me a POPLA number not also prompt them to send me a NTK? Which I wouldnt really want to do based on what it says in the newbie stickie post?

very fact a PPC then forgets to send you a NTK by day 56, gives you a winning point at POPLA stage.

Coupon-mad

Yes you could wait till day 55 which would be safe.

I assumed you were already past that, seeing as our advice clearly tells appellants to wait 26 days first, following a windscreen PCN, then if you add 35 to that you are there already.

strothel

So I complained to the DVLA and received a response that basically said, your PPC is registered with the BPA so we gave them the info, it's not our responsibility to decide on the merits of individual cases.

After requesting my POPLA code 3 times from the PPC and receiving no response I complained to the BPA who have now opened an official complaint. Obviously they contacted the PPC as the very next day the PPC replied to me showing that the code was given to me when I very first appealed but it was hidden in an attachment and not in the main body of the email in which they responded to me. I find this very devious! And now they are saying that I cannot appeal as it's too late.

I'm now receiving debt collection letters and threats of court.

Oh and in all this time I have still not received an official notice to keeper.

Any thoughts on next steps? Appeal to POPLA anyway stating that the PPC mislead me in thinking I had not received the Code hence the late application date? (Basing the appeal on no notice to keeper). Wait till I receive official notification of the outcome of my complaint from the BPA?

I'm due to give birth any day now so want to get something drafted now as soon I will have no spare time!

Thanks!

strothel

I just got an email from BPA today and as predicted they said that the PPC was able to show to them that they did provide me with a POPLA code. (Obviously they must not have said we hid it in an attachment and when she requested it 3 more times, we just ignored her!) So the BPA pretty much said they aren't getting involved as because the PPC didnt send it recorded delivery there is no way of knowing if I did or didnt receive it.

I guess I'll just try my luck with POPLA?

Redx

if the popla code has expired you cannot use POPLA

if it is still valid , YES use popla

I would say it "timed out" months ago, when coupon-mad said check the response for the code (which is likely to have been in any attachment as they have pointed out)

so the fact that you missed it means its too late for a popla appeal , so no easy solution

this may well end up in court , they have 6 years to try an MCOL