SIP parking charges

whyme78

Hi

Hoping someone can offer advice please. One of the guys who work for us has been issued a wad of parking charges via the post after parking at a SIP car park.

They issued them by post to the registered keeper of the vehicle (I've read through the letters and it seems they have included all the information they should - including the part about recovering from the owner).

On each occasion he parked, the machine only accepted the first part of the registration number and then issued the ticket showing just that first part. He didn't question it thinking it correct.

There is a camera at the entrance of the car park recording each vehicle arriving and exiting (they have sent clear photos of the car on each occasion saying it was provided by the officer - it wasn't, its a camera on a pole).

The company are saying that a ticket was not purchased for the vehicle. It was and we have each original ticket as the guys claim back for parking. They have copies of each and know the reason why the first part of the registration only is on there but they are still saying the charges still stand as "no ticket had been purchased". Also that if he suspected a problem he should have visited another machine or called them and paid over the phone.

Its been passed to me to challenge it (great ). So, i'm after your thoughts. Should we continue to challenge each ticket and then appeal? They say appeals should be directed to the IAS - however, after looking into SIP it seems they are a part of the IPC. If we appeal on his behalf, should we direct it to the IPC? Any help appreciated.

Thank you

Umkomaas

How many tickets?

SIP are litigious so you need to prepare yourself for a court hearing (especially with multiple tickets). You need to appeal each ticket separately using the ready-written template in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #1, from which you can expect automatic rejections and the offer to appeal to the IAS.

Do not appeal to the IAS as they too will rejects your appeals - and with multiple rejections by an 'independent' appeals service, SIP will be really buoyed to progress this to court - with a sheaf of 'independent' assessments to wave in front of the judge.

Quentin

Everyone is politely asked to read up on this in the Newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum before starting a new thread

Go there now to learn about the game you are now caught up in

You will learn about the futility of sppeals to IAS.

The keeper should ignore everything except court correspondence or a lbcca.

Then come back for advice on how to defend this at that time

whyme78

Its 6 tickets he has in all. Yes, I thought the IAS might not be the best to go to.

Fruitcake

Absolutely appeal each and every ticket using the template exactly as it is. You will need to appeal on behalf of the company as this will make it more difficult for the scammers, but a name and company position will be needed.
You will need to add that you were not the driver but are acting solely as a company representative.
Be aware that the scammers may try to say that the driver was acting on instructions from the company.

Also complain to your MP. The driver should do the same as the more complaints the better.

These are some of the comments made by the MPs in Parliament concerning the unregulated parking industry (Feb 2018):

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-02/debates/CC84AF5E-AC6E-4E14-81B1-066E6A892807/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this''.

These are the exact words used, so you should quote them to your MP in a complaint and ask him/her to contact Sir Greg Knight MP if he wants further information about this scam.

System

There was a court case you can refer too, where a judge decided "on the balance of probabilities" the correct VRM was entered. Its Excel v Mrs S (C8DP11F9). You might want to refer to this and also ask for SIP to provide their machine maintenance records for those days.

Coupon-mad

whyme78 wrote: »

Its 6 tickets he has in all. Yes, I thought the IAS might not be the best to go to.

Hopefully you have now read the NEWBIES thread? Come back at court claim stage. Winnable!

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and a smaller company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They nearly always lose) and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind most of these companies may well be put out of business by Christmas.