Quick queries!

financerulez

Hi all

Brother has received ECP parking fine and I said I'd deal with it after all the byelaw experience, so venturing into new territory! Feel at grasp with everything and the process and may post my POPLA appeal on here, will decide after writing it.

Had a couple of queries I can't find anything on:

1. Is there a way I can find out who owns the land? In this case the signage just says Owned by landowner. No threads for this particular location. Have searched the Land Registry but it's not clear whether it will be part of the title of one of the surrounding buildings, or simply 'land adjoining'.
2. Is there a quick way of searching for winning reasons on the POPLA decision thread. E.g. I want to search for recent wins based on signage. Usually the assessment decision rationale is given as a block of text. Could be handy to use something like Win - Signage, Win - Landowner Authority, Win - POFA etc, to make for faster searching?

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to getting stuck into the non-byelaw stuff!

Coupon-mad

I am not sure if it's up to date but Aaron Aardvark used to summarise exactly that, with post numbers, on the first page of his 'POPLA Decisions' sticky thread.

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, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors..

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another 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.

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

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.

financerulez

Thanks Coupon - don't know how i missed that!

Any idea about identifying the landowner, or will I have to wait for their evidence at POPLA? No doubt the contract will be with ECP Holdings Ltd. I guess they may own the land themselves.

Umkomaas

Any idea about identifying the landowner,

Try the local authority, planning department or collections (who pays the business rates?). Try the local Valuation Office - they usually have a website where you can check out rateable values of properties. Just some ideas .....

I very much doubt that ECP (or ECP Holdings) owns any land - particularly if it is a free car park (not sure from your OP whether it is or not).

System

I very much doubt that ECP (or ECP Holdings) owns any land - particularly if it is a free car park (not sure from your OP whether it is or not).

ECP have two different types of business. One where they do own the land and others where they provide a service for others. They are a professional outfit and although they don't take lightly to people scamming them by not paying, they are smart enough not to waste money chasing people.

Was is a Pay and Display or free?

financerulez

Thanks guys - it was a pay and display, no free allocation at all (not even on Sundays!)

Have used what Umkomaas advised and think I've tracked down the landowner Will be handy information to be holding as I think they have history of leaving this out of the contract showing landowner authority at POPLA stage!

Coupon-mad

ECP also tend to supply bad photo evidence, mostly undated and with no proof of where the signs are, nothing to really show what signs were on site at the material time.

So be ready to tear into the signs when at the final 'POPLA comments on evidence' stage.

financerulez

That's good to hear as signage will be my point 1 - mainly due to the fact that there is only 1 sign in the entire car park which you don't even walk near to exit the car park. There is a sign by the entrance too, but it is unlit, and the driver entered at 10pm, so in this case genuinely did not see any signs. Add in the fact that ECP signs don't make the charge prominent on the sign, and I'm hoping they'll uphold!

Is it better to put in photos of .e.g dark entrance sign, or entire car park with no lights/signs, or let them dig themselves a hole?

nosferatu1001

Put your own pics in, at the time of day to show it was dark and they werent lit.

Coupon-mad

Yes, embed your own photos with comments, illustrating your looong appeal like a story book.