UKCPM - PCN issued for not displaying permit

sparky8888

Good evening everyone.

I'm new here and this is my first post so please excuse any school boy errors, and please do offer corrections where necessary.

You'll all be glad to hear that despite being new, I have invested a lot of time reading through the NEWBIES thread comprehensively, and trawling the forum for threads on here identifying ones that are relevant to my situation. As such, I have a pretty good understanding on where I stand, and what my main defense points are if this matter does proceed to court - however, we're no where near that stage yet... Ideally, I would like to take inspiration from Hairrays thread, and nip this in the bud way before this gets anywhere near the court stage.

My situation is this:

• I am a resident at the property where the below two PCNs were issued.
• The PPC was not in operation when we moved in. It was introduced mid-tenancy, without any consultation with us.
• No communication was made by the Management Company as to its introduction. The first communication received was a 'introduction' letter from UKCPM with the paper permit.
• Soon after it's introduction, we received a window screen PCN on a vehicle that I am the registered keeper. With a little hassle, I did eventually get this one cancelled by the Managing Company.
• I have since received another window screen PCN on the same vehicle. The reason being the same: not displaying a valid permit.
• The Managing Company are refusing to play ball with this one, and essentially passing the buck by saying it's an issue between myself and the PPC (UKCPM). They essentially are not taking any accountability for the operation of the PPC on the private land. They're advice was to pay the reduced fee to make the 'fine' go away.
• Obviously I did not do this, and ignored the ticket. I have now received the NTK, to which I will be sending the IPC template letter in the post first thing in the morning.
• The PPC were appointed by the Managing Company. They do not own the land. The freeholders are Freehold Managing Ltd, not the Managing company. It is my understanding that UKCPM therefore do not have any legal authority to operate at this location, and by doing so are committing acts of trespass.
• To confirm this, I have written a letter to the freeholders, and have also asked the Management Company for an unreacted copy of the agreement. I have yet to receive a reply from either.

I believe my main defense here is Primacy of Contract, since there is nothing in my tenancy agreement that requires me to display a permit of any kind, or to agree to pay a fee of 100.00 if a valid permit is not displayed.

The only relevant clauses I see in my tenancy agreement relating to keeping vehicles at the property are as below:

2.54 Not to store or keep on the premises or any communal car park any boat, caravan or commercial vehicle without the prior consent of the landlord or his agent. Such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. The landlord reserves the right to withdraw, for reasonable grounds and upon reasonable notice, any such consent previously given.

2.55 Not to repair cars, motorcycles, vans or other commercial vehicles at the premises apart from general maintenance, from time to time, to a vehicle of which the tenant is the registered keeper.

Based on all of this, I have the following questions that I would be grateful if anybody can help answer:

Would I be mistaken in thinking that the lack of any clause restricting parking by way of displaying a permit, implies unfettered access to parking vehicles at this residence, and therefore Primacy of Contract does exist?

Because the Managing Company have entered into a contract with UKCPM, that they are jointly and severally liable for the actions of UKCPM. i.e. Breach of contract, harrasment, breach of DPA, Derogation from grant etc..

I feel I have a much better chance at the getting the PNC cancelled through being persistent with the managing company rather than UKCPM. I therefore would appreciate any pointers to other threads like Hairrays that have really robust letters to Managing Companies highlighting their role and responsibility in this issue.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Thorsson

Hopefully you asked the Management Company for an unredacted copy of the agreement and the typo is just on here.

NeilCr

Do you, in your lease, have a specific parking space allocated to you? Or, indeed, did a parking space come along with the flat when you bought it?

Is there any "catch all" in the lease along the lines of " the freeholder/management may introduce such measures that they think will contribute to the smooth running of the estate". These are quite common.

In terms of going forward others are better versed than me on detail but, I agree that going to the management company/freeholder is the best bet. You will need to establish who the contract with parking company is actually with. It may be the ManCo isn't party to it. And, ask exactly what authority was used to bring in the PPC.

The_Slithy_Tove

sparky8888 wrote: »

The Managing Company are refusing to play ball with this one, and essentially passing the buck by saying it's an issue between myself and the PPC (UKCPM). They essentially are not taking any accountability for the operation of the PPC on the private land. They're advice was to pay the reduced fee to make the 'fine' go away.

They absolutely ARE accountable, as they are the ones who contracted UKCPM. You need to get back to them, get hold of someone senior, and tell them that they ARE accountable for the actions of UKCPM and thus will be on the receiving end of any claim you may bring against them.

System

Why did they say the permit was not valid. In the alternative, was there no permit displayed. And lastly if there was no permit displayed, was that because you were not given one?

Umkomaas

UKCPM are litigious and this is likely to proceed to court in due course. It won't be the worst route for you because if you get a favourable judgment, you will have a much stronger basis on which to fight off UKCPM long term.

If you can get the MA to cancel this current ticket, it won't be without a big fight, and freedom from it will only last until you next forget to display your permit.

Thorsson

Presuming that you have a valid permit, then you might try a tack that is similar to what is recommended here for dealing with retail parking and which I have used when complaining about unrelated issues - write to the MD of the Managing Agents to complain about both the parking company they employ and being fobbed off by his staff.

You can usually find lots of useful information about companies at this gov.uk site.

Le_Kirk

Look at this comment by Loadsofchldren123 and then read the rest of the thread, it looks to be very similar to your situation.

sparky8888

Thanks everyone for your replies today. Some really helpful information and good questions asked. I have attempted to answer all of them below.

Hopefully you asked the Management Company for an unredacted copy of the agreement and the typo is just on

Yes, this was a typo. I have only asked UKCPM for the contract. However, I have drafted a letter to the management company which I will post here soon, which also asks for this. Although, I doubt either party will expose this contract.

Do you, in your lease, have a specific parking space allocated to you? Or, indeed, did a parking space come along with the flat when you bought it?

Is there any "catch all" in the lease along the lines of " the freeholder/management may introduce such measures that they think will contribute to the smooth running of the estate". These are quite common.

We don't own the flat, we are renting the property. According to our landlord, we do have an allocated parking space in his leasehold, however there are no marked bays. There is also nothing in our tenancy that is specific about parking at all, other than the usual clauses about not keeping commercial vehicles, boats, caravans etc. in the parking areas. I am working on trying to get hold of a copy of the leasehold so I can see exactly what is states in relation to that allocated parking space.

I can't see any clause in my tenancy agreement at all that expresses anyone has the right to introduce measures to ensure the smooth running of the development. I can post a redacted copy of my tenancy agreement here if people feel it's worth while.

Why did they say the permit was not valid. In the alternative, was there no permit displayed. And lastly if there was no permit displayed, was that because you were not given one?

The reason stated on the NTK for issuing the ticket was "not displaying a valid permit". Not that is really matters, but it's not clear if this means, "no permit was on display", or "a permit was on display, but was not valid". I do have a permit, but forgot to place it in the window screen when this pcn was issued.

You can usually find lots of useful information about companies at this gov.uk site.

Thanks for this link. I was able to find the Managing Directors name and address for the Managing Agents.

Look at this comment by Loadsofchldren123 and then read the rest of the thread, it looks to be very similar to your situation.

I agree this could be similar to my case, however the link takes me to that single post only. I am not able to see the rest of the thread. Is there a link to the thread you can provide.

As mentioned above, I have been working on a robust letter to send to the management company. If I post a redacted draft on here, would people be able to take a look and recommend any improvements, and see if it contains appropriate and relevant content?

thanks again for everyone's invaluable help

Redx

the full thread can be seen but is in tiny writing near the top of that post


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5815720/lbc-for-parking-in-my-own-bay

sparky8888

Thanks Redx. I've had a quick glance though but its getting late now, so will have a thorough read through in the morning. I'll also post up my draft letter to the MC too after I've have a chance to proof read it one more time.