Excel parking issue PCN even though paid

onlyfoolsandparking

vidivic wrote: »

hello there, I haven't had any response to my email and im concerned the fine will rise and court case will proceed.
Any help appreciated

As C-M and others have said "it's not a fine" and please don't be concerned about the "INVOICE" rising, anyone can demand what they want doesn't mean they are legally entitled to it and I hope you don't get too concerned when you start receiving the begging letters off the debt recovery sewer rats!!

vidivic

Hi there

Email was address for info@excel but I couldn't find any other address, can you advise?
I have received the NOTICE OF INTENDED COURT PROCEEDINGS today.

vidivic

I have also found the data protection address, I haven't been able to think too much about it of late, many things going on.
Resent to both addresses.

vidivic

a reply:


Dear Ms McIntyre,

Thank you for your email dated 29 September 2018 relating to the above Parking Charge Notice (PCN) issued to you at The Pitch Car Park, Media City Salford and your concerns relating to data arising from this contravention.

In your email you state that on the date of the contravention you made use of Connect Cashless Parking to make payment for your stay on site. At this site motorists are permitted to use Connect Cashless Parking as an alternative method of making payment for their parking via phone call or SMS text message. Once payment for parking is made, an acknowledgement is received by the motorist confirming that their parking has been authorised and also gives details of the parking duration paid for and its expiry time. All Connect Cashless parking sessions are virtual which means that a paper ticket is not required to be displayed in the vehicle when parking using the service.

In your email you have complained that “I had paid via the telephone system, the system automatically engaged parking with a code from 18 months previously without my authorisation”. I can confirm that we have investigated this matter with Connect Cashless Parking and they have confirmed that on the date of the contravention you called their payment phone line at 12:45; during this call the system in place prompted the details of your previous booking, including the vehicle registration mark (VRM), parking location and the length of parking. These details were subsequently confirmed and payment was entered, completing the transaction. As such I would note that at the time of parking you were clearly offered the option to either confirm your previous details, as you did, or to amend them for the details as required. As you confirmed the parking location for Manchester Victoria, your payment was not allocated to this location and so our Patrol Officers (PO) were unable to validate your parking at the time of observation. As such, the contravention of the Terms and Conditions of parking was correctly recorded. It is always imperative that motorists ensure their details are correctly entered when using this system if they wish to make valid payment for their duration of parking against the applicable car park.

Your further state: “Due to a processing error on the part of the new app that Excel have changed to recently, Connect Cashless Parking have brought forward in error, old data regarding a parking session and location code at Victoria car park and wrongly applied it to my request for a parking session at The Pitch, Media City, Salford”. We would note that the Connect Cashless Parking system has had over 4 million transactions in the past 12 months, 1.1 million of which involved customers making use of the Buy Again option as you did and without encountering any problems. The Buy Again option is presented at the start of the payment line process for ease of use for returning customers, though I would note the customer is also offered the option to change their details at the start of the call process in addition to the Buy Again option. I would therefore contest your portrayal of events in describing this as a “processing error” is incorrect as to complete your purchase you would have needed to confirm you wanted to use these details at the time of the phone call. It is the responsibility of the motorist to personally ensure that their details are entered correctly at the time of parking.

You further state that the retention of your previous purchase’s data location is “excessive and unjustified” and also argue that Excel have breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in using this data. I would note that in this matter you are incorrect; the prior location data presented to you as the customer is not deemed to be personal data and therefore falls outside the scope of the GDPR. I would further note that the prior purchase data of any customer is not used or accessed for any purpose unless they contact the Connect Cashless system to purchase any further sessions. As such, your concerns regarding data protection in relation to this matter are unfounded. I would note that the Connect Cashless application is third-party software for which we are not responsible for and have no control over. It is possible for your account and its associate data to be deleted at any time subject to your confirmation. In order for this to happen though you will need to contact Connect Cashless direct and request that they delete your data under the ‘Right to be forgotten’.

To conclude, when paying via Connect Cashless, motorists must always personally ensure that payment has been allocated to the correct vehicle and correct parking location as this is the only means by which the PO is able to correctly validate the parking of the vehicle involved.

Yours Sincerely,

Data Protection Team
CENTRAL PROCESSING OFFICE

vidivic

Hi there

I have now received a letter from Napier / BW Legal asking for payment.
What should I do?
The data team replied and just ignored my appeal.

Any help appreciated

The_Deep

im concerned the fine will rise and court case will proceed.

It is not a fine, it is an invoice for an alleged breach of contract. They feel that your behaviour has so damaged them that they need £100 in compensation, it is a scam. If it did get to court, imo they would come a cropper.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

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

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting)

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by in the not too distant future..

vidivic

Thank you 'The Deep', fascinating reading and a case very similar to my own is cited.
I am unsure whether I should get in touch with BW Legal.
I have no intention of paying the now increased figure of £160 fine, especially as ultimately I paid for parking but in the wrong location. Should I acknowledge them?
Their letter to me is also missing details and is completely devoid of any relation to my case.
It states the contravention date but the contravention description is blank, thats because they dint have a category for fining me for wrong location. I paid for that location too and have the evidence.
Im very confused.

Quentin

You are now in the wait and see/debt collectors stage


See #4 in the newbies FAQ thread for advice on debt collecting letters


You now ignore everything except a LBCCA or Court correspondence


They have 6 years to start legal proceedings against you


If it comes to this then come back at that time for advice on how to defend it

vidivic

Amazing, can you give me a link to the newbie thread, I can't seem to locate it.

Thank you

KeithP

Make your way to the thread index list.
That's the page where you found the New Thread button over two months ago.

You are looking for a thread entitled:

**NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET? OLD OR NEW? **READ THESE FAQS FIRST!** Thankyou!

Difficult to understand how your research has not found it before.
As you say - amazing.