Britannia PCN letter

The_Fairy_Dogmother

Hi there,

I received a PCN from Britannia today. Yay!

We have a disabled "blue badge" as I have Lupus & can't walk too far or carry things well as I use a walking aid sometimes. Most car parks we've used are free for 3 hours to disabled badge holders. There are exceptions & I always check the parking info in each car park to make sure. That day my husband dropped me off to our friends then parked in the nearest car park......and didn't check the signs to see if we got 3 hours free which, I now know, wasn't the case.

I've read the appeals/complaint or defence post, newbie info & the post that says my situation is no different to anyone else. I apologise that I can't work it out as I'm not great at processing information due to complications to do with my illness (Lupus, as mentioned above) & there is so much advice/different situation etc. that I'm utterly confused/overwhelmed & just can't work out what the best thing to do is.

There seems to be two lots of advice...
a) ignore them & they will stop chasing for payment eventually, debt collectors won't appear & it won't go to court
or
b) do an appeal to Britannia

The letter/invoice we received was dated 10 days after we used the car park (that we got the PCN-NTK for) & it arrived 12 days after parking there.

I had a PCN from them (or a similar company 3 or 4 years ago. The advice back then was to ignore it as they couldn't force you to pay & that they would drop it rather than take it to court. This was the case and after a second letter from them I heard nothing.

Do I just ignore all letters linked to this parking charge i.e. from debt collectors as well as the parking company themselves (including letters threatening court action). If I do this will they just drop it eventually?

Or do I do some sort of appeal so that the charge/costs don't increase? If so, what do I appeal on? The only reason I have to appeal is a husband who didn't check the parking info!

Saying that, I could go down the illness side of things, even though I'm loathed to.
I only work part-time due to the Lupus. I get a Disability Living Allowance as well as my income.
Secondly, hubby was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (throat & lymph gland) earlier in the year for which he had chemotherapy & radiotherapy. Amazingly they think they have cleared it from the neck but it looks like it's on his lung now. We've had to transfer to The Marsden Hospital in London to see about it, rather than our local hospital. So instead of a couple of hours at our local hospital each appointment is about 6 hours all in all, if not longer. The effects of the treatment & the travelling is taking it's toll on him as he is still really poorly some days (no energy, pain, starting to be
quite depressed etc) so doesn't concentrate well. He hasn't been able to work since the first operation in March which he hates with a passion! Currently he has no income at the moment but we getting some top up benefits from the DWP/council which I am very grateful for, however it's not really very much son we've had to tighten our purse strings quite a bit. Could I use this to appeal? Normally I would just pay, as it was our fault entirely, but we are so short on money it would really cripple us as we are only just managing to survive financially now.

Apologies again if I am asking for information that has already been stated.
Thanking you all in advance

Guys_Dad

Your personal circumstances, unfortunately, have no bearing on this matter. It was a chargeable car park and you didn't pay or read the signs. So far, not good.

You need to read this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822/newbies-private-parking-ticket-old-or-new-read-these-faqs-first-thankyou for guidance and then come back.

The_Deep

Most car parks we've used are free for 3 hours to disabled badge holders.

Most car parks I use are not.

Although the Equality Act 2010 stipulates that service providers must make reasonable adjustments for those with protected characteristics under the Act, free parking is not one of them.

Your personal circumstances have no bearing on the matter, They allege that you have breached a contract with them, | tend to agree that this may have been the case.

You must now prove to them that any contract which they believe exists between you is invalid in law. Read the FAQs/stickies on how to do this, and complain to your MP.

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 in the house 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. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the House of Commons recently

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

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

The_Fairy_Dogmother

Guys Dad & The Deep....

I do take full responsibility for not paying & am not saying they are at fault (hidden signs etc, although I can't check to say they were there or not as this was 3 hours away from home where we were as a one off).

As I said, I read the post you mentioned along with the other sticky posts & it just confused me utterly. Hence why I asked here.

I just really wanted to know if ignoring them works still i.e. they give up eventually. Or do they chase all parking "fines" nowadays, taking you to court/bailiffs in if its not paid.

KeithP

This link will tell you the likelihood of court:

http://www.parkingappeals.info/companydata/Britannia_Parking_Group.html

However, they do have up to six years to chase you through court, so who knows what they might be doing in 2024.

Redx

no it doesnt always work, these companies issue tens of thousands of court claims per annum, using the small claims court, or MCOL


like this one posted today


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5915842/claim-form-originating-from-bwlegal-and-britannia-parking


they have 6 years to do so, its been that way since 1973 , so nothing new

your idea about IGNORE is incorrect




the correct procedures are as follows

if its a BPA member, you appeal using the blue text template, as keeper, then appeal to popla using the supplied popla code, if they fail to cancel

if its an IPC member, you appeal using the blue text template , as keeper

once these avenues are exhausted, you ignore, unless they issue an LBC or an MCOL, within 6 years


a landowner complaint and cancellation is ALWAYS THE BEST OPTION, no matter what

IGNORE just runs the risk of debt collector letters , LBC and then MCOL

Coupon-mad

Ignoring does not work.

How can copying an appeal I've already written, be confusing?

The_Fairy_Dogmother

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Ignoring does not work.

How can copying an appeal I've already written, be confusing?

Because, as I said I have limited memory & cognitive function which means I am unable to make sense of a lot of written stuff. So I read something and understand it but am unable to link things together to make sense. Believe me, it's not fun & I already feel crap enough without someone questioning how it can be confusing! I spent 20 years as a Computer Programmer in my 20s/30s & now concentrating on reading a book is a real effor...hence why I am asking for help with this situation. I would much prefer it if I could handle this by myself, but I really can't, which is upsetting in itself.

The_Fairy_Dogmother

So, does the appeal things I need to copy/paste & send them starts with "I dispute your 'parking charge', as the keeper of the vehicle. I deny any liability or contractual agreement. There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. Since your PCN is a vague template, I require all photos taken"

I'm just not sure what grounds it is that I am appealing on...as the signs were there. The car park was dark mind you, which is why my other half said he didn't see the signs. One of the signs were obscured but other signs were perfectly visible.

KeithP

TFD, any comment on any of the other guidance you have been given?

You have been pointed in the direction of the NEWBIES thread.

Have you read that yet?

Send the blue text appeal you will find in there.

Send it unchanged - no additions or alterations necessary.

Send it as the keeper.


You've seen the likelihood of court action.
You might conclude from that that it is safe to ignore everything.
Your choice.
You decide.

Coupon-mad

The_Fairy_Dogmother wrote: »

So, does the appeal things I need to copy/paste & send them starts with "I dispute your 'parking charge', as the keeper of the vehicle. I deny any liability or contractual agreement. There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. Since your PCN is a vague template, I require all photos taken"

Yes, and you don't need to query the grounds of appeal in the template as you don't change it. It's a stepping stone, to copy & paste.