UKPC ANPR Parking Charge - Completely untrue. Advice!!!

LEM25

Hi all, I'd like to mention my current situation, which is my first run in with these parking companies. I'd like the input of more experienced people before I decide on the best course of action and your input will be hugely appreciated.


Basically, I do a McDonald's drive through every weekday morning for a coffee, then I'm straight off to work, which is over 20 miles away from said McDonalds. From my home to said McDonalds is also over 20 miles away. After work I go back home.


I came home the other night to a letter from UKPC Re: Parking Charge, which include ANPR images of the vehicle.
They say that the vehicle was recorded on their client's private property for a duration of 23 hours 55 minutes (!!!!), which is in excess of the maximum stay time of 1 hour 30 minutes.
The ANPR image shows the vehicle entering the carpark on the Tuesday @ 05:29 and the second image shows the vehicle leaving the carpark on the Wednesday @ 05:24.


They have completely neglected to include the images of the vehicle leaving a few minutes after 05:29 on the Tuesday and returning again a few minutes before 05:24 on the Wednesday.


I was and still am completely flabbergasted at their incompetence.


I have contacted McDonald's customer services and after several emails I am getting nowhere with them, they aren't interested. It's a brick wall of robotic, scripted responses where nobody can give a human response relevant to my particular situation.


Obviously the contravention that I am being accused of NEVER happened, so how best to fight back? I have read that UKPC have already been previously suspended from accessing DVLA database, so maybe I should contact DVLA that this company is accessing my personal information without proper grounds to do so, because they are failing their responsibility to ensure the event isn't a case of false overstay... as mentioned in the BPA's website -

"Repeat users of a car park inside a 24 hour period sometimes find that their first entry is paired with their last exit, resulting in an 'overstay'. Operators are becoming aware of this and should now be checking all ANPR transactions to ensure that this does not occur."

and as a result DVLA are allowing an innocent person be harassed by a company with prior history.


McDonalds just give the robotic response that they can't do anything and my appeal should be taken up with the operator. That is nonsense. Of course they can do something.


What does everyone think about this situation?


Many thanks!!

Pirate_Parker

You could always send a data subject access request to the ppc giving them the day in question as search parameters to check for all records of your registration but the potential is this information may not be available due to the time that has passed, I'm honestly not sure how long they're supposed to keep those records if any time at all.

Should it escalate to court you need only show on the balance of probabilities that your story is true and given that it would be reasonable to assume you never spent 23 hours at a mcdonalds 20 miles from your home I wouldn't get too worried about it.

Umkomaas

Complain to Steve Clark of the BPA and ask him to investigate. Tell him how ridiculous this charge is - who in their right mind would stay at a McD drive through for over 23 hours. Get you employed to confim that you were in work all day. Attach that confirmation to Steve Clark

Also copy the correspondence to the DVLA. UKPC is notorious for its looseness in utilising their photographs to extract money from motorists.

steve.c@britishparking.co.uk

ccrt@dvla.gov.uk

The_Deep

Complain to your MP

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers be put out of business. Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers. Read this one which I wrote earlier

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Guys_Dad

Dead simple. You write to them saying they have double dipped you and if they think they can win that one in court, see you there! Tell them to use their common sense.

If it is a weekday, does your work have any on site cameras in their car park and can you get a witness to swear you were at work over the period?

The_Deep

UKPC ar fraudsters, see this

https://www.bing.com/search?q=ukpc+fraudsters+the+telegraph&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-gb&httpsmsn=1&refig=63c83d13794b494ebe1e126a9f38e36c&PC=ACTS&sp=1&ghc=1&qs=AS&pq=ukpc+fraudsters&sc=2-15&cvid=63c83d13794b494ebe1e126a9f38e36c&cc=GB&setlang=en-GB

and this

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/

If this got to cour. (and the judge got wind of it), who would he believe?

LEM25

Thanks for your input so far. Really interesting to hear other people's points of view and knowledge, instead of my own vengeance plots whirling around in my head!

In terms of evidence against them, I have my Google maps timeline showing my progress from home to work both days (and every other weekday for that matter) via a little detour at the Drive-Thru.

I also have my Google pay data showing the Drive-Thru purchase and then later on in the day when I went to the Co-op near my work. Funny how I managed that, considering I was apparently still in McDonald's carpark according to them!

I can get a statement from my employer stating that I was at work that day, and I can probably get CCTV of me entering my place of work, but on foot as I park down the road in a carpark (no camera's unfortunately).

The more I look into it the deeper it seems to run and I feel I have an opportunity to possibly add another nail into their coffin. Just need to work out the best way to do it.

Thanks again for your responses.

Umkomaas

The more I look into it the deeper it seems to run and I feel I have an opportunity to possibly add another nail into their coffin. Just need to work out the best way to do it.

Just get your charge cancelled - in the time you're denying them your £100, there'll be another 100 people paying them £100 each. This is one big coffin!