UKPC Parking Charge Notice

StuWK

Hi everyone, today I have received a parking charge notice which after reading the MSE guidelines I will be appealing against, the company who issued the charge notice are members of BPA which I believe is the trade body. The car park in question is a non-fee-paying car park which serves a major shopping centre in the West Midlands, my appeal will be based on the fact that my vehicle was parked in an area not causing any obstruction to any service or other user, although my vehicle was not parked in a designated bay it was parked against a kerb with no signs or double yellow lines to say you could not park there.
Secondly and I only mention this because I have not read about this happening to anyone any other thread/post anywhere else. The ticket issued to me is partly ineligible (looks like the form was not correctly positioned in the ticket attendants hand held machine) Whilst the ref no and my vehicle details are ok the space where the ticket attendants name/number is supposed to be contains nothing same goes for the spaces where both the charge amount and reduced charge amounts are supposed to be, they have all been printed but on top of the forms pre-printed writing is, so I cannot be sure how much I have to pay. As part of the form is ineligible surely this would invalidate the charge? Hope this post is ok and makes sense as I am moderately dyslexic.
Many thanks in advance for any advice received.

Half_way

Which guidelines have you read, the ones on the main MSE site, are for want of a better word complete rubbish, and if followed could cost you money ( far from money saving)



Follow the ( very comprehensive) advice here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822known as the sticky thread


Who's car park was it? one piece of advice is to complain to the car park owner

he car park in question is a non-fee-paying car park which serves a major shopping centre in the West Midlands

Of which there are quite a few, Bullring?



Never mention who the driver could have been, keep Rupert guessing. refer to the driver as the driver, no he/she/brother/mother etc etc


You should complain to the landowner/car park owner, but before you do post your compliant here first, say the right thing and you should be able to cancel it that way

The_Deep

UKPC are fraudsters, read this

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11858473/Parking-firm-UKPC-admits-faking-tickets-to-fine-drivers.html

and 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 about these scammers.

Umkomaas

How about putting a few paragraphs into subsequent posts? Walls of text are extremely difficult to read, and many regulars don't bother - you're missing out on the widest range of advice.

Are you doing this on a phone?

fisherjim

OP you may like to look up the definitions of: ineligible and illegible also.


When you start making appeals etc getting it right helps immensely.;)

Fruitcake

StuWK wrote: »

Hi everyone, today I have received a parking charge notice which after reading the MSE guidelines I will be appealing against, the company who issued the charge notice are members of BPA which I believe is the trade body. The car park in question is a non-fee-paying car park which serves a major shopping centre in the West Midlands, my appeal will be based on the fact that my vehicle was parked in an area not causing any obstruction to any service or other user, although my vehicle was not parked in a designated bay it was parked against a kerb with no signs or double yellow lines to say you could not park there.
Secondly and I only mention this because I have not read about this happening to anyone any other thread/post anywhere else. The ticket issued to me is partly ineligible (looks like the form was not correctly positioned in the ticket attendants hand held machine) Whilst the ref no and my vehicle details are ok the space where the ticket attendants name/number is supposed to be contains nothing same goes for the spaces where both the charge amount and reduced charge amounts are supposed to be, they have all been printed but on top of the forms pre-printed writing is, so I cannot be sure how much I have to pay. As part of the form is ineligible surely this would invalidate the charge? Hope this post is ok and makes sense as I am moderately dyslexic.
Many thanks in advance for any advice received.

I sincerely hope you won't be appealing on the grounds you have quoted.

The amount you have to pay is zero.

We have seen a few of these PCNs where the typed in bits don't line up properly with the spaces, but it won't make it invalid.

As above, I hope you have read the sticky thread for NEWBIES and followed the advice there to appeal using the blue template you will find there, not the dreadful "official" MSE advice.
If the PCN was left on the windscreen, then The Keeper waits until day 26 before appealing.

StuWK

Thanks for the replies everyone whilst I have tried putting this post forward in a manner in which I thought most would be able to understand, however I do apologise if this is not the case, please bare in mind I am moderately dyslexic as I stated in my original post, will try again, please bare with me cheers.

StuWK

Have read some of the newbie post and it would seem my first port of call would be to make a strong complaint to the shopping centre (Merry Hill, Brierley Hill) owners (INTU) which I will be doing shortly. If that works which it seems to on some occasions then I should have nothing else to do, still I will keep reading up just in case this doesn't pay off, thanks all advice greatly appreciated. Will post how I get on.

Half_way

Post your complaint up on here first so that others can see what you want to send and offer advice.


Private Parking company signs are full of illegible gibberish which even most of us would fail to understand, let alone those who suffer from Dyslexia

StuWK

Evening all as suggested here is my draft correspondence with the shopping centres manager, just a couple of questions/query's I have. In the draught I have included space for my vehicle details and PCN number to be included is it wise to add these details within the first correspondence, secondly is it wise to point out other vehicles ticketed at the same time as mine. Thanks everyone for your valuable time it much appreciated believe, please also be aware that I am moderately dyslexic and there will be mistakes.

Dear Sir,

After a recent visit to the Merry Hill shopping Center (9th December 2018) we have had the pleasure of being issued with a Parking Charge Notice (PCN). I must say I feel very strongly about this having spent nearly £400 (I can provide proof) at one of your retailers, I obviously cannot condone the actions of these Car parking company’s and the predatory way in which they prey on YOUR retail customers with view to making a quick buck. I must say I see these people as little more than cowboys and company’s such as INTU as condoning their actions, on this point I am hopeful that you will prove me wrong.

The vehicle (Reg Number/PCN ref) was parked on the centre’s car park by the recently opened B&M store, whilst the car was not parked in a designated spot it was parked against a kerb and was not causing an obstruction of any kind to any service or other vehicles using the car park. May I also point out that all your car parks display double red lines painted in areas where parking is not allowed such as against kerbs, however this car park does not these lines if they had been present I would not have parked there may I also point out that my vehicle was not the only one parked in this location so UKPC along with INTU have upset quite a number of people with whom I share my sympathy, perhaps these people will think twice about shopping at the Merry Hill Centre in future and go online instead well that’s certainly my feelings I cannot imagine other people unfairly ticketed will be feeling any differently.

I cannot believe that a company such as yours allows innocent customers spending good money at your retail centre to be treated like this, it is somewhat despicable. If INTU or UKPC have purposefully not provided the double red lines just to catch customers/motorists out then this makes matters even worse and even more underhanded and both companies’ especially INTU should be highlighted for this within the media, the reason I say especially INTU is because I don’t see organisations such as UKPC acting in any other way other than underhanded, what I mean by that is catch the motorist out at all costs I would venture to bet the UKPC car parking attendants have a quota target to meet on a daily basis with regards to issuing PCN’s.

I believe through reading various forums on the web posted on by some very knowledgeable people that you are able to have these unfairly dished out PCN’s rescinded, I have written this correspondence in the hope that you will have some direct input in this matter and I can go shopping at the Merry Hill Centre in the hope that I will not be ripped off now or in the future. I will look forward to your response in the near future.

Yours Faithfully

Redx

edit it to mention that the DRIVER parked there, no telling anyone WHO WAS DRIVING at this stage, nobody at all

the DRIVER did what they did on the day, the KEEPER received all the postal paperwork , assume they are not the same person

the royal WE can be ok to use, but not "MY , ME , MYSELF & I"

yes add the VRM and the PCN ref to the complaint, because they cannot get it cancelled if they dont know those details

yes mention other complaints etc

just do not drop the DRIVER in "it"


also mention that UKPC have been banned TWICE by the DVLA for sharp practices and have been named and shamed in the House of Commons too