ANPR fault - VCS Berkeley precinct, Help!

RF93

Hi all,

So sorry for starting a new thread but i'm a newbie here and desperately looking for some advice.

I was issued a ticket in December for an alleged offence in November. I received the ticket two weeks later than the alleged offence date, (Christmas post etc).

The car park has stated I overstayed the maximum time allowed however I actually live in the area and used the car park quickly in the morning (no more than 10 minutes) and re-entered in the afternoon (again no more than ten minutes) I explained all of this information to the car parking company who requested I provide evidence by the means of CCTV or pictures of the car elsewhere. I contacted Sheffield City Council for CCTV however they delete their CCTV after 14 days - I hadn't even had the letter before the time elapsed to obtain CCTV.

My appeal was rejected by the company and I proceeded to make an appeal through the IAS who govern the company, explaining the situation that I had entered on two occasions and that I had also not had the chance to prove via CCTV as the letter had not yet been received. My appeal was also rejected by the IAS.

Upon rejection I requested VCS honor the charge of £60 as this had just gone through the appeal service, they declined. I am now in a position where I have to pay £100 by Friday or face further charges. I am looking to buy my first home this year so I am understandably nervous about what could go on my file if I don't pay. Please can anyone help?!?

LoneStarState

You don't have to pay and I would (obviously) recommend that you don't pay them a penny. This is quite clearly a SCAM. VCS are scammers Appealing to the IAS would have unfortunately got you nowhere.

Do you have any of the following evidence:

Do you have a dashcam that you may still have the video of you leaving the car park?

Do you have telemetry on your car as part of an insurance policy or to monitor other drivers of your vehicle that can show where you had driven that day?

Have you enabled location tracking on your smartphone? This would have logged where you went and would also show distances against times that would essentially prove you were driving within the alleged "overstay" period?

Do you have any proof of purchases/receipts/parking tickets for locations well away form the car park that prove you couldn't have possibly left the car in the car park for that time?

Do you have any credible witnesses that can attest to you being somewhere or other electronic means to prove that your car wasn't there (statement from employer, electronic access logs for place of employment, proof of using facilities such as a gym etc.)?

It sounds like you've revealed the identity of the driver is that the case?

BrownTrout

Please post up your appeal result from the IAS, they are always good for a laugh!

RF93

LoneStarState - thank you so much for your reply, this has caused me so much worry since November so I really appreciate you taking the time to write a response.

Do you have any of the following evidence:

Do you have a dashcam that you may still have the video of you leaving the car park? - Unfortunately not

Do you have telemetry on your car as part of an insurance policy or to monitor other drivers of your vehicle that can show where you had driven that day?
Unfortunately not

Have you enabled location tracking on your smartphone? This would have logged where you went and would also show distances against times that would essentially prove you were driving within the alleged "overstay" period?
I've looked into this but there is no data from prior to Christmas on my phone

Do you have any proof of purchases/receipts/parking tickets for locations well away form the car park that prove you couldn't have possibly left the car in the car park for that time?
I offered to provide bank statements showing two separate transactions at Tesco proving my argument but this was not considered good enough by VCS.

Do you have any credible witnesses that can attest to you being somewhere or other electronic means to prove that your car wasn't there (statement from employer, electronic access logs for place of employment, proof of using facilities such as a gym etc.)? - My partner was at home the entire day so can confirm I left the house twice to use the Tesco where the carpark is situated.

It sounds like you've revealed the identity of the driver is that the case? - I have indicated in my correspondence I am the driver.

LoneStarState

Hi RF93

Have a second try at seeing if you can access earlier location history on Google Maps timeline on your phone. My maps timeline history goes back years. Unfortunately, at this stage you are simply collating evidence to prove your point should VCS issue a court claim.

Parking companies fraudulently issuing these charges for long visits that are actually two or more shorter visits are referred to as double dips. An issue that private parking companies have no incentive to resolve. It's a failure of their ANPR systems to accurately capture your vehicle's reg for every entry and exit, so that your first entry and last exit are used to assume your "parking period".

With regards to the car park, does it serve any particular business? You mention Tesco, is it a car park exclusively for one of their superstores?

Another thing you should consider is sending VCS an SAR (subject access request) requesting all personal data they hold about you and your vehicle including any and all ANPR camera photos etc. There should be useful examples on this forum that you can use for the SAR. They may trip themselves up and hand you evidence that you didn't stay in that car park for the entire time.

RF93

With regards to the car park, does it serve any particular business? You mention Tesco, is it a car park exclusively for one of their superstores? - yes it serves a Tesco metro and some other shops. Would you advise writing to Tesco?

Another thing you should consider is sending VCS an SAR (subject access request) requesting all personal data they hold about you and your vehicle including any and all ANPR camera photos etc. There should be useful examples on this forum that you can use for the SAR. They may trip themselves up and hand you evidence that you didn't stay in that car park for the entire time. - Thank you for this information. Would VCS have to provide this information even if I had pay the £100 fine, and if so would they be obliged to refund me if the SAR evidenced my argument?

BrownTrout

Why are you even thinking of paying it up when you have been advised not to?

LoneStarState

As stated earlier, I strongly recommend you do not pay up. You don't automatically get bad credit just because a borderline criminal parking company claims you owe them money for an unsubstantiated parking contravention (one you know to be completely false and a failure of their car park "management"). The IAS outcome is not binding on the motorist (that and it's a kangaroo court anyways). Just to confirm, you didn't use the IAS paid for service? Just the standard free appeal service?

The only way they can truly get you to pay is if they issue a court claim against you, you attend court and if you lose you pay the amount specified in the judgement within the timeline set by the judge. No CCJ on file or bad credit unless you didn't pay in the time ordered by the judge. And that's ONLY if you LOSE If you won then VCS would be liable to pay costs to you. They haven't done this yet and may not ever do so (But they do have 6 years before it becomes statute barred in the county courts). A judge will give you a far more fair hearing than any adjudication given by the joke that is the IAS. Any potential court claim is a fair way out and you should be more concerned with getting this ticket cancelled through other means.

I can see that you're not quite aware of what you're caught up in. It's best that you don't over worry about this, take a breather, pour yourself a hot (or stiff) drink and read up on the scam industry you have unfortunately become entangled with. I've given you some initial info, but it would be best if you also acquaint yourself with the Newbies sticky thread (second thread down on the parking forum main page. Best to use something with a big screen like a PC rather than a phone.

So the car park serves a retail park? You need to put on your detective hat and find out who the actual landowner of the car park is as this is an avenue to get your tickets cancelled (it is unlikely to be VCS that own it).

The_Deep

This is clearly a scam, read some of these

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5550336/double-dip-parking-list-of-cases
.
Do not pay them a penny but do complain to your MP. They are well aware of the habits of these scammers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these private parking companies. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

Until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.




,

Coupon-mad

I am now in a position where I have to pay £100 by Friday or face further charges. I am looking to buy my first home this year so I am understandably nervous about what could go on my file if I don't pay.

Nothing can touch your credit rating, unless you:

- ignore an actual court claim, or (just as unlikely!)
- defend but lose at a hearing then refuse to pay within 30 days, or (don't do this!)
- move house within 6 yrs and don't tell VCS your new address, and get a CCJ to the old address without you knowing.

You won't be doing any of these things!

Even just losing a defended claim (very rare here) doesn't affect your credit rating, not a smudge, as long as you paid within 30 days of a Judge telling you to.

And yet we win 99% of court cases here, when people follow ALL advice.

Ralph-y

the lady posting above is one of the foremost experts on this subject ... so listen well




the link below is the forum guide and help


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822/newbies-private-parking-ticket-old-or-new-read-these-faqs-first-thankyou


please have a read .... it is an extensive read ... it has to be ... so for now concentrate on the relevant sections ......


what you have fallen fowl of is some thing called 'double dipping' and is quite well known!



searching the forum will bring up a mine of information on this ...



HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Use the Forum Jump button (one near the top and one near the bottom of this page) to get back to the forum thread list. Just above the threads, on the right, is a heading along a line, next to forum tools, called 'Search this Forum'. Put your key word(s) in and change the default search from 'Show Threads' to 'Show Posts'.



good luck


Ralph:cool: