Original PCNs Never Recieved

Ewan_Whosearmy

I've read the newbies thread and checked for other posts for scenarios similar to mine, but cannot find anything that really matches this situation, so I hope this new thread is OK...

Situation:

Over the course of four months, a car has been parked in what was thought to be a free car park. Turns out that the car park is owned by NCP.

Registered owner has just received multiple letters from Trace, acting on behalf of NCP. Letters claim that NCP's PCNs dating back several months have gone unheeded blah blah blah.

Registered owner has never received any correspondence from NCP, and no tickets have been stuck to car windscreen. So, the fact that there are outstanding notices and that the car park is not free is news!

The forum advice is to ignore Trace. Fine.

However, the registered owner does not contest that a fee is owed to NCP, and accepts that they have made a mistake. They are willing to pay original charges, but not the trumped up ones from Trace.

What advice can you offer on what to do next?

TIA

Redx

Just some pedantics

no such thing as a registered owner, you mean registered keeper

You have no idea if NCP own the car park, but you are stating that they manage the car parking on it, for now get ownership out of your head

NCP will require the default tariff stated on the car park signs, likely to be as much as £100, they won't settle for less

Check the V5C has the correct current address and registered keeper details on it, if they are incorrect notify the DVLA asap and get it sorted out

Email a data rectification notice to the DPO at NCP with the correct address

Email a SAR to the DPO at NCP to obtain all the documents and pictures and data about you and your vehicle attaching a copy of the V5C as proof of ID under the GDPR

It's the driver, not necessarily the registered keeper or owner that owed the original daily charges

Ewan_Whosearmy

Thanks for the corrections and advice. Will follow in entirety.

Will post updates here.

The_Deep

They are willing to pay original charges, but not the trumped up ones from Trace.

It does not work like that. They have six years to bring a claim for breach of contract against you in a County Court.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams so consider complaining to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. 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, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but 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.

Ewan_Whosearmy

Thanks

I'll email my MP about this.

Emails sent to the DPO.

When researching the SAR letter, I noticed that on the SAR template post (can't link to it because I am a newbie) it says "that any claim must be for all PCNs in one claim, not several separate claims."

Does this mean that NCP should have have asked Trace to collect the penalty charges under one letter (instead of the multiples the registered keeper received)? Or does that only relate to when such a dispute goes to court?

KeithP

That's only for when it gets to court.

Ewan_Whosearmy

NCP responded to the SAR - they don't have any data or photographs for the vehicle registration in question.

Given that the letters from Trace assert that NCP wrote to the registered keeper in the first instance, and given that the alleged infringements must have been photographically captured by either an automatic ANPR camera or a human, this is a surprise. I would have expected photographs and copies of the original letters.

A second set of letters from Trace has arrived and been duly ignored.

Any thoughts and advice?

Umkomaas

Do they hold any data about you?

Ewan_Whosearmy

They have the postal address of the registered keeper. That's it.

Umkomaas

Did they send you copies of correspondence they have sent to you? You should have received (at least) a copy of the Notice to Keeper for each parking incident for which they are pursuing you and possibly (if issued) copies of any reminders.

They should also have sent you a copy of the instruction(s) they issued to the debt collectors instructing them to pursue you. They would have to pass them your name and address (and car's VRM), so all personal data about you.

If you have not received any or all of the above, you send a follower letter listing and demanding the missing data. Give them 7 days or you will report them to the ICO - threaten that in your letter and action it if you don't get a satisfactory response.

Ewan_Whosearmy

No, they did not provide any of that information. They sent some information that related to a previous year, but nothing at all related to 2019.

Will send the follow-up letter as per your suggestion. Thanks.