Letter before Claim VCS Southend Airport

harrold

I've been keeping an eye on these forums in anticipation of receiving a LBC which has just been received. It is a proper LBC as gives reply form and 30 days to respond, info sheet etc.

Key Points:

It is a Parking Charge Notice that was received back in August.

My appeal to IAS was rejected.

I have received various demands and a final demand. The costs are now £160 (£100 plus £60 debt collection costs).

I have not at any point revealed the identity of the driver.

The contravention is 46) Stopping in a zone where stopping is prohibited.The driver stopped for less than 2 minutes to drop off family members.

I have read the newbie thread and know that Airport byelaws apply to the land and therefore it isn't relevant land. I understand this should be dealt with in a magistrates court. Byelaws are not dealt with in small claims court.

I am looking for some type of template response which I can amend and send back as my reply. I have struggled to find anything related to Southend Airport and other PCCs mention byelaws in their NTKs. This isn't mentioned in mine.

Any advice and guidance is much appreciated! I have been down this road a few years ago with Gladstones and they 'no showed' in court. I spent literally weeks compiling evidence and writing defences and statements etc. I'm not of the same health I was back then, so really hope I don't have to commit as much time this time around!

The_Deep

Is this land covered by bye laws? If so dfferent rules may apply. Read the stickies/FAQs where it is overed.

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP as it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

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.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

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

Redx

Post #2 of the newbies thread

SAR to the DPO at the PPC with proof of I D under the GDPR law attached , like a copy of the V5C

Letter to the legal firm or claimant telling them to place the matter on hold due to the SAR plus you are seeking debt management advice

Coupon-mad

I am looking for some type of template response which I can amend and send back as my reply.

No, you are not, which is why the NEWBIES thread doesn't provide one for LBC stage. If we thought it was a good idea to send some old template it would be there. It's not!

Do a SAR if you are missing any letters or photos or just want to see what data they hold, to help you defend the inevitable claim in the New Year. DO NOT use the reply forms, or if you do, just tick that the debt is denied.

Have you already blabbed in your appeal who was driving?

Meanwhile read other VCS Airport claim threads, as they already have example defences, however you do not need an example 'LBC reply'. It used to drive me mad in 2017 when everyone seized upon a template LBC reply that didn't apply to half of them and was pointless, to boot!

harrold

No blabbing! I know the importance of not revealing the identity of the driver! I'm sure I've read that because Southend Airport is covered by byelaws, which it is, I've found them from 1999 I think off the top of my head, they are not relevant land. Can I ask for this to be thrown out as it should be heard in a magistrates? I have to pay £100 but can ask this be added to the claimants bill. I am not in the health I was before and so not sure I'll have the energy and stamina to deal with it all like last time. Is the route of asking for it to be thrown out more risky?

Is any kind of response beneficial in the reply? Or an email to go with it? Or simply just tick the box to deny the debt?

Thanks for replies!

Coupon-mad

Can I ask for this to be thrown out as it should be heard in a magistrates? I have to pay £100 but can ask this be added to the claimants bill.

You can try that if you wish, instead of defending a claim. Contesting jurisdiction.

In railway cases VCS can counter it with a taxi case and it doesn't work, but in an Airport case the same arguments from VCS might not wash with a Judge.

I'd say it's not a slam dunk way to counter the claim and does risk £100, but that is up to you if you wish to run your case like that. If the Judge isn't with you on it, you might also get clobbered with VCS' costs for turning up.

harrold

Thanks, i'll carefully consider. Just been reading VCS vs Ward appeal. ridiculous really. Do you think it may help that there were 4 named drivers insured to drive the vehicle at the time regarding balance of probs? Surely the fact that this is not relevant land overrides all other issues of parking on private land? I must admit, when I got this ticket I thought it would be a breeze compared to the last one due to the byelaws....

harrold

The point I'm making is that if someone can lose on appeal, has no one tried the contesting jurisdiction approach? That could be harder for VCS to appeal or confuse a weak judge...

Coupon-mad

Yes as I said, people have. It doesn't work in railway cases due to a taxi case. It's had a mixed reception in Airport cases, IIRC.

harrold

I would also like to add that although my original NTK did not mention POFA, after my appeal was rejected, they did state in the rejection letter,

'We note that you have declined to name the driver of your vehicle at the time of the incident in question. It is important to make you aware that in this case we may pursue you as the registered keeper as per Schedule 4 of POFA 2012'.

Does the fact that they now appear to want to go down the balance of probabilities route contradict their previous statement re POFA? Are they allowed to hedge their bets like this depending on how the case proceeds? ie whether the keeper pays up or not early on??

Redx

What do you mean by the word allowed ?

It implies the industry is regulated with strict rules

Well it isn't , not yet anyway , not until the long awaited Parking Bill CoP comes into practice , which is why it was passed by MP,s back around February this year

The term cowboys has meaning , due to the non regulated status so far