SIP Parking on Bootle St, Manchester

robclayton96

Hi, I've read the NEWBIE thread, but was still hoping for a bit of advice specific to my case.

I received a parking ticket from SIP recently, despite having paid for parking via the app. So after arriving home that night, I immediately emailed SIP with my receipt from the app and assumed that would be the end of the matter. But they flat-out rejected my appeal. So I appealed to the IAS (I know....I should've checked this forum first, but it honestly never occured to me at the time), and in their response to my appeal, SIP pointed out that I had paid for parking on Bootle St, not Bootle St Parking. I didn't even know there were any spaces on Bootle St itself, but further down the road (out of sight from the car park) there apparently are a couple of spaces. However, I had used the parking app, and the only suggestion it had brought up was Bootle St, and as I was in Bootle St car park, had thought/assumed it was the correct one. In my response to their reply, I argued that calling themselves effectively the same name as the on-street parking was confusing, and the onus must be on them to distinguish themselves adequately at the point of payment (ie the app). They didn't respond further in writing, but they did upload an entirely false diagram (not a photograph....an actual diagram) of where the signs in the car park were. This diagram was entirely incorrect, claiming there were signs that simply weren't there, but I didn't get the opportunity to point out that this was false evidence as they hadn't responded with any more text. And then the judgement was made in their favour.

So now I'm pretty annoyed, receiving the threatening legal action letters, and fully prepared to fight them in court, assuming it does go that far. I have used the car park several times in the past, so showing fully paid receipts from those other occasions wouldn't be a problem.

My question to you is, should I be sticking with my argument as laid out above regarding the confusing names and not distinguishing themselves on the app, as well as pointing out their duplicitous use of false evidence? Or should I stick more to the script in the NEWBIE thread??

Redx

I would stick to my guns and let a judge decide, especially due to the confusion and the fact that the fee was paid and was also paid on several other occasions

Johnersh

Same parking app but different parking providers?

The lack of distinction between the two may lie with the app creator (ringo or whoever) not the parking Co.

Care will need to be taken with this defence. 

robclayton96

Johnersh said:

Same parking app but different parking providers?
The lack of distinction between the two may lie with the app creator (ringo or whoever) not the parking Co.

Yeah, same app....one is down as Bootle St, the other as Bootle St Parking

The lack of distinction is there in their names anyway (so if I were the app company, my defence would be that their names on the app are accurate)

Coupon-mad

Wait to get a court claim then win it as per usual.  It'll  be Gladstones, who are connected to the IPC and IAS so it's all a huge conflict of interests but you can expose all this in court and the unfairness element (Consumer Rights Act 2015).

D_P_Dance

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and in some cases, cancellation.

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 enacted

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

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