Parking Charge Notice on my own parking space, no ticket

HetB

Dear Forum,
I am an essential worker, so forgive me if this has already been answered elsewhere - I am struggling to find time. But I did find time to read through relevant forum advice and compose an appeal to Parking Control Management. They've rejected it. Original appeal below. 
I rent a flat, in a block, which comes with a parking space linked and labelled as such to the flat. The letting agency advised at the start of the tenancy I did not need a permit. Work van has been parked in said space for the best part of a year, with no problem. Then on the weekend of lockdown, a parking charge notice was attached to the screen of the van on the Sunday (21st March). The Letting Agency paid it as they said they'd misinformed me about the permits - I have an email that says so. And a permit has been displayed ever since. But then on the 29th April, the company I work for said there was an outstanding PCN. Apparently another parking charge notice had been put on the van (same weekend but a couple of days earlier) on the Friday 20th March. There are photographs of the yellow PCN on the windscreen, but NO ONE EVER saw this parking charge notice - there was only ONE on the windscreen on the Sunday...  
But now because it's months later, the Letting Agency won't pay the PCN. And because I am struggling with time, the PCN has now gone up to £100, which is a lot of money for me on a budget. They now say I have to go through the Independent Appeal Service. I am so crushed for time, with a funeral at the moment on top of work (and because the letter was received much later than the rejection of appeal date on the letter: 02/06/2020) that I have missed the window for the reduced rate. I am exhausted, but no one received the parking charge notice in question on the windscreen - did the parking officer just take it off and bin it for example? And fundamentally, I was misinformed at the start of my lease, and it is my parking space. I have tried appealing to the flat's management company in lieu of a landowner, but I've just been told "the parking company is in charge". 
I hope someone will help. 
Kind regards.

HetB

Dear Sir/Madam,

Parking Charge Notice:  Vehicle Registration: 

I refer to the above-detailed Parking Charge – Notice to Keeper. I write to formally challenge the validity of this Notice, as I believe it was unlawfully issued. I will not be paying the demand for payment because it fails to meet the strict obligations of Schedule 4 of the POFA Act 2012.

 

You will no doubt be familiar with the strict requirements of Schedule 4 of POFA to be followed in order for a parking operator to claim unpaid parking charges. There are a number of reasons why Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd has not complied with POFA; in order that you may understand why, I suggest that you carefully study the details of Paragraph 7 and 8 of Schedule 4 in particular. 

 

The driver/keeper can only be held liable for the parking charge if the relevant provisions of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 have been satisfied. The Notice to Keeper, titled Notice to Keeper, dated 24/04/2020, received 27/04/2020 fails to comply with POFA2012 Schedule 4 on at least 5 specifics.

- It fails to comply with Para 8(2)(a) of the Act.

Para 8(2)(a) states that a notice must:

“…specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates”

The Notice does not state the period of parking, merely the time of the alleged contravention and charge issue.

- It fails to comply with Para 8(2)(b) of the Act.

Para 8(2)(b) of the Act states that a notice must:

“inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and that the parking charges have not been paid in full;”

The Notice merely states that a Parking Charge Notice was fixed to the vehicle and remains outstanding. The Operator does not fulfil the requirement to inform the keeper that the driver is required to pay the charge, it merely hints that it “offered” the driver to pay.

- It fails to comply with Para 8(2)(g) of the Act.

Para 8(2)(g) states that a notice must:

“inform the keeper of any discount offered for prompt payment and the arrangements for the resolution of disputes or complaints that are available;”

The Notice does not mention the offer of any discounts, nor indeed any previous offers of discounts. The Notice makes it apparent that there are no such offers or arrangements available. 

- It fails to comply with Para 8(7) of the Act.

Para 8(7) of the Act states that:

“When the notice is given it must be accompanied by any evidence prescribed under paragraph 10”

Whilst the Notice does state that a “Parking Charge Notice (Notice to Driver) was affixed to the windscreen of the vehicle” it provides no evidence at all with the Notice, nor the contents of the PCN that was “affixed”. The Notice to Keeper provides a link to its website where there are 12 digital photographs of the vehicle parked in a bay, and close ups of the van which provide no understanding of where the vehicle is located. Beyond those photographs, which in no way demonstrate evidence that the vehicle is in breach of any terms or conditions, the Notice does not provide any evidence at all to support that the Operator has complied with Section 7 of the Act (see below). Para 8(7) is clear; the Notice must include such evidence. The burden of proof is upon the operator and I challenge the Operator to provide clear unequivocal evidence.

 

- It fails to comply with section 7: 1-4 

 

Para 7(1&2) of the Act states that:

 

“7(1) A notice which is to be relied on as a notice to driver for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(a) is given in accordance with this paragraph if the following requirements are met.

 (2) The notice must: (a)specify the vehicle, the relevant land on which it was parked and the period of parking to which the notice relates; (b)inform the driver of the requirement to pay parking charges in respect of the specified period of parking and describe those charges, the circumstances in which the requirement arose (including the means by which it was brought to the attention of drivers) and the other facts that made those charges payable; (c)inform the driver that the parking charges relating to the specified period of parking have not been paid in full and specify the total amount of the unpaid parking charges relating to that period …”

 

The Operator’s evidence merely shows a photograph of a single yellow ticket stuck to the windscreen of a van, which shows there is no proof the driver ever received a notice – the driver is strongly disputing ever receiving the affixed notice – and therefore this does not satisfy the strict requirements of Para 7 in full. 

 

The Notice to Keeper does not comply with the strict requirements of POFA2012Schedule 4 and no keeper liability exists.

 

Furthermore, regarding the evidence provided in the website link via the Notice to Keeper, it is evident the Operator does not comply with the strict requirements of POFA2012Schedule 4 in regards also to Section 7 and no driver liability exists. 

In the light of all of the above, I therefore respectfully request that my appeal is upheld and the charge is dismissed. Please confirm that you shall now cancel this charge. Alternatively, should you choose to reject my challenge, please provide me with details of the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA), their contact details and a unique POPLA appeal reference so that I may escalate the matter to POPLA. Should the matter be escalated I shall be involving my MP, referring the issue to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and I will require Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd to provide a full copy of the contemporaneous, signed & dated (unredacted) contract with the landowner, to whom I will make a formal complaint about the way Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd is operating in this area – especially given the fact that the driver rents the parking space where the alleged contravention occurred. Therefore – although there is no evidence this parking charge notice ever existed, let alone was correctly issued, in the first place – there is no ethical reason why it should be upheld. The Operator’s service exists in order to protect those who legally rent the spaces from unauthorised parking, thus, in this case, Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd has failed to perform its basic duty. 

Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to receiving your response within the relevant timescales.

Yours faithfully,

 

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,

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.

Fruitcake

Redact your personal information NOW! Use the cog-like edit button in the top right of your posts to do this.

Half_way

Do not send that.

Fruitcake

It is not a fine.

What does your lease/AST say about parking, permits, PCNs, court claims? What it doesn't say is equally important. This will have primacy of contract over anything a third party scammer says.

If you intend to rely on the PoFA then you should edit your posts to remove information about who uses the van, who normally parks etcetera, and only refer to The Driver and The Keeper.

From the dates you have given I would suggest that the dates and wording of para 9 (2) f of the PoFA is more likely to apply, not para 8. 
If the van is registered to a company, then I would suggest you would be better appealing this as hirer/lessee as per the edna basher templates in the first post of the NEWBIES which means that paras 13 and 14 of the PoFA apply instead. It is never too late to appeal, even though the scammers will no doubt reject it. 

Alternatively, if there is no requirement to show a permit mentioned in your lease AST, then you may be better appealing/defending as driver.

Since the scammers are IPC members, PoPLA was never an option, and the IAS should be avoided like Covid 19.

What happened when you complained to the landowner/managing agent? Have you checked the relevant parts of the Landlord and Tenant Act that requires a ballot of all residents to be held before changes can be made to a lease/AST? Ask the landlord/MA/letting agent when (not if) this occurred as you have never seen the results of the ballot that allows a scammer to scam in your own demised space.

Have you complained to your MP yet about this unregulated scam?

HetB

I've removed some personal information above? Is that what you meant? But the appeal above is what I sent to the company originally - so that is already sent. Should I remove my appeal with the IAS then? I will reply further to the other comments, but I am attending a funeral very shortly. Huge apologies, all the acronyms are difficult to follow, but I will attempt to decipher later. I appreciate any help. Best

Half_way

I'm on a mobile with a terrible keyboard, so car stand to much time.
Never challenge a ticket to the IAS (they are anything but independent)
You should be complaint to the management company.
if this is your space you most likely do not need a permit to use it anymore than you would need one to flush the lavatory after 10pm.
The only logical reason you may have for displaying a permit is out of a courtesy.

Fruitcake

HetB said:

I've removed some personal information above? Is that what you meant? But the appeal above is what I sent to the company originally - so that is already sent. Should I remove my appeal with the IAS then? I will reply further to the other comments, but I am attending a funeral very shortly. Huge apologies, all the acronyms are difficult to follow, but I will attempt to decipher later. I appreciate any help. Best

You have removed personal info from your second post that should not be shown on a public forum so that is good.
You have also told the world who was driving in your first post. If your lease/AST does not require a motorist to display a permit, then that is no problem. If however the lease/AST does require a scammer's permit to be shown then you should edit your first post to remove information about who was driving the van.

You need to decide whether the PoFA is a better appeal/defence than your lease/AST. You also need to determine whether the scammers were using ANPR/MNPR or gave an NTD. If the former then para 9 of the PoFA applies, not para 8. If an NTD was left, (and I don't think it was), then para 8 does apply and the scammers applied for keeper data too early.
Alternatively, if you want to use the PoFA, then a hirer/lessee approach would be better.

I am confused as to who has received what anyway. If the employer is the registered keeper, then they should have given the scammers the hirer/lesse's details who should then have received a NTH. If that has not happened then the employer is at fault, because the PoFA has been around for nearly eight years and they should know how to deal with a PCN by now.
You need to ensure that the registered keeper deals with this properly and does not just pay it then deduct payment from the employer.

Please answer all the questions you have been asked.

Common acronyms are given in the fifth post of the sticky thread for NEWBIES.

The letting agent should never have paid the first PCN and should be discouraged from encouraging a scammer ever again.

HetB

In answer to the first batch of questions... 

What does your lease/AST say about parking, permits, PCNs, court claims? What it doesn't say is equally important. This will have primacy of contract over anything a third-party scammer says.

 ****This is in our tenancy agreement, there is no mention of a permit and we were told we did not need one: 

15. Cars and Parking
15.1. To park in the car parking space, garage or driveway allocated to the Premises, if applicable. 

15.2. To keep any garage, driveway, or parking space free of oil and to pay for the removal and cleaning of any spillage caused by a vehicle of the Tenant, his family, contractors or visitors.

15.3. To remove all vehicles belonging to the Tenant, his family or visitors at the end of the Tenancy. 15.4. Not to park any vehicle at the Premises that is not in road worthy condition and fully taxed. 

 

The company that leases:

 

The company who leases the van have washed their hands of it – other than charging me a £15 salary deduction as an ‘admin fee’ which will be waived if my appeal works… As I said it wasn’t ok for anyone to pay it, they have just sent the headache to me. 

On IPC members, and “the IAS should be avoided like Covid 19”.

If they are asking me to appeal, then who should I apply to if not the IAS? I have registered with IAS, so should I remove my registration? Where I ticked a box saying driver. I have until 27/06/2020 to make a case to them. 

 

What happened when you complained to the landowner/managing agent?

I phoned the managing agent and they said parking has nothing to do with them – it is all in the hands of this company - PCM. They said: as I didn’t display a permit despite signage, then I am in the wrong and the parking company is just doing its job. I ended up bursting into tears, and they said they would see what they can do, I gave them the notice number etc – but they strongly urged that there wasn’t much they could do and I have heard nothing back. They said the letting agency should have guided me on the permit. 

Have you complained to your MP yet about this unregulated scam?

Yes – but waiting to hear back. 

? Have you checked the relevant parts of the Landlord and Tenant Act that requires a ballot of all residents to be held before changes can be made to a lease/AST? Ask the landlord/MA/letting agent when (not if) this occurred as you have never seen the results of the ballot that allows a scammer to scam in your own demised space.

- I have only been here a year… but it looks like, from the other permits ‘May 2015’ is written on them all, so that must have been when a change came in place? I have never seen any ballot as I have not lived here for very long. 

The thing that seems immoral is this company should be there to protect MY parking space from people sneaking into it. Not them making money out of me. 

HetB

Half_way said:

I'm on a mobile with a terrible keyboard, so car stand to much time.
Never challenge a ticket to the IAS (they are anything but independent)
You should be complaint to the management company.
if this is your space you most likely do not need a permit to use it anymore than you would need one to flush the lavatory after 10pm.
The only logical reason you may have for displaying a permit is out of a courtesy.

There are notices up, but I didn't really notice them, I just assumed it was old signage as I had been told no permit, and there was nothing in the tenancy agreement to say otherwise.