Payment Schedule Offered- £240 fine

klpearce84

Hello,
I'm a newbie, I have read the FAQs section and several threads and I am still confused as to what to do or if it is too late for me to do anything now.  Please be gentle, I am coming out of the other side of a mental health breakdown and am still having trouble really being able to concentrate and understand things properly. 
I was given 3 PCNs by Open Parking in March, just before lockdown started.  I was already undergoing therapy and my mental health was really poor.  When lockdown started, I experienced an episode of psychosis and would likely have been sectioned if not for the risks of COVID.  I didn'y pay attention to the PCNs or the letters I received about 2 of them in the months that followed.  I received letters from ZZPS and then finally QDR solicitors saying that I now owe £240.  I should have read these threads earlier to understand what to do next, but as I was panicked and not able to pay the fine, I contacted QDR to explain the situation.  They asked that I provide evidence of my mental health issues which I did, and they have since replied offering me a payment plan of £20 a month.  I still can't really afford this but I dont know what my right are now that I have engaged with QDR, is it too late to continue to appeal?  

In addition, I have now started to get the Open Parking letters about the third parking ticket 6 months after the event, with the last one saying I owe £60, is this still enforceable after such a long time?  I have tried to understand the "Golden Ticket" information on the thread, but I dont understand what to do or how this applies here.  The last letter I received said it was now too late to give the name of the driver and that I am liable.  I have not engaged with Open Parking about this fine at all as yet. 

Again, I'm sorry if the answers are to be found elsewhere, I'd really appreciate any help and advice I can get. 

Le_Kirk

You are correct, it is too late to appeal the original PCNs.  Do not engage further with debt collectors.  Are any of the letters you received a Letter Before/of Claim?  You can tell because they would give you 30 days to pay or respond and would contain financial forms (which you don't need to fill in) and should contain ALL that they are going to rely on as evidence should this go to small claims court.  By the way, stop calling it a fine, it/they are just speculative invoices.  Do the different PCNs all refer to the same car park and/or same parking event, same day?  The parking companies have six years to take this to court, which is where this will be decided.  Where were the parking events; which car park, is it a supermarket/pub/restaurant/open parking?

klpearce84

It's the car park at the University I work at in Liverpool.  There is a barrier activated by staff card and we pay for however many occasions we park through our wages each month.  They were 3 separate occasions within the same week, I did park outside of a bay because the University has shut down several of the staff car parks and there are not enough spaces by any means, it's an ongoing problem, and people park outside of the bays everyday.  In the past I have had 2 of these invoices from Open Parking and paid them straight away, but I wasn't in the right mindstate to do so in March.   

This third one that they have sent, I have had the notice to keeper, and then this second letter is a "Keeper Liability Notice".  I don't think any of them were Lettter Before/Of Claim and I don't remember any financial forms to complete for the previous two.  

If it is too late to appeal the first two, would it be better to accept the payment schedule to avoid any further fees?  They have given me till 15th September to accept the payment plan: 

Car Park Operator:      IMPERIAL CIVIL ENFORCEMENT SOLUTIONS LIMITED T/A OPEN PARKING

Instructed by:              ZZPS Limited

Balance:                      £120.00 & £120.00

 

Thank you for your recent correspondence, the contents of which we have noted.

 

We appreciate your comments and the evidence that you have provided, our clients are willing to offer you to pay the above balance in a maximum 12 month repayment plan.

 

Should you wish to accept the below plan, please send us your confirmation by 15 September 2020.

 

Payment Date	Payment
15 September 2020	£20.00
15 October 2020	£20.00
15 November 2020	£20.00
15 December 2020	£20.00
15 January 2021	£20.00
15 February 2021	£20.00
15 March 2021	£20.00
15 April 2021	£20.00
15 May 2021	£20.00
15 June 2021	£20.00
15 July 2021	£20.00
15 August 2021	£20.00
Total Payable	£240.00

Coupon-mad

Obviously you won't be paying that.  Stop offering money.

What you have described about car parks being shut, causing staff to park without causing obstruction, elsewhere in the car park, would win in court. Judges are not stupid.  We help people all the way if they get a court claim and teachers are not affected by any CCJs risk (because there is no risk of you follow our advice to the letter).  No worries there even if you lose. Only 1% here lose. 99% win their defended claims, including LOADS discontinued (no hearing).

Keep all paperwork and come back here to reply again if you get a court claim.  English law gives parties 6 years to sue. 
KEEP EVERYTHING AND TELL THEM IF YOU MOVE ADDRESS!

Do nothing more for now, except the following:

Please now make a real difference.

The Government is (this month only) consulting about a new statutory code of practice (CoP) and framework to rein in the rogue parking firms.  Read and comment on the draft CoP proposal and the enforcement framework consultation, and get everyone you know to do the same.

You will need to register to comment on the CoP and enter an occupation even if you are retired or a homemaker, but otherwise it is easy to navigate, and comment upon each section/subsection individually. You can save comments to edit later and or submit comments once you are happy with them.

https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2020-00193#/section

You do not need to register to comment on the enforcement framework which can be found here. It has a link on page 5 to make comments.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/913272/Code_Enforcement_Framework_consultation.pdf

At the very least, we say the parking charge level should be £50/£25 or higher level £70/£35, as per Council PCNs in E&W.  

And we say the added fake 'debt recovery' costs are just double counting the cost of letters, and MUST GO because that is unfair and illegal.

Please be heard.  You can bet the hundreds of PPCs will be commenting.

No apologies for repeating this vital 'call for action' to consumers, on every thread this month!

klpearce84

Thank you so much, I will comment on them both now and make sure everyone in work who has been in the same position as me does the same. I will do nothing as you say, and come back for support if I get a court claim.  I have everything together here in a file. 

Thank you both again for your help. 

Coupon-mad

It would be brilliant if everyone comments and says their piece, and supports the call for £50 or £70 two tiers with 50% discount offered for 21 days (NOT 14 DAYS).  21 days is the same as postal PCNs from Local Authorities.

And to remove the aggressive debt collectors and solicitors completely out of the equation, removing the false added costs with them.