TNC Collections Outstanding PCN - Help !

Sandra2021

Friend was visiting disabled sister living in social housing flats. Usually always parks on double yellow lines just off street on area of land in front of the flats that until now was assumed to belong to local authority. Parked there using own blue badge (she has mobility issues too) with no problems over a year and there was no visible signage indicating it's not allowed to park there.  

Suddenly friend one day got a PCN issued by National Parking Enforcement Ltd. Ignored it. Next time she visited her sister looked for the signage referred to in the notice and spotted it , a very small sign, quite low down,on a wall by some bushes to the side -  not really visible unless you walk around to the front and happen to spot it; you can;t spot it if you just drive straight in.

Ignored 2 requests to pay. Sister wrote to the Housing Trust complaining that she does not have a parking space and that family carers have nowhere to park and have got a ticket - no response. Then a letter  arrived from TNC addressed to freind saying PCN not been paid and you have not advised you were not the keeper nor diver and time to appeal has passed. They are asking for £160; she's not sure what to do. Can anyone guide her with this please? I'm not sure what to advise her. She did not respond to the previous 2 letters from national Parking Enforcement Ltd.

Thank you in advance .

Redx

Little she can do , other than make further complaints to the housing trust

She should also bear in mind that her BB doesn't have exemptions for private property , they never do !

The Equality Act 2010 law may offer some protection

She could email a SAR to the DPO at NPE to obtain all her data , attaching copies of 2 recent redacted utility bills as proof of I D under the GDPR law

Then await a court claim pack from the CCBC in Northampton , under the MCOL claim system

There is no magic bullet here , no simple answer

Lastly , she should email a strong complaint to her local MP too

But she can ignore the debt collector letters , as explained in the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum in announcements , Fourth post

Umkomaas

Next time she visited her sister looked for the signage referred to in the notice and spotted it , a very small sign, quite low down,on a wall by some bushes to the side -  not really visible unless you walk around to the front and happen to spot it; you can;t spot it if you just drive straight in.

You need to get photos of the sign, for future use should this go further towards a court case. Take them from various positions. A video of the drive in would also be useful, to prove your point, with more evidence of their lack of clear visibility. 

D_P_Dance

Has she complained to her MP?

Coupon-mad

When we say ''little she can do'' we are not telling you to tell her to pay, nor to contact TNC.  Ignore them

Come back if NPE try a small claim. 

Shamefully with IPC parking firms, there is no independent appeal that is worth a consumer even trying:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6280434/is-the-ias-a-kangaroo-court-annual-report-2019-20-96-of-cases-are-found-in-favour-of-ppcs/p1

All this is already spelt out in the NEWBIES thread, top of the forum.  It tells you what to do at each stage.

I repeat - we are not telling you to pay it.   At the moment, parking firms are out of control and the Government is stepping in with new statutory rules and a proper, single independent appeals service by 2022. 

At the moment it's cowboy territory but I thought everyone in Norfolk knew about NPE (ex-clampers).  They are always in the papers there and were the subject of Facebook pages, petitions, even a complaint from Councillors to Government about NPE ruining Norfolk.

Timeouts

Then a letter  arrived from TNC addressed to freind saying PCN not been paid and you have not advised you were not the keeper nor diver and time to appeal has passed. They are asking for £160 ?

TNC = just another bog standard debt collector who lies ..... 

TNC are just a coppycat version of DRP

DRP (DEBT RECOVERY PLUS)
Group Thread to ensure DRP are ignored ?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6275792/drp-debt-recovery-plus-group-thread-to-ensure-drp-are-ignored#latest

D_P_Dance

 They are asking for £160 ?

The extra £60 is almost certainly unlawful, read this and complain to your MP

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

Sandra2021

Thanks so much for all replies;, it's really very kind of you all to take the trouble as I now know I should have acquainted myself with that newbies info before posting.I did read through the newbies thread a week ago; I've forgotten a fair bit of it to be honest but I remember the basic message was keep an eye on what's going on whilst you ignore the threats.

We may or may not do complaint s- it's jt's time consuming and stressful to go through all that. It did occur to me possibly to pay them £100 with absolutely no admissions/ no info about who was driving/ bare min of info and leave it to them to do what they want after that. Just not sure we can handles the stress of a court action and we did not respond within x number of days as we probably should have to appeal.I don't; think they posted any windscreen notice but they did send the first letter by post. Sorry if it's a somewhat lame question - but any views on paying £100 just to be rid of the stress and then ignore after that on the basis they have no legal basis anyway to claim admin fees ?  

Umkomaas

Sorry if it's a somewhat lame question - but any views on paying £100 just to be rid of the stress and then ignore after that on the basis they have no legal basis anyway to claim admin fees 

They won't accept it, but they will know they have you on their hook if you're prepared to offer them money. They will continue to press you, probably more robustly than to date. Sorry, this skimdustry does not work in any rational or fair minded way. 

Le_Kirk

We cannot answer as to your stress levels but we do not recommend paying the "rogue parking companies, bloodsuckers" as said by MPs in the house. (check it out: -
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-02/debates/CC84AF5E-AC6E-4E14-81B1-066E6A892807/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill)
If appeals have failed, sit back and wait for letter before/of claim and (if it gets that far) let a judge decide whether you have to pay it or not.

Coupon-mad

If you pay, there is a bigger picture. You sponsor and actively support an ex clamper and you fund the next few PCNs.   

Is that what you want to do? Not a good life lesson for younger people in the family, IMHO.  That’s my take on it and something that, as a mum of 4 twenty-something-year-old ‘kids’ I have instilled in them.  None of us would pay it and getting letters made us laugh, last time we had one.  

It’s all about being well informed and knowing that you can ignore debt demands from this horrific industry and their unregulated ‘PCN debt recovery’ parasite firms who should have no place in the process at all, and certainly no ability to add £60 in false costs that would NOT be granted in court.