PPC NTK - Advice re POPLA Appeal: Civil Enforcement - Custom House Quay - Falmouth

Coupon-mad

If you were not the driver but only a passenger and you paid for parking then you can’t be held liable.  Very good!

NiJella

Coupon-mad said:

If you were not the driver but only a passenger and you paid for parking then you can’t be held liable.  Very good!

Ok, so I'll just go ahead and defend via POPLA using the POFA template, pointing out they were out of time etc, in addition I shall expand that: I am not the driver and that I did in fact pay, including the proofs of payment.

I will also include the article provided earlier in this thread by FishermanJim - which highlights the scam like issues that many others are experiencing with this carpark, in that, just like me, they (PPC) are fining people for the time between their arrival and time of purchasing a ticket...even though they (the PPC), are causing that delay! Clever.

Many thanks again.

NiJella

Coupon-mad said:

If you were not the driver but only a passenger and you paid for parking then you can’t be held liable.  Very good!

Hello Again

The operator has submitted their info and evidence to POPLA.

9 separate documents inc Beavis Supreme Court judgement summary (eye roll). It's actually only 3 documents uploaded 3 times. The Beavis one, photo's of their signage and their defence.

Their 22 point defence includes this point to defend my accusation (using the template from the forum) that they were out of time under POFA in sending a NTK to my home over a month after the alleged incident.

1. Under paragraph 22.8 of the BPA Code of Practice, Operators are permitted to send out non-POFA PCNs within 7 months of the original parking event. We usually apply to the DVLA for keeper data within 28 days but unfortunately, on this occasion, it was not possible to do so. We were within the time period permitted by the DVLA (6 months) to make the request for keeper details and issued the PCN accordingly. (22.8 - If a non- POFA Notice to Keeper is being issued it must be sent out as soon as possible and no later than 7 months after the original parking event. (all our PCNs are within this time limit)

The other part of my defence is that they are writing to me as keeper and have no evidence as to who the driver was, which they still don't.

Also 2 hours of parking was paid for (which they acknowledge), but they argue after a 28 minute delay, which I explained in my original appeal was caused by their system which did not send the validation text etc (explained in my original post here). They argue we should have contacted the help number on their signage. We were a long way from the signage by that point and my partner was post operative on crutches (again all explained in the original post here). 

Any advice for my motorists comments before final review by POPLA would be immensely appreciated please. I have 7 days to respond.

Thanks so much.

KeithP

There point about POFA and six and seven months is correct.

What this means, and they acknowledge, is that they simply cannot transfer any driver's liability to the keeper.

As you tell us they don't know who was driving, this is a straightforward winning appeal point.

All you have to do is spell that out very clearly in your response.
Remember, you only have 2000 characters, not words, for your reply.

NiJella

KeithP said:

There point about POFA and six and seven months is correct.

What this means, and they acknowledge, is that they simply cannot transfer any driver's liability to the keeper.

As you tell us they don't know who was driving, this is a straightforward winning appeal point.

All you have to do is spell that out very clearly in your response.
Remember, you only have 2000 characters, not words, for your reply.

Thank you very much.

Would you happen to know which legal information I should quote/refer to when spelling out that they simply cannot transfer any driver's liability to the keeper? Where would I find this stated?

I've read loads of both POFA and the forum and my head is spinning!

Coupon-mad

It's clearly stated in the POFA para 4 the conditions for keeper liability.  You will have to tell POPLA you were not driving or they might presume you were from the fact you paid.

NiJella

Coupon-mad said:

It's clearly stated in the POFA para 4 the conditions for keeper liability.  You will have to tell POPLA you were not driving or they might presume you were from the fact you paid.

Thank you immensely to you and everyone in this thread and forum that do such amazing work to help people like me. The outcome of my POPLA appeal was SUCCESSFUL!!!!! 

Here are my final comments and the POPLA decision:

FINAL COMMENTS:

The facts are simple:

 

·  I am not the driver; I am the keeper of the vehicle which I have made clear to the operator.

 

·  The operator has failed to identify the driver, their own paperwork states:

The Creditor does not know both the name of the driver and the current service address for the driver(found on the reverse of their original NTK, page 4 of my POPLA appeal document).

 

·  The operator has failed to act in accordance with the Protection of Freedoms Act Schedule 4 sub-paragraph 9 (5) which states that the notice to keeper must be sent by post within 14 days from the day after the event. Again, their own paperwork clearly shows that the NTK is dated 42 days after the date of the alleged event.

 

·  The operator has failed to act in accordance with the British Parking Association Code of Practice though the BPA logo is on their paperwork. 

 

Under paragraph 22.10 the BPA clearly states:

…If you are not making use of the keeper liability provisions of POFA or you are unable to achieve the deadlines specified therein, your letter must not reference POFA or state that the keeper is liable.

 

Therefore, as the keeper of the vehicle, I CANNOT be held liable.

 

Thank you for your time.

ASSESSOR SUPPORTING RATIONAL FOR DECISION

It is the responsibility of the operator to provide POPLA with sufficient, clear evidence in order to rebut the appellant’s claims and prove that it issued the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) correctly. After reviewing the evidence provided by both parties, I am not satisfied that the driver of the vehicle has been identified. The operator is therefore pursuing the registered keeper of the vehicle in this instance. 

For the operator to transfer liability for unpaid parking charges from the driver of the vehicle to the registered keeper of the vehicle, the regulations laid out in the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012 must be adhered to. 

The operator has provided a copy of the Notice to Keeper (NTK) sent. PoFA 2012 sets out to parking operators that: “The notice must – f) warn the keeper that if, after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is given— (i) the amount of the unpaid parking charges specified under paragraph (d) has not been paid in full, and (ii) the creditor does not know both the name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver, the creditor will (if all the applicable conditions under this Schedule are met) have the right to recover from the keeper so much of that amount as remains unpaid”. 

Having reviewed the NTK, I note the wording does not mention any of the above. As such, I am not satisfied that the operator has met the minimum requirements of PoFA 2012. 

I can only conclude that on this occasion, the operator issued the PCN incorrectly. I note the appellant has raised other issues as grounds for appeal, however, as I have decided to allow the appeal for this reason, I did not feel they required further consideration.

  

Coupon-mad

I loved your comments.  Made it very clear to the assessor so they couldn't go wrong!