Bristol Airport VCS - Stopping to Drop Off Charge Notice - Pedestrian Crossing

Im_tired_of_this

Hi everyone,

I'm super grateful of the content on this forum and for the time and effort the regulars put in to help the irregulars like myself. I'll do my best to follow the instructions I find. 

I'm steadily working through the Newbie posts and the other discussions around Airport restricted stopping zones. In the meantime, here are my details in case anyone has a particular point-of-view that might cut through the info I'm absorbing.

1. Contract hire vehicle. Hiring firm have already identified me as the keeper. Original issue date was less than two weeks from the event date. 
2. Have received a Charge Notice dated 3rd May.
3. Reason for charge: 104) STOPPING TO PICK UP/DROP OFF IN A RESTRICTED ZONE
4. I have not yet appealed. I'll have to do that by end of tomorrow (17th May) to 'protect' my option to pay the reduced fee of £60 (charge notice is for £100).
5. I have a business connection with a senior person at the airport, to whom I've sent a LinkedIn message. No response yet. 
6. The stopping is photographed at a pedestrian crossing - see photos attached - the car was stationary for approximately five seconds. There are no pedestrians in view, but there was one to the left as I was driving towards it that was close to the crossing, but didn't cross. I stopped for them, and my passenger jumped out while we were stopped, as seen in the second photo.  

Thank you in advance for any advice or tips, or links to posts that you think might be helpful for me at this stage of the process. From what I've read so far, I'm not optimistic about an appeal process working and am somewhat resigned to a more protracted process should it go further.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Im_tired_of_this

Forgot to mention in the post itself, but the charge notice is from Vehicle Control Services Limited.

Coupon-mad

1. "I have not yet appealed. I'll have to do that by end of tomorrow (17th May) to 'protect' my option to pay the reduced fee of £60 "

No you don't.

Please read the NEWBIES thread first and all the zillions of other VCS Airport threads.

DE_612183

can't see who's driving in that photo...

Fruitcake

Do not under any circumstances reveal the identity of the driver. Only ever refer to The Driver, The Keeper, or the Hirer/Lessee.

Bristol Airport is a frequent flyer on this forum, pun intended.
Look at other Bristol Airport threads including one by me, and one by a poster called ginger_bread_man.

Start by complaining to the landowner, a foreign investment company. Their details are on the airport website. They didn't reply when I complained, but you should still do so.

The airport is operated by a sub-contractor called Bristol Airport Ltd, so complain to them as well. They sided with the unregulated parking company when I complained, but you should still do so.

Complain to your MP, and ask them to forward your complaint to the MP responsible for the airport.

Forget the 14 day mug's discount.

See what other posters say, but I suggest you send an appeal based on the template in blue text you will find in the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES, but with the following additional points.


The land is covered by airport byelaws, and therefore it is not relevant land as defined by the PoFA 2012. As a result, neither the keeper nor hirer/lessee can be held liable.
The airport is owned by an overseas company. VCS do not have a contract with or flowing from the landowner to operate on the site.
A passenger allegedly exiting or entering a vehicle is not an airport byelaw breach. VCS has not stated which of these two events allegedly occurred, nor shown images of signs on site that are capable of forming a contract with a passenger of a vehicle who was not the driver, nor keeper nor hirer/lessee, nor how a driver or keeper or hirer/lessee can be held liable for actions of someone who was not the driver, keeper, nor hirer/lessee.
The vehicle was stopped at a pedestrian crossing to allow the pedestrian to safely cross.
Neither the driver, nor keeper, nor hirer/lessee can be held liable for the actions of a vehicle occupant.
A parking charge notice has been issued for a non-parking event. Stopping at a pedestrian crossing is not parking.
The signage on the side of the VCS camera van is misleading because it purports to be a road safety vehicle and breaches the CCTV code of practice because it does not state what the covertly obtained images will be used for.

Le_Kirk

VCS has not stated which of these two events allegedly occurred, nor shown images of signs on site that are capable of former forming a contract with a passenger of a vehicle who was not the driver......

Just one change if I may.

Fruitcake

Of course you may, thanks.

Im_tired_of_this

Hi there folks. I am horrified to realise that I didn't respond to your really helpful responses to my post back in May. I processed all you said and went away to read the forums and to see what happened next with VCS. @Fruitcake, @Coupon-mad

Coupon-mad

What happened in the end?

Im_tired_of_this

Thanks for asking @Coupon-mad

I ignored all the letters from VCS until a Notification of Instruction arrived from Elms Legal on the 2nd September. I emailed them advising I intended to defend this vigorously and gave a few reasons on which that would be based. They acknowledged my email by return. Three weeks later (21/9/2022) I received the county court Claim Form. I submitted my Acknowledgement of Service online on 03/10/2022. The 14 days from the AoS deadline (10/10/2022) for submitting my defence is Monday 24th.

I'm submitting my Money Claim Online (moneyclaim.gov.uk) defence particulars tomorrow (Sunday 23rd), so there is time for any final words of wisdom to be added by you fine gentlemen and ladies. That said, I'm confident enough from reading all the content here and on Parking Cowboys and Parking Prankster to get sufficient information into my defence to get a hearing. I haven't written it yet, but have my source material lined up.

These are the particulars of the claim as submitted by Elms Legal on behalf of VCS:

The Claim is for a breach of contract for breaching the terms and conditions set on private land. The Defendants vehicle, {reg no.}, was identified in the Bristol Airport on the 05/04/2022 in breach of the advertised terms and conditions; namely Stopping to pick up/ drop off in a restricted zone. At all material times the Defendant was the registered keeper and/or driver. The terms and conditions upon entering private land were clearly displayed at the entrance and in prominent locations. The sign was the offer and the act of entering private land was the acceptance hereby entering unto a contract by conduct. The signs specifically detail the terms and conditions and the consequences of failure to comply, namely a parking charge notice will be issued, and the Defendant has failed to settle the outstanding liability. The Claimant seeks the recovery of the parking charge notice, contractual costs and interest. 

I'm definitely going to be making a counter claim. 

Im_tired_of_this

This is the Google Street View photo of the first sign you see as you enter Bristol Airport. It is definitely not an offer of contract, to my non specialist reading. All the others are variants of this, mostly smaller with less content on them.

Is it possible it has changed between whenever Google took this photo and May 3rd this year, when the charge notice was issued?