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BBC WatchDog “if you are struggling with an unfair parking charge do get in touch”

Mouse007
Mouse007 Posts: 1,062 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
edited 7 February 2023 at 8:41PM in Parking tickets, fines & parking
On Wednesday 18 January 2023 the BBC’s WatchDog kicked off the One Show with an article about rogue private parking companies. You can watch it on iPlayer here1.57 minutes in

At the end they asked you to email them your stories, please do so.

watchdog@bbc.co.uk

We need as many of you as possible to email in about your problems, don’t hold back. Please then post here to let us know you have done so.

Suggested Tips for email to WatchDog


FOCUS ON THE RECIPIENT
The drama of you story is needed, not the technical case points.

KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE
Try to keep the whole length to a few paragraphs and less than a page.
You need to catch attention with a headline opening. Try and capture the ridiculous circumstances and outrageous demands in the first sentence or two.
Do say what stage you are at, PCN, NTK, Debt Collectors, Solicitors, CCC, CCJ.
If they are interested they will contact you. You just need to click bait, nothing more.

BULLYING AND RUDE PPC IGNORING APPEALS
Say how you are being treated.
Do say if a reasonable appeal was simply rejected out of hand or ignored.

DO SAY HOW IT IS AFFECTING YOU
Sleepless nights, worry, stress, sick, frightened, angry, upset, confused, panic. Express your emotions.

MENTION THE £ AMOUNT
Do say how much you are being chased for and how unaffordable that is.

FEAR OF COURT
Do say if the thought of a court case, CCJ etc frightens you. The threat to your Credit Score (even if there is no such thing in truth). Tell them why, no experience of Court, never been in trouble before, don’t understand the process, what happens?

NO TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO
Stick to the facts about the parking event, the PPC bullying and how YOU feel. Don’t mention any legal arguments. Don’t waste your time regurgitating a defence or witness statement, this is telling your mum about your problem.

AVOID RUDE OR BAD LANGUAGE
Might be obvious but remember name calling is the lowest form of disagreement.

USE YOUR REAL NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS
WatchDog can not use any anonymous stories and may want to contact you for more information. Nothing will be published without your say so.


Brain dump done
Open to any other tips or suggestions







BBC WatchDog “if you are struggling with an unfair parking charge do get in touch”


Please email your PCN story to watchdog@bbc.co.uk they want to hear about it.
Please then tell us here that you have done so.

«13

Comments

  • Great stuff Mouse.  Thanks
  • I am going to email them and tell them about my situation especially UKPC and dcbl
  • drellix
    drellix Posts: 79 Forumite
    10 Posts First Anniversary
    I sent this just now:

    Good afternoon.

    I am writing to offer my own story regarding vexatious and unreasonable Parking Charge Notices which I have recently received from the unregulated parking industry.

    Within the last 16 months, I have received a total of twelve Parking Charge Notices from a firm called Link Parking Ltd. I wrongly assumed, as most motorists do, that, because these were not county-issued Penalty Charge Notices, they were unenforceable in any court. I'd also heard from family and friends over the years that this was what you were meant to do, and that because private parking companies didn't have a leg to stand on, they'd make their version of a PCN look as much like the real thing as possible.

    As such, I ignored the first series of letters, which ultimately resulted in Link Parking passing my information to their legal representatives, BW Legal, and an eventual court-issued CCJ. I had wrongly assumed that a judge would see the claim and immediately set it aside because of how often they're beaten in court, as well as how unreasonable it was. The final charge was £272, which I paid off immediately.

    During the time this claim was happening, I was receiving further PCNs and continuing to ignore them all. Since the CCJ was paid off, I have since received a further ELEVEN PCNs at various stages of the claims process, with a 4th Letter Before Claim dropping through my postbox as of this morning.

    In the meantime I'd done some legal digging, finding that I could have easily defended the initial case resulting in a CCJ and won in court, as many others have done before me, for multiple reasons - including misleading signage which would not constitute a formal contract, the process of 'double-dipping' to recover their costs by adding unfair and false 'administrative fees' (usually around £60), simply not sending some of the legal correspondence I should have received, and, in that first case, sticking the wrong PCN to my windscreen (it was actually for the car parked next to me).

    In addition, I found that neither Link Parking nor BW Legal have the legal right to continue to pursue me. A legal term called cause of action estoppel should apply here, where a Claimant cannot be pursued for multiple claims with the same legal particulars and facts. This applies to all my current open cases, and BW Legal have been in hot water for it multiple times in the past. This apparently follows on from a case in the 1800s - Henderson v Henderson - which explicitly outlines this, and to this day remains part of UK law.

    I also objected, quite rightly, to these companies processing my personal details without informing me, and emailed both to invoke my right to be forgotten under the UK GDPR. Both companies have emailed me back refusing to do so, citing these ongoing cases, which is, from what I understand, not a good enough excuse.

    Link Parking, through their legal representation at BW Legal, seem hell-bent on financially ruining me for an honest mistake, even breaking the law to ensure it happens. On the other hand, I'm a normal bloke, who has had to learn all of this legal jargon and how it applies, to even find out that these companies are breaking the law. Had I been less concerned about where my money goes, I would have had no idea. It's a scandal, and highlights the absolutely cruel nature of these private parking firms, as well as the apparent belief of some solicitors that they can operate outside the bounds of the law to squeeze as much money out of honest working people as possible.

    I need help getting this sorted. I can maybe defend eleven separate claims in court, but I also want my money back from the CCJ, now that I know that these charlatans illegally lied, browbeat me with misleading and confusing documentation, and misrepresented themselves to the courts to get it.

    I also think that the DVLA should admit that they should not be handing out the personal details of drivers to companies which will both retain it indefinitely despite protest, and misuse it for illegal purposes, and stop it from happening to others.

    I've always respected the BBC and Watchdog's approach to these sorts of scams - and this is exactly what these PCNs amount to.

    Thank you in advance for reading.

    Yours faithfully,

    drellix

    Yes, I grovelled for them to step in and help. Maybe they'll get in contact with me.

  • Mouse007
    Mouse007 Posts: 1,062 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Just updated original post with some tips for email, keep it short and to the point. Facts about the event, the bullying PPC and how you feel as if you were telling your mum.

    BBC WatchDog “if you are struggling with an unfair parking charge do get in touch”


    Please email your PCN story to watchdog@bbc.co.uk they want to hear about it.
    Please then tell us here that you have done so.

  • Mouse007 said:
    Just updated original post with some tips for email, keep it short and to the point. Facts about the event, the bullying PPC and how you feel as if you were telling your mum.
    If you have the software, why not create a video for youtube, facebook and the other platforms
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