Baysentry Solutions Notice to Keeper - Ancoats Manchester Urban Exchange

Tabz123

Hi All,

I am returning to this forum after some time to seek your guidance. 

A car was parked in a car park managed by Bay sentry Solutions for the purpose of accessing a gym as well as shops. On this occasion the vehicle in question was parked on yellow markings (yellow box junction) as the car had a disabled passenger so they were unable to enter or exit the vehicle if parked in a normal bay. The nuance here is that by parking the car in an unmarked bay, it was still not obstructing any other vehicles nor the entrance or exit to the car park in question. It is important to note that though disabled bays are available in this car park, they are limited and were full on this occasion. 

The car registration was logged into the gym database and the contravention is not over the duration of stay but how the car has been parked. There was no disabled badge displayed. The car has been issued 4 individual tickets for 4 separate occasions with each fine of a value of £60, totalling £240. There was no PCN issued just a direct NTK.

The gym has been contacted and they have declined to get involved as an agent. They are also not the landowner. 

Currently no contact has been made with the parking company and the NTK is still within the 14 days period of paying the reduced amounts. Is it worth contesting or is it clear that parking in such a space was a clear contravention? Is it worth appealing on the grounds that the keeper was not the driver and that the driver will not be disclosed?

Any advice is appreciated. :-)

Coupon-mad

Can you show us a pic of the nearest signs - or are there none beside these yellow markings - and both sides of a NTK (name and address covered but all dates showing).

Tabz123

This is the front of the NTK         

Tabz123

The back of the NTK

Tabz123

Coupon-mad said:

Can you show us a pic of the nearest signs - or are there none beside these yellow markings - and both sides of a NTK (name and address covered but all dates showing).

 I can't recall if there are nearby signs. I will have to visit the car park again to check this. 

Coupon-mad

We need to see those signs AND a wide photo showing that area, if as I suspect there is NO SIGN THERE.

Tabz123

Ok, will aim to get a few wide pictures back on here as soon as possible. What are the options ? Just as a hypothesis 

Tabz123

Coupon-mad said:

We need to see those signs AND a wide photo showing that area, if as I suspect there is NO SIGN THERE.

 I will aim to provide appropriate wide camera views of the car park. In the interim I have been doing some research and wondered the following:

1. Is the parking company allowed to issue a NTK  directly without a PCN if the fine clearly has not been made as a consequence of an ANPR system?
2. Is the yellow junction box clearly a contravention of the parking rules set out by the car park?

The car park in question does have an ANPR system in place for logging cars which over stay the mandated period. However from the pictures in the NTK it is evident that the pictures were taken in person rather than a camera system (I will be going to see the car park in due course to ascertain whether there are in fact cameras installed where the pictures were taken or whether this was done by hand).

Department for Transport Guidance on Section 56 and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: Recovery of unpaid parking charges does contain a section within it which references that : 'Where a contravention is detected remotely (such as by cameras), the landholder may request registered keeper data from the DVLA immediately and must write to the registered keeper within 14 days seeking details of the driver or payment of the parking charge' (section 6.2 - page 12 of the document).

Link: Guidance on Section 56 and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: Recovery of Unpaid Parking Charges (publishing.service.gov.uk)

On review of schedule 4: Subsection 6 there is no distinction between when a PCN or NTK must be chosen between:


Schedule 4: Section 6:

(1)The second condition is that the creditor (or a person acting for or on behalf of the creditor)—

(a)has given a notice to driver in accordance with paragraph 7, followed by a notice to keeper in accordance with paragraph 8; or

(b)has given a notice to keeper in accordance with paragraph 9.

Schedule 4: Section 7, Subsection 4 says:

The notice must be given—

(a)before the vehicle is removed from the relevant land after the end of the period of parking to which the notice relates, and

(b)while the vehicle is stationary,

This it seems applies to when a PCN is issued.

Schedule 4: Subsection 9 details:

The notice must be given by—

(a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period; or

(b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the relevant period.

Therefore it seems that if they can get the notice to you within the 14 days that they dont need to issue a PCN first. However I could not locate anything which referenced whether they needed to do issue a PCN if the evidence they obtained was by hand (and not ANPR) contrary to what the Guidance document detailed.

Coupon-mad

1.  Yes, they are allowed to do that at the moment because the self-serving Code of Practice says they can (this will change in 2024 with the new statutory regime which all but bans postal PCNs in this situation).

2. No idea - which is why we need to see if there is a sign at those lines!  And what do the terms say on the signs elsewhere in the car park?

Tabz123

This the site map for the car park

Tabz123

This is a lay out for all the signs you would see when entering the car park and parking in the area as mentioned in the initial description. This does not include all the signs that may be encountered in every corner of the car park (however, they would be further away).