Fined for stopping at Bristol Airport with a fractured spine.

Doneanddusted171717

Hi all
One of the tribe here contacted me and suggested I should post here. 

Last December I received a fine for stopping at Bristol Airport after dropping off a friend. 
We were late and so the drive had been pretty stressful. In fact she did indeed miss her flight. I had recently fallen onto my back but felt able to drive that day. The doctors had assured me I had pulled a muscle or had broken a rib and was fine to carry on with life. 

Anyway after I had dropped her off I drove towards the back of the airport because my back was really hurting. I thought I might try and go to the hotel there. But there was a barrier to enter the hotel and I had no reservation. At this point my back went into spasm and I knew I was not safe to continue. 
I pulled up in the wide bay at the entrance to the hotel away from the barrier. And got out of my car to retrieve some pain relief from the boot. I was clearly upset. A person from the hotel saw me there and asked if I was ok. I told her I wasn't and she opened the barrier so I could go into the hotel carpark. 

The next day I checked myself into A&E and found out that I had actually fractured my spine in my fall. It will take 6 months to heal. I have a disability that makes prone to falls.

A few days later I received a fine from Excel Parking Services Ltd for £100 for stopping. Apparently they have 90 signs with a telephone number on it. I should have called to ask for help. I appealed and lost. I then appealed to the independent appeal people and lost. In both cases I sent evidence of my fractured spine, disability diagnosis and this story. The appeal expressed sympathy said that legally they were entitled to fine me but they are also allowed to vary or cancel the fine due to extenuating circumstances.

I am now in discussion with Bristol Airport who are reviewing my complaint but in the meantime I am due to pay the fine in the next few days post appeal.

So any advice would be appreciated. 

B789

Welcome to the forum. At least you are now in the right place to receive advice on how to defeat this scam that you find yourself in. We have read the newspaper article about your case but like most journalists, they have very little knowledge of the subject they write about.

Here you will find people who are specialists in this subject and, if all the advice is followed correctly, the victims win over 99% of the claims either in court of before they ever get near a court. The 1% that don't are invariably because advice was not followed correctly, ignored or they simply give in to the irritating pressure that these scammers put on them and end up paying them. Any of the very few that lose in court end up paying less than the original claim was for because most judges don't allow the fake add-on fees that the parking companies hope will be paid to them with a default judgment.

For now, you will need to read, re-read and read again the Newbies/FAQ thread near the top of this forum which covers most situations, including yours.

As you are now past the appeals stage, you should do the research as advised above. You can expect reminders, final demands and threatening letters from debt collectors. You can safely ignore all of those. By ignore, we mean it. Do not try and communicate in any way with these scammers. They have no power to take you to court no matter how much they threaten in their letters. Do not communicate with them at all.

What you will need to respond to at some stage, and they have up to 6 years to do so, is a court claim or more likely a Letter before Claim that is part of the pre-action protocol. If or when you get one of those, you should let us know on here.

As for your disability that you mention, there will be some experts along soon that will explore how that can be used in your defence and possibly a counter claim should you wish to give as good (or better) than you get from these scammers.

B789

You mention "I have a disability that makes prone to falls." This is an interesting point as being disabled gives you protected characteristics that must be taken into consideration according to the Equalities Act 2010.

Have you mentioned this disability in any of your appeals/communication with the PPC?

Coupon-mad

So happy you found us!  Did you see the posts about your case here?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79939308/#Comment_79939308

Airport Byelaws allow emergency stops.

Have you pointed that out to the bright sparks you are in touch with at the Airport?!

It is not a fine.

You will not be paying Excel a penny.

There is no deadline.

Doneanddusted171717

I did mention of the Equalities act of 2010 in my appeal. 
They said I had been treated Equally as they treat everyone the same. I pointed out that that is not equity under the law and the very fact that they have admitted to treating me equally is illegal

@Coupon-mad ... I will point this out now that you have pointed it out I just read the post about my case. 

Thanks to the kind fellow who got in touch with me. I am happy not to pay them anything. I will get reading the Newbies thread. 

Fruitcake

Have you complained to your MP yet? Both the airport management company and the parking operator have breached the Equality Act 2010 by not making reasonable adjustments for a disabled motorist with Protected Characteristics as defined by said Act.

Bristol Airport is owned by a foreign investment company that uses a sub-contractor called Bristol Airport Ltd to manage the site.
This sub-contractor in turn sub contracts other companies to run certain parts of the site.

If you have received a PCN from Excel then something has changed recently because previously the site was infested by VCS, a sister company of Excel. 

Perhaps Simon Renshaw Smith, who owns both companies has put his Excel hat on, "sold" the airport subby a new contract, and changed the names on all 90 signs. 

I think I need to take a trip up to the airport to have a look (I live under the flight path). The VCS contract did not cover the hotel entrance where the entry and exit barriers are situated. 

Google Satellite view shows that the Red Lines indicating no-stopping end about two car lengths before the hotel car park entrance barrier.

Can you indicate precisely where your car was stopped on this map.



Link to the interactive map here.

Bristol Airport - Google Maps

Jenni_D

Good spot re. Excel vs VCS.  

Fruitcake

Jenni_D said:

Good spot re. Excel vs VCS.  

It's my local airport and I have flown in and out dozens of times. I beat VCS on behalf of one of my relatives a couple of years ago at IAS appeal for a bogus stopping in a no-stopping zone. Whilst the PCN came from VCS, everything else came from Excel.

I complained to the IPC several times about this and other CoP breaches. None of my complaints were ever addressed. Imagine my surprise.

Snakes_Belly

I am glad that you have found this forum. There are many on here who have fallen foul of Excel Parking Services Limited and VCS (also owned by the same person). 

This ex-clamper does a lot of sabre rattling but when they are in front of a judge they are often beaten. I say "they" but they rarely show their faces in court leaving some poor sap from a low rent legal firm who often gets a trouncing from the judge. 

They are likely to pursue you through litigation or take it to the brink but don't worry you will get help from the forum members many who have taken on this ex-clamper themselves. You have a good defence and don't let them tell you otherwise.

Fruitcake

MFTE (Master Fruitcake The Elder) is going to drop me off near the airport back passage this avo so I can get up to date photos of the site and signage.

Luckily the hotel is close to the back entrance so it will only be a short walk for me.

Snakes_Belly

Fruitcake Helped me in my run in with this ex-clamper. He is familiar with the issues surrounding the no-stopping claims and has excellent attention to detail and can produce good images.