Parking charge for stopping at Bristol airport

KeithP

Boudouche1 said:

VCS tells me that if I appeal to IAS, and the appeal is unsuccessful, I will have to pay £100 instead of £60 I was told to pay at this stage.

VCS are lying.

If the IAS appeal is not successful you still pay nothing. Instead you wait patiently for a court case where you will win and still pay nothing.

Coupon-mad

You aren't going to pay anyway.

B789

The £40 "discount" is to persuade gullible victims to become real mugs. Every penny that they get from gullible mugs is another penny funding their scam. Anyone becoming a mug then becomes a part of the problem.

Ignore the "discount" and save yourself £60 in the process.

Boudouche1

Thank you B789, KeithP and Coupon-mad. Not paying the fine is scary, especially if it ends in the court case.

Fruitcake

It is not a fine, so please do not use that word.

Personally I would rather appeal and lose and go to court where a real judge would get to decide upon the facts than pay these unregulated parking companies a penny. 
As I said before, I believe you have a good case as long as you can prove the vehicle was stopped outside the area VCS are contracted to operate. Throw at them all the other points I mentioned and hopefully the charge will be put on the "Too difficult/not financially viable" pile.

KeithP

Boudouche1 said:

Not paying the fine is scary, especially if it ends in the court case.

You use the word 'scary'.

Have you seen this video?...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n93eoaxhzpU

Just three or four people sitting round a table having a discussion.
What's 'scary' about that?

That video was made a few years ago and most hearings nowadays seem to be via telephone or video link.

Umkomaas

Boudouche1 said:

Thank you B789, KeithP and Coupon-mad. Not paying the fine is scary, especially if it ends in the court case.

Which part is 'scary'?  It's the only impartial route you have to resolving this. 

Coupon-mad

Boudouche1 said:

Thank you B789, KeithP and Coupon-mad. Not paying the fine is scary, especially if it ends in the court case.

It's not a fine and we handle court claims several times a day. You are safe with us and there's no risk if anything bad.

I've attended court in person and by phone and also by video link against parking firms and have never lost.  You do get nervous but it's well worth doing; think of it as the only fair dispute resolution on offer.

Assuming your evidence doesn't work at IAS (unlikely) but it will be worth putting together as it will help your court witness statement bundle later.  Give IAS a go, with a shrug of the shoulders if it is rejected.

Evidence is key.  The kerb being outside of the enforcement area puts VCS in a sticky position if you can evidence it with a map.

Boudouche1

Thank you Fruitcake, KeithP, Umkomaas and Coupon-mad.

Agreed, it is not a fine - it is made to look like a fine.

Coupon-mad, you mention that I am safe with you - will you advise me or represent me in court?

KeithP, the vide is helpful - I do not deal with the court hearings everyday.

Fruitcake, you are right, the photo used by VCS to issue a fine shows clearly that my car is inside the kerb (in the care park exit) that is outisde the area where VCS can operate. The map of the VCS area of jurisdiction, which I found in other MSE forum discussions, is quite blurred and vague, so the line delimiting VCS ara of operation is smudged (and can be made to look wider than it is). I have stopped at the exit/entrance circled in yellow

Coupon-mad

As I said, you are safe with us on this forum.

I don't do court cases these days (except one in February I did for bargepole as he was busy) and even though I've never lost, I find Judges are actually more sympathetic to motorists than hearing from a lay rep.

I think you'd need better evidence for IAS than that map because the yellow blob looks as if it's 'at or on' the red line.  Does Google Streetview show a better view?